The Rhōmb website is hosted on a cloud platform, so it will not be affected by an internet outage at your location. However, the door system hardware does rely on an active internet connection to validate purchased credentials.

 

In the event of an internet outage, any previously valid credentials—such as existing membership PIN codes or day passes purchased before the outage—will still work and open the door. However, new purchases made during the outage will not be processed, as the control panel (the "brains" of the system) will go offline without an internet connection.

 

As a result, while customers will still receive their PIN codes and complete their purchase on Rhōmb during this outage, these new codes have not been communicated to the offline control panel. So unfortunately, the PIN codes purchased during this period will not work when customers attempt to use them at the door.

 

That said, in the unlikely event of an internet outage, here are some best practices:

1. Monitor purchases made during the outage. This can be done by reviewing the customer confirmation codes received in your inbox, and then identifying which transactions were affected during the outage. Send all of the customers impacted a follow-up email explaining the situation, and provide them with a backup code that you've pre-generated within the system in case of an event like this. This gives them an alternative access method until the issue is resolved.
2. In some cases, you may have to respond to this event by leaving the door unlocked and manually checking people in until the outage is resolved. Although this is not ideal, it does not happen often because most sites rarely have outages.

 

If the internet at your site is super flakey and unreliable, you can also purchase a cellular panel for the access control system. This functions as a backup in the events of outage. We can include the cellular panel to your subscription fee for an additional $25/month. The panel works with Verizon cellular towers, so if your location is near a Verizon tower, this is great option if you experience frequent outages.