garage door opener

[pitt1717]

So I have added my Chamberlin garage door and works great. I set up an automation to open when I arrive home and it works... well almost.
my iPhone asks if I want to run the automation... well duh, thats why I created it. and having to open my phone and hit the button is counter intuitive and defeats the purpose of automation. I might as well just hit the button on my visor.
so is it me, did I set this up wrong? am I missing a setting somewhere?

if anyone knows, your tips would be appreciated.
thanks

 

[vipergts2207]

So I have added my Chamberlin garage door and works great. I set up an automation to open when I arrive home and it works... well almost.
my iPhone asks if I want to run the automation... well duh, thats why I created it. and having to open my phone and hit the button is counter intuitive and defeats the purpose of automation. I might as well just hit the button on my visor.
so is it me, did I set this up wrong? am I missing a setting somewhere?

if anyone knows, your tips would be appreciated.
thanks

Automations that allow access to your home require permission every the automation runs. That said, a work around is setting up an automation so that when an accessory is controlled the garage door opens. So set a light to turn on when you get home and then set that light up with an automation for the garage door to open when it turns on. The problem is it has to be an accessory you wouldn't normally control in your day to day activities or you'll be opening and closing the garage door when you don't want to.

 

[pitt1717]

interesting idea. so I can get a smart plug with nothing attached and have it trigger? that may be a good work around

 

[jljue]

It works without extra permission on Apple Watch.

 

[cynics]

interesting idea. so I can get a smart plug with nothing attached and have it trigger? that may be a good work around

Yes.
[doublepost=1513983691][/doublepost]

It works without extra permission on Apple Watch.

They are referencing geofencing.

 

[jljue]

Yes.
[doublepost=1513983691][/doublepost]

They are referencing geofencing.

It might be referencing geofencing, but I know that the same command to open the garage door from CarPlay or iPhone asks me to unlock the phone while the same command to the watch does not.

 

[cynics]

It might be referencing geofencing, but I know that the same command to open the garage door from CarPlay or iPhone asks me to unlock the phone while the same command to the watch does not.

Gotcha. Good to know.

 

[pitt1717]

hmmm. just got the wife a watch for xmas. ill have to try it out after I give it to her.

 

[BrettStah]

It might be referencing geofencing, but I know that the same command to open the garage door from CarPlay or iPhone asks me to unlock the phone while the same command to the watch does not.

That’s because your watch, once unlocked while on your wrist, remains unlocked until it’s removed.

 

[vondo]

Yeah, this is a known "feature". It would be nice to be able to turn it off, I suppose. The reasoning, I imagine, is that if someone grabs your iPhone they now have a key to your house.

More annoying is that locking or closing something triggers the same requirement, so I can't set an automation to automatically lock the doors and close the garage door when I leave, which is a big oversight IMO. I get around this by having my Schlage Sense lock 4 minutes after opening and my garage door has a 10 minute timeout (both of which have nothing to do with HomeKit).

 

[BrettStah]

Yeah, this is a known "feature". It would be nice to be able to turn it off, I suppose. The reasoning, I imagine, is that if someone grabs your iPhone they now have a key to your house.

Yep... It is also the case that sometimes an iPhone's location will drift - I've been sitting on my sofa and get the prompt asking if I want to run the automation that opens my garage door. I've opened Find Friends and seen one or more family members located houses away, when in reality they are in the house. I'd hate for my garage door to just randomly open under those conditions...

More annoying is that locking or closing something triggers the same requirement, so I can't set an automation to automatically lock the doors and close the garage door when I leave, which is a big oversight IMO. I get around this by having my Schlage Sense lock 4 minutes after opening and my garage door has a 10 minute timeout (both of which have nothing to do with HomeKit).

Yeah, I don't really understand the reasoning for requiring confirmation to lock or close devices.

 

[xraydoc]

Yep... It is also the case that sometimes an iPhone's location will drift - I've been sitting on my sofa and get the prompt asking if I want to run the automation that opens my garage door. I've opened Find Friends and seen one or more family members located houses away, when in reality they are in the house. I'd hate for my garage door to just randomly open under those conditions...
Yeah, I don't really understand the reasoning for requiring confirmation to lock or close devices.

