The code is right but the lock won't open

The customer has a code on their booking page, types it in, and nothing happens. Or the lock blinks red and beeps, or a box station door never opens. This guide is for that case: the code exists, but the lock doesn't open with it.

If the customer has no code at all, use the guide Customer has no PIN code instead.

If someone is waiting at the lock right now, go straight to Get the customer in now further down, and do the checks afterwards.

First: right code, right lock, right time?

Open the booking in Bookings and compare it with what the customer tells you:

The lock. The Lock column on each line of Order lines shows the lock number. On the customer's page each code is shown with Lock: and the same number. Is the customer standing at that lock?
The code. The Pin Code column shows the code Rentalbuddy got from Igloohome. Is it the code the customer is typing? A booking with several items has one code per lock. The codes are not interchangeable. The customer's page shows each code in groups of three digits (for example 393 232 336) so it is easier to read off a phone. The spaces are not part of the code: the customer types the digits only. On a phone, while the customer scrolls through a return checklist, a small strip with the code stays at the top of the return page.
The time. When does the booking start and end? An Igloohome code only works inside its time window (see Too early or too late).

Most "the code doesn't work" calls end at one of these three.

What Rentalbuddy can and can't tell you

Rentalbuddy creates the code and shows it to the customer. It doesn't see the lock open. Keep this in mind when you read the booking:

A code in Pin Code means Igloohome issued a code for that lock and that time. Igloohome works out the code without contacting the padlock, so it doesn't prove the lock is charged, paired or working.
Picked up is set when the customer opens their booking page between 15 minutes before the start and 30 minutes after the end. The booking's Change log then shows Booking checked in by: Customer via Unlock page. It means the customer saw their codes, not that the lock opened.
Your product has been unlocked on the customer's page of a box station (Allockate unit or Gokaya 8E) appears once the open command was sent. It doesn't confirm that the door physically opened.
Battery level: for an Igloo padlock, the lock's Edit dialog has Igloo sync metadata with what Igloohome reported at the Last synced time. It is a snapshot, not a live reading. Without an Igloohome bridge, a padlock doesn't report anything in between.
Online / Offline on a box station or Allockate unit: the chip on the unit's table on the Locks tab says whether Rentalbuddy can reach the unit (see Box stations and Allockate units that don't open).

So when a customer says the lock won't open, trust the customer, and use the checks below.

The customer is at the wrong lock

The customer's page shows Lock: with the lock's Locker number. That number must match the sticker on the physical lock. Igloo locks that were synced arrive with their Igloohome name as the locker number until you change it. If you never changed it to your sticker number, customers may look for a lock that doesn't exist.
With several kayaks or lockers, the customer must match each code to its own lock.
Codes for storage locks and access points (a gate, a container) are listed separately, with the storage lock's name. They open that door, not the rental lock.

To check the number, open the location's Locks tab and look at Locker number in the lock's row. Change it with the row's Edit action. See the guide Add and manage your locks on the Locks tab.

Too early or too late for the lock

An Igloohome code only works inside its window:

From: one hour before the start if the booking starts on the full hour, otherwise from the full hour the booking starts in.
Until: the full hour after the booking ends, or one hour more if the booking started later than 45 minutes past the hour.
Example: a booking 11:00–12:30 gets a code that works from 10:00 to 13:00.

So a customer who arrives an hour and a half early, or comes back late to lock up, can have a correct code that the lock refuses. The customer's own page shows the code from 15 minutes before the start until 30 minutes after the end. Bookings longer than 28 days get a day-based code whose window ends a little later (see the guide Customer has no PIN code).

Too early: ask them to wait until the window opens, or give them the master code (see Get the customer in now).
Too late: the code has expired in the lock. If they need more time, they can extend the booking on their page with Extend booking while the page still works, if you have that button switched on. Otherwise give them access yourself.

The windows are counted in the location's time zone (Location settings tab, Language & Timezone, Timezone). If that is set wrong, every code window is off by the difference, and codes work too early or too late.

The code was made before the lock changed

A code belongs to the physical lock it was made for. If the lock changed after the code was created, the code no longer matches:

the lock was reset or paired again in the Igloohome app,
the booking's unit was physically swapped for another lock without using Replace lock.

Create a new code by moving the booking to another lock and back: press Edit Lock on the booking and pick another free lock in the Lock column, then the original one again. Within about 14 hours of the start that creates a new code straight away. The full steps are in the guide Customer has no PIN code.

To swap hardware properly, use Replace lock on the Locks tab and keep the option to move the upcoming bookings ticked. The moved bookings get new codes for the spare.

