Google Home Presence Sensing Does Functions Inconsisitently

[gacck]

We use Google Home for numerous automation functions and the home/away function does not work the same all the time.  We use our cell phones and speakers to determine presence, but some times it can take up to three hours for the presence to change from home to away after we have both left home.  Any thoughts?

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

It's really disappointing that you can't say to a speaker that you're going out and it will change from home to away. Only if you go into the Google Home app can you change it.

I don't trust geofencing, so I use my Amazon Echo speaker to say "Goodbye" and it changes to Away Mode, turns on and off devices and even can enable some special home security routines. When I come home they can be disabled with one command. 

[BrienGerber]

FYI, the "away" routine in the Google Home app can be activated by both presence sensing, and saying "Everyone's away" or "Everyone's leaving"

[BrienGerber]

Here is a solution that I use that helps a bit. @gacck @SmartHomeH-TAGS 

I already had an extra smart plug laying around that I wasn't using. So I put that in some random spot that I don't actually use. I've named that smart plug as "On While Away". 

Then, my home/away routines themselves just toggle the smart plug to be "on while away" and "off while home".

Next, all of my other routines (i.e. turn off lights while away), just use the status of the smart plug instead of the status of the Home/Away routines. You also can toggle the smart plug based on other things that are more accurate than the Home/Away routine.

Here is an example day of how this works for me when waking for work. 

1. I wake up and the plug is "off" because I'm home
2. When I open my bedroom door, I have a motion sensor that turns on the kitchen lights, waits 5 minutes, and then flips the "On While Away" smart plug to be on. This effectively tells my system that I'm "away" 5 minutes after leaving my bedroom in the morning for work. 
3. Then, once the "On While Away" smart plug is flipped to on, it locks all of my doors. 
4. Finally, however, long it takes for the "Home/Away" switch to occur, it just marks my smart plug as "On While Away", which it already was in the first place.

This way, the Home/Away still works, and functions as a backup if your other routines don't work, you forget to toggle it, etc. 

While it's kind of annoying that this is even needed, it is a useful alternative that I figured I would share. 

Best of luck!

[SmartHomeH-TAGS]

That looks like a very good alternative to Google's attempt with Home and Away routines. 

Thank you👍