For more details, also see Ubiquiti's article with instructions and descriptions of UniFi Access features



Users & User Groups

  • Each individual is entered as a user in the UniFi Access application. They are assigned 1 or more credentials

    You can organize users into logical groups, such as "Employees," "IT Staff," or "Maintenance". This way, you can assign a policy to a group rather than to each individual user. 


Credentials

  • Users are assigned one or more credentials such as a key card, key fob, PIN, the UniFi Identity mobile app. You may enforce multi-factor authentication if you want to require both a key card and a PIN


Locations & Location Groups

  • Every entry point—including doors, gates, or elevators—is added as a location in UniFi Access.

    You can create location groups, like "First Floor Doors" or "Server Room Entrances". This allows you to apply a single access policy to multiple doors at once. 


Schedules

  • You can define reusable schedules, such as "Business Hours" (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or "Maintenance Window" (Saturdays, 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.).

    UniFi also allows you to configure exceptions for holidays, overriding the normal recurring schedules. 


Policies: The core of the system

  • Policies define who (a user group) can access what (a door or location group) and when (a schedule) - in other words, the 4 things above set up the details but don't do anything on their own.  Policies actually apply them in the desired combinations.