That is the system working as designed. A pass saved to Apple Wallet, or opened from a forwarded link, carries a fixed code that identifies the visitor but does not prove who is holding the phone — a screenshot would scan the same way. So the guard is asked to confirm the person before admitting them.
Two kinds of QR code
- The live pass page (the link you sent) shows a QR code that refreshes every five minutes, with a “Refreshes in” countdown. The gate accepts only the current code, with a short grace period, so a copy goes stale almost at once. This is the fast path: it scans and admits without extra steps.
- The Wallet card cannot refresh like that, so it carries the fixed pass code instead. Scanning it names the visitor and their host; the guard then verifies, typically by asking for the last four digits of the phone number on the pass or, if no number is on file, by confirming the name and who they are visiting. Once confirmed, the guard admits them.
At an unattended door station or kiosk
Where no guard is present, a Wallet card or forwarded link is refused outright with “Wallet pass — please see the guard”. Unattended readers accept the live QR from the pass page; a kiosk keypad also takes the 6-digit code shown on that page. That code is not printed on the Wallet card.
What the Wallet card shows
The card lists VISITOR, VISITING (your name and unit), the community, and either VALID UNTIL with the end time or VALID with the recurring schedule. If you deactivate or edit the pass, the card updates quietly in the background — no alert appears on your guest's phone — and a cancelled pass is greyed out by Wallet itself. The card can also surface on the lock screen when your guest is within about 500 metres of a gate, or around the arrival time you set.
Good to know
- A pass that has expired or been deactivated cannot be added to Wallet.
- If a Wallet card cannot be produced, the Add to Apple Wallet button opens a web pass instead, which your guest can save to their home screen. It is treated the same way at the gate.
- If your guest wants the quickest entry, tell them to open the link and show the live QR rather than the Wallet card.
Related
See “Add a visitor pass to Apple Wallet” for adding one, and “How long are passes valid, and can a guest forward one?” for what a forwarded link can and cannot do.