Smart entry is keyless access to a storage site: instead of a key or a shared code, your own phone (or a fob issued to you) opens the gates, the building doors and, where the system covers it, your unit's lock. It's also called keyless entry. Because each person has their own credential, the system can record who opened what, and access can be given or taken away without changing any locks.
At Wigwam
Our FAQ on moving in says: "Once you have booked your unit online you can enter the facility and your unit using just your mobile phone." Before your move-in date we text you instructions for setting it up. At sites whose page describes smart entry, it works like this:
- it opens the gate and the building doors;
- at your unit you touch the light on the lock to wake it (it turns green), unlock from your phone and slide the latch, and your unit's alarm turns off;
- sliding the latch back locks the door and sets the alarm again.
The locks respond to a Bluetooth signal from your phone. If you don't have a smartphone, we can supply a fob instead: tell us when you book, and ask whether a fob opens your unit as well as the gate. Because your phone is your key, a flat battery can stop you at the gate. Phone help is in office hours (normally Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm; check your site's page, as Bath's and Dorking's differ), so for early, late or Sunday visits charge your phone before you go, or carry a fob if you have one. We don't publish whether smart entry needs a phone signal at the door; ask us when you book. If it won't let you in, see what to do if smart entry won't open the gate.
Chipping Norton works differently. There you choose a security PIN when you book, which lets you through the doors, and you bring or buy your own padlock for the unit.
Smart entry, access PIN, gate access
Smart entry is the system that lets you in. An access PIN is a code you know and type in, rather than a phone or fob you carry. Gate access is simply getting onto the site, which smart entry is one way of doing. Whichever you use, you can get in only during access hours: normally 6am to 10pm, so check your site's page. Cheltenham's published hours conflict, so check them with that site.
Related terms: Access PIN · Gate access · Access log · Unit access hours
Related questions: What if smart entry won't open the gate, or my phone dies? · How do I move into my unit?