How do you submit attendance in Top Hat?
With the code your instructor shows in class. Top Hat’s student guide gives these steps:
- Open the Classroom tab while the attendance session is active.
- Select Attendance and enter the 4-digit code displayed in your classroom or lecture hall.
- Press Submit. A successful check-in shows “You have been marked present.”
To check in by text, add your phone number to your Top Hat account under Account Settings, then text the 4-digit code to your school’s SMS number shown in class. Top Hat says SMS works “for regular attendance only (Not Supported for Secure Attendance).”
Timing matters. Top Hat’s tip is to “Enter the code as soon as possible to avoid being marked absent.” Your instructor decides when the session ends, and its instructor guide says sessions “automatically close after 4 hours” if nobody finishes them. The University of Arizona’s student help page, updated September 2, 2026, adds that “You will only have 3 attempts to input the correct code.” That limit comes from a school’s page; the Top Hat articles we read don’t state it.
What are Top Hat’s attendance modes?
There are three, and your instructor picks one in Course Settings. Top Hat’s attendance page says students confirm attendance “using Top Hat or SMS at the start of a lecture,” and that instructors of in-person classes can use geolocation to check who is there. Its support articles describe the modes this way:
| Mode | How you check in | What Top Hat verifies | Devices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code-based | Enter the 4-digit code | Only the code: it “does not require any additional verification steps” | App, browser or SMS |
| Location-based Secure Attendance | Enter the code with location allowed | That you are in the classroom, “within a 500-meter radius” | Computers and smartphones; no SMS |
| Proximity-based Secure Attendance | Scan the attendance QR code with Bluetooth on | That enough classmates’ phones are nearby | Top Hat mobile app only |
Secure Attendance is off unless your instructor turns it on. Top Hat’s 2017 blog post says it “is disabled by default, and can be turned on in Course Settings,” and the current instructor guide has instructors tick “Use Secure location-based attendance for in-person classes.” When it is on, every student sees an onboarding screen with an option to run a diagnostic test of their location permissions. Instructors can also turn on hybrid attendance, which asks whether you are in person or remote, but only for code-based sessions.
Does Top Hat attendance track your location?
Only during a Secure Attendance check-in, and only if your instructor has turned it on. Code-based attendance has no location step at all. For the two secure modes, Top Hat’s guides describe what is checked:
- Location-based. “Geolocation works on web browsers, iOS apps, and Android apps by sending coordinates to our servers.” Top Hat uses them “to confirm the location of the device submitting the code.” On an iPhone, Top Hat’s guide has you set Top Hat’s location access to “While Using the App.”
- Proximity-based. Your phone “passively scans for nearby Bluetooth signals. It doesn’t pair, connect, or exchange any data with other students’ devices.” The check has “an effective range of roughly 10 metres,” measured between your phone and classmates’ phones, “not between students and the instructor’s device.”
Top Hat’s 2017 post described the original feature as a combination of “GPS and proximity to other devices running Top Hat,” noting that “No single technology is infallible.” The current guides split those into the two modes above.
Why did Top Hat mark me absent when I entered the code?
Because the Secure Attendance check failed. Top Hat’s instructor guide says: “If a student enters the correct 4-digit code but fails the location/proximity check, they will be marked as absent.” Your instructor gets a count of failed checks and can switch you to Attended if you were in the room. The system comment on your record tells them why:
| Comment your instructor sees | What it means | What Top Hat suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Secure attendance could not be verified | Bluetooth or location was off | Turn on both Bluetooth and Location Services |
| Student denied geolocation permissions | You declined the location prompt | Allow Top Hat to use your location in device settings |
| Marked as absent by security checks: XXX meters from expected location | Located outside the accepted radius | Be in the classroom; if you are, clear browser cache and cookies or restart the app |
| Attendance code was not entered | No code was submitted | Enter the code, press Submit, and wait for the success message |
Before class, you can run Top Hat’s own test under Account Settings, then Advanced Settings, then Test Location Services. Top Hat also suggests turning off VPNs or ad blockers “that may interfere with geolocation.” For proximity check-ins, keep the app open and your phone unlocked: “If the check doesn’t pass the first time, keep the app open to continue trying.” If you were marked absent by mistake, tell your instructor soon after class. The fix is theirs to make, in the session list or the gradebook.
How does Top Hat attendance count toward your grade?
