New App wont allow mobile presence to unlock doors

correct, nothing can automate unlocking with the new app.

edit: unless they allow it with a custom smart app with the new api :thinking:

As some people remember, being able to unlock the door in multiple ways was the very first use case that ever brought me to home automation. For those of us who have limited use of our hands, itā€™s really helpful. But plenty of other people use it too, for example if you have someone you want to let in that you can see through your video doorbell and you arenā€™t home at that moment. Like a plumber who gets there while you are hung up in traffic. Or even just for little kids Who have a key fob device.

Back in 2014 when I was first looking into home automation of this type, smartthings was one of the only competitors in this price range that did offer multiple hands-free methods of unlocking the door. Staples, for example, did not. Harmony did, but only if you were at home on the same Wi-Fi. You couldnā€™t do it from outside the home.

A year or so ago one disability blog surveyed readers to see what they thought the most helpful smart home devices were. Amazon echo was top of the list. A hands-free smart lock came in second.

Fortunately now there are a number of systems that do allow you to unlock a door or disarm the security system hands free remotely (Abode, for example, did at least the last time I checked it) and another group, usually older systems, that does not, like ADT.

ADT finally started allowing you to send yourself a reminder if you left home and hadnā€™t armed the system, but not actually arm or disarm it automatically.

So I think thereā€™s an understandable philosophical divide with some companies seeing it as an important feature, while others see it as a potential security problem. Choice is good. :sunglasses:

But the issue for me right now is that smartthings used to allow this and now it looks like they arenā€™t going to. That really concerns me. :disappointed_relieved:

I agree with all of those Who said this ought to be an option you could set on your account, but maybe they arenā€™t going to.

Unfortunately, the combination of not being able to arm/disarm remotely, not being able to unlock a door automatically, and the app still not being usable for those dependent on voice readers means I can no longer recommend the SmartThings system for anyone wanting low-cost home automation for accessibility reasons. Samsung clearly is not considering those use cases in their current designs. :disappointed_relieved:

I am all the way confused as to why it seems like their current business model is to take away as much awesomeness as possible and create a new app that sucks donkey ballzā€¦

I understand ā€œBig Picturesā€ but seems like they are looking through a small peephole.

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It seems clear that to Samsung, ā€œbig pictureā€ means the following:

They want a simple home automation system that will work with their smart televisions without requiring custom code.

Its more like ā€œbig brotherā€ determining what is best for me rather than letting me decide what works for me. They are so worried about liability that they pulled the plug on one of the greatest features they had as stated above. How about a 2 step authentification where as you entered your geofence a notification is sent requiring you to speak a password or something along those linesā€¦idk
For those that must have this feature I have a Vera running at my cottage that works great with mobile presence so that is still an option

Should we lobby amazon? If ring is looking to enter the smart home it might be worth a try?

Or mabe even hubitat? No disrespect to samsung but that should really be our option.

I expect ring will get there sooner or later. You can certainly send in a suggested feature through the Amazon app. :sunglasses:

Meanwhile HomeKit is very voice accessible, and also offers Geopresence as a trigger for locks.

Thereā€™s no professionally monitored security system option yet for HomeKit, but I use a different security system anyway.

The point is, Samsung does not have to offer these options, there are some competitors that have them and some competitors that donā€™t. If they want to come down on the side of donā€™t, thatā€™s a business decision on their part.

Itā€™s just very unfortunate that the feature did exist and now is gone.

Not gone yet. Who knows, maybe their minions who watch this forum (if any still do) will convey the messageā€¦ and the message will be heard.

Any updates on this topic? I just built a new home with 8 exterior doors. I wanted to be able to unlock all of them at once. I thought smart things would allow me to do this with a scene or automation, realized yesterday it wouldnā€™t. Can anyone help or recommend a new product?

You can still use the Classic app via a Routine to do this. I still use the Classic app for things like this. Based on a combination of mobile and ST presence sensors, we have a variety of automations/routines that kick off, including locks.

so i just went in to my classic app to try and add a routine and its now saying unable to add routine when you hit the plus looks like they might be shutting part down Ive been on the new system for a while but now that stringify is shut down was looking for a option to auto unlock my schlage connect. I figured i would go back this route. any one have any other ideas

Worked for me just now. Tapped on Add a Routine, gave it name Test, tapped on Unlock these doors, selected my lock, told it when someone arrives, and it saved properly.

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hmm dont know what was up it working again today for me most have messed up on my app well thanks for checking for me

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I want to echo my similar disappointment that Samsung unilaterally took away the phone presence option to unlock a door upon arrival. This was one of the main reasons and most used automation features I utilize. Samsung ā€“ you should give users back the choice with a checkbox or something that allows the user to acknowledge any safety liability.

Has anyone found a workaround using IFTTT or some other method?

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This works now! I know it wasnā€™t present before, but I just had a look today (havenā€™t checked for long time) and it was possible to select the lock now and make it unlock when I arrived, it worked well on my Galaxy Fold

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Yes, it was added in a recent update. :sunglasses:

I wonder what prompted them to reinstate that feature? I just added the automation to the new app and will check it out over the next few days. For me this means I can delete the old app as I no longer see the need to have 2 apps. Thanks for pointing out the change Erikā€¦and thank you smartthings!

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Good Day, can you explain in more details how you did it? Thanks.

Here is a quick refernce for set up:

From there you create a custom automation in which you trigger your doors to lock or unlock as you move in or out of your geofence.

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