By factory default, battery-powered Smart Badge 3 devices arrive from Kontakt.io powered off and require activation. The tag packaging includes an Activation Required sticker to indicate the badges must be powered on before use.
Custom orders, such as orders that include Provisioning Services, and Starter Test Kits may arrive from Kontakt.io with badges already powered on and without an Activation Required sticker.
When provisioning a badge, which means assigning to staff, be sure to verify the badge is powered on.
Powering on a badge activates its battery.
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Press and hold the blue or red button (for approximately 5 to 7 seconds) until you see the BLUE LED illuminate > then release the button.
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You can then verify the badge is powered on, just be sure to wait 10 seconds after powering it on before verifying.
Press and quickly release the blue or red button.
The button's LED will blink continuously for a few seconds—this is your visual confirmation that the badge is powered on and ready for use.
Note
If badges are set to activate a Staff Safe alert on a single-button press, rather than a triple-button press (factory default), this could activate an alert if the badge is assigned to staff and included in an Alert Rule.
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Press and quickly release the blue or red button.
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The button's LED will blink continuously for a few seconds—this is your visual confirmation that the badge is powered on and ready for use.
Continuously pressing either button may result in activating a button press event. If you do not see an LED blink after a button press, do not press a button for 10 seconds to allow the device to clear the previous button event.
Powering off Kontakt.io tags and badges is disabled by factory default. To allow a device to be powered off, this advanced configuration must be explicitly enabled per device in Device Management.
Warning
Enabling power-off is not recommended for most use cases — especially devices used for real-time location, staff safety, or alert workflows. When a device is powered off, it stops broadcasting. This disables real-time location visibility and prevents events and alerts from triggering.