- Do we have to replace our gate?
- No. GateGuardX adds a camera and a small controller to the gate you already have, no construction, and it's fully reversible.
- How do residents' plates get into the system?
- Send the resident list as a spreadsheet at onboarding and it's imported in one step — the same rollout our engineering team handles personally for the first communities. After that, a move-in, a move-out, or a new car takes seconds in the dashboard, residents never need an app, and authorized-vehicle list management is included in the monthly fee.
- Who installs it?
- Installation is always arranged by us and itemized as its own line in your quote — it is not part of the $3,500 hardware kit. Where a GateGuardX-certified partner is available, they handle it turnkey; elsewhere, any local gate installer or electrician mounts the pre-configured hardware (typically 2–3 hours) with our engineers commissioning it remotely. Either way, we test with real vehicles before you're live.
- How do guests and deliveries get in?
- Issue a time-limited pass for a plate before they arrive, or use Call-to-Open, an authorized phone call opens the gate for anyone without a plate to read.
- What about resident privacy?
- Privacy Mode still reads the plate to open the gate, but reduces or disables what's stored for approved resident vehicles — you choose how much, if anything, is kept. Leave standard logging on where you want a record for disputes or incidents. Retention always follows your HOA's policy, and the board can adjust it at any time.
- What does it cost?
- Most communities start at $3,500 for the hardware kit, plus installation (quoted per community) and $299 a month, managed, on a 24-month agreement (the $299/mo works out to about $3,600 a year). Installation and the exact kit depend on your gate, lanes, and camera angles — send a few photos and you'll have an itemized quote, usually within 48 hours, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- What if it doesn't work for our community?
- You're covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee: if the board isn't satisfied, we remove everything at our cost and restore your gate.
- Can a resident get locked out?
- No, the fallbacks stack. If a plate doesn't read (new car, dirty plate), Call-to-Open opens the gate from an authorized phone. Your existing remotes and keypad stay live as backups. And in a power loss, the gate's standard manual release applies, the same one your community has today.
- What does the board actually sign?
- A 24-month platform agreement, but it starts inside the 30-day money-back window, so the board sees the system run on your own entrance before the commitment is real. Cancel in that window and we remove the hardware and restore the gate at our cost.
- What is license plate recognition for a gated community?
- It is an automated gate-access system that reads each resident or guest vehicle's license plate, checks it against your approved list, and opens your existing gate in under a second. GateGuardX works on 90+ gate brands, reads plates at 99.9% accuracy across our deployments, and logs every crossing with a plate photo. Residents never need a remote, code, or app.
- Can a license plate reader replace our HOA gate remotes and codes?
- Yes. The plate becomes the credential, so residents drive in without remotes or codes, while your existing remotes and keypads stay live as a backup. It installs on the gate you already have, is fully reversible, and every entry is logged with a plate photo, vehicle image, and a short video clip. Community plans start at $3,500 for the hardware kit, plus installation (quoted per community) and $299/mo on a 24-month agreement, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.