Hi all,
I’ve been diving into the world of presence detection lately, and I thought I’d share my experiences and findings with you. Presence detection is such a crucial part of automating my home, especially for something as simple yet impactful as automatically opening my garage door when I arrive. However, getting it to work reliably has been quite the challenge!
I started by experimenting with the Android phone app and Life360 for presence detection. While the idea was solid, the reliability left a lot to be desired. I then decided to take matters into my own hands and created a virtual presence detector. This involved monitoring my phone’s connection to my home Wi-Fi network to trigger the garage door. Surprisingly, even this approach wasn’t as reliable as I hoped.
One thing I noticed was that when my phone wasn’t on the same network as my SmartThings hub, there seemed to be a delay or inconsistency in the communication. I suspect this is because the data has to go through the cloud first before reaching my devices. To test this theory, I’ve started ensuring that my phone stays connected to my home network whenever possible, and the results so far have been promising.
I’ve also explored the possibility of using Z-Wave presence detectors, but it seems like there aren’t many flexible options available. If anyone has a reliable setup or a creative workaround, I’d love to hear about it!
In the meantime, I’ve been documenting my trials and errors, and I’d love to hear if anyone else has faced similar challenges or has a solution that worked for them. Whether it’s about improving reliability, simplifying the setup, or finding alternative methods, your insights would be invaluable.
Stay curious and keep experimenting!
Best,
[Your Name]