A credential is a card, a fob, a PIN or another value that opens the doors and gates of your community. MyWatchtower works with two access control providers, Brivo and HID. Your community uses one of them. You manage the credentials of both providers on the same page: Access > Credentials.
Before you start
- To see the Credentials tab, your role needs Key fobs & cards set to View.
- To create, edit, suspend or assign a credential, your role needs Key fobs & cards set to Add & edit. By default, the Admin, Supervisor and Gate Attendant roles have it.
- Only the Admin role can delete a credential by default.
The tab shows only when your community uses Brivo or HID.
Credential formats
The format is the type of the credential, for example a card or a PIN. You select the format in step 2 of the New credential wizard.
The formats depend on the provider of your community:
- Brivo: the wizard shows the formats that your community turned on. If your community turned on no formats, the wizard shows each format of the Brivo account of your community. Each format has its own values, for example a card number and a facility code. The facility code comes from the settings of your community.
- HID: the wizard shows Card and PIN. Each value has digits only. A PIN has exactly 6 digits. The facility code is optional.
Brivo also has two special formats:
- PIN: a person can have one Brivo PIN.
- Mobile Pass: a holder can have one Mobile Pass. When your community uses Mobile Pass, the wizard shows how many passes your community used.
The format list depends on your hardware and your provider. Not every community has every format. Ask your community management about the formats of your community.
PINs and QR codes
Kiosk PINs and entry QR codes are also credentials. They have the formats PIN and QR Code. If your role can view PINs or QR codes, they also show in the Credentials list. You create and manage them on the PINs tab and the QR Codes tab of Access, and on the Credentials tab of a property.
Who can hold a credential
Each credential that you create belongs to a property and to one person of that property. In step 1 of the wizard, you select the property and then the type of holder:
- Guest: a personal visitor.
- Vendor: a service provider.
- Resident: a person who lives at the property. The list includes the residents of the property and the users who have an account for the property.
You can also link a vehicle of the property to the credential. Use the Vehicle (optional) section in step 1. The person stays the holder of the credential. The list then shows the make, the model and the plate of the vehicle, with the Vehicle label.
A credential can be permanent or temporary, for each type of holder. In step 2, the Permanent credential check box is selected by default. To make a temporary credential, clear the check box. Then set Effective From and Effective To.
The Credentials list shows PERM for a credential with no end date. It shows TEMP for a credential with an end date. Each day, MyWatchtower deletes each card, fob or Mobile Pass whose end date is in the past. An expired PIN or QR code stops working, but it stays in the list for your records.
What a credential opens
The provider of your community decides how a credential gets access to doors:
- Brivo: you add the credential to one or more Groups. Each group gives access to its doors on a schedule.
- HID: you add one or more Access Levels to the credential. Each access level gives access to its doors on a schedule. MyWatchtower sends each change to the door controllers. A change can take a short time.
Your community needs at least one group or one access level before you can create a credential. Until then, the Create Credential button is not available.
Create a credential
Select Access > Credentials, then select Create Credential. The New credential wizard opens. It has three steps:
1. Enter Details: select the property, the type of holder and the person. You can also select a vehicle.
2. Select Format & Groups: select the format and type its values. Then select the groups and set the validity. In an HID community, this step is Select Format & Access Levels.
3. Review: examine the details. Then select Create Credential.
The article Create a Credential gives each step in full.
Find a credential
The Credentials list has a search field and two filters:
- Status: All, Active Only or Suspended Only.
- Assignment: All, Assigned Only or Unassigned Only.
Type 3 or more characters to search. The page address keeps the search and the filters.
Each row shows the format, the holder and the values of the credential. It also shows the type of holder, the property, Community or Unassigned. It also shows the PERM or TEMP label and the Suspended label. Select a row to open the page of the credential.
The Credentials tab of a property shows the credentials of that property. It can have three views: PIN, QR and Cards. A view shows only when your community uses that feature. The Owner, Manager and Resident of a property can see the Cards view of their property, but they cannot change a card there.
Change or remove a credential
Select the ⋮ button on a row. The actions depend on your role:
- Suspend and Unsuspend stop and restore the access of the credential at each door. In a Brivo community, a suspend applies to each credential of the holder. In an HID community, MyWatchtower sends the change to the door controllers.
- Assign, Reassign and Unassign change the holder. The new holder must be in the same community. In a Brivo community, an unassigned credential does not open doors until you assign it again.
- Edit opens the Edit credential dialog. You can change the groups or the access levels and the end date. In an HID community, you can also change a PIN.
- Delete removes the credential permanently. In an HID community, MyWatchtower removes it from the door controllers.
For a PIN or a QR code, use Edit or Delete, or use the PINs tab or the QR Codes tab. The suspend and assign actions work only on cards, fobs and Mobile Passes.
Good practices
- Suspend or delete a credential when a resident moves out, when the work of a vendor ends, or when a person loses a card.
- Give a permanent credential only when the holder needs it. A temporary credential ends on its own.
- Keep the vehicle details current, so that each vehicle credential shows the correct vehicle.
Need help?
On a computer, select Help Center in the navigation. On a phone, select Help in the account menu. Each one opens the MyWatchtower support page. You can also speak to the management office of your community.