Triggering a Gate or Lock from a Button, Keypad, or Timer Schedule

Not every gate or lock trigger has to come from someone answering a call in the app. DoorBird relays can also be fired directly by a physical button, keypad code, or RFID credential at the door, or automatically on a recurring schedule. This article covers both approaches — when to use each one, and the general concepts behind setting them up.

Triggering a relay directly from a hardware button

A DoorBird call button, keypad, or RFID reader doesn't have to just ring the app — it can be configured to fire a relay output directly, without a resident ever needing to answer a call. This is the setup you want for situations like:

• A staff or delivery entrance where authorized people should be able to let themselves in with a code or fob
• A dedicated "open gate" button at a property's vehicle entrance
• A keypad at a shared amenity (gym, mailroom, pool gate) that unlocks on a valid code without involving a live call

The general configuration pattern is the same across DoorBird's keypad, RFID, and call-button hardware: in the device's administration settings, each button, credential, or code gets an action assigned to it, and one of the available actions is "trigger relay X" rather than "start a call." Where the hardware supports multiple codes or credentials (as with a keypad or RFID reader), you can typically map different codes to different relays — for example, one code opens the pedestrian gate and a separate code opens the vehicle gate.

A few things worth confirming while you set this up:

• Impulse length still applies. The relay's configured trigger duration (see our article on relay basics) is what fires, regardless of whether the app, a schedule, or a hardware button caused the trigger.
• Codes and credentials can usually be managed per user. If staff turnover is frequent, look for the option to revoke or reissue an individual code/fob rather than resetting a shared master code that everyone uses.
• Decide whether the button should also send a notification. Some installations want a log entry or snapshot every time the side door is used this way, even though no one answered a call; check whether your device logs hardware-triggered relay events alongside call events.

Automated timer schedules for relays and access

The second way to trigger a relay without a live interaction is on a timer. This is the right tool when access should follow a predictable pattern rather than an individual action — for example:

• Unlocking a main entrance automatically during business hours and re-locking it after close
• Opening a gate every weekday morning for a scheduled service (trash collection, deliveries) and leaving it locked the rest of the time
• Disabling a relay's remote-trigger permissions overnight, even if the hardware button remains active for authorized codes

To set up a schedule, you're generally defining a recurring rule against a specific relay: which days of the week it applies to, a start time, and an end time (or, for a momentary action rather than a held-open window, just a single trigger time). Most implementations let you create several independent schedules per relay, so you can, for instance, run a shorter unlock window on weekends than on weekdays.

A few practical notes on scheduling relays:

• Held-open vs. momentary. Understand whether your schedule is holding the relay continuously closed for the whole window (common for "unlocked during business hours" setups on a strike wired to fail-secure hardware) versus firing a single momentary pulse at a set time. These behave very differently on a gate operator, so confirm which mode you're configuring.
• Time zone and daylight saving. Double check the device's configured time zone after any schedule change, especially right around a daylight-saving transition, so an "8:00 AM unlock" doesn't drift by an hour.
• Fail-safe considerations. If a schedule holds a door unlocked, make sure that's the intended fail state for that door from a life-safety and security standpoint — this is a physical security decision as much as a configuration one.
• Combine with permissions, not instead of them. A schedule that unlocks a relay during the day doesn't need to also open up remote app access to everyone; keep the two controls separate so you're not left more exposed than intended outside the scheduled window.

Between hardware-triggered access and scheduled access, most properties end up using a mix of both: a schedule for predictable daily patterns, and individual codes or credentials for anything that needs to work outside that pattern or be tied to a specific person.

Still need help? Submit a support ticket and our team can help you configure the right combination of button triggers and schedules for your property.