Resident: Use Gate Intercom

Resident: use gate intercom

When someone arrives for your flat, the guard calls you in the app. You see who is at the gate and approve or deny entry — from home, from the office, or anywhere with a connection.

Before you start

• Signed in with a claimed flat in your society
• Notifications enabled for Plinth on your phone — this is the one that matters
• A working data or Wi-Fi connection

Taking a call

1. Your phone rings with a notification showing your society, the gate, and the visitor.
2. Tap to answer. You hear the guard, and see video if your gate device has a camera.
3. Approve or Deny.
4. The guard sees your decision and admits or turns the visitor away.

Your decision is recorded against the visitor's entry with a timestamp, so if there is ever a question about who let someone in, there is an answer.

If you cannot answer

You do not have to. What happens next depends on which you do:

• Decline — the guard sees you actively rejected the call and will not keep trying. Use this when you know you do not want the visitor.
• Miss it — the guard falls back: usually a call to the second occupant, then a normal phone call to your registered mobile. If nobody answers at all, most societies hold deliveries at the gate and do not admit unexpected visitors.

Declining and missing are different signals to the gate, so decline deliberately when that is what you mean.

Calls that never arrive

This is the common problem, and it is almost always the phone rather than the app.

1. Check notification permissions. Phone settings → Apps → Plinth → Notifications. Allow them, and allow them to make sound.
2. Check battery optimisation. Many Android phones aggressively suspend background apps. Set Plinth to unrestricted or exempt it from battery optimisation.
3. Check Do Not Disturb and any focus mode, especially in the evening.
4. Check you are still signed in. Sign out and back in if you are unsure.
5. After a phone upgrade or app update, re-check all of the above — permissions often reset.

If calls still fail, tell your committee. A "failed" call shows on their side and they can see the pattern.

If you often cannot use the app

Ask your committee to note your flat for a phone-call fallback. Some residents will not use an app, and that is fine — the gate should call your registered mobile directly rather than trying the app first and losing time.

What this does not do

• It does not open a gate or door by itself. Approving is a decision the guard then acts on.
• It needs a connection. With no data or Wi-Fi you cannot take the call — the guard will fall back to a phone call.

Privacy

Calls are scoped to your society. The guard reaches your flat through the app without holding your personal number. Call metadata — who called, which flat, when, and the outcome — is recorded; the conversation itself is not recorded unless your society has separately enabled it and told you.

Frequently asked questions

Why am I not getting intercom calls? Almost always notification permissions or battery optimisation on your phone. Check both, and re-check after any phone or app update.

What is the difference between declining and just not answering? Declining tells the guard you have made a decision and they stop trying. Not answering makes them fall back to another occupant or a phone call.

Can the guard see my phone number? No. The call goes through the app, which is one of the main reasons to use it.

Does it work if I am not at home? Yes — that is the main benefit. You can approve a courier or turn away a salesman from anywhere with a connection.

Is the call recorded? The record of who called, which flat, when, and the outcome is kept. The audio is not recorded unless your society has enabled that and informed residents.

What if I do not have a smartphone? Ask your committee to mark your flat for a direct phone-call fallback.

Related: Admin: set up gate intercom · How app gate intercom works · Resident: create a visitor pass