Emergency keys in Homelok

Overview

Emergency keys are a special type of physical key that can only be created by installation owners. These keys override any standard access restrictions and are intended to comply with safety regulations. For example, fire safety regulations in some countries require providing unconditional access to emergency responders.

These keys are intended for specific emergency situations and not as a workaround for the security restrictions of standard keys.

You create emergency keys in the 'Settings' > 'Danger zone' section of Homelok

Creating emergency keys

You assign emergency keys using the auto-assignment process which is explained in more detail in the section on assigning keys to users. That's to say, you add a physical key's UID. No card key encoding is required. The main difference with emergency keys is that you manage them from the Settings > Danger zone section of Homelok, rather than from the individual user profiles.

You should ensure that the emergency key is identifiable by a distinguishable display name, for example, "Fire department" or "Master key".

Emergency keys have unconditional access to doors in the installation

You must also enter the UID or serial number printed on the keycard in the UID field. Note that once you enter the UID, you cannot edit it at a later date.

Emergency keys never expire, however you can delete them.

A warning pop-up is displayed before creating an emergency key, informing you about the security implications.

Deleting emergency keys

You can delete emergency keys from the list view in the Emergency keys section. A warning pop-up is displayed before deleting an emergency key, informing you about the security implications.

In the same way as when you create the emergency key, affected doors will display an Update required status.

• Online doors will update automatically via the cloud.
• Offline doors need to be updated via the Nebula app.

You should check which doors require an update using the Update required filter in the Devices section of Homelok after you have deleted the emergency key.

It is essential to update affected doors after deleting an emergency key to maintain proper security.

Emergency key events

The following emergency key events are reported in the Activity section of Homelok:

• Emergency key created
• Emergency key updated (for example, the name of the key is changed)
• Emergency key deleted
• Emergency key unlocked a door

See also the section on activity for more details.