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Presence not working, again!

HomeyuserHomeyuser Member
in Questions & Help

And again, after a restart of homey, I have problems with the presence control.
Sometimes it's my iphone7, and sometimes my wife's iphone5.

It becomes very annoying. Presence control is the most important thing for home
automation (C.V. temperature down, turn off all lights, when leaving the house).

Hopefully this issue has been resolved in the new app.

«1

Comments

  • canedjecanedje Member
    edited January 2018
    A known issue.
    presence is not reliable at all
    smart présence is also not doing the trick since new smartphones disconnect from WiFi because of energie use reduction
    In this topic there is a solution for android users:
    https://forum.athom.com/discussion/4303/presence-not-reliable#latest
  • glijieglijie Member
    edited January 2018
    strange presence with Iphone 7 over here is working verry well. 
    But here presence with android really sucks. So for Android i Use Tasker and in that way it works verry good.

    So for me presence is verry reliable.

    but i think that that presence should work just as good for any phone out of the box...and that, they just cann't make it happen:-(
  • HomeyuserHomeyuser Member 
    Athom, when will the presence become stable for multiple phones (iOS and Android)?
  • BramBram Member
    Are you using the beta app or the stable app?
  • glijieglijie Member
    Bram said:
    Are you using the beta app or the stable app?
    Beta and stable for android s7 and s7edge
  • deedjedeedje Member
    precent works really bad also on Vera and HomeAssistant (What im useing now while im waiting on my Homey). Ive also heard that other hubs have the same problem.

    I use the alarm as a precent thing, when alarm in ON noone is home, when OFF someone is home. Simple.
  • MartijnMartijn Member
    edited January 2018
    Since I’m using OwnTracks my worries about presence belongs to the past! It works really great...
    Good battery, homey stable detecting two iPhones! Stable for couple of months!
  • TonD83TonD83 Member
    I could be wrong (usually I am) but it seems the new beta app doesn't have presence detection at all? Anyway I've given up on Homey's capability of detecting presence and use OwnTracks as well. Even this hasn't proven 100% reliable for me, but much, much improved and almost completely reliable.
  • BramBram Member
    Presence detection in the new mobile app is not activated (yet). This has to do with the Beta status of the app.

    Presence detection in the stable app on Android sometimes does not work properly due to the fact that Android disables the wifi signal once your phone is locked. 

    One of our users successfully got it working using the following steps: 

    The Android 6 or higher Phones have a Battery Management settings. Here you have to grand permission for the Homey app to use as much power it needs. Then its another setting where the phone force close the apps that are not used for 3 days. Here I had to exclude Homey app from the list.

    Could you try this and see if this solves the issue?
  • GolferGolfer Member
    It works randomly on my Iphone 6S  Homey 1.53   .Today no precence notification when I left and came home
  • BramBram Member
    @Golfer could you try and change the "radius" in the mobile app(stable)? Another option what sometimes works is to log out and log back in
  • GolferGolfer Member
    Bram said:
    @Golfer could you try and change the "radius" in the mobile app(stable)? Another option what sometimes works is to log out and log back in
    I've changed the radius from 100 to 120 m and logged out and in again  so i will check if it gets more reliable . I would be great if it have the option in radius down to 10 meter in the app . 
  • MartijnMartijn Member
    Again, why not using Owntracks? Its very simple to configure and very stable.
    I gave up the Homey presence function a long while ago.. even all the other solutions like "better presence".

    Since I made that choice Homey never missed a flow started after presence change (radius).
     

  • guzzpowerguzzpower Member
    Bram said:
    Presence detection in the new mobile app is not activated (yet). This has to do with the Beta status of the app.

    Presence detection in the stable app on Android sometimes does not work properly due to the fact that Android disables the wifi signal once your phone is locked. 

    One of our users successfully got it working using the following steps: 

    The Android 6 or higher Phones have a Battery Management settings. Here you have to grand permission for the Homey app to use as much power it needs. Then its another setting where the phone force close the apps that are not used for 3 days. Here I had to exclude Homey app from the list.

    Could you try this and see if this solves the issue?
    Thnx Bram, this is new to me and i didnt know about this setting. I'll try it the coming days...
  • 2mv2mv Member
    No, presence detection of Homey has never reliably worked (android phone/1.5.6-rc.8)
    The odd thing about it is that the Homey app is granted permission to use the 'location' of the phone, and the phone is spot on about it's location. But the Homey apparatus s not aware of that location. Why not?

    And yes I have tried reinstalling/logging out/removing phones and then adding them again/rebooting and all sorts of things. But you know, that hit and miss kind of see what sticks is not genuine troubleshooting. And so what else to expect than that it didn't work or did not work reliably or not a 'long' periode of time.

