Most successful presence detection?

Nice, Iā€™ve started using it. Too bad the virtual presence with switches can't be exposed to Alexa for routines (that I can tell). This would allow me to cut complexity even further. Thanks for the info!

The virtual presence with switch should be just as usable in Alexa. It shows up as a standard switch.

1 Like

To clarify, I do see it in Alexa devices (once exposed to Alexa, of course), but I can't seem to use it in routines. Do you see otherwise?

Sorry I know this is super old post, but how do I make Static IP address for my Hubitat hub to use this?

Hi there. Can you elaborate? I have an AppleTV and wnat to use my iPhones as presence sensors with Hubitat. How do I do this?

I suggest you create a DHCP reservation for your hub, which is done in your routerā€™s settings menu.

Here's a link to the method of setting up using HomeKit as a presence sensor. FWIW this worked perfectly for my iPhone and never was reliable for my wife's iPhone and I was never able to figure it out so I abandoned this approach and switched to using Locative which works almost perfectly. Warning: neither of these integrations are a walk in the park. How do I setup presence using Homekit and Homebridge?

In my apartment I have Motion Senors virtually everywhere plus Bed Sensors.
The RM rule is very simple: If any of the above sensor is active then somebody
definitely at hone else if there is no any activity for 15min then apartment is
unoccupied. Simple, 100% reliable and 100% local, no GPS and Internet is involved.

1 Like

Unless you have a cat. :slight_smile:

But seriously, this method is never mentioned.
It could be expanded to anything showing human presence, lights, power, sound, alarm system status, etc.

Still, nothing is foolproof.

On a side note, what do you use for Bed Sensors?

2 Likes

Initially I tried pressure mats attached to the Zigbee Door/Window sensors. This did not produced
a reliable results because I have very hard and fat matrasses for my adjustable beds. For the same
reason I did not try Pressure Sensitive Resistors. Finally I ended up with Withings Sleep Pads.
Unfortunately this is cloud-based integration (I am trying to avoid anything cloud-based) but so
far they works and produces very reliable results. As a Bed Presence Sensors the response time
is around 10 sec. This is too long for the lighting applications but good enough for the Presence
Detection and automatic curtain open/close RM rules.

We do have a cat. But Presence Detection RM rule is a bit more complicated than I described
in my previous post. For the automatic Apartment Dore Unlock-Open/Close-Lock RM rule
I am using Active RF ID Fobs. These are designed for the Automatic Pet Dore control but I am
using these toys for my Front Door Open/Close control and they are part of the
Departure/Presence RM rules. So far I am very happy with these automations and WAF is
very high.

1 Like

Have you tried the Aqara FP2 Presence sensors? Uses mm waves and fairly accurate if placement is high enough.

I did get two of Aqara FP2 sensors. Both now in my spare drawer because no matter what
I tried I could not get them reporting reliably and therefor they absolutely cannot be used
in any automations.

Yep had same reliability issues initially. How high up are they mounted? Also, did you do the ā€œReset to Absence Statusā€ for first week or so? After I remounted my sensors at least 8 ft. And reset the absence so it can learn the room better. The reliability detention was spot on 99% of time. On very rare occasions now would I have to reset.

Well, I tried everything imaginable many times and finally give-up.
These sensors are very nice (unfortunately not cheap) toys but automations cannot
rely on their reporting. This way they are 100%+ useless (at least in my case).
I am using Square Wall Mounted Zigbee sensors and these are reliable near 100%
(Occasionally everything is failing, This is somewhat expected if failure rate is very low).

Hi Aamann

This is a great idea as we are using Apple products as well. Could please let me know how did you do it.
Thank you.

I do the same with virtual presence sensors through Homebridge. It is a solid solution for iPhone presence detection.

1 Like

Thanks so much @wiegout . Had same issue yesterday with one phone working while other phone wasnā€™t.. although both seemingly set up same. Spent several hours trying to figure it out yesterday, and finally was able to fix it by Settings > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset Locations & Privacy. (Note: Once reset, will have to re-choose Locations services options per app).

Both phones work great now as presence using HomeKit. Will try it out for next few weeks.

2 Likes

Hi wiegout

Thank you very much

1 Like

Iris Smart Fobs have been very reliable for me. I have used them for years. I just found another "new" one which I just ordered. I tend to be rough on them and the cases being plastic can break after they have been dropped a number of times. Having a spare is good.