Just have HomeKit trigger a switch (using the combined presence/switch virtual device)
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Yes, sorry @doug for not being complete. For any HomeKit Automation, of which Presence is but one feature, you need either an Apple TV, an iPad, or a HomePod... whichever one you chose, it has to be "on".
I used an iPad for at least a month, expecting it to be a major pain.. it wasn't! I had Apple TV's but I didn't want to logout of iCloud and back in. (yes, THAT lazy.) It's been using one of my AppleTV's for at least a couple months.
I had Homebridge working since ST days. I "enabled" Homebridge on Hubitat the same day it was released. I removed it, added it, removed it, added it, several times as we were all trying to nail down a slow down issue... that was 6 months ago.. but Homebridge never showed any signs of being a problem.. which is why it's always been put back on. The "story" above -- "been working for at least 3 months" -- is just the most recent chapter.
I have a Honeywell WiFi Thermostat and it's reporting into Homebridge too, always has, even back in ST days. Had all three running for a while. I have 3 devices in my config now.. TCC (Honeywell) and both of my Hubitat Hubs.
Which ever Hubitat Hub I define last in the config, works and the other is ignored. I know why, sorta, but haven't really pursued getting it to work.
For Android phone users (which I am not), shouldn't you be able to simply use Tasker to set up a Geofence. Then have Tasker make the appropriate Hubitat Maker API http GET call to change the status of a Virtual Presence Device?
I have successfully tested this on iOS using the now unsupported "Locative" App which is still available in the Apple App Store. Unfortunately, this App has been removed from the Google Play Store for Android.
Both of the above solutions would be very 'private' as far as location data goes. You could even create multiple virtual presence devices for places like Home, Work, School, etc... This would allow for simple automations based on arriving or leaving these locations.
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I had a SharpTools/Tasker setup until recently and it did work very well. I switched back to Apple so Tasker is not available. Even if I switch back to Android though, Iām still going to stay with the Lutron setup I have because itās platform agnostic and has corporate support which to me has some value. Iām actually {{{planning to}}} build(ing) an Arduino setup for presence and a few other things but thatās just for my own education and amusement.
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How did you use Sharptools/Tasker, I thought sharp tools Android app does not support HE?
I was on ST. I havenāt been on HE that long.
Tasker along with the maker api allows some pretty cool things to happen.
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Yeah I will have to check this out, I use Life360 right now but really do not like the location history. Hoping that a mobile app will be out by the end of the year.
With Locative how do you signal geofencing departure? Since departure means leaving WiFi I donāt know how I might call a URL without VPN. Iām not keen on adding VPN to every family members phone. Am I missing another option?
You use the Hubitat Maker API Cloud Endpoint, not the Local Endpoint. I would recommend using the Cloud Endpoint for both arrivals and departures, for the highest reliability. Getting connected to home WiFi before entering the geofence would be a challenge, IMHO.
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slow clap
I had no idea Maker API had cloud endpoints. I will be looking into that.
Thanks
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I just configured my Tasker Presence through Maker Api earlier today. So far testing seems good. I will have to evaluate for a week or 2 to see if it is more reliable and not a battery hog.
Thanks for the suggestion @ogiewon
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After ~24 hours, Locative is showing less than 1% battery usage on iOS 12 on my iPhone 7. Needs more run time to see how reliable it is. I have it set up to send a pushover notification for each arrival and departure.
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How did you set this up? I am trying to implement ios presence into HE to change modes, etc.
Install the app from the App Store.
This post might be helpful.
If you don't know how to use Maker Api then see the documentation here as well.
https://docs.hubitat.com/index.php?title=Maker_API
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I began using Locative for geofencing. It has so far been far quicker than Life360 and is working reliably.
It's a bit of a pain to setup, but seems to be well worth it. Hopefully the app remains on the App Store.
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Anyone tried these Zigbee Presence Fobs ??
https://wondrwall.co.uk/product/key-fob/
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Hi, Stephan. How is this working for you?
A while back, maybe two years, @destructure00 put together a great set of Tasker profiles that were spot-on. They used Autolocation and Sharp Tools. But each iteration of Android battery management made them unreliable. I would expect that any Android location service would suffer from this problem - have you seen that?
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It worked....pretty good. The issue I'm seeing (and with most android solutions as you mentioned) is my arrival. I need this to detect my presence before I open the front door. The Life360 has been the best at this...in terms of how early the detection occurs...but the integration with HE flakes out every so often. I'm now testing Locative and I've seen the same. I changed a few battery optimization settings and will continue to test Locative.
Interesting. I'm doing some logging where I record the times of my Tasker arrivals/departures and Life360 arrivals/departures. I have seen - at least one, maybe more - an instance of Life360 recording a presence change of which Hubitat was totally ignorant.
