iPhone presence sensor help

[spartanrob]

C7 hub updated to the latest firmware 2.4.3.131.
2 iPhone 17 pro’s on iOS 26. Using them as presence sensors. Sometimes the presence works, sometimes it doesn’t, very inconsistent. I used to use Life360 but that got inconsistent.

Looking for recommendations on the best method to use the iPhones as presence to do some basic tasks, lock doors, etc

[aaiyar]

@spartanrob

Looking for recommendations on the best method to use the iPhones as presence to do some basic tasks, lock doors, etc

I use two presence apps on each iPhone (also on iOS26)

1. Apple Home. Very easy to setup because Hubitat has a built-in HomeKit integration.
2. Locative or Geofency. Little more involved to setup, but they both work well.

Both apps "Always" have access to Location Services (under iOS Settings).

Haven't had any issues with geofencing since setting this up.

[spartanrob]

Thanks. Looks loke Homekit controller requires a C8

[hydro311]

The HomeKit Controller integration requires 8 Pro, but the HomeKit Bridge integration doesn't.

You just need the HK Bridge integration for using HK presence (source: me - I use it [works great!], and I don't have the HK Controller integration installed).

[aaiyar]

What @hydro311 said. To reiterate, HomeKit Bridge will work on any Hubitat. And Apple Home works very well for presence. Both the other apps I suggested (Locative, Geofency) will also work on any Hubitat.

[spartanrob]

Do you have to set the phone up as a virtual presence sensor

[aaiyar]

@csteele wrote detailed instructions a couple of years ago that I’ve pasted below:

Homekit presence status?

I have to assume you've setup a "Virtual Presence plus switch" device in Hubitat and shared that to Apple Homekit. You've then created Apple Automations to "copy" Apple's presence into the Switch portion of that device. You don't say any of that but because of "RM" I've got to assume you made it that far. If Not, let's start there. Create two virtual devices, one for you, one for the wife. Both use the built-in "Virtual Presence with Switch" device type. In the Hubitat Homekit Integration, sele…

I should add that HomeKit presence works best if you have an Apple Home hub, like a HomePod mini or an Apple TV4 or 4K.

Both the other methods (Locative, Geofency) do not require a home hub.

[velvetfoot]

@aaiyar

iOS26

I had to look up iOS 26, lol.
My 16e is still on 18.6.2. Perhaps one day, I too will be 26'd.

[velvetfoot]

Here's something interesting:
The phone says 18.7.1 is available, as well as an upgrade to iOS26.
Suggestions? Upgrade to 26?

edit: This is what DuckDuckGo SearchAssist (whatever that is) says:

"It's recommended to wait before upgrading to iOS 26, especially if you rely on your iPhone for important tasks, as there have been reports of bugs and performance issues. If you're okay with potential problems, you can proceed, but many users suggest holding off until updates are available.
"

edit2: I upgraded to 18.7.1 and have automatic updates on, so we'll see I guess. Conservative approach, maybe.

[aaiyar]

@velvetfoot

Upgrade to 26?

Yes.

[spartanrob]

Thank you. Just configured Locative on phone 1 and will start testing.

[aaiyar]

@spartanrob

Just configured Locative on phone 1 and will start testing.

Locative works really well on my fiancée's phone. I use Geofency on my phone. And Apple Home on both. From the event logs shown below, it can be seen that the arrived/departed events from Locative and HomeKit are within a minute of each other.

Locative events:

HomeKit events:

[tr6worker]

I was just about to post about the same issue when I found this thread.
My iPhone so far shows my presence in and out of the geofence.
I just installed the Hubitat mobile app on my wife’s and daughter’s iPhones. Even though their iPhones show “out of the geofence” the tiles on the mobile app show “Present”.
Both phones set to show location “always”.
How do I get their phones to work with the geofence?

[aaiyar]

@tr6worker

How do I get their phones to work with the geofence?

My suggestion would be to use Apple Home, or apps focused on geofencing - like Locative or Geofency.

[j715]

After I updated to iOS 26 the Apple Home location quit working. I created a shortcut that triggered a Maker virtual switch, then a shortcut automation that runs the shortcut based on location. Took 2 of each, 1 for leave and one for arrive. These have worked great on both my and my wife’s phone. Hopefully Apple will get the Home location fixed before long. A google search shows a lot of people having that issue.

[tr6worker]

I am just getting my feet wet with Hubitat.
I assume I download the Locative app….. does it have to be loaded on all three phones?
How do I then integrate it with the apps regarding in/out of the geofence?
Thanks for any help you can offer.

[hydro311]

I don't use Locative myself, but I think this is the best overall thread about it... You can always search the community here for more too (upper right corner).

Locative Presence app for iOS full setup

Locative is a great app for presence sensing but is only available for iPhones. I previously used Life360 free version for over a year without any issues. I noticed that it would typically consume about 1% of my iPhone battery per day. I was not concerned with the privacy issues of being tracked. About a year and a half ago I saw a post by @ogiewon mentioning Locative. The cool thing about Locative - your phone decides when it is inside or outside your defined locations and only when your pho…

[tr6worker]

Thanks, that’s a very through write up. I’m going to look into that.

[aaiyar]

@tr6worker

I assume I download the Locative app….. does it have to be loaded on all three phones?

The app will have to be downloaded to all three iPhones.

@tr6worker

How do I then integrate it with the apps regarding in/out of the geofence?

@hydro311 posted the perfect link. @steve.maddigan has a detailed writeup on setting up Locative. Once setup, it would be used in Hubitat like any other Presence Sensor.

With all that said, the simplest way to get geofencing working on Hubitat is by using Apple Home, and Hubitat's built-in HomeKit integration. There is a link to a writeup from @csteele on how to set up geofencing using HomeKit a few posts above yours in this thread.

[spartanrob]

2 phones working perfectly with Locative. Set up wasn’t bad based on the instructions above. Appreciate everyones’s input!