At an entry kiosk, a visitor can type a PIN code on the keypad. The kiosk offers PIN entry only after you turn on kiosk PIN codes in the community settings. This article tells you how, and what each PIN setting does.
Before you start
To change the community settings, your role needs Community settings set to Add & edit. By default, only the Admin role has it.
Open the PIN settings
1. Open Settings. On a computer, select Settings in the navigation. On a phone, tap the menu button at the top left, then tap Settings.
2. Select the Settings tab. The page opens on the Profile tab first.
3. Find the PIN settings card. It is under the QR codes card and the Reporting card.
Set the PIN settings
1. Turn on Enable kiosk PIN codes. This switch turns PIN entry at the kiosk on or off.
2. Optional: turn on Enable property-wide PINs. Each property can then have one PIN that the whole household shares. This switch is available only while kiosk PIN codes are on. When you turn off kiosk PIN codes, MyWatchtower also turns off property-wide PINs.
3. Set the Minimum PIN length with the slider. The default is 4 digits. You can save a length from 4 to 10 digits.
4. Choose the PIN issuer, where new PINs are issued:
- MyWatchtower: the PINs work at the kiosk. This is the default.
- Access control provider: new PINs go to Brivo or HID first. They work at the keypads and at the kiosk. This option is available only when your community uses Brivo or HID.
A change of issuer does not change the PINs that are already issued.
5. Select Save in the bar at the bottom of the page. On a phone, the button is Save changes. A message confirms the change.
To go back to the saved values, select Discard. If you leave the page before you save, the Unsaved changes dialog asks you to save. Select Stay and edit to keep editing, or Save and leave to save.
The PIN rules
- Each PIN must be unique in the community. This rule includes the PINs in Brivo or HID.
- MyWatchtower refuses a PIN that is easy to guess.
- The minimum length applies to a custom PIN when you create it or change it. A shorter PIN that already exists keeps working. The kiosk refuses a PIN that is shorter than 4 digits.
- The minimum length does not apply to an emergency PIN, and an emergency PIN can be easy to guess. It must still be unique.
What turns on
When kiosk PIN codes are on:
- Residents can give a guest or a vendor a PIN. In the Access step of the guest form, they select Enable kiosk pin access. The app creates a code, or they set their own.
- Residents see their own PINs, and the PIN of each of their properties, in the PIN codes section of My Wallet. Each PIN shows Personal or Property.
- With property-wide PINs on, the Credentials tab of each property has a PIN view. It holds the Kiosk PIN card and the PIN usage list.
- Staff whose role can see PINs find them in the PIN view of the Credentials tab in Access.
- The kiosk shows the PIN code entry method.
When you turn kiosk PIN codes off, these controls go away, and the kiosk refuses PIN entry.