Opening a Smartlock Through Your DoorBird Indoor Station

If your property already uses a smartlock system on an interior door, you may not need to rely on a relay-and-strike setup at all. DoorBird indoor stations can be integrated with compatible smartlock systems so that residents can unlock a door directly from the same screen they use to answer video calls. This article covers how that integration generally works and what to check before you set it up.

How smartlock integration works with an indoor station

A DoorBird indoor station is primarily a video and intercom answering unit, but its interface can be extended to show additional controls beyond just "answer" and "unlock the door station's relay." When a smartlock is integrated, the indoor station's screen typically gains an additional control — often shown as its own icon or tile alongside the live video view — that sends an unlock command to the smartlock rather than to the outdoor station's built-in relay.

There are generally two ways this integration gets built, and which one applies to you depends on the smartlock hardware itself:

• Network/API-based integration: the smartlock has its own network connectivity (Wi-Fi, a hub, or a compatible smart-home bridge) and exposes an unlock command that DoorBird's system can call directly. In this setup, the indoor station is talking to the lock over your local network rather than through a physical wire.
• Relay/wired integration: the smartlock (or its associated lock controller) accepts a dry-contact trigger, similar to an electric strike. In this case, the "smartlock" is being triggered exactly like any other relay-driven device, and the concepts in our article on relay and input configuration apply directly — you're just wiring the DoorBird relay to the lock's trigger input instead of to a strike.

Before you start, confirm which category your smartlock falls into. It changes both the wiring (or lack of wiring) and where you'll go to configure the connection.

Setting up the connection

The exact steps depend on your smartlock's manufacturer, but the general sequence looks like this:

1. Confirm compatibility. Check that your smartlock model is supported for direct integration with your DoorBird indoor station and firmware version. If it isn't on the supported list, a relay/wired connection is usually still possible as a fallback, since it doesn't depend on the lock's own network features.
2. Connect the smartlock to your network (for API-based locks). Follow the smartlock manufacturer's own setup process to get it online and connected to your local network or hub first — DoorBird integrates with an already-working smartlock, it doesn't replace the lock's own setup process.
3. Add the smartlock in the DoorBird administration settings. From the indoor station's admin area (or the associated app admin panel), look for an integration or "connected devices" section where you can add the smartlock and authorize the connection between the two systems.
4. Assign it to the indoor station's interface. Once connected, the smartlock control needs to be associated with the specific indoor station(s) that should display it, so residents see an unlock option for the correct door.
5. Set user permissions. Just like a relay, decide which app users and indoor stations are allowed to trigger the smartlock remotely, and whether that access differs from who can trigger the outdoor station's own relay.
6. Test the full cycle. Confirm the lock responds promptly from the indoor station, that the video call and the lock control don't interfere with each other, and that the lock's own battery/connectivity status is something you can monitor going forward.

Things to keep in mind

• Battery-powered smartlocks need monitoring. Unlike a wired strike, most smartlocks run on batteries. Build a habit of checking battery status periodically, since a dead lock battery affects both the smartlock's own app and its DoorBird integration.
• Network dependency. An API-based smartlock integration depends on your local network and, in many cases, the smartlock's own cloud service being reachable. If either goes down, the smartlock control on the indoor station may be unavailable even though the door station's camera and calling still work normally.
• Don't assume interchangeable behavior with a relay. A relay-triggered strike is typically a simple momentary pulse. A smartlock may have its own auto-relock timing, jammed-bolt detection, or manual-override behavior that's independent of DoorBird's settings — check the lock's own documentation for how it behaves after receiving an unlock command.

Still need help? Submit a support ticket and our team can help confirm whether your smartlock model supports direct integration or should be wired in as a standard relay trigger.