Vera Edge geofence

Community Playground Getting Started & Initial Setup
1

Hi

Besides all the odd problems i have with Edge, i remembered before i bought it, that it mentioned geo-fence in the feature list.

Where do i find that feature and how does it work?

I have found the iPhone Locator app, but i don’t that is answer to the Vera geo-fence feature??

2

Hi, I asked the support for that. They told me that they will bring an update this month. Please do not ask me about the date or details. i do not know more :=)

3

Well, we got the update yesterday that supposedly includes geofencing; now where does one go to set it up?

4

Yes its there. Make sure your on the latest Android app. Not only was the VERA software updated for it but the Android app was too. More info here:

http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,29507.msg208880.html#msg208880

5

You have to use the app on the android phone. It is not on the web interface. At least on the vera lite which is what I have, not the edge sorry.
It worked on mine (delayed) the first has not since. COntcted tech support. I just enabled so am waiting to see what the next step is.

6

It is on the web interface click on the right arrow next to My Modes and it will be at the bottom.

7

On the Web Interface, click the > next to My Modes and on that page scroll to the bottom.
Under the Geofencing heading, check both entries.

Now download (depending on your phone) either the iOs or Android Vera Ui7 app and configure it so it can access your Vera.
Run the app and make sure it runs in the background. Also make sure it has access to your phone’s GPS.
In the app click the > next to My Modes and on the next page click ‘Add new geofence’ to add a geofence for your current location.

As long as the app runs in the background it will let Vera know once it enters of leaves the geofenced area and Vera’s Home/Away will adjust accordingly. If you have push notifications enabled on Vera, you’ll get a Vera: Enter or Vera:Exit notification when you enter or leave the geofence.

8

Geofencing currently only works on one mobile device. if you have 2 people in a home and one stays home, it is useless.

9

Is there any word on when Vera plans on allowing for a two person set up on Geofencing?

It is essentially useless if you are married/living with somebody. I find it somewhat irritating that the mode interface indicates multiple users can utilize the same geofence yet the function is non-existent.

Am I missing some obscure geek knowledge that enables this feature?

10

I have the same complaint. There are 3 people in my home with phones for whom the geofence needs to be aware. I could not get it working for multiple people. There is a setting that says something like “Home mode when one user returns, away when all leave” but it doesn’t seem to do anything. This is one of the main reasons I chose the vera edge, and the other “homebrewed” alternatives to the native geofencing don’t work for my situation either.

Hey VERA! How long until I can setup the vera app on each phone and have it switch to home mode if any user comes home, and away mode when ALL users leave?

This seems to be a basic need for geofencing.

11

You could use tye Multiswitch plugin in combination with the house modes plugin.

Assign each phone a button on the Multiswitch.
Set the button when the phone is home and unset when the phone is away.
Use any of the homebrew solutions, eg the DD-WRT one.

Create a conditional scene that only goes to away mode (set by the house modes plugin) if all 3 buttons are off and goes to Home mode (again housemodes plugin) if at least one button is on. It’ll require you to write some LUA code or use PLEG but it is possible.

12

With the Vera native Geofence feature that is currently available , the geofence is at least of 100 M .
My smartphone has only Wifi and no mobile internet so the smartphone will be disconnected from the Vera Mobile app before exiting/entering the geofence .

Vera will never know that I exited or entered the geofence , before i test is this assupmtion is correct ?

I

13

I would say that would be likely scenario. You would benefit more from a solution that sees when your phone connects or disconnects from your WiFi router. That solution is available if you have a DD-WRT/OpenWRT or Tomato router and actually works pretty good.

See here: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,24084.0.html

BTW, Wifi only smartphone? Lemme guess, FreedomPOP?

14

@BOFH ,

I have a mobile internet subscription with the android smartphone but unfortunately not illimited ( a couple of GBs per month ) so by default this is disabled .

Concerning your proposal , my DSL router does not offer the feature … I’m a bit stuck for the moment

15

You could always buy a DD-WRT compatible router (They are not that expensive) and install DD-WRT on it. Then you can run the script and connect your phone to it. If you have as spare wired plug on your DSL router, connect the WAN port of the DD-WRT router to that and it should connect.

More info on DD-WRT compaitible routers. DD-WRT » Router Database.

Here’s a $30 refurb Linksys that is compatible: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7754323&CatId=373

I’m not advocating either Linksys or TigerDirect. Just offering a cheap option. We actually use these at work for offsite events (same refurb model and seller) and they are holding up very well. Even with at times being in a open sided tent (protected from moisture and direct sun light of course) for about a week. We’ve not upgraded them to DD-WRT as we have had no need.

16

Almost a year later Vera starts advertising their geofencing is working, Ezlo UI7 ▾ Geofencing Features and Uses - YouTube
I still can not get it to work and Vera sends me this.

NOV 30, 2015 | 04:29AM PST
Johnny replied:
Hello Jerry and thank you for contacting Vera Support,

I would like to let you know that Geofencing works properly if your unit runs on the latest firmware version, but at the moment we are aware of this, and full geofence will be added in the final release of the mobile apps, but I don?t have an ETA at the moment when will be released the next mobile apps update.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Regards,

Johnny ▾ Customer Care Advocate
Vera Control, Ltd. ▾ Smarter Home Control
www.getvera.com ▾ support@getvera.com ▾ +1 (866) 966-2272

How am I doing? Please email my manager, Daniel Stefan (daniel_stefan@getvera.com), with your feedback.

#WTFVera?

17

Hello,

I am also looking for help here

Neither iPhone (IOS 9.2) running Vera Mobile UI7 will affect anything when we come or go
Does it work with more than 1 phone?

Is there anything else to enable/configure…?

So far, i have enabled and set a geo location for my home
Set it to 75 meters
Vera app has access to the iPhone location services

Not sure what else to check/configure

Thanks in advance
Rick

18

Hey again,

I might have just found it, while i did set geofencing on my phones, i didn’t enable it on the controller via the web app

Tomorrow I will give it a go again

Thanks, Rick

19

Well,

That partially worked. I was at work, the wife left and said it never went to Away mode so she set it manually. When she came home it then switched back to home. So it worked… partially

Another question that I can’t seem to find the answer to is this. Do I need to setup a scene to get geofencing to work properly?

In VeraMate, it indicates that a scene is necessary, other places seem to indicate not required.

If it is required, how do you setup a scene to make it happen? The basic principle of a scene is to set a trigger, then an action then schedule it. With geofencing all you are doing is coming/going, not performing a device function/trigger

Maybe I just don’t yet fully understand how geofencing is supposed to work

Thanks in advance
Rick

20

Geofencing at this time only works with 1 phone setup. Multiple phone setups are supposed to be supported down the road.

I run the latest beta of the UI7 GetVera app and geofencing still has it’s issues but that’s being ackknowledged and worked on.