Every coworking owner asks the same two questions before putting a lock on the door: what if the internet dies, and what if the power dies. In Ukraine these are not hypotheticals, and the answers decide whether an "autonomous" space is autonomous at all.
Internet outage
A cloud-only lock calls home to decide whether to open. No connection, no decision. Some vendors cache a list of allowed cards; few cache time windows, which is what hourly booking needs.
What to require:
- Passes with their schedules are stored in the controller, not only in the cloud.
- Already-paid bookings and active memberships keep working through the outage.
- The event log is kept on the controller and synced later, so nothing is lost.
- The admin can see the controller's last-seen time and knows it is offline.
What you cannot have during an outage: new bookings and payments. That needs the cloud. A space can bridge this with a mobile hotspot on the router, or simply accept that walk-ins wait.
In Entryspot the N-GATE controller holds the pass database with time windows on the board; this is the same firmware that runs gym turnstiles and residential gates. How access works.
Power outage
Two things matter: does the lock release, and how long does the door keep working.
Fail-safe vs fail-secure. A fail-safe lock is locked while powered and *unlocked* without power. A fail-secure lock stays locked without power. For an entrance door that people are inside of, fire rules and common sense say fail-safe: when everything fails, the door opens. The electric bolt lock in the Entryspot door kit is fail-safe.
Backup supply. A 12 V backup unit with a 20 Ah gel battery runs a controller and a bolt lock for hours. The controller draws little; the lock's holding current decides the autonomy. When the battery runs out, the lock releases and the door is open from both sides — the space is unprotected, but nobody is locked in.
Routers and switches. If the controller talks to the cloud over Wi-Fi, the router needs backup too, or the controller runs on its offline passes. The N-GATE PRO also has an LTE modem as a second path.
Free exit is not optional
Whatever happens, a person inside must be able to leave:
- A mechanical exit button wired to the lock, not through the controller's logic.
- A fail-safe lock that releases when power is gone.
- For doors with a reader on both sides, the exit reader must never block exit for an expired pass.
If a vendor's answer to "how do I get out" involves the app, walk away.
The checklist
- Does the door open for paid bookings while the internet is down?
- Are time windows, not just card IDs, stored in the controller?
- Is the lock fail-safe?
- What is the battery autonomy for lock plus controller?
- Is the exit button mechanical?
- Does the log survive the outage?
Six yes answers and the door is autonomous. Fewer, and the word in the brochure means something else.