Wrong codes typed several times: the keypad locks itself

After several wrong codes in a row, an Igloohome lock blocks its keypad for a while as protection. It beeps or blinks and ignores even the right code during that time. How long depends on the lock model (Igloohome's help has the details for yours).

Ask the customer to stop, wait a short while, and then enter the code once, carefully.
Make sure they type the code for their lock (see The customer is at the wrong lock).
If the waiting pushes them past the end of the code window, the code won't work afterwards either. Give them access yourself.

How a code is entered differs between lock models. Put the steps for your model in the message on the customer's unlock page: Customer flow, step Unlock (PIN + Pickup instructions), Message.

Battery, charging and lights on Igloohome locks

Rentalbuddy can't see a lock's battery live. These are the signs an Igloohome lock gives:

A red light blinking 1-2-3 while the lock is on the charger is normal. That is charging, not a fault.
A lock that looks completely dead may be asleep. A padlock that sat unpaired and off the charger goes into a deep sleep. Put it on the charger.
A lock that only works while it is on the charger points to a battery problem. Take it out of service and ask Igloohome or your supplier.
A constant blue light on an older padlock is a hardware fault that can't be fixed on site. It is handled as a warranty replacement.
Flat battery at the lock: Igloohome locks can usually be powered from outside to enter a code. See Igloohome's help for how this works on your model.

Charge your locks before the season and regularly during it. Rentalbuddy doesn't track charging for you. How often depends on the lock and on how often it is used. Ask Igloohome for your model.

Water, broken keys, a stuck shackle or a lock that won't lock again

Things support sees every season, all on the hardware side:

A lock that stops working after rain or being submerged.
One digit on the keypad that no longer reacts, so one code works and another doesn't.
A shackle that is stuck, or a lock that opens but won't lock again.

None of this shows in Rentalbuddy. Take the lock out of service (see below), and contact Igloohome or your supplier about repair or warranty.

Box stations and Allockate units that don't open

For a box station the customer doesn't type a code. They press Unlock product on their booking page, which works from 15 minutes before the start to 30 minutes after the end. A booking whose online payment didn't go through (payment status Pending, Expired or Failed) gets no unlock, so the customer can't open the door from their page.

Allockate unit: on the location's Locks tab, the unit's table shows an Online or Offline chip for each device (hover Offline for "Last contact: …") and a Status per door. If it says Offline, the unit can't receive the open command. Check its power and internet connection, and contact Allockate or support. While it is online you can open a door yourself with the open button in the door's row (Command sent successfully). A door added while the unit was offline can't be opened until the unit has connected ("Some doors are waiting for their unit to come online.").
Gokaya 8E station: the station's Locks table shows a status chip: Online, No signal (not heard from in the last 15 minutes, or never connected, but not confirmed offline) or Offline (confirmed by Rentalbuddy's checks). Hover it for the last contact. If it isn't Online, check the station's power and SIM card first. Open and Open all in the station's Locks table send an open request, but can't confirm that the door opened.

The open buttons on the Locks tab (the Allockate door buttons, and Open and Open all for a Gokaya 8E station) are only shown to users who can manage locks. Account viewers and Booking staff don't see them.

Rentalbuddy checks every box station and Allockate unit every hour, and checks a unit that looks offline again within the hour. After three offline readings in a row, a unit whose locks can be booked is shown in red: a banner on the Locks tab ("… has been offline since … Customers can't open its locks."), a red Locks tab mark, and Lock units offline on Home. If a booking on it starts within 12 hours, your Account Contact E-mail addresses get an email too. The notice clears by itself once the unit reports again.

If the customer's page shows An error has appeared, the open command failed. Ask them to try again, and open the door for them if you can.

Manual locks: the code is the master PIN

A manual lock has no electronics. Every booking on it gets the lock's Master PIN from Rentalbuddy.

If the code doesn't open the lock, the code on the physical lock and the Master PIN in Rentalbuddy probably don't match (someone changed one of them). Open the location's Locks tab, use Show Master PIN in the Manual locks table, and compare it with the lock. When you change it, change both at the same time. Customers' pages show the new code straight away.

The customer's page shows a master PIN in groups of three too, so 1234 appears as 123 4. It only shows digits and capital letters: other characters in a master PIN (such as # or lowercase letters) are left out on the customer's page. Use master PINs made of digits so customers see the whole code.

