See who is at the door — and decide who comes in.

A video doorbell, or a full intercom?

These two things look similar from the sidewalk, but they solve different problems.

A video doorbell sits at a front door the way a regular doorbell does. Someone rings, you see and speak with them on your phone, and you can often unlock a connected lock. It is a good fit for a single family entry. In a UniFi Protect system, for example, doorbells such as the G4 Doorbell Pro and the Doorbell Lite give you two-way audio and a live view in the Protect app. Example locks, intercoms, and readers are on our access control equipment page. Camera choices around the rest of the house are on our equipment page.

A full video intercom is built for an entry that needs more than a doorbell: a street gate, a side door, a building lobby, or a property with more than one home or unit. Typical pieces are:

• An outdoor door or gate station with a camera, a call button, and often a directory, keypad, or card reader.
• Indoor monitors on the wall or a desk, so you can answer without grabbing a phone.
• The ability to answer on your phone when you are in the yard, in another building, or away from home.

If you are pre-wiring a new build or a remodel, it helps to plan cable paths to the gate and door stations early. That work is described on our pre-wiring page.

Ways to let the right people in

We match the method to the door and to the people who use it. A household, a cleaner, a contractor, and a tenant over the garage do not all need the same kind of key.

• Keypad and PIN codes. A code at the door or gate. Useful for family members who do not want to carry a fob, and for guests when you want the code to expire.
• Smart locks. A lock on the door itself, often with a keypad and a phone app. Well-known residential examples include Schlage Encode Plus, which can use keypad codes and Apple Home Key, and Level Lock Pro, which can unlock with a phone, Apple Home Key, or an optional keypad for guest codes. Temporary or scheduled codes are set in the lock’s app.
• Fobs and cards. A tap at the reader. Easy to hand out, easy to turn off if one is lost, and familiar for a small multi-unit property.
• Mobile credentials. Unlock with a phone, and on some systems with a wallet key or a similar tap-to-unlock feature. We confirm what your phones actually support before we count on it.
• Gate and garage control. A video station or reader at the driveway, wired to the gate operator or garage, so you can see who is there and open it from a monitor or your phone. Gate operators themselves are often already on site; we connect to them rather than replacing a working motor.
• Temporary guest or contractor codes. A code or mobile pass that works only for the days or hours you set, then stops working on its own.
• Entry logs. A record of who unlocked a door or gate, and when. Helpful when you want a quiet history, not just a live view.

How this ties into cameras and the rest of the home

The intercom camera is one view among several. We aim it so you can recognize a visitor, and we place nearby security cameras to cover the approach, the driveway, or the side yard. On a UniFi system, Access intercoms and readers can be paired with Protect cameras so a door unlock can be reviewed alongside the video. Audio settings still deserve care; our California camera rules guide covers that in plain language.

Smart locks and some intercoms can also join a household’s existing phone app or a smart-home setup, so locking up at night or checking a door is in the same place you already look. We only connect what you want connected, and we set the accounts up in your name.

Privacy and control

You should know who can open a door, who can see a live view, and where those records live. We prefer systems you control, with administrator access in your name — not a login that stays with the installer.

Where the platform can run on equipment in your home, we can keep door events and related video on-site. That is how a UniFi console already used for cameras and Wi-Fi can also host Access and Protect. Other lines use their own app, and some offer an optional cloud service. We will walk through what is stored locally and what, if anything, leaves the house, before we finish the handoff.

Example product lines we work with

These are examples to discuss on a walkthrough, not a storefront. The right choice depends on the entry, the wiring, and whether you already have cameras or a network in place. See example models, photos, and specifications on our access control equipment page. No prices are listed here.

• UniFi Access and UniFi Protect. Protect doorbells cover a typical front door. For a gate, a directory, PIN, cards, or phone credentials, UniFi Access intercoms (including the G3 Intercom) connect over PoE to an Access hub, work with indoor Intercom Viewers, and can be used alongside Protect cameras. A Gate Access kit is part of that same line.
• 2N. 2N IP intercoms are a long-standing option for homes and larger properties. They can include a door station and indoor monitors, make SIP calls (including directly, without a phone server, on smaller jobs), and support mobile access through the My2N app.
• Akuvox. SIP video intercoms with PoE, indoor monitors, and PIN or card entry. The SmartPlus app lets residents see and talk to visitors, open doors, and issue virtual keys.
• DoorBird. IP video door stations for single-family homes and multi-unit buildings. The DoorBird app lets you see, hear, and speak with visitors and control doors or gates. Stations can be powered by PoE, and access options such as PIN or RFID depend on the model.
• Residential smart locks. Schlage and Level, described above, when the need is a lock on the door rather than a full gate or lobby station. Other locks can be a fit; we will confirm compatibility before recommending one.

Product names and features are taken from the manufacturers’ public pages, reviewed November 2026. Hardware revisions change. We confirm the current model and how it will be managed with you before anything is ordered.

What we do

The work follows the same path as our other low-voltage jobs, described on How it works:

• We walk the property and look at every entry that matters: front door, side gate, driveway gate, garage, ADU, or lobby.
• We check wiring and power, including PoE runs for door stations and readers, and we plan new cable where it is needed.
• We install the stations, monitors, locks, and readers neatly, and we connect them to the gate operator or door hardware you already have when that is the right path.
• We set up users, codes, cards, and mobile access with you, including temporary guest or contractor access when you want it.
• We test each door and gate with you, show you the app and the logs, and leave the administrator account in your name.

If you also want cameras or the network closet to stay up during an outage, see our page on keeping cameras recording when the power goes out.

A few common questions