Will my phone number work with my building’s buzzer?

Free · Toronto and Vancouver buildings · Nothing stored

Your lobby buzzer calls out on the building’s phone line, and that line usually dials local numbers only. If your number is from somewhere else, the buzzer cannot reach you. Check yours in ten seconds.

The first three characters are enough, like M5V.

Area code and the next three digits, like 604-555. We never need the rest.

Questions people ask

Why can my building buzzer not call my phone number?
The lobby panel dials on the building’s own phone line, and that line is usually allowed to make local calls only. If your number is from another area, province or country, the call is refused before it reaches you, so your phone never rings.

Why does this check only ask for six digits?
The area code and the next three digits decide whether a call is local. The rest of your number does not change the answer, so we never ask for it.

What can I do if my number is not local?
Give the building a number that is local to it and rings your phone. A free app number rings one phone and has to be kept active. BuzzMeBro gives the apartment one local number that rings everyone who lives there at once.

More: a Toronto buzzer and an out-of-province number and using a free Fongo number.