WebCore Presence

I've been patiently using Hubitat's Presence for a couple years now. It's "hit or miss" for sure- sometimes it works great and sometimes it doesn't. Not consistent nor reliable. I've seen many alternatives on the forums but I'm interested in using WebCore Presence. I've never used WebCore and haven't yet installed it. I've looked for guidance on how to install and use it but haven't seen anything with enough detail.

Can somebody who's familiar with WebCore Presence with Hubitat share install/use information to help get me and others like me started?

From what I understand, it is installed as a "device"- is the device accessible in hubitat and can it be used with hubitat apps?
How are mobile devices configured? Can other "Arrival Sensors" be set up using WebCore Presence?

It is conceptually similar - you install an app on your phone, then connect it to webCoRE.

I have not used it myself, so I cannot comment on it vs. life360 vs. Hubitat presence. There are articles in this forum on folks using multiple sensors for this.

Others may have more feedback on that.

I use a combination of free life 360, HE Presence, WIFI Presence and a zigbee presence device combined with the combiner app and it works great.

That seems to touch too many applications. I like to follow the KISS principles- Seems like others have good reliability using just WebCore Presence...

I installed Webcore when I moved to Hubitat last fall. At the time, I installed it manually, although I think you can just use HPM to install it now. I created pistons that react when my iPhone (a device) changes to present and not present. With the exception of a two-day period a few months ago, it's been extremely reliable with a near 100% success rate. Here's an example of a piston I'm using. Presence is also used at sunrise and sunset to change location mode. It may look complicated but since I've been using Webcore for so long, it's has become very easy to use and I can accomplish pretty much anything I can dream up.

I agree. webCoRE presence has been extremely reliable for me as well. So much so that I use it for many things. Here's a list:

  • Automatically changes to one of three different modes (Home, Away, Vacation) of Heat/Cool setpoints and auto-setpoint holds, based on our distance from home (and therefore, recovery time) - saving money on Heating and Cooling costs.
  • Although we have a separate, monitored security system, when we’re ‘Away’ or on ‘Vacation’ the Hubitat Motion Sensors are set to also monitor for added security and Hubitat will send us notifications, SMS, and email messages if a Hubitat sensor becomes active.
  • My HVAC recirculation fan runs for 20 minutes every 2 hours based on season, time schedules, our location. and the current HVAC state (Heat, Cool, or Standby).
  • Lights automatically stay off if we’re not home on Halloween evening
  • Runs a deck fountain during specific hours - but only when we're home. It will shut off if we leave and start up when we arrive back home if it's within the pre-scheduled hours.
  • Controls the Master Bedroom and Living Room Ceiling Fans (on/off and speed) based on temperature when anyone is home and the HVAC system is in OFF or COOL Mode.
  • When we're 'away' or on ‘vacation’, the living room and den area lights will randomly turn off between certain start and stop times to make it appear more like we're home.
  • Alexa Guard automatically runs when we are 'Away' or on 'Vacation' and turns off when we return.
  • Hubitat turns the Air Purifier on in the morning if we’re home and the thermostat is NOT in heating mode and turns it off at night.
  • Upon our arrival at home, selected outdoor and indoor lights are activated based on lux levels and sunrise/sunset timing for safety and visibility.

I used to use webCoRE presence while I was using SmartThings too and it worked well there too. Although your experience could certainly be different than mine, it's been rock-solid for us.

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I like redundancy. Same reason I have a Synology NAS. I am adding webcore as well.

Thanks Markles and Florack1- Thanks for taking time and sharing. It provides a lot of ideas and will come in handy. I'll dive into WebCore and try to make things work. Seems like WebCore provides a lot more flexibility and options for writing rules and I like to learn.

Thanks tmcdonald- Redundancy will surely provide something to fall back on should the need arise. I have a synology set up too (with raid 0). However I have a second synology set up to back up what I deem as necessary. Its been a long learning curve but an enjoyable journey.

In my experience all Geofence based solutions are as good or bad as your phone. I tried about 8 different apps on different HA platforms and phones and all trigger the geofences at the same time or none do. You do have to make sure battery and other 'efficiency' setting will not stop the app(s) from always running in the back ground, and sometimes an update of an app or the phone will brake things again. Now the only backup I have is a notification on no one left in the house, and if we leave for a longer time, I check that manually (ouch). Occasionally the check out failed, but when we are away for just an hour or two it does not matter much to me.
On entry there is a check on the phone for connecting to my local wifi (using Tasker). Only on entry only as I do not want to sit in the dark and cold when my wifi has a hiccup.

I stopped going for perfection as the components used for Geofencing are simply not stable enough, or you make it complex. Something I decided not to go for, but it is a free world.

Cheers Rene

Are you using WebCore Presence? If not, what are you currently using and are you Android or iPhone?
During my research, I found that WebCore seems to be the most consistent and reliable. When I figure out how to make it work and use it for a while, I surely will offer my opinion. I've only used Hubitat Presence and know its not consistent or reliable.

In my experience, Webcore presence works very consistently, hubitat’s doesn’t.

Hubitat on iOS is also a battery drain.

Does a webCoRE presence sensor for Android even exist? I see there's something on Google Play, but it says it's not compatible with my device. All of the APKs I've found are 4-5 years old. I'd love to use webCoRE presence because I already use webCoRE for everything else. It seems like it would make Piston design easier.

I have webCoRE presence set up on my Android phone, though I use it sparingly. A neat feature is that you can set up multiple places (for free, unlike Life360). In my current situation, it is more of a novelty than necessity. Like many people, I have had mixed results with each geofence solution.

There shouldn't be any additional app to download. IIRC, there is a webCoRE presence driver that you would need within Hubitat. HPM has been taking care of that for me, so I don't remember the details.

I added the webCoRE Presence Sensor as a virtual device, but it doesn't seem to do anything. The options are "asleep", "awake", and "toggle sleeping". Also, it shows no current states.

I guess I'm trying to understand what this sensor is supposed to do. I was envisioning it working with the "Places" settings in webCoRE. My goal was to have Pistons that would run based on location and not just presence.

The good news is that it can certainly do the things that you are seeking. The bad news is that I am not smart enough to know what to check or fix. Not sure if it is better to ask here or on the webCoRE forum.

There is an impressive amount of information, once you get it up and running. Setting separate zones for arrival and departure is a nice feature, also.

Hi All. Is anyone getting “Excessive Activity” alert on Hubitat from their Webcore Presense sensor? Both my wife’s and my iPhone are used as WC presence sensors, and mine is fine, but my wife’s WC Presence seems to register an event activity 300+ times an hour.

I’ve installed and uninstalled the WC Presence on her phone already, but still shows a lot of activity.