Using the duress button
On this page
Use this page to turn a duress button on and off, charge it, raise and cancel an alarm, and read its lights, beeps and vibrations, including silent alarm setups.
The same guide is in Performance Hub. From Duress, open Devices and click Button guide, or open a button and choose its Button guide tab. While you add a button, or during a walk test, See the full button guide opens the full guide. The subtitle is "Turning a button on, raising and cancelling an alarm, charging and signal."
Quick reference
Where to find it: Side menu → Duress → Devices → Button guide
Who can access: Anyone using a button can follow this page. In Performance Hub, Button guide is available to users with Duress or Duress Configuration at the facility.
Purpose: Turn a button on and off, charge it, raise and cancel an alarm, and understand the lights, beeps and vibrations
The button at a glance
The button has a large red alarm button on the front, a small button on the side that turns it on and off, a USB-C port on the bottom, and a status light near the top of the face.
Figure 1: The button at a glance: the alarm button, the side button and the status light
While the button is on and waiting, the status light stays off.
A Bluetooth button and a LoRa button have the same controls, lights and vibrations. They differ only in what receives a press. A Bluetooth button works with a Display Screen Player or an IoT Gateway. A LoRa button needs an IoT Gateway. The serial number on the back is 12 hex characters for a Bluetooth button, or 16 for a LoRa button. See How presses reach Performance Hub and Add a button.
Photographs of the button will be added here.
Turn the button on and off
Hold the small side button for about 3 seconds. The button responds after about 1.5 seconds.
Turn the button on
The status light flashes green, then goes dark. The button is on and ready: "On and ready."
Figure 2: Hold the side button to turn the button on: flashing green, then on and ready
Turn the button off
Hold the side button the same way. The status light shows solid red for about 2.5 seconds, then goes dark. The button is off: "Will not send alarms."
Figure 3: Hold the side button to turn the button off: solid red, then off
Charge the button
Plug a USB-C cable into the port on the bottom of the button. A solid red light means the button is charging. A solid green light means it is fully charged. Unplug the cable once the light is green.
Use the cable supplied with the button, plugged into a USB port on a computer. Some smart USB-C chargers won't always charge it.
Figure 4: Solid red while charging, solid green when fully charged, then unplug
In Performance Hub, the button list and the button's Overview tab show the percentage. "Battery is low at 30% or below and critical at 20% or below."
Battery depleted means the button is offline and its last reading was 5% or below. It can't send alarms until it's charged. See Battery depleted.
While the button is on charge it stays Online and shows Charging, with a blue bolt, the percentage and "charging".
After charging, check the button shows Online, then press it in a walk test. To have someone told when a battery is low, add a device alert.
How long a charge takes, and how often to charge, are on the card that came in the box. Ask your account manager if you need that card.
Photographs of the button, including the USB-C port and the red and green charge lights, will be added here.
Raise an alarm
On the standard setup, press the large red button once.
The button beeps 10 times, and the status light flashes blue for about 60 seconds. The figure shows a few seconds of that flash. The alarm has been sent: "Your alarm has been sent."
Figure 5: Press once to raise an alarm: the button beeps and the light flashes blue
Performance Hub then alerts the people in the response plan. Responders acknowledge and resolve the alarm in Performance Hub, and response plan contacts can follow it on the alarm page.
Cancel an alarm from the button
Hold the large red button for about 3 seconds. After about 1.5 seconds the status light flashes blue twice, then the button vibrates 10 times.
Figure 6: Hold the red button to cancel: two blue flashes, then 10 vibrations
Responders see Cancelled at the button on the incident and on the alarm page. People already notified get a message titled "Duress alarm cancelled at" the facility, saying "The alarm was cancelled at the button:" and the button's name. See Cancelled at the button and the alarm page.
Cancelling at the button leaves the incident open. Someone still acknowledges or resolves it in Performance Hub, or from the alarm page where the facility allows it.
If the press was accidental, cancel at the button, then staff still resolve or record the incident as the facility requires.
Silent alarm setups
Some buttons are set up as Silent alarm or Silent alarm, no light. A press still raises a full alarm: the response plan, alarm destinations and response actions all run. The Button guide on that button shows the feedback for its setup.
If any button at the facility uses a silent setup, the facility's Button guide stays on the standard setup and says: "Some buttons here use a different setup. Open a button to see its instructions."
Silent alarm
The button vibrates for about 30 seconds, and the status light flashes blue for about 60 seconds. The figure shows a few long pulses of that vibration. The button stays quiet.
Figure 7: A silent alarm: the button vibrates and the light flashes blue
To cancel, hold the large red button for about 3 seconds. The status light flashes blue twice, then the button gives 3 quick vibrations.
