Geeni Geofencing Not Working? A Simple Solution Guide
Geofencing is one of the most powerful features in the Geeni smart home ecosystem. It allows you to create automations—called 'Smart Scenes'—that trigger automatically based on your physical location. Imagine your lights turning on as you pull into the driveway, or your smart plugs turning off when you leave for work.
When it fails, however, it can be puzzling. If your Geeni devices aren't responding to you coming and going, this guide will walk you through the common causes and how to fix them. The problem almost always lies with the settings on your smartphone, not the Geeni devices themselves.
Common Geeni Geofencing Symptoms
Let's pinpoint the issue you're experiencing:
- Your 'Arrive Home' scene never runs when you get back.
- Your 'Leave Home' scene fails to activate when you go out.
- The automation works, but only sometimes.
- The Geeni app doesn't seem to know whether you are 'Home' or 'Away'.
- You have to open the Geeni app on your phone for the location-based rule to finally run.
How to Troubleshoot Geeni Geofencing
Follow these steps in order. The first two steps solve over 90% of geofencing issues.
1. Grant Correct Location Permissions
For geofencing to work, the Geeni app needs to be able to see your phone's location at all times, even when the app is running in the background. A one-time permission isn't enough.
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For iOS (iPhone):
- Go to your iPhone's Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on the Geeni app.
- Tap on Location.
- The setting must be 'Always'. If it's set to 'While Using the App' or 'Never', geofencing will not function correctly.
- Also, ensure the 'Precise Location' toggle is switched ON.
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For Android:
- Go to your phone's Settings > Apps.
- Find and tap on the Geeni app.
- Tap on Permissions > Location.
- Select 'Allow all the time'.
- Make sure the 'Use precise location' option is also enabled.
2. Disable Battery Optimisation for the Geeni App
Smartphones aggressively try to save battery by 'sleeping' apps that are running in the background. This is a major cause of geofencing failure. You need to tell your phone's operating system to make an exception for the Geeni app.
- For iOS (iPhone): Ensure that 'Background App Refresh' is enabled for Geeni. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and make sure the toggle for the Geeni app is on.
- For Android: The steps can vary slightly by manufacturer, but you are looking for battery optimisation settings.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Geeni.
- Tap on Battery.
- Select 'Unrestricted' or 'Not optimised'. This prevents the Android system from stopping the app to save power.
3. Check Your Smart Scene Configuration
If your phone settings are correct, the next step is to double-check the rule you created in the Geeni app itself.
- Open the Geeni app and tap on the 'Smart Scenes' tab.
- Select the automation that is failing (e.g., 'When location changes').
- Verify the Condition: Tap on the location condition. Check that the address is correct and the pin is in the right place on the map.
- Adjust the Radius: You can set a radius around the location (e.g., 100m, 200m). If the radius is too small, you might drive through the boundary too quickly for the app to react. Try increasing the radius slightly.
- Check the Action: Ensure the 'Task' part of the automation is set up correctly to control the right device (e.g., 'Turn on Living Room Lamp').
4. Ensure Stable Connectivity
Geofencing relies on your phone having a data connection (either Wi-Fi or mobile data) when you cross the virtual boundary. If you are in an area with poor mobile reception, the app may not be able to report your location change to the Geeni servers until its connection is restored, causing a delay in the automation.
By ensuring the Geeni app has the permanent, precise location access it needs and is exempt from battery-saving features, you can restore the reliability of your location-based automations.