Will a VoIP line work with your apartment buzzer?
VoIP works with a Toronto lobby panel that dials a phone number, because to that panel a VoIP number is just a number to call. It usually fails on older systems wired through the apartment phone line, which expect voltage on real copper. The door digit is the part to test, since some VoIP providers handle tones poorly.
People arrive at VoIP from two directions. Either they already have it and the buzzer stopped, or they are looking for something cheaper than a home phone line.
Where VoIP works
A telephone entry panel places an ordinary phone call to the number stored against your unit. From the panel point of view there is no difference between a landline, a mobile and a VoIP number.
So in the majority of Toronto buildings, a VoIP number in the field works. What that panel is doing.
Where it does not
Older entry systems ran down the same copper pair as your apartment phone line and depend on voltage being present on it. Swapping that line for VoIP removes the thing the system was relying on.
An adapter in the apartment does not bridge that, because the building side of the system is looking at the line rather than at a phone. How to tell which system you have.
The door digit is the real test
Ringing is the easy half. Opening the door means sending a tone down the call that the panel recognises, and tone handling is exactly where cheap VoIP paths get lossy.
| Test | What a failure means |
|---|---|
| The panel rings your number | The number is stored wrong or is not reachable as a local call |
| You can hear the visitor | Audio path problem, usually the provider |
| Pressing the door digit opens the door | Tone handling, or the wrong digit for your building |
The third row is where VoIP and other forwarding routes fall down, and it is the only row that matters to somebody standing in the lobby. The same failure on Google Voice.
The constraint everybody forgets
A VoIP provider will happily sell you a number with any area code. The panel dials on a building line restricted to local calls, so a number that is not local to your building will never connect.
Choosing a number because it looks like a Toronto number is not the same as choosing one that is a local call from your lobby. Why the area code is not the test.
BuzzMeBro picks the number from your building local calling area rather than from a menu, handles the door digit as its whole job, and rings up to 4 phones instead of one, for $11.99 a month. Get your number.
Questions people ask
Can I use an ATA adapter to keep my old phones?
For making and taking calls, yes. For an entry system that rides on the apartment copper, no, because the building side of that system is watching the line rather than talking to a phone.
Why did my buzzer stop when I switched to VoIP?
Almost always because the entry system was wired through the apartment phone line. Confirm with property management, and if that is the answer the fix is a building one rather than a setting.
Is VoIP cheaper than a home phone line for this?
Usually, but it still solves the problem for one location and one handset. If more than one person lives in the apartment, the cost comparison is not the interesting part.
Will a VoIP number pass a building check?
Buildings do not usually check what kind of number they are typing in. What decides the outcome is whether the panel can reach it as a local call.
What is the difference between this and BuzzMeBro?
A VoIP line gives the apartment another phone. BuzzMeBro gives the buzzer a number that is chosen to be local to your building and rings every phone already in the apartment, with the door digit handled rather than hoped for.