Better, More Reliable Virtual Presence Sensors to Detect Departure and Arrival

‼ - NOTE: THIS VIDEO IS OUTDATED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A REFERENCE FOR SETTING UP YOUR PHONE AS A PRESENCE SENSOR. - ‼

CURRENT VIDEO: Setup Smart Phones as Presence Sensors in SmartThings 2023 - https://youtu.be/70f9MkB-cOs

Using an iPhone Presence Sensor in SmartThings

You can enable presence detection simply by adding each family member’s device to the ST App. You can access detailed steps for adding and managing family members in the ST App via the following link https://aeotec.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/6000240464

You must then use routines to arm and disarm your home based on the presence or lack of presence of your families' phones. I have a Good Bye Routine using "Member location" based on our phones proximity to the Hub's geolocation. The routine states: If all phones are 'Away" from the geolocation the Change location mode to AWAY and Change the STHM to "Armed (away)". Conversely, I have an “I'm Back” Routine using "Member location” that states, If any one member phone returns, then change the hub’s location mode to "HOME" and set the STHM to "Disarmed".

IMPORTANT: I have personally found that older phones (iOS devices) do not work reliably within ST as presence sensors. Since I upgraded my iPhone from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 14 it now works flawlessly as a presence sensor. The same is true for my wife’s iPhone 11. It also works reliably. The reason I believe that the older Apple phones do not work reliably as a presence sensor in SmartThings is because they are not able to use the last version of iOS. The maximum version of iOS on the iPhone 7 is iOS 15.7. 2 In June 2022, Apple announced that it will drop support for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with the release of iOS 16.

I cannot speak as an authority about Android devices. All I can say is that a friend of mine had the newest Android phone it too works reliably as a presence sensor in SmartThings.

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