Using mode changes as a condition + automatic mode changes

Hi all.

This is my first post here. I’m trying to understand how everyone uses modes. Do you all set them manually or?

Here is a case in point.

I have SONOs set to say “Welcome Home” everytime I am out and the door opens when I come home. The problem is that it also triggers when I am leaving the house or even whenever the door opens (obviously).

What would be great would be to have a condition like IF presence sensor is ‘away’ AND door opens… then trigger. IF the presence sensor is at home… then do not trigger. AFAIK this is not currently possible. I do hope it will be possible in future.

I was thinking that there could be a workaround by making use of MODES. if I could somehow automate the ST mode to AWAY after the presence sensor detects that I have left… then only trigger the welcome when ST mode is set to away.

I hope I’m making sense here. Just wondering what everyone else does?

Thanks,
Steve.

There is an option in the Sonos custom sound/message smartapp to activate on mode change. Could you trigger the mode change from away to home when you open the door? Not sure if you have a smart lock or not. If not and the door is locked, then trigger the mode change to occur when the door is open. What I don’t know, because everyone is asleep at the moment and I can’t test this now, is that if the mode changes to home on door open…will that be repeated every time the door is opened? I don’t have a Sonos, so I can’t test the announcement part. But I’m looking at the smartapp now and there has to be a combination that does what you want without a “Hey look, kids, there’s Big Ben” moment every time you open the door. Since I’m not tired yet, I’m going to look through that app a bit more.

You know, there are several mode options in that smartapp and they are not labeled clearly enough. Is the “system changes mode” open the mode it is changing to or from? And what the heck does “set for specific modes” at the end mean?