# Cell phone usage as a trigger?

**URL:** <https://community.smartthings.com/t/cell-phone-usage-as-a-trigger/59241>\
**Category:** Automation Ideas\
**Created:** [October 5, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cell-phone-usage-as-a-trigger/59241 "2016-10-05T13:49:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mmccown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mmccown](https://community.smartthings.com/u/mmccown)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cell-phone-usage-as-a-trigger/59241/1 "2016-10-05T13:49:17Z")

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Is it possible to use the mobile application to sense when a phone call is in progress?

The application would be when I’m on a phone call I can trigger a red status light outside of my office to avoid interruptions or use it as a condition to avoid other automations like a speaker announcement in the office…

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**Author:** ![JDRoberts](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/jdroberts/32/56577_2.png) [@JDRoberts](https://community.smartthings.com/u/JDRoberts)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 2:06pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cell-phone-usage-as-a-trigger/59241/2 "2016-10-05T14:06:18Z")

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I believe you can do this on an android phone with a combination of Tasker and SharpTools. @joshua_lyon might know.

You can also do this with the android phone channel on IFTTT, but I don’t know how long the lag is:

> **[IFTTT](https://ifttt.com/android_phone)**
>
> Connect Android Phone Call to IFTTT, Email, android\_phone, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Android SMS, Life360, Email Digest, Google Contacts and more.

I don’t know if there’s anyway to do this on an iPhone.

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**Author:** ![joshua\_lyon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/user_avatar/community.smartthings.com/joshua_lyon/32/12655_2.png) [@joshua\_lyon](https://community.smartthings.com/u/joshua_lyon)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://community.smartthings.com/t/cell-phone-usage-as-a-trigger/59241/3 "2016-10-05T16:11:21Z")

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You can use the “Phone Offhook” status in Tasker which can trigger SharpTools to change your lights.

Similarly, I’ve seen people use the “Phone Ringing” profile to have your lights flash when someone calls. Especially good if you are hard of hearing or want a much more visual indication of the phone ringing!