How Toronto roommates share buzzer access
A Toronto lobby panel dials one stored number for each directory entry, so roommates usually pick one person and that person becomes the doorman. The alternative is to store a number that rings more than one person in the apartment. BuzzMeBro does that for up to 4 phones at once, and everyone already on it gets a text whenever a phone is added or removed.
Live with others? BuzzMeBro puts more than one of you on the buzzer. First month free. Start free
Say three people share one lease and one buzzer. Somebody put their mobile on the panel when they moved in, probably whoever signed first, and that decision quietly became a job.
The group chat is where you see it: a steady run of messages that all say some version of buzz me up.
What each option actually costs somebody
| What you do | Who it works for | Who pays for it |
|---|---|---|
| One number that rings several roommates, like BuzzMeBro | Anyone in the apartment who is set to ring | The apartment, once a month |
| One roommate’s mobile on the panel | Guests, when that person is free | That roommate, every day |
| Carrier call forwarding | One person at a time | Whoever is at the end of the chain |
| Everyone walks down to the lobby | Nobody | Whoever happens to be home, often the same person |
Forwarding is the one that looks like sharing and is not. It sends the call somewhere else instead of ringing both phones, so the person who set it up stops getting buzzed at all. The full comparison.
The Toronto specifics
Two things change the answer here. The first is phone numbers from elsewhere. Many lobby panels only place local calls, so a roommate who kept a number from another province may be unreachable by the panel at all. What to do about that.
The second is turnover. Roommates change, and every change means another email to property management if the buzzer points at a person rather than at the apartment.
Doing it without making a new problem
Anything that lets one person quietly add a phone to the buzzer is worse than the problem it solves, because buzzer access is building access. Here is what BuzzMeBro does when the list changes.
- Phones are added and removed from the apartment’s BuzzMeBro account, never through the building.
- The person added gets a text saying who added them and that the door will now ring their phone.
- Everyone already on the buzzer gets a text naming who added or removed a phone, with its last four digits.
- A removed phone stops ringing from the next buzz.
Whoever answers still decides who comes in. Know who is at the door before pressing the door key. How adding a roommate works.
What it takes to switch
- Agree who is on it Usually everyone on the lease. Up to 4 phones ring together.
- Get a number local to your building Many panels only place local calls, so the number has to be inside your building’s local calling area.
- Email property management once One line asking them to change the number stored against your unit. This is the only part they are involved in.
- Test it together One of you stands at the panel and presses the unit code. Each phone you added should ring, unless someone has paused theirs.
It is $9.99 a month for the apartment rather than per person, so splitting it is a small conversation. Start here.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- A buzz rings the phones on the apartment that are set to ring, up to 4 at the same time, and whoever answers first handles it.
- Switching means the building updates one stored number for your unit and nothing else. Pointing it back at the old number undoes it the same day.
Questions people ask
Can we just put two numbers on the buzzer?
A directory entry holds one phone number. Some buildings can add a second entry under another name with its own code, but then a visitor has to choose who to call. A number that rings more than one phone avoids that choice.
Does each roommate pay separately?
No. BuzzMeBro is priced per apartment at $9.99 a month, and up to 4 phones ring on one buzz. Adding or removing a roommate does not change what the apartment pays.
What happens when a roommate moves out?
Remove their phone and add the replacement. The number on the lobby panel stays the same, so property management is not involved.
Can someone be added without the rest of us knowing?
Not quietly. Everyone already on the buzzer gets a text, naming who made the change, whenever a phone is added or removed. The person added is told by text too.
Do we all need the same phone carrier?
No. The buzz arrives as an ordinary phone call, so any Canadian or US number works and nobody installs anything. BuzzMeBro rings them at the same time and the first person to answer can open the door.