Your PIN & the lock screen
The 4-digit PIN every user sets, the inactivity lock screen, what happens after too many wrong attempts, and how to reset a forgotten PIN.
Every Wattle user has a personal 4-digit PIN, and it does one job: it unlocks the screen after a period of inactivity, so a computer left at the front desk doesn't leave records open to anyone walking past.
Don't share it. It's never shown on screen, it's stored securely, and nobody, not even Wattle support, can read it back.
The PIN changed in September 2026. It used to be asked for again on every controlled-drug register entry. It isn't any more. Being signed in is what signs the register: every entry records the account that made it, and the audit log keeps that record permanently. The PIN is the screen lock, and nothing else.
If a register screen still asks you for a PIN, your browser is showing you an old version of the app. Reload the page. Nothing you did was lost.
Common tasks
| I want to... | Do this |
|---|---|
| Set it the first time | Sign in - the Set your PIN window appears. Type 4 digits twice → Set PIN |
| Unlock the screen | Type your PIN. You land back exactly where you were |
| Lock it myself before stepping away | Avatar → Lock |
| Change it | Settings → Security → Change PIN → current, then new twice |
| Reset someone's forgotten PIN | Settings → Team → their ⋯ → Reset PIN |
| Change how fast the clinic locks | Settings → Security → Inactivity lock |
Pick something you'll remember but others won't guess - avoid 0000, 1234, or your year of birth if it's widely known at the clinic.
The lock screen
If nobody touches the computer for a while, the app is replaced by a lock screen showing your name and four boxes.
- You are still signed in. It's a privacy screen, not a log-out. Nothing is lost - unlocking puts you back mid-consult.
- Refreshing doesn't get around it. Whether a session has gone idle is decided on Wattle's servers, per computer. A reload, a cleared cache or a new browser lands on the PIN screen or the sign-in page, never an unlocked app.
- Signing in never stacks with the PIN. A fresh sign-in is already proof it's you, so you go straight in. The PIN screen only appears when a signed-in session has actually sat idle.
- How long is clinic-wide: 15, 30 or 60 minutes, 15 by default.
Someone else's name on the lock screen? That's whoever was signed in. Don't try to guess their PIN - click Sign out and sign in as yourself. Everything you do is recorded under the signed-in user, so working under someone else's login is never OK.
Lockout
Five wrong attempts in a row locks your PIN for 15 minutes. The screen switches to a countdown and won't accept anything until it hits zero.
- Signing out and back in doesn't skip the wait. The lockout lives on the server.
- You don't have to wait if a manager is around - anyone with team-management permission can clear it instantly with Reset PIN.
Every attempt, right or wrong, is recorded in the audit trail, so a string of failures on the controlled-drug register is visible afterwards.
Forgot it?
A forgotten PIN can't be recovered, only reset. Ask someone with team-management permission to go to Settings → Team, find your row, ⋯ → Reset PIN. Your old PIN and any lockout clear on the spot, and you'll be asked to set a fresh one next time the app needs it.
Sole trader with nobody to reset you? Email hello@wattlevet.com.
The lock screen vs being signed out
Two different layers:
| Trigger | Getting back in | |
|---|---|---|
| PIN lock | 15 / 30 / 60 min idle | Your PIN. You're still signed in underneath |
| Full sign-out | The Require sign-in window - 4, 8, 12 or 24 hours, 8 by default | Email and password. The PIN alone won't do it |
On the default setting, overnight always means a fresh morning sign-in.
Both are decided on Wattle's servers per computer, so closing the laptop lid or the browser doesn't get around either. Mobile vets on their own laptop can set the window to 24 hours; the PIN lock still guards the screen in between.
Gotchas
- "The PINs don't match" - the two entries differ. Re-type the confirmation.
- The Set your PIN window can't be dismissed. The only way past it is Sign out, and you'll be asked again next sign-in.
- "Current PIN incorrect - N attempts remaining" when changing it - those attempts count towards the same 5-attempt lockout.
- You can't change a PIN you've forgotten. Use the reset path instead.
- There's deliberately no "off" for the inactivity lock. It's part of keeping records private on shared computers. If your clinic works in long stretches away from the keyboard, choose 1 hour.