Geofence and visitor sign-in

A QR code can be photographed and shared. Most of the time that does not matter, but if someone starts ringing you as a joke from across town, two settings stop it: a geofence, which only accepts rings from near the door, and visitor sign-in, which only accepts rings from people signed in to an account.

Which plans include them

For a single doorbell, both settings come with Pro, Premium and Enterprise. For buildings and complexes they are separate features, counted per group: up to 3 groups on Premium and unlimited groups on Enterprise.

Setting a geofence on a doorbell

1. Open the doorbell’s settings and turn on the geofence.
2. Tap the map to set where the doorbell is. The map images come from the OpenStreetMap Foundation, which receives your IP address and the area shown.
3. Choose the radius: anything from 10 to 5,000 metres.
4. Save. From now on a visitor’s browser asks for their location, and the ring only goes through if they are inside the area.

Pick a radius that includes the street in front of the door and allows for GPS error, which can be tens of metres indoors. Too small, and a real visitor standing at the gate may be refused.

Types that cannot have one

A vehicle, a pet or an item is never in one place, so these three types cannot use a geofence: the app explains that something that moves cannot require a location, and the server refuses to switch it on.

Requiring visitors to sign in

With “Require sign-in” on, the visitor must sign in before ringing. A signed-in visitor is easier to block for good, and pranks drop sharply when people cannot ring anonymously. The trade-off is a slower ring for genuine visitors, so it suits offices and buildings better than a family home.

Buildings and complexes

A building or a complex can have its own geofence and its own sign-in rule for the entrance QR code. They apply to the top-level group only, and the group radius goes from 10 to 1,000 metres: one entrance, never a whole neighbourhood. Each door inside keeps its own settings.

If visitors cannot ring

• “Location is required to ring this doorbell”: the visitor has to allow location in their browser.
• Rings refused from just outside the gate: make the radius larger.
• The setting is greyed out: check the plan, or the doorbell type.

Combine both settings only where you need them. A front door usually needs neither; a building entrance that faces a busy street often benefits from a geofence.