How to buzz someone in to your apartment from your phone
To buzz someone in, answer the call from your lobby panel, check who is there, then press the door digit on your phone keypad and hold it for a moment. Nine is common, but your building sets the digit. You can do this from anywhere, as long as the call reaches you. BuzzMeBro rings every phone in the apartment at once, so whoever is free opens the door.
Your phone rings and it is the lobby. A friend, a courier or the cleaner is standing at the front door waiting. Here is exactly what to do, in order, in the few seconds you have.
How do you buzz someone in on your phone?
- Answer the call The call comes from your building entry panel. It may show as the building number, an unknown caller or a name you saved. Pick up the way you would for any call.
- Talk to the person at the door Ask who it is. The panel is a speakerphone in the lobby, so keep it short and speak clearly. Do not press anything yet.
- Press the door digit Once you know who is there, press your building door digit on the phone keypad and hold it for about a second. On many buildings that is
9. If your screen is showing the call, tap Keypad first. - Listen, then hang up You will often hear a click, a beep or the panel hanging up on its own. Tell your visitor to pull the door. If the call is still open, hang up.
What number do you press to buzz someone in?
There is no standard digit. It is a setting inside your building entry panel, and whoever installed or manages it picks it. Nine is common, and it is the factory default on some panels.
On a Mircom TX3, a panel found in many Canadian lobbies, the main door digit ships set to 9. Management can change it to any digit from 1 to 9, or to * or #. Mircom also reserves 4 to refuse entry and hang up, so pressing 4 sends your visitor away. What pressing 9 actually does explains the tone behind it.
To find your own digit:
- Check your move-in package. Buildings often print the door digit on the welcome sheet.
- Ask the property manager or superintendent. One line by email settles it for good.
- Ask a neighbour who has lived there a while. The digit is the same for every unit on the same door.
- Look for a second door. A side entrance or garage can have its own digit.
What if pressing the digit does nothing?
Most of the time the building does not use 9, or the digit was pressed too early or too briefly. Try holding it for a full second while the visitor can hear you.
If the right digit still does nothing, the cause is usually the path the call took to reach you, which can flatten the tone, or a door release fault the building has to repair. Pressed 9 and the door did not open walks through each cause in the order worth checking.
Can you buzz someone in when you are not home?
Yes, if the panel calls your mobile. The door digit travels down the call itself, so it works wherever you answer. You can let a guest in from your desk at work or from a bus across town.
What stops people is not distance. It is the call going somewhere else: an old landline in the apartment, a roommate who is asleep, or a phone on silent. Letting somebody in when you are not home covers what works and what only looks like it will.
Not sure which number your panel calls? Buzz your own unit from the lobby and see which phone rings, or try the free buzzer number check.
Some newer buildings use their own resident app instead of a phone call. In those, you tap an unlock button in the app the building gave you, and the steps above do not apply.
Why did the buzz not reach you at all?
An entry panel stores one phone number per unit. If that number is your roommate, only your roommate can buzz anyone in. If the call lands in voicemail, nobody can. Why your buzzer only rings one number explains the limit.
BuzzMeBro gives your apartment its own local number for the lobby panel. When someone buzzes, every phone registered to the apartment rings at the same time, up to 4. Whoever is free answers, presses the digit and opens the door, wherever they are. A buzz arrives as an ordinary phone call, so there is nothing to install. Get a number for your apartment.
Questions people ask
What number do I press to buzz someone in?
Press the door digit your building chose, during the call. Nine is common, and it is the factory default on the Mircom TX3. Buildings can change it, so check your move-in package or ask the property manager.
Can I buzz someone in if I am not at home?
Yes, as long as the panel calls a phone you have with you. The door digit travels down the call, so it works from anywhere you can answer.
How do I buzz someone in on a Mircom intercom?
Answer the call, speak to the visitor, then press the main door digit on your keypad. On a Mircom TX3 the factory default is 9, and pressing 4 refuses entry and hangs up. Your building may have changed the door digit, so confirm it with management.
Why can I hear the visitor but the door will not open?
Usually the digit is wrong for your building, was pressed too early, or the tone got distorted on the way to the panel. If the correct digit fails for everyone, the door release needs a repair.
Can more than one person in my apartment buzz someone in?
Only if the call reaches them. A panel stores one number per unit, so it normally rings one phone. BuzzMeBro gives the apartment one number that rings up to 4 phones at once, so whoever is free can open the door.