Letting somebody in when you are not home
You can let somebody into your building from anywhere, because a buzzer call is an ordinary phone call and the door digit works wherever you answer it. What fails is not being reachable: if the panel rings one phone and that phone is in a meeting, nothing else in the chain helps. The reliable version is a buzz that rings several phones at once.
A friend lands early. The cleaner comes Thursdays. The internet technician has a window from noon to four and you have a meeting at one. All the same problem.
Why distance is not the issue
When somebody presses your unit, the panel places a phone call and you answer it like any other call. Pressing the door digit during that call releases the lobby door.
None of that depends on where you are. You can open your building door from the office, from a plane on wifi calling, or from another country. How the call and the digit work.
What actually goes wrong
The buzz reaches one phone and that phone does not answer. That is the entire failure, and it does not matter how good your intentions were at 12:55.
| What people do | Problem |
|---|---|
| Tell the guest to call you and you call the building | You cannot open the door from a call you placed |
| Give them the unit code and hope | Nothing happens. The code rings you, it does not open anything. |
| Ask a neighbour to let them in | Works once, and it is somebody else letting a stranger into the building |
| Leave the lobby door propped | Do not. It is a building-wide security problem and usually a bylaw one. |
| Have the buzz ring several phones | Whoever is free answers, including a housemate |
The fourth row is the one worth naming as a real risk rather than a shortcut. A propped door affects everybody in the building.
The version that works while you are busy
If the buzz rings every phone in the apartment, somebody who is free answers it. A housemate working from home lets the technician in and you do not leave the meeting.
BuzzMeBro rings up to 4 phones at once from the number your building stores, for $11.99 a month for the apartment. Setting it up.
The safety half
Only a call from your own building panel can open your door, so somebody dialling the number from outside cannot open anything.
Everyone who can answer for the apartment confirmed their own number first, everyone is told when that list changes, and every door open is logged with who pressed it. That is what makes remote access something other than a hole in the building. Granting access without handing out numbers.
Questions people ask
Can I open the door if I am in another country?
Yes, as long as you can take the call. The door digit travels down the call itself, so wherever you answer is where you can open the door from.
Can I give a guest a code to let themselves in?
The number a visitor presses in the lobby is your unit code, and pressing it rings you rather than opening anything. There is no self-entry code on a standard telephone entry panel.
What if my phone is on silent?
Then the buzz is missed, which is why one phone is a fragile arrangement. Several phones ringing at once means somebody who is available answers.
Is it safe to let somebody in remotely?
The call is initiated by your own building panel, so you know the person is standing at your lobby door. A stranger calling your number from elsewhere reaches a phone and cannot open anything.
How do I know the door actually opened?
You will usually hear the release on the call. With BuzzMeBro every open is logged with who pressed it, so there is a record for the apartment rather than a guess.