Is Your Samsung Geofencing Failing to Respond?
Geofencing is a powerful feature of the Samsung SmartThings ecosystem, allowing you to automate actions based on your physical location. When you leave home, it can automatically turn off the lights, adjust the thermostat, and arm your security system. When you return, it can reverse those actions, creating a seamless smart home experience. However, when it stops working, it can be incredibly frustrating.
If your "Welcome Home" or "Goodbye" automations are no longer triggering, you're in the right place. This guide will walk you through the most common causes of Samsung geofencing issues and provide clear, step-by-step instructions to get it working again.
Why Has My Geofencing Stopped Working?
Several factors can disrupt your phone's ability to communicate its location to the SmartThings app. This is often related to your phone's settings rather than a problem with the app itself.
Common culprits include:
- Incorrect location permissions for the SmartThings app.
- Aggressive battery optimisation settings that put the app to sleep.
- Outdated app or phone software.
- Poor Wi-Fi or mobile data connectivity.
- Incorrectly configured geofence settings.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting for Samsung Geofencing
Follow these steps in order to diagnose and resolve the problem. We recommend testing the feature after each step to see if the issue has been resolved.
1. Verify Your Phone's Location Services
The most fundamental requirement for geofencing is access to your phone's location. You must ensure this is enabled and configured for high accuracy.
- On Android: Go to Settings > Location. Ensure the main toggle is On. Tap on "App permissions" and find SmartThings. Make sure its access is set to "Allow all the time". Setting it to "Allow only while using the app" will prevent geofencing from working correctly.
- On iOS: Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Ensure Location Services is toggled on. Scroll down to the SmartThings app, tap it, and set "Allow Location Access" to "Always".
2. Check Battery Optimisation Settings
Modern smartphones use aggressive battery-saving features that can prevent apps like SmartThings from running in the background. You need to create an exception for it.
- On Android: Navigate to Settings > Apps > SmartThings > Battery. Select "Unrestricted" or "Don't optimise". This prevents the operating system from shutting down the app to save power, which is essential for location tracking.
- On iOS: iOS manages this automatically, but you can ensure "Background App Refresh" is enabled. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and make sure it's on for SmartThings.
3. Review and Re-create Your Geofence
Sometimes the geofence boundary itself can become corrupted. Deleting and recreating it can often solve the problem.
- Open the SmartThings app.
- Tap on the Automations tab.
- Find the automation that uses geofencing (e.g., "Goodbye" or "Welcome Home").
- Tap the automation, then tap "If" to see the conditions.
- Select "Member's location". Here you can see your current geofence.
- Adjust the circular radius to be larger or smaller. A radius that is too small can be unreliable. We recommend at least 200 metres.
- Save the changes and test to see if it now triggers correctly.
4. Ensure Your App and Phone are Updated
Running an outdated version of the SmartThings app or your phone's operating system can lead to compatibility issues.
- Update SmartThings: Go to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, search for "SmartThings", and tap "Update" if an update is available.
- Update Your Phone: Check for system updates in your phone's settings menu and install any pending updates.
5. Check Your Internet Connection
Reliable geofencing depends on a stable internet connection to report your location. If you are in an area with poor mobile data coverage when leaving or entering your geofence, the trigger may fail. Ensure your Wi-Fi and mobile data are both enabled on your device for the best results.
By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to resolve the most common issues preventing Samsung geofencing from working correctly. A properly configured geofence is key to unlocking the full potential of your smart home automations.