Same reason - location drift - I would imagine. Would suck to leave your phone in your kitchen, step outside, then have the house lock itself on you.

 

[BrettStah]

Good point...

 

[BrettStah]

Same reason - location drift - I would imagine. Would suck to leave your phone in your kitchen, step outside, then have the house lock itself on you.

So, here's what I think Apple should do regarding geofence based Automations:

• On a per-automation basis, allow us to choose the size of the geofence. The location drift issue tends to have a drift measured in yards, not miles. This way we could have some that have larger geofences ("when all family members leave, switch my thermostat to away mode", etc.) where it makes sense.
• On a per-automation basis, allow us to disable the confirmation prompt. Give us a warning when we disable it, so that we are aware of the ramifications. For example, there's no realistic way I could be locked out of our house, due to a hidden emergency key. Therefore I'd want all automations that deal with locks and the garage door to be able to run without any prompts.

Anyone know why we can't adjust the geofence size of our home, btw? We can do it in the Find Friends app, but when I try to adjust it for "when all family members leave", I get warned it won't work:

 

[vipergts2207]

So, here's what I think Apple should do regarding geofence based Automations:

• On a per-automation basis, allow us to choose the size of the geofence. The location drift issue tends to have a drift measured in yards, not miles. This way we could have some that have larger geofences ("when all family members leave, switch my thermostat to away mode", etc.) where it makes sense.
• On a per-automation basis, allow us to disable the confirmation prompt. Give us a warning when we disable it, so that we are aware of the ramifications. For example, there's no realistic way I could be locked out of our house, due to a hidden emergency key. Therefore I'd want all automations that deal with locks and the garage door to be able to run without any prompts.

Anyone know why we can't adjust the geofence size of our home, btw? We can do it in the Find Friends app, but when I try to adjust it for "when all family members leave", I get warned it won't work:

As far as I can tell, it's just a poor design decision.

 

[MarkCDP]

Automations that allow access to your home require permission every the automation runs. That said, a work around is setting up an automation so that when an accessory is controlled the garage door opens. So set a light to turn on when you get home and then set that light up with an automation for the garage door to open when it turns on. The problem is it has to be an accessory you wouldn't normally control in your day to day activities or you'll be opening and closing the garage door when you don't want to.

[doublepost=1515123615][/doublepost]Wish that solution worked, but it didn't for me. I have a LiftMaster MyQ opener with a LiftMaster Home Bridge, linked to HomeKit. After getting the bridge set up, I am able to tell Siri to open and close the garage door and it all works. Using a Homekit Scene, I can have the garage door close when I leave and open when I arrive, but it asks permission to run the automation each time. So I thought this was my solution for it to operate without asking. I created an automation which made the garage door open and close when a certain light turned on and off. That light was keyed to come on when I arrive home and turn off when I leave. Seemed like the perfect solution...except it didn't work. Not only that, when I activated the scene, by leaving or arriving, it would say "Garage Door Not Responding" in Homekit and, after that, I could no longer control the door with Siri, although I could still control it with the LiftMaster app, so I know it wasn't a WiFi problem. The only way to restore Siri/Homekit access was to restart the MyQ Bridge. I tried this at least 10 times with the same result. I'm hoping some of you who made this solution work can give me some ideas...

 

[vondo]

Same reason - location drift - I would imagine. Would suck to leave your phone in your kitchen, step outside, then have the house lock itself on you.

Good thought, but not a problem in my case. My lock has a keypad, so I can always get in, phone or no phone. It should be my choice.

 

[BrettStah]

I've been sitting on my sofa and get the prompt asking if I want to run the automation that opens my garage door.

This happened to me last night while I was inside my house...

 

[MarkCDP]

It works without extra permission on Apple Watch.

It doesn't for me. I set my garage door to open when a certain light comes on, and that light comes on when I arrive home. Since I added the garage door to the mix, as I approach the house my Apple Watch asks me if I want to run the automation. Still trying to find a way that works without the extra step.