FAQ

Questions and answers

For boards deciding, for the manager running it, and for residents using it.

For boards and community managers

What problem does this solve?
Every PIN reset, plate change and fob pairing today is a phone call or an email to the manager, then someone logging in to the UniFi console. The portal lets residents do those things themselves, safely, while the manager keeps full visibility and the final say.
Do we have to replace our gate hardware?
No. If your gate runs on UniFi Access, the portal connects to what you already have. If it runs on something else, the portal cannot connect to it; see the requirements page.
Does the portal ever open the gate?
No. The API token we ask for has no door-unlock scope, so the portal cannot open a gate even if someone wanted it to. It only manages credentials and people.
Can residents give themselves access they should not have?
A resident can only act on their own user record and, for household features, on their own address group. Gate access itself is granted by the access policy on the address group, which only the manager and the console control. A resident cannot create a user outside their address, assign a card that belongs to someone else, or change anyone else's PIN.
How do we remove someone who moved out?
The community manager opens the address, disables the person, and removes them. The portal disables the Access user, detaches them from the intercom entry and deletes the user, and records who did it. Residents cannot remove other people; that always goes through the manager.
We have several gates on separate consoles. Does that work?
Yes. Each console is a “gate” in the portal and a resident who exists on more than one sees all of them under one login. Vendor PINs can be set at every gate of the community at once.
We manage several communities. Can one person run them all?
Yes. A community manager can be added to any number of communities and switches between them inside the management console. Residents of one community never see another.
Where does the data live and who can see it?
On a server we run in Google Cloud in the United States, in a database that holds the directory copy (names, emails, address group, what credentials exist), the audit log and encrypted console tokens. PIN values and card secrets are never stored. Platform administrators at My Community Gates can see every community for support; community managers see only their own.
What happens if the portal is down?
The gate keeps working exactly as before: every credential lives on your console, not with us. Residents simply cannot make changes until the portal is back, and the manager can always use the UniFi console directly.
How long does setup take?
Usually under an hour per console, and the manager can do it alone: create the API token on the console, run the portal's connect wizard, import the file it gives you into the gateway's UniFi Network app, and watch the tunnel show connected. Then import your resident list from a four-column spreadsheet (address, email, first name, last name) and the portal creates every address and person on the console. Communities are typically live for residents within a week.

For residents

I never got a sign-in code.
Check your spam or junk folder first. If nothing arrives, the email you typed may not be the one your community manager has on file for you; contact your community manager and ask them to check or update it.
Why is there no password?
A password is one more thing to forget and one more thing to steal. Each time you sign in we email a fresh 6-digit code that works for ten minutes, to the address your community already has for you.
I set a PIN but the gate does not accept it.
Wait a minute: the console takes a moment to send new credentials to the reader. If it still fails, make sure you are typing the personal PIN you set, not the shared visitor PIN, and that your account shows as Active on the portal.
Can I see my PIN again later?
No. For your security the console only stores a hash of it, so neither the portal nor the manager can read it back. If you forget it, set a new one; it takes a few seconds.
My card or tag will not pair.
Cards, fobs and remotes pair live: the portal has to be listening while you hold the card flat on the reader or press the remote once. Toll-tag style transponders are different: drive up as usual, then claim the read the portal shows. If your gate page has no “Add an EZ TAG, remote or card” button, self-enrollment is switched off at your community.
Can I add my partner or my adult child?
Yes, if your account is linked to your address. Use “Add someone who lives with me”; they get their own invitation and can set their own PIN and plates. To remove someone, contact your community manager.

Security

How is the connection to our console secured?
Through a WireGuard tunnel your UniFi gateway opens to our server, so the console is never exposed to the internet and nothing is forwarded or opened at your site. Each tunnel has its own keys, generated for your console alone. On top of that, the portal pins your console's TLS certificate the first time it connects and refuses to talk to anything presenting a different one.
How are staff accounts protected?
Managers and administrators sign in with the emailed code and then a passkey (Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello or a security key) registered on their own device. Staff sessions expire after eight hours.
What is in the audit log?
Every sign-in and every change: who, when, at which gate, what action, and whether it succeeded. Never a PIN, a card secret or a sign-in code. Community managers see their own community's log; it is kept for two years.
What if our API token leaks?
Revoke it on the console and paste a new one into the portal. The leaked token cannot open doors or change policies, because it was never granted those scopes.

Still have a question?

Email hello@mycommunitygates.com or tell us about your community.

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