Figure 8: Cancelling a silent alarm: two blue flashes, then 3 quick vibrations
Silent alarm, no light
The button vibrates for about 30 seconds. The status light stays off, and the button stays quiet.
Figure 9: A silent alarm with no light: the button vibrates, and the light stays off
To cancel, hold the large red button for about 3 seconds. The button gives 3 quick vibrations, and the status light stays off.
Figure 10: Cancelling a silent alarm with no light: 3 quick vibrations
Testing the physical button
A test still needs a real press, and the press is the same gesture as that button's setup: press the large red button once. There is no separate test control on the button itself. Turn the button on, and charge it, before a test. A test press is not a real alarm, so book the test and tell staff. See Testing & reports and How to press during a test.
| Test | What the press does |
|---|---|
| Test mode, when you add a button | The first press in the next 30 minutes is recorded and nobody is alerted. See Test mode. |
| Walk test | Someone presses every button once. Only tier 1 of the response plan is told, with TEST-labelled messages. See Walk test or full response drill. |
| Full response drill | Someone presses a button, then the whole response plan runs until someone acknowledges. The messages are TEST-labelled, and the drill measures how long that takes. |
Lights, beeps and vibrations
| What you see or feel | What it means |
|---|---|
| No light | The button is on and waiting. |
| Flashing green, then the light goes dark | You held the side button. The button is on: "On and ready." |
| Solid red for about 2.5 seconds, then the light goes dark | You held the side button. The button is off: "Will not send alarms." |
| Solid red, cable plugged in | Charging. |
| Solid green, cable plugged in | Fully charged. Unplug the cable. |
| 10 beeps, and the light flashes blue for about 60 seconds | Standard setup. The alarm has been sent: "Your alarm has been sent." |
| Two blue flashes, then 10 vibrations | Standard setup. The alarm was cancelled at the button. |
| Vibration for about 30 seconds, and the light flashes blue for about 60 seconds | Silent alarm. The alarm has been sent. The button stays quiet. |
| Two blue flashes, then 3 quick vibrations | Silent alarm. The alarm was cancelled at the button. |
| Vibration for about 30 seconds, and no light | Silent alarm, no light. The alarm has been sent. The button stays quiet. |
| 3 quick vibrations, and no light | Silent alarm, no light. The alarm was cancelled at the button. |
| Three long vibrations | "Someone has acknowledged your alarm. Help is on the way." It never makes a sound. Only when a Display Screen Player or an IoT Gateway can reach the button, and only while Vibrate the button when acknowledged is on. That action is on unless the facility turns it off. If it is off, the button never gives this vibration. See Response actions. |
Figure 11: The button vibrates like this when someone acknowledges the alarm, if the facility has that action on
Carry, place and look after the button
A button is either fixed in one place or carried with a person. Set Placement on the button's Settings tab: a fixed button stays put, and a carried button goes with the person wearing it. See Settings. A fixed button might sit at a clinic reception, a school office, a hotel night desk or a retail counter. A carried button goes with someone working alone, for example in a warehouse, at a venue or around an office.
The button has no internet connection of its own. Keep it within about 10 to 15 metres of a Display Screen Player, or within an IoT Gateway's coverage. See Placement.
A no-movement report is logged only. It never raises an alarm, and it never ends one.
How to clean or mount the button is on the card that came in the box. Ask your account manager if you need that card.
Troubleshooting
The button won't turn on. Hold the small side button for about 3 seconds. If nothing happens, charge it with the supplied cable in a USB port on a computer, then try the side button again.
The button won't charge. Use the cable supplied with the button, plugged into a USB port on a computer. Some smart USB-C chargers won't always charge it. Solid red means it is charging. Solid green means it is fully charged.
Someone pressed the button and no alert came through. Work through A button was pressed but no alert came through. Check that a Display Screen Player or IoT Gateway near the button is online, that Duress alarm monitoring is on for a Display Screen Player, that the button is in range and charged, and, the first time it is added, that you have allowed up to 15 minutes for it to be heard. A button showing Battery depleted can't send alarms until it is charged. The same checks are in Device Management.
The button shows Offline or No reading. It hasn't reported lately, so the battery and signal may be out of date. See The button list.
Related pages
- Buttons & triggers: how a press reaches Performance Hub, button setups and placement
- Setting up Duress: adding a button and preparing staff
- Alerts & notifications: the response plan, device alerts and vibrate when acknowledged
- Responding to alarms: acknowledge, resolve, and an alarm cancelled at the button
- The alarm page: what notified people see
- Testing & reports: walk tests and full response drills
- Common questions: a press that didn't raise an alert