Android device tracker accuracy and frequency of updates

Mobile Apps Home Assistant Companion for Android
1

I’ve tried switching from OwnTracks to the Home Assistant Android app for my device tracking, but I’m having problems with the accuracy and frequency of updates:

  • I’m sometimes being tracked at a location when I am some distance away, checking the history I see that these have a gps_accuracy of over 1000. With OwnTracks there is a way to set a maximum accuracy value, is there any way of doing this in the app?
  • It is generally pretty quick at identifying that I arrive at a location (except for the accuracy as above) but slow to detect when I leave. In fact, I sometimes don’t get tracked as not_home until less than a second before I get tracked as being in another known location. Can anything be changed to avoid this?
1 Like
2

I also just switched from OwnTracks to the HASS app for Android for device tracking.

What’s the equivalent configuration.yaml config for the HASS app?

For OwnTracks I used:

owntracks:
max_gps_accuracy: 150

3

There isn’t currently

4

I have the same problem, is there any way to fix this?

5

I have this issue as well. guess no fix yet? I am running 102.3

6

I think device tracking in android is a bit shaky at best.
My wifes android doesnt report her at home until 5minutes after she gets home so I think the tracking in the app needs some atention.
Example: She´s at her work and locationtracking has reported WORK-zone. Then she leaves and comes home. 20kilometers drive about 20minutes and she gets home. After 5minutes she is reported as HOME.
There is no tracking between theese places, she gets reported directly WORK to HOME.
She is never reported as AWAY, unless she stops at a shoppingmall for a while! :wink:

And this happens every time.

7

I have the same issue. Home Assistant only reports me as away from home when I arrive at another location.

8

Make sure you guys enable both location toggles under app configuration. Check that battery optimization is turned off, try enabling unrestricted background data for the app. Also double check that location is always on for the app.

9

This has actually been mutch better for me since I started running the Dev releases:

Here is the link to register:

https://appdistribution.firebase.dev/i/8zf5W4zz

10

Thanks for the heads up !
Do you have to delete the store release version first ?
Dev version of HA downloads and appears to install but I get ‘install failed’ right at the end.

I’ve checked that unknown sources is enabled for the firebase app.

11

I got the “install failed” at first until I deleted the one from the store first. I don’t know why it happens, since installing from unknown sources is supposed to be able to replace store ones, but it possibly has a different certificate or something which is preventing this from working.
This will obviously mean that you’ll need to renter the URL and credentials in the app, which can cause problems with duplicate devices so it may be best to do this:

  • Delete the Play Store app from your phone
  • Go to Configuration > Integrations and delete the existing integration for the app
  • Restart Home Assistant
  • Install the Dev release app
  • Logon to the app
  • Update the device name in the app (under App Configuration) if necessary
  • Restart Home Assistant again
12

I’ve tried OwnTracks (full disclosure, I have not tried the app tracking), but FWIW I’m using Google’s built-in location tracking for locations for both myself and my wife and find it to work pretty well.

I created a new, ‘ghost’ Google account and had my wife and I both share our locations with this account. I then logged into that account and downloaded the cookie file - and associated this ‘ghost’ account w/ HA. Felt a little more secure than giving my ‘real’ Google account to HA.

Anyhow, just my $.02 on what works for me.

13

Having issues myself with the accuracy of the android app -

For some reason the app will randomly decide that my location is about 300 meters to the east of where I truly am and thus my location changes to “away”. As far as I can tell, this is not a GPS or Google geocoding issue as when I open Google Maps, my location is correct.

It wasn’t doing this prior to the latest 1.11 update either - Anything change in the code recently that would explain this?

14

I would like to change the frequncy. Is it possible?

4 Likes
15

I’ve started seeing the exact same thing on my Wife’s phone. Randomly throughout the day this would trigger a not_home event and then could jump back to home without her having moved at all.
Have you gotten anywhere with this ?

16

Nothig yet. Waiting for updates on the companion.

17

check version 3.0.2 and ensure all 3 location toggles are enabled…lots of location fixes in 3.0 that was released a couple weeks ago

18

you can change it in the mobile app settings now.