Kindoo Access Control System

[swigginton]

...Plus we have a couple of people that are non-members that were approved to access our Family Search Center and no one is sure how we give them Kindoo access short of a temp license which is a pain to manage.

It's possible to provide Kindoo access to non-members, but as @russellhltn mentioned, the handbook is clear about meetinghouse access for stake/ward members only. I gave access to a non-member door contractor so they could test Kindoo while adjusting a door. They need to create a church account. The Church website will ask if you are a member when creating your account. You can answer "No" and still proceed. You won't be linked to a ward/stake, but will have credentials to log in to the Church single sign-on when it appears in the Kindoo app. We've since enabled contractor access on all our Kindoo buildings, so this approach is no longer necessary for that specific use case.

[rknelson]

...a temp [Kindoo] license which is a pain to manage.

I'm not sure what would make a temp license a pain to manage. Temporary user access can extend all the way to the year 2099 in the menu, so they could last indefinitely. A temporary license has a starting date and time, and an ending date and time. It consumes a license the moment it is added (even if access isn't granted until a later date). Temporary users are automatically removed at the end date/time and that license then returns to the stake pool of licenses for reuse. It's helpful to give a temporary user a description like "North Pole 99th Ward - TEMP for Suzie Smith reception". That way a Kindoo Manager can easily see all temporary licenses by searching for TEMP.

[martelldansie]

Is there anyway to have the Resource Center door lock on this new system for access to be granted by calling as well?

As a ward council we have talked about this and would love to see it as an option. We would then know who is accessing the resources and more members (with callings) would have access to the Resource Center and not have to wait for Sunday access only.

I also would like to note my disappointment in the fact that we are going away from FOBs. I use FOBs for my Gym and Community Theater access and they all can be programmed to the same FOB for ease of use. But I don't want to have to use an app for this system only - it feels like we are going backwards in the use and implementation of technology. I am sure for those who didn't adopt the FOBs well they probably won't know the difference but for us we will have extreme challenges going forward. And we do have many who don't have smart phones.

[ELHawkes]

Known Smartphone issues

Are there any known issues installing and using the Kindoo app on any particular types-brands-age of smartphones?

What is done to resolve any of the known issues?

[mmacconnell]

Known Smartphone issues

Are there any known issues installing and using the Kindoo app on any particular types-brands-age of smartphones?

What is done to resolve any of the known issues?

We have not had any real issues, on our end. The most common thing is they need to have either their cellular data or a WiFi connection to use it.

Also they need to remember to use the email address showing in Member Tools or LCR for them. I would get some that complained they were being asked to supply a contractor PIN when trying to open the door. Turns out they were signing into Kindoo using a different email address. When they use the one associated with their Church account it will use the Churches SSO to have you sign into Kindoo and that would resolve the contractor pin issue.

[russellhltn]

I also would like to note my disappointment in the fact that we are going away from FOBs. I use FOBs for my Gym and Community Theater access and they all can be programmed to the same FOB for ease of use. But I don't want to have to use an app for this system only - it feels like we are going backwards in the use and implementation of technology. I am sure for those who didn't adopt the FOBs well they probably won't know the difference but for us we will have extreme challenges going forward. And we do have many who don't have smart phones.

FOBs have many of the same problems as keys. They have to be tracked. They can also be swiped or loaned out inappropriately. During one of the safety briefings we've had, we were told about the wayward child of a released church leader who got their hands on dad's keys and trashed the meetinghouse. Dad still had the keys because no one wanted to take the keys back from the released leader. With the Kindoo system, the son would have to take the phone. And once released, a leader's access is revoked automatically. Given the ongoing cost of Kindoo, I'm sure the leaders weighed the options, but valued the security and linking to one's calling other more common methods.

It may be a step back in user convivence, but a step up in security.

[ELHawkes]

How about email systems, are there any email systems that typically block the Kindoo invites?

What Solutions are there in the event that is a problem?

[BrianEdwards]

Is there anyway to have the Resource Center door lock on this new system for access to be granted by calling as well?

As a ward council we have talked about this and would love to see it as an option. We would then know who is accessing the resources and more members (with callings) would have access to the Resource Center and not have to wait for Sunday access only.

It's not possible at this time. I know there has been discussion in this thread (and others) about interior door access via Kindoo. I think even more important than the Resource Center, is considering how many stray keys there are in existence for any particular clerk's office door! And I'm sure there's plenty of Bishop's office doors that also have lots of unknown keys in unknown places. Kindoo on those doors would definitely provide better security for those areas.

My understanding is that those in charge know that this would be a useful feature, but that given the current economics (and other factors), it seems unlikely to be anything that is offered in the near future.

[BrianEdwards]

Question regarding manual removal of members in synced callings, when they are eventually released. As an example, let's say the stake decides all Organists should be automatically synced (I'm not saying it makes sense, just using it for example). And then 6 of the 10 organists in the stake say they don't need access, and so their 6 user licenses are then returned to the general pool. When one of those organists is eventually released and a new one is called, I believe the automatic process will then assign that organist as a Kindoo user, correct? And of course that new organist may or may not want to retain building access.

I think my point is that if a stake is "aggressively" using the sync-and-manually-remove process to both automate things, as well as to try and minimize unused licenses, they need to also be aware that the licenses they manually free up may not always be that way. In my example, if the stake in question was consistently hitting their overall user limit and doing their best to try and spread the licenses around, if all 6 organists without Kindoo access are released, and the new 6 organists all desire Kindoo access, that would throw a wrench into their scheme. Obviously not all six would be released at the same time so the stake would have time to individually react and adjust.

I'm just trying to map out the long-term implications of sync-and-manual-removal, and account for that in the initial planning stages so if a stake is doing a lot of that, they understand they may have to rebalance things as members are released and new ones called.

[rknelson]

How about email systems, are there any email systems that typically block the Kindoo invites?
What Solutions are there in the event that is a problem?

When the Kindoo Manager adds a user an invite is sent. If it is blocked, you can resend the invite and copy yourself on the invite, then forward the invite to the user yourself. This gets around the blocking and spam folder issue. I always send a short email to the users I add (with them all on "BCC") stating: "You should have just received an invitation to install the Kindoo app on your phone. Please follow the instructions in that email and authenticate with your church account login and password. The app uses bluetooth so you need to be near the door to actually open it. You have access to the Stake Center from 5 am to 11 pm, 7 days a week. Phone me if you have any problems."

This lets users understand they are not giving their church account login information to something nefarious.