At a gate with no staff, the Directory button of the entry kiosk lets a visitor find a resident or a property. The visitor can then call the resident, or send an entry request that the resident approves or denies on a phone. This article tells visitors how to use the directory. It also tells community staff what their visitors see.
The Directory button shows only at a gate where the community turned on the directory.
Find a resident or a property
1. On the main screen of the kiosk, select Directory.
2. Type a name or a street address on the on-screen keyboard. The kiosk starts to search after you type 3 characters. Before that, it shows "Enter at least 3 characters to search".
3. Select the person or the property in the results.
The results show properties and residents together. Each property shows its street, and each resident shows the name. If nothing matches, the kiosk shows "No results found".
The directory shows a resident only when the resident has a phone number on file. Community staff can limit the directory of a gate to some properties.
Call the resident or request entry
The view of a result shows the name or the street. Under it, the view shows one or both of these buttons:
- Call resident: the kiosk calls the resident or the property. This button shows when a phone number is on file.
- Request entry: the kiosk sends a notification to the phone of the resident, or to the phones of the people of the property. This button shows when the resident, or a person of the property, gets MyWatchtower entry request notifications on a phone.
If the result has no phone number and nobody gets notifications, the kiosk shows "No registered contacts for this property. Please try another entry method or call the help line."
To go back to the results, select Back to search.
Call the resident
1. Select Call resident. The kiosk shows "Calling" and the name of the resident.
2. Wait for the resident to answer.
- If the resident gets MyWatchtower notifications, the kiosk starts a video call to the app first. The screen counts down the seconds. If the resident does not answer in 60 seconds, the kiosk changes to a phone call.
- For a property, or for a resident with no notifications, the kiosk starts a phone call at once.
3. When the resident answers, the kiosk shows "Connected" and the time of the call. Tell the resident who you are.
4. To stop the call, select End call.
A call can last 3 minutes. The kiosk shows a warning 30 seconds before the end. The resident decides on your entry and can open the gate during the call.
Request entry
1. Select Request entry.
2. The kiosk shows "Enter your name". Type your name, so that the resident knows who asks for entry.
3. Select Request entry. The kiosk sends your name and a short clip from the kiosk camera to the resident.
4. The kiosk shows "Waiting for approval" and "Notification sent to resident". A countdown starts at 60 seconds.
5. Wait for the resident to approve or deny the request. To stop the wait, select Cancel.
If nobody can get the notification, the kiosk starts a call instead. If the kiosk cannot send the request, it shows Request failed and the reason.
The result screens
The kiosk shows one of these screens at the end:
- Access granted and "The gate will now open": the resident approved your entry.
- Entry denied: the resident denied your entry request.
- Access denied: the resident denied your entry during the call.
- No answer and "Resident unavailable": nobody answered the call.
- Call ended or Connection lost: the call ended with no decision.
Each result screen shows "Returning to the menu in 5s." and goes back to the main screen after 5 seconds. To go back sooner, select Back to menu.
If the resident does not answer an entry request in 60 seconds, the kiosk goes back to the main screen. It shows no result screen.
When the kiosk goes back to the main screen
If you do nothing for 30 seconds in the directory, the kiosk goes back to the main screen. This does not occur during a call or while the kiosk waits for the answer to an entry request.
The Get help button
When a person can take a call for help at the gate, a Get help button shows at the bottom right of the kiosk screen. It opens a short guided flow, and then a call for help if you still need it.
Need help?
Community staff turn on the directory of a gate in Settings > Unstaffed gates. They select the tab of the gate, turn on Enable directory and select Save.
For more help, select Help center in the navigation on a computer, or Help in the account menu on a phone. Each one opens the MyWatchtower support page. You can also speak to the management office of your community.