How to add an iPhone without installing the app

[andrew_newton]

Hi, now this might sound stupid but is there a way to add an iPhone as a presence sensor without installing the smarthings app on that phone.

If I install the app then surely it exposes all of the system to another phone … and I am not sure I want to do that , but I do want the other person to be detected when they arrive home or depart

Any suggestions are welcomed …thanks

[JDRoberts]

Most people use the life 360 app for this purpose. It’s a free service and there’s an official integration with SmartThings.

https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/202334244-Connecting-Life360-with-SmartThings

Alternatively, you can use IFTTT presence and have it turn on a virtual presence sensor through the SmartThings IFT TT service/channel. The difference between this and the life 360 is that life 360 does allow you to track the other person throughout the day, and that might be too much information, say for a housemate situation.

The IFTTT alternative requires a little more set up, but you can just get a report at a specific location, like now arrived at the house. You don’t get the whole tracking thing.

IFTTT

[Release] Virtual Presence Plus (presence controlled by a virtual switch)

In the spirit of enhancing the connected world, I decided to release an Improved version of my Switch-Controlled Virtual Presence. It’s a Virtual Device type that presence can be controlled by a virtual switch. So what’s different except for a better name? Responds to “arrived” and “departed” commands. Easily updatable on GitHub. Generally better. GitHub Integration Info: Owner: ajpri Name: VPresPlus Branch: master Manual Install Instructions: Go to the SmartThings IDE Click “Create new device handler” Click the “From Code” tab. Paste the GitHub code linked below. Click Create Click "Publish, then “For me” Go to “My Devices” and create a new device by clicking on “+ New Device” Chose any name you want (Will show as than on app & other ST tools. Choose any Device Network ID you …

[andrew_newton]

Thanks JD , I had forgotten the app was already installed which a separate account on the other phone, so I just updated that and turned off notifications …so far works a treat.

[shan52 (Shang)]

How to you create a virtual presence with IFTTT?

[JDRoberts]

@shan52

How to you create a virtual presence with IFTTT?

I already answered you in your other post., Details are in the presence FAQ:

FAQ: The Many Ways of Detecting Presence (2020)

Presence, regardless of the device you use, is one of those features that works great for some people, not at all for other people, and is randomly flaky for still others. It’s very much affected by local conditions. So some people will find that phone presence works much better than the SmartThings-branded presence sensor. Other people will find the reverse. Still other people, myself included, find that they have to use a combination of two devices in order to get reliable presence indication. So if this feature tends to work differently for different people, where do you start? 1. Using a Smart Phone as a Presence Indicator [image] Well, since most people who have SmartThings have a smart phone, it’s worth starting there. This method has changed significantly in the change fro…