Fermax Geofencing Not Working? A Troubleshooting Guide
Geofencing is a powerful feature of modern Fermax systems, designed to automate actions based on your physical location. It can automatically unlock your door as you approach or arm a system as you leave, offering a seamless smart home experience. However, when Fermax geofencing is not working reliably, it can be more of a frustration than a convenience.
This guide provides a professional, in-depth look at the common causes of geofencing failures and the steps you can take to resolve them, ensuring your location-based automations work every time.
### Understanding How Geofencing Works
Geofencing uses your smartphone's location services (GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile data) to create a virtual boundary—a 'geofence'—around your property. When the Fermax app detects that your phone has crossed this boundary, it sends a command to your Fermax system to perform a pre-defined action. For this to work, several components must be perfectly aligned: your phone's settings, the app's permissions, and your Fermax system's connectivity.
Step 1: Check Your Smartphone's Settings
The most common reason for geofencing failure is incorrect settings on your mobile phone. The Fermax app needs specific permissions and settings to track your location accurately in the background.
### Location Permissions are Crucial
- For both iOS and Android: Go into your phone's settings, find the Fermax app, and navigate to its location permissions.
- You must set the permission to 'Always Allow' or 'Allow all the time'.
- Choosing 'Allow only while using the app' will not work for geofencing, as the app needs to know your location even when it's running in the background.
### Enable High-Accuracy Location and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Scanning
- Android: Go to your phone's location settings and ensure 'High accuracy' mode is enabled. Also, enable 'Wi-Fi scanning' and 'Bluetooth scanning'. These settings allow your phone to use more than just GPS to determine its location, providing a much more reliable and accurate position, especially in urban areas.
- iOS: Ensure that 'Precise Location' is turned on for the Fermax app.
### Disable Battery Optimisation for the Fermax App
Modern smartphones are aggressive in closing apps to save battery. This can prevent the Fermax app from running in the background and checking your location.
- Android: Go to your battery settings and find the 'App battery management' or 'Battery optimisation' section. Find the Fermax app and set it to 'Unrestricted' or 'Don't optimise'.
- iOS: Ensure that 'Background App Refresh' is enabled for the Fermax app in your phone's settings.
Step 2: Check Your Geofence Configuration in the App
If your phone settings are correct, the next step is to review the geofence setup within the Fermax app itself.
- Geofence Size: Is the radius of your geofence too small? A very small virtual boundary can lead to inconsistent triggering due to normal GPS drift. Try increasing the radius of the geofence to make it a larger target.
- Correct Address: Double-check that the pin on the map is placed correctly over your home address.
- Wi-Fi Connection: Ensure that the Fermax app knows which Wi-Fi network is your 'home' network. This helps it determine your location more accurately when you are nearby.
Step 3: Ensure System Connectivity
Finally, remember that the geofencing command is sent over the internet.
- Your smartphone must have a working data connection (mobile data or Wi-Fi).
- Your Fermax system's main hub/gateway must be powered on and connected to your home internet.
By systematically checking and correcting your phone's permissions, optimising the geofence settings in the app, and verifying connectivity, you can resolve the vast majority of issues preventing your Fermax geofencing from working as it should.