    And yes I have seen good reliable working presence detection in action. Tado has an excellent one for instance.

    @Bram Has it any use reporting this issue of failing presence detection? I mean, if there are no resources available to give a follow up on it then we can skip this. So if yes, where and how would you like that?

    Best regards, Herbert



  • BramBram Member
    The new mobile app will definitely improve the presence detection, so I would suggest to wait for that or try the above fix. We are doing our best to release the new mobile app as soon as possible
  • 2mv2mv Member
    Ok then. Resources are allocated on that new app. I can only hope that once published, that there still will be enough manpower to make presence detection truly solid.
    All the best,
    Herbert
  • technimantechniman Member
    As a workaround I've done the following:

    Setup an home-assistant instance
    Setup owntracks on both phones (iOS and Android)  and HASS
    Added a ping switch for both phones in HASS
    Added the automation mentioned here: 
    https://community.home-assistant.io/t/presence-detection-with-multiple-devices-multiple-trackers/4335

    The only exception is the ping switch, iOS has a tendency to let the wifi go to sleep hence ping can be unreliable,
    however if ping is accepted the phone *must* be at home, so the ping test is added to the "home" automation.

    To communicate with the other systems i have setup a MQTT server (which is already included in HASS) Homey just uses the MQTT client  and flicks the "home/not home" (better logic)  switch based on MQTT.  
    Beauty of this is that the geofences are maintained in HASS and i'm able to re-use these in Homey 

    As far as accuracy, I think its about 95-98% correct, occasionally the owntracks get's stuck on a nearby geofence,
    but the ping switch will sort that until the next update.  
       

     


  • canedjecanedje Member
    techniman said:
    As a workaround I've done the following:

    Setup an home-assistant instance
    Setup owntracks on both phones (iOS and Android)  and HASS
    Added a ping switch for both phones in HASS
    Added the automation mentioned here: 
    https://community.home-assistant.io/t/presence-detection-with-multiple-devices-multiple-trackers/4335

    The only exception is the ping switch, iOS has a tendency to let the wifi go to sleep hence ping can be unreliable,
    however if ping is accepted the phone *must* be at home, so the ping test is added to the "home" automation.

    To communicate with the other systems i have setup a MQTT server (which is already included in HASS) Homey just uses the MQTT client  and flicks the "home/not home" (better logic)  switch based on MQTT.  
    Beauty of this is that the geofences are maintained in HASS and i'm able to re-use these in Homey 

    As far as accuracy, I think its about 95-98% correct, occasionally the owntracks get's stuck on a nearby geofence,
    but the ping switch will sort that until the next update.  
       

     


     :o  :# sounds pretty complex
  • guzzpowerguzzpower Member
    Bram said:
    Presence detection in the new mobile app is not activated (yet). This has to do with the Beta status of the app.

    Presence detection in the stable app on Android sometimes does not work properly due to the fact that Android disables the wifi signal once your phone is locked. 

    One of our users successfully got it working using the following steps: 

    The Android 6 or higher Phones have a Battery Management settings. Here you have to grand permission for the Homey app to use as much power it needs. Then its another setting where the phone force close the apps that are not used for 3 days. Here I had to exclude Homey app from the list.

    Could you try this and see if this solves the issue?
    Bram,
    I tried this on my s7 and my girlfriens s8 but both are not working properly. Sometimes it works but then not.
    Strange thing is that it sometimes work on the s8 (homey gives a message) but flows are not triggered.
    I leave it for now and wait for the homey update.
    In the meantime i try the hue geofencing for lightning.
  • MartijnMartijn Member
    edited February 2018
    I don’t know why nobody tried my simple solution.. maybe I’m the only one who finds it a good solution ;)

    last time Ike I’m going to explain... :)

    just sinple use own tracks via https... no extra servers, no ping bla bla. Every mobile phone sleeps after 1-3 minutes, so ping is a not so good solution.

    since I installed owntracks on our iPhones (no dead battery compared to other tracking apps) I think I got a 99% perfect solution. 

