Home App Version 3.26.1.3 (Android) Presence Sensing Is Broken

[Oregonian]

The Home App presence sensing does not work properly. It frequently changes my Nest thermostat to "Eco" mode even when my wife and I are both home (both of our phones are home with us and the App is set to always be able to access location data from both phones).

Presence sensing has always worked OK until just recently. This issue seems to have started with an update of the Home App (Android) to Version 3.26.1.3 dated November 6, 2024. Ever since this update the presence sensing is not working properly.

I have tried every troubleshooting step I can find on the Internet including uninstalling and reinstalling the Home App.

I am convinced that the issue is related to the new version of the Home App. 

[Rusell]

Hi Oregonian,

Thanks for posting here in the community. I'm sorry to hear Presence Sensing is not working properly (Home and Away).   I'm happy to help!

I'd like to ask a few questions to know more about the inconvenience. 

• What kind of thermostat do you have?
• When did the inconvenience work? 

At the moment please, try to do this troubleshooting below:

• Turn off presence sensing for 30 seconds then turn back on 
  • Open the Google Home app .
    
  • Tap Settings .
    
  • In the "Home features" section, tap Presence sensing.
    
  • Tap the switch next to Allow this home to use phone locations to turn it on or off.
    
• Check which devices are set to contribute to Home and Away
  • Home App: Settings and then Presence sensing
    
• Check if Google Home app has all the permission allow
• Check that their home address and pinned location are correct in the app
  • Home app: Settings and then
    • Tap the name of your home
  • Home address
    • then drag the map so that the pin is on your home.

In the meantime, if you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!

Best regards,

Rusell.

[Oregonian]

Rusell, Thanks for your help.

I have tried everything you suggested with no improvement. 

To answer your questions...

• What kind of thermostat do you have?
  • It is a Nest thermostat, Model: Thermostat-1.4 (not a learning thermostat)
• When did the inconvenience work? 
  • This seems to have started within the past few weeks although I am not exactly sure when

Here is what has been happening since I made the original post. I have been travelling for the past two days. When I checked the Home App two days ago after we left home it had correctly marked my phone and my wife's phone as "Away" and set the thermostat to "Eco" mode.

Yesterday, it correctly identified "No Activity" as neither my wife nor I were home. The App continued to leave the thermostat in "Eco" mode.

However, at 1:13 AM today the App set the thermostat to "Sleep" mode even though no one had returned home. The thermostat should have remained in "Eco" mode. Then, the App set the thermostat to "Comfort" mode at the prescribed time even though, again, no one had returned home -- we are still travelling. So, the thermostat settings were changed by the Home App even though no one has been home for two days. Both of our phones still show as "Away" in the Home App.

I'm not sure what would be causing this. Any additional help you can provide would be appreciated.

[Rusell]

Hi Oregonian,

I am sorry to know that the previous troubleshooting, didn't work. Therefore i would like to share additional troubleshooting.

• Check the Nest device is set to respond to Home and Away changes in the app
  • Go to Automation and then Home or Away Routine under Household Routines and then Check if Nest device is listed under Actions
  • If the device is not listed under Actions, tap Add action and then Tap the check box next to the device name and then Next and then Enable the toggle for the device to respond to Home and Away and then Add Action and then Save the Routine
• Toggle the Home/Away button.
  • Toggle the Home/Away button from the top of the Favorites tab, then check if the products are working as intended.
• Force close the app and reopen it.
• Clear their cache 
• Restart your thermostat following this article.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if this works.

Best regards,

Rusell.

[Oregonian]

I tried everything in your last message and it is still broken.

I also tried leaving the Home App running all the time even though I have it set to be able to always sense location. That was no help.

Here's a screenshot from the App this morning. Both my wife and I were home all morning but at 9:25 the App says that everyone left home. I can assure you that no one left the home. I still have no idea why the App thinks everyone left the house when our phones are home and charged.

What else can I try? Thank you.

[Rusell]

Hi Oregonian,

Thank you very much for your responses and we appreciate you taking the time to do the steps before.

The team would like to learn more about this behavior. When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you’re finished. We’ll have someone reach out to you via email from there.

Be sure to submit the following relevant information:

• Community Thread
• Community Username

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!
 

Best regards,

Rusell.

[Oregonian]

I have submitted the form.

Thank you for your help.

[Rusell]

Hi Oregonian,

Thank you for your responses.  We've received your form and appreciate the details you provided. Please keep an eye on your email, as someone from my team will contact you shortly to help. If you have any questions or concerns in the future, feel free to reply to this post.

Best regards,

Rusell.

[Oregonian]

I was never contacted by anyone but, in the meantime, the issue appears to have remedied itself. I continued uninstalling  and reinstalling the Home App from both phones and clearing the cache, etc. One of the times must have done it as the App now seems to be tracking both phones' locations correctly and cycling the thermostat on and off as appropriate.

[Rusell]

Hi Oregonian,

Thank you for your response. We apologize for taking a long time, but at the moment, we don't have a specific time to contact you. They'll contact you as soon as possible.

Please don’t hesitate to reply to this post. I'll be happy to assist you further!

Best regards,

Rusell.