Each session is a point. Top Hat’s gradebook guide says: “Attendance is calculated as: Total Present ÷ Total Sessions Conducted. If you have been excused from an attendance session, it will not count against your total grade.” The instructor guide scores Attended as 1 point and Absent as 0, and says Excused “Drops that point from the student’s overall attendance record entirely.”
A made-up example: 28 sessions, of which you attended 24, were excused from 2 and missed 2. With the 2 excused sessions dropped, your Top Hat attendance is 24 ÷ 26, or 92.3%.
Two more rules from Top Hat. Until your instructor closes the session, your check-in shows as “Submission waiting to be graded.” And attendance is kept apart from question grades: a student marked absent by Secure Attendance “can still submit responses to in-class questions,” and the absence “will not affect their course average for question grades.”
How much attendance weighs in your final grade is your instructor’s call. If your Top Hat grades go to Canvas or another LMS, Top Hat says “Instructors must manually initiate a sync to push grades from Top Hat to the LMS,” and your two accounts must use the identical school email. To see what an attendance category does to your course total, try our free Canvas grade calculator.
Do you need the Top Hat app for attendance?
Only for proximity-based check-ins. Code-based attendance works in a browser, in the app or by text, and Top Hat says location-based Secure Attendance is “Available for students using computers and smartphones.” Proximity-based attendance needs the Top Hat mobile app, listed in the app stores as “Top Hat - Better Learning,” on a phone or tablet with Bluetooth and a camera. Top Hat says it isn’t available on laptops or in browsers because “Bluetooth proximity detection needs direct access to your device’s Bluetooth hardware,” and Windows tablets such as Surface aren’t supported. If you don’t have a smartphone, Top Hat’s advice is to “Talk to your instructor about whether alternative attendance options are available for you.”
Top Hat’s homework side works differently from live class; our Top Hat page covers Homework and Review mode. Edpuzzle has a similar live-only feature, covered in Edpuzzle Live Mode.
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a desktop app for Mac and Windows that works assigned homework in courseware opened from Canvas, Top Hat included. It does not submit attendance codes or answer live lecture questions, so check-ins stay with you. More: Silent Student on Top Hat.
Questions people ask
How does Top Hat attendance work?
Your instructor starts a session and shows a 4-digit code. You enter it in the Top Hat app, a browser or by text, and Top Hat marks you present. Secure Attendance adds a location or Bluetooth proximity check.
Does Top Hat attendance track your location?
Only during Secure Attendance submissions, Top Hat says, and only when your instructor has turned it on. Plain code-based attendance has no location check.
How close do you have to be for Top Hat Secure Attendance?
For location-based Secure Attendance, Top Hat says you must be within a 500-meter radius of the classroom. The proximity check has an effective range of roughly 10 meters between your phone and classmates’ phones.
Can you text your Top Hat attendance code?
Yes, for regular code-based attendance. Add your phone number in Account Settings and text the code to your school’s SMS number. Top Hat does not support SMS for Secure Attendance.
Why does Top Hat show my attendance as waiting to be graded?
The session is still open. Top Hat shows attendance as “Submission waiting to be graded” until your instructor closes the session.
Does a Top Hat absence lower my question grades?
No. Top Hat tracks attendance and question grades separately, so a Secure Attendance absence does not change your course average for question grades. Attendance itself can still be a graded category.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 20, 2026 unless a line says otherwise.
- Student: Attendance (Top Hat Support, last updated October 9, 2026)
- Educator: Attendance (Top Hat Support, last updated October 9, 2026)
- Proximity-based Secure Attendance (Top Hat Support, last updated October 9, 2026)
- Student: The Gradebook (Top Hat Support, last updated March 11, 2026)
- Automatic Attendance (Top Hat feature page)
- Tools That Make Modern College Class Attendance Taking Easy (Top Hat blog, December 12, 2017)
- Record Your Attendance with Top Hat (University of Arizona student help, last updated September 2, 2026; a school page, not Top Hat)
How this guide was made. We read each Top Hat page listed above on October 20, 2026 and quote them directly. Top Hat’s support center loads its articles with JavaScript, so we read them in a browser. The only detail from a non-Top Hat page, the three-attempt limit, is labeled as the University of Arizona’s. The attendance example is made up and uses Top Hat’s published formula. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source.
Related guides: Top Hat · What is Edpuzzle Live Mode? · All guides · Canvas grade calculator
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Top Hat. Top Hat is a trademark of its owner.