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People don’t like change. Change requires you to learn a new task, remember a new thing, and forces you to break away from routine. It’s simply human nature, and with an ever changing world where new technology, apps, and other software are being introduced and implemented rapidly, older generations appear to struggle harder than others.
Let's look at an elderly resident in an independent living community. Historically if they wanted to get into their unit, they would insert a simple key into their lock, turn it, and they’re in. Now, due to security concerns, their building assigns them a key fob, or worse, tells them their key is located in an app on their smartphone. While most of this transition to technology is genuinely good for a lot of buildings, as it allows for increased security and flexibility, we stopped asking whether the people actually living behind those doors needed or wanted any of it.
In 2024, AARP found that 59% of adults 50 and over said they believe that technology isn't designed with their age group in mind. That's down from 64% the year before, so it's improving, but it's still a majority. They also found that 14% of older adults say design and ease-of-use is specifically what keeps them from using new technology.
I want to be clear here, because it’s very easy to blur the lines between “seniors struggle with tech sometimes” and “old people hate tech”, because the latter simply isn’t true. Data from AARP shows that 66% of older adults think technology has made their lives better, and that number keeps increasing every year. The issue comes from something I mentioned earlier: Breaking away from routine. Especially when that routine sometimes introduces foreign interfaces in moments you can least afford it.
So when we started designing AegisSync, we asked ourselves a question: Why does getting into your unit have to be the place where we ask someone to learn something new?
A key has worked the same for a very long time. Nearly everyone, both young and old, knows how to use it. It works the same way every time, and if your phone is dead, you don’t panic. So we looked at that design and realized: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
AegisSync uses an RFID fob shaped and weighted to feel like an actual key. You take it out, you use it, you're in. No app, no PIN, no dependency on whether the hallway has decent Wi-Fi that day. It also handles something metal keys have always been better at than most electronic locks: a misaligned door and jamb. Buildings settle and doors shift over time, which is often what causes locks to stick or fail. Our D-Sync corrects for that automatically, so residents get a consistent, positive locking experience every time, the same reliability they'd expect from turning a metal key. Underneath that simplicity, though, it's a real access control system. Staff can pull audit trails, manage credentials, or rekey a unit instantly, either right at the door or remotely through our AegisSecure software. And because AegisSecure lives on a local server instead of someone else's cloud, there's no monthly fee stacking up per door, no matter how big the property gets.
So rather than a senior struggling to use their phone to get into their unit, they can skip the learning curve and go straight into opening their door, without forfeiting tech. Best of both worlds.
If you're looking at access control for a senior living or multifamily property, we'd be glad to walk you through how it works - Reach out to us for a demo.