Some community gates have an entry kiosk: a tablet with a camera. If your host gave you an entry QR code, you can enter with it at the kiosk. No staff member has to help you. This article is for visitors. Residents create the codes in MyWatchtower. See *How to Create a QR Code for Your Guest*.
Before you arrive
Have your QR code ready, on the screen of your phone or on paper.
A code can be for one use, for a limited number of uses or for unlimited uses. Your host can also give the code a start date, an end date, or days and hours when it works.
Scan your code
1. On the main screen of the kiosk, tap QR Code.
2. Hold your QR code up to the camera. The screen shows the camera image and tells you: "Hold your QR code up to the camera to scan and gain access".
3. Hold the code steady. When the kiosk reads the code, the screen shows Processing entry....
To go back to the main screen, tap Back to Menu.
If the main screen has no QR Code button, the community does not accept QR codes at this gate. Use a different entry method.
If the kiosk cannot connect to MyWatchtower, it shows a message in place of the entry buttons. Try again later.
The camera of the kiosk
On the main screen, the camera view in the top right corner shows a REC label and the text "Recording for record-keeping". When the kiosk lets you in, it saves a short clip of the entry with the entry record, so staff can review the entry activity later.
If you have no photo in MyWatchtower, the kiosk can keep a picture from your first entry as your photo.
What the result screens mean
Access Granted: the gate opens. For the code of a guest, a vendor or a resident, the screen shows the name of the code holder and the photo of the holder. If there is no photo on file, the screen shows a placeholder image. Use the name and the photo to make sure that the kiosk read the correct code.
Entry Denied: the kiosk did not accept the code. The screen shows the reason, for example:
- "This QR code has no uses remaining."
- "This QR code is invalid or has expired."
- "This QR code isn't valid yet."
- "This QR code is not valid at this time." The code works only on the days and in the hours that your host set.
- "This QR code belongs to a different community."
- "Not a MyWatchtower QR code."
If the kiosk refuses your code, ask your host for a new code or for a change to the schedule of the code. You can also use a different entry method.
Each result screen counts down and goes back to the main screen after 5 seconds. To go back at once, tap Back to Menu.
If the code does not scan
- Make the screen of your phone brighter. Hold the code so that it fills most of the camera image.
- Make sure that the code has no damage and no glare on it.
- After 30 seconds with no tap on the screen, the kiosk goes back to the main screen. Tap QR Code to start again.
- If you try more than 5 times in one minute, the kiosk shows "Too many attempts. Please try again in a minute." Wait one minute, then try again.
- If the kiosk shows a Help button, tap it to get help.
After you enter
Your entry shows in the entry records of the property that you visit, like other entries.