Overview
Portal can let your team know the first time a key is used. When a key opens a door for the first time, a notification appears in the bell on the Portal Dashboard. Your team can see that a guest has arrived, or that a new key works, without keeping the live dashboard open.
This works for guest and staff keys alike.
Turning on first unlock notifications
Only Owners and General Managers can change this setting.
Go to Settings and select Customization.
Open the Notifications tab.
In the Staff group, find the First Unlock section.
Turn on Notify on first unlock. It's off by default.
Choose which doors count:
Any door (default): the first unlock of any door sends a notification.
Guest room doors: only the first unlock of a private room, shared room, or capsule sends a notification. Unlocking the main entrance first doesn't count.
The door choice is dimmed and can't be changed while the switch is off. If saving fails, the switch flips back and an error is shown. Simply try again.
Good to know: Customization now has four tabs: Keys, Reservations, Notifications and Time and Security. All your existing settings are still there and work as before. System notifications aren't listed on the Notifications tab and keep working as today.
What the notification looks like
A first unlock adds a card to the Keys section of the bell, within seconds of Portal receiving the unlock. The card shows:
First Unlock: followed by the key holder's name
How the door was opened, for example Opened Room 12 with a doorcode, with a smart key, with a keycard, or Opened Room 12 remotely
For staff keys: with a staff doorcode, or remotely with a staff key
The unlock time, in your property's timezone
The time is shown as a relative time today (for example "2 hours ago"), as "Yesterday 3:12 PM", as the weekday and time for 2 to 6 days ago (for example "Mon 3:12 PM"), and as the full date from 7 days ago.
Every staff member with dashboard access sees these notifications. Click a card to open the key. Click outside the key's panel to close it.
Bell sections
The bell now groups notifications into Devices, Apps and Keys. Each section has its own count and a Mark as read option. Mark all as read clears every section at once.
When a notification is sent
Once per key. Only the key's first unlock sends a notification. Later unlocks, and unlocks of other doors, don't.
Every unlock method counts: Smart Key over Bluetooth, doorcode, keycard, and remote unlock by a connected partner app.
Shared keys: if someone the key is shared with makes the first unlock, it still counts, and the card names the key holder, the same as the access log.
The key must still be active when Portal receives the unlock.
These never send a notification:
Failed unlock attempts
The master doorcode
A physical key
Passage mode
Timing depends on the lock being online. Portal only knows about an unlock once the lock reports it. A lock behind an online gateway reports within a few seconds. If the lock is offline, the notification arrives when the lock is back online, and the card shows the real unlock time.
First unlock on the key details
The Key Details page shows a First unlock badge next to the credentials, with the key's earliest first unlock. Hover over the badge to see the door, the unlock method and the exact time.
The badge is always shown, even when Notify on first unlock is off.
For partner apps
If your property is connected to a partner app, the partner can subscribe to the Keychain Door First Unlocked webhook event in the Developer Hub. The partner then receives an event for each door a person unlocks for the first time, whatever door choice you set in Customization, and even when the bell notification is off.
Partners that aren't subscribed, or aren't connected to your property, receive nothing.
FAQs
A guest opened their door but no notification appeared. Why?
Check that Notify on first unlock is on. If you chose Guest room doors, only room doors count, not the main entrance. The lock may also be offline, in which case the notification arrives once it's back online. Finally, the key must have been active when Portal received the unlock.
The key was revoked before the lock came back online. What happens?
The first unlock is still recorded and shown on the key details, but no bell notification is sent.
What about keys created before this feature?
Keys that were already in use send one notification on their next unlock.
I switched to Guest room doors after a guest already opened the main entrance. Will I still be notified?
Yes. Their next room-door unlock sends the notification.
Do I get a notification on the Portal Staff App?
Not yet. Notifications appear in the bell on the Portal Dashboard.
Who can change this setting?
Owners and General Managers. Team, Housekeeping and Installer roles can't change it, but everyone with dashboard access sees the notifications.