If your community has an entry kiosk at the gate, a visitor can enter with a PIN on the kiosk keypad. MyWatchtower has two kinds of PIN. A personal PIN belongs to one person, such as a guest, a vendor or you. A property PIN is one PIN for your whole property, and each person who knows it can enter for your property.
Your community management turns on kiosk PIN codes. The property PIN is a separate setting. If you do not see the PIN options in this article, speak to the management office of your community.
Personal PINs
You give a guest or a vendor a personal PIN when you add or edit the person. On the Access step of the new guest or vendor, select Enable kiosk pin access. In the edit dialog, use the Kiosk PIN section.
The PIN of a guest or a vendor works only from the start date to the end date of that person. If the person has an entry schedule, the PIN also works only on those days and hours.
A resident can have a personal PIN too. A person who manages your property, or your community office, gives it from the Residents tab of the property.
Manage the property PIN
1. Open the Credentials tab of your property:
- On a computer, select Property in the navigation, then select the Credentials tab.
- On a phone, select the center button in the bottom bar, then select Credentials.
2. If the tab shows more than one view, select PIN.
The Kiosk PIN card holds the property PIN. The card hides the digits. To show them, select the eye button. To copy the PIN, select the copy button.
- To turn the PIN on, select the switch on the card. In the Enable Property PIN dialog, select Generate Random or Set Custom. Then select Generate & Enable or Set & Enable.
- To get a new PIN, select Regenerate, then select Regenerate again to confirm. The old PIN stops at once.
- To choose the digits, select Set custom PIN, type the PIN, then select Apply PIN.
- To turn the PIN off, select the switch, then select Disable PIN. The PIN stops for each person who has it.
The PIN usage list under the card shows the entries that the property PIN opened.
A custom PIN has 4 to 12 digits. Your community can set a longer minimum. Each PIN must be unique in the community. MyWatchtower refuses a PIN that is easy to guess, such as 1234 or 1111.
Find your PINs in the wallet
On a phone, select Wallet in the bottom bar to open My Wallet. The PIN codes section lists your own PIN and the PIN of each of your properties. Each row has the label Personal or Property. To see the digits, select a row. The PINs of your guests and vendors are not in the wallet.
If you have no PIN yet, the section can show Create your first PIN code. This row opens the PIN view of your property.
Enter with a PIN at the kiosk
1. On the kiosk screen, select Pin Code.
2. Type the PIN on the keypad. The red key deletes the last digit.
3. Select the blue key with the check mark.
If the PIN is correct, the kiosk shows Access Granted and "The gate will now open". After 5 seconds, the kiosk goes back to the entry screen.
If the kiosk refuses the PIN, it shows the reason:
- "PIN is invalid or has expired": no PIN in the community matches, the PIN is off, or the end date of the guest or the vendor is past.
- "PIN must be at least 4 digits": the PIN is too short. The number is the minimum length of your community.
- "PIN isn't valid yet": the start date of the guest or the vendor is in the future.
- "PIN is not valid at this time": the time is outside the entry schedule of the guest or the vendor.
- "This PIN has no uses remaining.": the PIN had a limited number of uses, and none remain.
If a person types more than 5 PINs in one minute, the kiosk stops the keypad for 60 seconds and shows a countdown. Give your visitor the exact PIN.
Emergency PINs
Community staff manage emergency PINs. An emergency PIN is not a guest PIN or a property PIN. When a person types an emergency PIN, the kiosk shows Emergency PIN and asks: "This PIN code is for emergency purposes only, would you like to continue?" The screen also says "Staff will be notified". To use the PIN, select Continue. To go back to the keypad, select Cancel.
Need help?
On a computer, select Help Center in the navigation. On a phone, select your picture at the top right, then select Help. Each one opens the MyWatchtower support page. You can also speak to the management office of your community.