Mis à jour: 2026-09-09 · 6 min de lecture · Équipe Technique TopSecu

What Is a Checkpoint Button?

Definition: A Checkpoint Button is a passive identification tag fixed at a verification location. When a Guard Tour Reader reads it, the system records that the guard reached that exact spot at that exact time.

Each button carries a unique, factory-programmed ID that cannot be rewritten, which is what makes the resulting record trustworthy. In English it is also called a checkpoint tag, location button or patrol point.

The Two Technologies

  • Contact iButton: a stainless-steel button read by touching it with the reader head. Extremely rugged and cheap; the contact point can wear and is visible on the surface.
  • Contactless 125 kHz RFID: a passive tag read by proximity (0 to 5 cm), with no button press. Can be concealed in a wall and read through it, so it cannot be found or removed.
Both are passive, no battery, no wiring, and a service life measured in decades. That is why a checkpoint rarely fails.

How to Place Checkpoints Well

  1. Put a checkpoint at every place a guard must physically be: entrances, floor landings, plant rooms, gates, loading bays, and high-value assets.
  2. Make skipping obvious, if a point is missing from the record, the gap should be unmistakable.
  3. On high-risk sites, conceal RFID tags inside non-metallic surfaces so they cannot be removed.
  4. Keep about 10% spare tags on hand for new points as routes evolve.

A small site may need 10 to 20 checkpoints; a large plant or campus can run to 100 or more. Quantity follows the route, not a fixed rule.

Questions

No. Both iButton and RFID Checkpoint Buttons are passive, they draw the tiny energy they need from the reader at the moment of reading, and need no battery or wiring.
Only by carrying the physical button with them. Because the ID is unique and the reader records it on site, the guard must be at the actual location. Concealed RFID tags make this even harder.
Enough that a missed point is obvious. Count the entrances, landings, plant rooms, gates and assets that must be verified, then add 10% spares. See our component guide for the full list.