What happens if I miss the buzzer call?

The front door only releases while you are on the live call, so a buzz that goes to voicemail or that you miss cannot be opened after the fact. The visitor just presses your unit on the panel again and your phone rings again. There is no separate missed-call button that opens the door, which is why a muted or unanswered phone leaves someone stuck in the lobby until they re-buzz.

Do I need to set anything up before my first guest can buzz me?

For the basic version, no. The building programs your phone number for your unit when you move in, so it works from your first day. If your phone never rings when someone buzzes your unit, your number probably is not on file yet or the directory still lists the old tenant, so ask the office to add or update it. That one fix solves most 'the buzzer does nothing' complaints from new residents.

Can the buzzer reach more than one phone so either of us can let people in?

By default the panel dials a single number for your unit, so only that one phone can answer and press the key. To have it reach several phones, you need call forwarding to a group line or an app that rings everyone on the account at once. That is the usual fix for roommates and couples who do not want entry to depend on one person's phone being free.

Blog / How to Buzz Someone Into Your Apartment (and What Number to Press)

How to Buzz Someone Into Your Apartment (and What Number to Press)

By Ty · 2026-06-08

You just moved into your first apartment with a buzzer, someone is coming over, and you realize you do not actually know how it works. Does your phone ring? Do they need a code? What are you supposed to do? It is simpler than it looks, and here is exactly what happens and how to let someone in.

What to do when someone buzzes

When a visitor wants to come up, they find your name or unit number on the panel by the front door and press call. That makes the panel place a phone call to the number your building has on file for you, usually your cell. So letting someone in is really just answering a call and pressing one key.

Your phone rings from an unknown number. The call comes from the building’s line, not a saved contact, so it shows up as a number you do not recognize. That is normal. Answer it like any other call, and you can talk to whoever is at the door.
Press the door-release key. While you are on the call, press the key that unlocks the front door on your phone’s dialpad. On most buildings it is 9. Some use 6, so if 9 does nothing, try 6 while you are still connected. Whichever one clicks the door open is your building’s key, and it stays the same from then on.
Your visitor comes up to your apartment. The buzzer only opens the building’s front door, so once they are in they still come up to your unit and knock. The lobby door is the one thing you are opening from your phone.

Two things worth doing early. Save the building’s calling number as a contact the first time you see it, so the buzz never gets sent to voicemail or flagged as spam. And if you want to learn your release key before anyone is waiting, walk down to the panel, dial your own unit, answer on your phone, and try 9 then 6 until you hear the door click.

Where Lowkey helps

If catching the buzzer call in time is the hard part, Lowkey presses the button for you. It answers the buzzer call through your phone and opens the building’s front door so your visitor can come up to your unit, either automatically or when they enter a 4-digit passcode on the keypad. A muted phone, a meeting, or a phone in the other room never strands someone in the lobby again.

Any roommate or family member on the account can buzz people in from their own phone, so it never matters whose number the buzzer happens to call. You get a push notification when someone is let in and an activity history of every entry, on 99.99% uptime, and the 14-day free trial lets you try it on your own panel first.