Get the customer in now

Deal with the cause later. Ways to let a waiting customer in:

Igloohome lock: give the lock's master code from the Igloohome app. Rentalbuddy doesn't store it: "Master PINs are managed in the Igloohome app, not in Rentalbuddy. You can find them for each lock under Home → select lock → Access → Master PIN Code." If you or a colleague is at the lock, the Igloohome app can usually open a paired lock over Bluetooth. That is Igloohome's side, see their help.
Code exists but the customer is at the wrong lock: read the right lock number from the Lock column and the code from Pin Code on the booking.
Another free unit is available: move the booking to it. Press Edit Lock on the booking and pick the other lock (only free locks with the same product that are switched on are offered). The customer's page shows the new lock and its code, and Code updated if the page is open.
Manual lock or manual storage lock: Show Master PIN on the location's Locks tab.
Allockate unit: the open button in the door's row on the Locks tab.
Gokaya 8E station: Open in the station's Locks table.

Without permission to manage locks, the Allockate and Gokaya 8E open buttons are hidden. Booking staff can still move the booking with Edit Lock, and everyone who can open the Locks tab sees Show Master PIN.

A master code opens the lock at any time, not just during the booking. Treat it as staff information and change it afterwards if you have handed it out.

Take the lock out of service and move its bookings

If the lock is broken, stop new customers from booking it, then deal with the bookings already on it.

Go to Locations, open the location and open the Locks tab.
Switch the lock off in the Active status column. The dialog Deactivate lock says "This lock will no longer be available for new bookings. Bookings already on it keep their access codes unless you move them."
If it has bookings you also see how many ("2 upcoming bookings are still on this lock.") with Open booking management.
Confirm with Deactivate (Lock deactivated).
Move the upcoming bookings to other locks with the same product: drag them to another lock row in Booking Management, or use Edit Lock on each booking. Each moved booking gets a code for its new lock. If no other lock is free, contact those customers.

Have a spare? Use Replace lock on the broken lock instead. The spare takes over its product and, if you keep the option ticked, its upcoming bookings. Your number of active locks stays the same.

A lock with upcoming bookings can't be deleted: move its bookings first, or keep it switched off. Details on switching off, replacing and deleting locks are in the guide Add and manage your locks on the Locks tab.

When to contact support or Igloohome

Igloohome or your supplier: anything physical (lights, battery, water damage, broken keys, stuck shackle, warranty replacement).
Rentalbuddy support: the code on the booking doesn't match what the customer sees, several locks fail at once, or a box station is offline. Send the booking number, the location and the lock number, and say what you already checked.

Common questions

The customer typed the right code but the lock just blinks red and beeps. What now? They may be too early or too late for the code window, at the wrong lock, or the keypad has locked itself after several wrong codes. Check the lock number and times on the booking, let them wait a moment and try once, or give them the master code.

The code on the page has spaces in it. Does the customer type them? No. The page shows the code in groups of three digits (393 232 336) to make it easier to read. The customer types the digits only.

The booking says Picked up. Doesn't that mean the lock opened? No. Picked up means the customer opened their booking page in time and saw their codes. Rentalbuddy can't see the lock itself.

Why does the code work at 10:00 but not at 9:30 for a 10:30 booking? An Igloohome code works from the full hour the booking starts in (an hour earlier only when the booking starts on the full hour). A 10:30 booking's code works from 10:00.

The customer came back late and can't lock the padlock with the code any more. The code stopped at the full hour after the booking's end. Give them the master code, or let them extend on their page while it still works.

Can I see the battery level of my locks? Only as a snapshot, for Igloo padlocks: open the lock with Edit and expand Igloo sync metadata. It shows what Igloohome reported at the last sync.

How do I block a broken lock so nobody books it? Switch it off in the Active status column on the Locks tab and confirm Deactivate. Then move its upcoming bookings to other locks.

The box station says unlocked but the door didn't open. The page shows that once the open command was sent. Check the unit's status chip on the Locks tab (Online, No signal or Offline). For a Gokaya 8E station, then check power and SIM card, and use Open in the admin.

I can't see the Open button for the box station. Why? The open buttons for Gokaya 8E stations and Allockate units are only shown to users who can manage locks. Account viewers and Booking staff don't see them, so ask a colleague with that permission, such as the account owner.

Home says Lock units offline. What do I do? Rentalbuddy can't reach that box station or Allockate unit, so customers can't open its locks. Check that the unit has power and a network connection; the notice clears by itself once the unit reports again. If you switched it off for the season, switch its locks off too.

Does the master code from Rentalbuddy open an Igloo lock? Rentalbuddy doesn't store master codes for Igloo locks. Find them in the Igloohome app under Home → select lock → Access → Master PIN Code.