SmartThings presence sensor Help!

Devices & Integrations
1

So I am not sure if i am supposed to start a new thread or add on to an old one. So forgive me if i did this wrong…

I am new to ST. So far i have connected my wink bulb, wemo and a few other small things to ST with what i would call success.

Issue#1
I have all but given up on the presence sensors as i have tried using three android phone first, which was a horrible failure, and then bought the presence sensors which don’t seem to have consistent results. With three people that come and go erratically being able to shut down unnecessary power loads in the house was definitely the goal.

2

Well I can only maybe help with number one… but a suggestion for future posts would be to include one major issue/topic instead of three. This thread is going to become a mess talking about three totally separate issues.

As for the presence sensors, mine were a mess until I put a repeating zigbee device in the garage (even though it is directly below the room with the hub). They just don’t have much range so you really need to have some devices that can help out with the signal. Since Installing a usb powered motion sensor in the garage, they have been rock solid.

2 Likes
3

@scottinpollock

Scott amended my post and broke it out accordingly. Thanks for responding.

First what sensor are you using. Can it be any zigbee based sensor?

My house is a single story house. Also i was curious, I saw a post about zigbee interference. My hub is right next to my router…

Also any ideas on why the android approach didn’t work? I just checked and even though the app has been active all day and i have left twice it shows no recent activity in my log.

Thanks

4

I think what @scottinpollock is talking about is the ST Presence Sensors. They are Zigbee based. They are very good, as long as you do not have a lot of interference with your Hub.

The Android issues appear to be largely based on the device, where some Android devices are better than others. I use a Samsung S5, which works well for me.

5

Android can be a mixed bag… who’s to say whose bug it is? But folks on iOS have reported similar issues so it’s possible the SmartThings app’s design is not what it should be.

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I’ve switched our androids over to life360 for presence, been a few weeks now and has been working very consistently.

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@Mike_Maxwell - Are you triggering presence from life360 based on its 15 min GPS update? I would like my presence to be detected the moment I enter the geofence…Not based on the 15 min GPS update…Ayy idea on how to do that?

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I’m using what ever the minimum time they allow is. I just kept moving my fence out until my lights were consistently on when I pulled in the driveway.