    Just my last 2 cents :) 
  • phil_sphil_s Member
    @Martijn i will try your solution. i hoped athom will get it, but only my own iphone works with prensence, my old iphone (now used by my wife) won't work correct.

    so i will test your solution. i think the reason why many people don't want own tracks is the fear that another company has your routing profil....
  • MartijnMartijn Member
    Ahaa, but other companies also get gps information if you are using gps navigation such like TomTom, google maps, Waze etc etc... 

    owntracks is anonymous, or better said, you don’t have to login or register. Please let me know if I can help if you have trouble to get it working.
  • canedjecanedje Member
    Where to find an simple user install guide for owntracks?
  • RuudvBRuudvB Member
    Martijn said:
    I don’t know why nobody tried my simple solution.. maybe I’m the only one who finds it a good solution ;)

    last time Ike I’m going to explain... :)

    just sinple use own tracks via https... no extra servers, no ping bla bla. Every mobile phone sleeps after 1-3 minutes, so ping is a not so good solution.

    since I installed owntracks on our iPhones (no dead battery compared to other tracking apps) I think I got a 99% perfect solution. 

    Just my last 2 cents :) 
    Ok, now I have installed owntracks; now what...? What do I have to do to let homey connect to this app?
  • 2mv2mv Member
    Hi Ruud,
    If you search in this forum you wil get some info albeit somewhat fragmented.
    In short:
    Install the app in homey: https://apps.athom.com/app/nl.scanno.owntracks and add a user. That user gets an userid.
    Install the owntracks app in android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.owntracks.android&hl=nl
    Add some 'regions' and check the 'share' and in preferences/connection/mode private http and as host: https://<cloudid>.homey.athom.com/api/app/nl.scanno.owntracks/events/?token=<tokenid from user>

    I have had a number of crashes of the owntracks android app (the above one that everybody is referring to). That app is no longer maintained it says and it is referring to yet another app. (martijn, the owntracks enthusiast is using iphones so he dodges that bullet)
    But hey, if it fits your needs then great. But would I recommend it to my mother, no. <span>:wink:</span>
  • MartijnMartijn Member
    2mv said:
    Hi Ruud,
    If you search in this forum you wil get some info albeit somewhat fragmented.
    In short:
    Install the app in homey: https://apps.athom.com/app/nl.scanno.owntracks and add a user. That user gets an userid.
    Install the owntracks app in android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.owntracks.android&hl=nl
    Add some 'regions' and check the 'share' and in preferences/connection/mode private http and as host: https://<cloudid>.homey.athom.com/api/app/nl.scanno.owntracks/events/?token=<tokenid from user>

    I have had a number of crashes of the owntracks android app (the above one that everybody is referring to). That app is no longer maintained it says and it is referring to yet another app. (martijn, the owntracks enthusiast is using iphones so he dodges that bullet)
    But hey, if it fits your needs then great. But would I recommend it to my mother, no. <span>:wink:</span>
    Yes indeed 2mv, I'm using iPhones so I dont know anything about crashing owntracks apps on Android. On iPhone the app is pretty stable.
    I dont use any mosquito or other brokers. I'm using the https variant and that works pretty good as well. 
    @RuudvB if you follow the steps in the post from 2mv, you should get it working. otherwise give me an heads-up and I will try to help you.
  • RuudvBRuudvB Member
    edited February 2018
    2mv said:
    Hi Ruud,
    If you search in this forum you wil get some info albeit somewhat fragmented.
    In short:
    Install the app in homey: https://apps.athom.com/app/nl.scanno.owntracks and add a user. That user gets an userid.
    Install the owntracks app in android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.owntracks.android&hl=nl
    Add some 'regions' and check the 'share' and in preferences/connection/mode private http and as host: https://<cloudid>.homey.athom.com/api/app/nl.scanno.owntracks/events/?token=<tokenid from user>

    I have had a number of crashes of the owntracks android app (the above one that everybody is referring to). That app is no longer maintained it says and it is referring to yet another app. (martijn, the owntracks enthusiast is using iphones so he dodges that bullet)
    But hey, if it fits your needs then great. But would I recommend it to my mother, no. <span>:wink:</span>
    I must be very stupid, but there is no way that I can create a user.... All fields are not editable unless I check-on MQTT.
    Even then it requires an IP or DNS setting..???? 
    It is totally unclear to me what should be entered...

    I why should I even want this MQTT? Just HTTP should be sufficient??
  • 2mv2mv Member
    The box at the bottom of the page, called "Gebruikers gegevens" (in grey).
    In that box you find a button "Wijzig gebruikers", after clicking that you have a empty box with a + button at the right.
    Fill in your name and push the plus button.
  • RuudvBRuudvB Member
    2mv said:
    The box at the bottom of the page, called "Gebruikers gegevens" (in grey).
    In that box you find a button "Wijzig gebruikers", after clicking that you have a empty box with a + button at the right.
    Fill in your name and push the plus button.
    Unbelievable... I would never have guessed :(
    Ok, finally I have a user; what is this?
    host: https://<cloudid>.homey.athom.com/api/app/nl.scanno.owntracks/events/?token=<tokenid from user>

    Again, I feel really stupid..
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