Once your door lock integration with Kisi or MellinTech is active, Playground becomes the only app you need to open, monitor, and control your doors. This article walks you through opening doors remotely, connecting a check-in Kiosk to a door, and managing who can unlock each door and when.
Open Doors Remotely
Playground allows you to open any of your doors from anywhere using your Playground mobile app.
📱 The actions below can only be taken on the mobile app. Doors can't be unlocked remotely from the web version of Playground.
From your mobile app home screen, open your menu by tapping the ☰ icon in the top left and select Door Access.
You'll see a list of all of your connected doors — just tap the row for a door to unlock it.
When a door is unlocked, the corresponding door row in Playground will turn blue, the row will update with an Unlocked status, and the icon will display as unlocked for the duration of time the door is unlocked (typically 5 seconds).
The door will automatically lock and the row will become purple again with a Locked status and a locked icon.
💡 Remote unlocks are logged in Playground, so you always have a record of who opened which door and when.
Unlock Doors with the Check-in Kiosk
Playground's door lock integration allows you to set up Kiosks that will automatically unlock the door for families after they check their kid(s) in or out via PIN code. This also works for staff clocking in and out for the day.
💡 New to Kiosk mode? Read our Kiosk mode article before setting up a door connection.
🚨 Within Kiosk mode, doors will only unlock using PIN codes. Scanning the QR code will not unlock doors.
The Kiosk can be set up to unlock doors on both the mobile app on web. We will cover how to set up both in this section.
On Mobile
On an admin or staff mobile device, tap Kiosk on your home screen.
Tap Lock to initiate Kiosk mode,
Tap the Tap to select a door connection for this kiosk button.
This step connects the tablet to a specific door in your center and is critical for ensuring the correct door unlocks once someone enters their PIN.
Select which door you'd like to unlock when students and staff are checked in or out.
You should see "<Door name> connected to kiosk session" in blue. This confirms the door is connected to the device and will unlock upon check-in or check-out.
Enter your center PIN to enter Kiosk mode. You'll get confirmation that the device is locked in Kiosk mode. Your PIN code can be found under your Settings tab on the web version of Playground.
Once your door has been linked and kiosk mode has been locked, guardians and staff should be able to unlock the door using their PIN codes.
To exit Kiosk mode, tap Unlock in the top right corner and enter your center PIN.
On Web
While logged into your admin dashboard, click the Settings tab.
From there, click the Open kiosk mode button under the Attendance section.
Once the Kiosk is open, click the Pin Code tab and select the Connect door button in the top right hand corner.
Select the door you want to connect and select Connect when finished. You should then see a message confirming that the door has been successfully connected.
Once your door has been linked to kiosk mode, guardians and staff should be able to unlock the door using their PIN codes.
🚨 Each Kiosk device can only be connected to one door at a time. If you want multiple doors to unlock via Kiosk check-ins, you'll need one device per door.
Manage Door Access Hours
By default, door access for staff is granted through their assigned role, and guardians can only unlock doors through the Kiosk. You can adjust door permissions for staff and families to make their access more limited or more flexible on a per-door basis.
From your Admin Dashboard, navigate to the Integrations tab and click Manage next to Door locks.
Turn the "Manage access for each door individually" toggle on.
Once the toggle is on, you'll see the option to adjust both Guardian and Teacher door access hours for each door connected to Playground.
Click Edit access hours next to the door you want to configure.
Select one of three access levels:
Cannot unlock this door — guardians or staff can't unlock the door on their own. They'll need to use the Kiosk instead.
Can unlock this door at certain times — set specific time windows when guardians or staff can unlock the door. Outside of those windows, they'll need to use the Kiosk.
Can always unlock this door — guardians or staff can unlock the door at any time without using the Kiosk.
Once the Access level is selected, click the blue Save access hours button.
💡 Access hour changes apply immediately. There's no need to restart the app or re-sync the hardware.
View Door Lock Logs
Door logs allow you to view who, when, and how each door was unlocked. Logs for each door can be viewed by following the steps below:
From your Admin Dashboard, navigate to the Integrations.
Click View logs under the door you want to view.
You will then be able to view previous door unlocks for the selected door.
FAQs
Why can't I see the Door Access option in my mobile app?
Why can't I see the Door Access option in my mobile app?
A door didn't unlock when a family member entered their PIN at the Kiosk — what should I check?
A door didn't unlock when a family member entered their PIN at the Kiosk — what should I check?
Confirm the Kiosk device is still connected to the correct door. On the Kiosk screen, you should see "<Door name> connected to kiosk session" in blue.
Confirm the guardian's access level for that door is not set to Cannot unlock this door under Integrations > Door locks.
Confirm the controller hardware (C3 Controller for MellinTech, Kisi Controller Pro 2 for Kisi) is powered on and connected to your network.
If the issue persists, reach out to our support team in the chat bubble in your admin dashboard.
Can I restrict a guardian to only unlock the door during drop-off and pick-up window?
Can I restrict a guardian to only unlock the door during drop-off and pick-up window?
From your admin dashboard, navigate to the Integrations tab and click Manage next to Door locks.
Turn the Manage access for each door individually toggle on.
Click Edit access hours under Guardian door access hours for the relevant door and select Can unlock this door at certain times.
Enter your drop-off and pick-up windows, then click Save access hours.