I live in an apartment buildig on the second floor. Just ordered a switchbot switch, so i can open the main entrance door to the buildig through home assistant (or use Siri to toggle the switch).
Is there any possibility to take this to the next step? My idea: That HA knows i’m now 5-10 meters away which then automatically toggles the switch and opens the door? If so, how? But I guess it is impossible as there is no connection from the entrance door up to my apartment and the location service would work, but would toggle the switch already like 3-4 minutes before i’m there…
It’s possible to check the device tracker, as Home Assistant can determine if you are home or away using one of the supported methods.
However, if the Wi-Fi signal from your apartment doesn’t reach the door, this approach could be unreliable. From experience, GPS tracking often lacks precision, but its accuracy may vary depending on your region or country. Testing it in your specific environment is essential. In general, Wi-Fi tracking tends to be more consistent and reliable.
Once Home Assistant reliably detects your presence, creating an automation becomes straightforward.
That said, for a door-related setup, consider alternative methods. For safety reasons, automating door control based solely on presence detection may not be the best choice (in my opnion). As a safer, faster, and more reliable solution, using an NFC sticker on the door is worth considering. This allows secure and intentional access control without relying on potentially inconsistent presence detection.
Interesting approach with the NFC Stickers, because my main “Problem” is, that if i’m on a stroll and come back to the main door, it is a hassle sometimes to find the keys and the phone is always on hand.
Never worked with NFC stickers, but in short: Hold Phone to Sticker will toggle an action in HA, eg. open the door?
Do not sacrifice the safety and security of everyone in the building because you don’t want to unlock your phone.
You may also want to find a lawyer to review your lease. Make sure that what you are doing can’t lead to you being held liable for any security-related incidents that may occur. It could be real easy for the building owner to push liability off their shoulders and onto yours if they can make the argument that you “tampered with security equipment”.
Yes, once you look at the tags, there are videos included inside. I agree with you that it may not be as convenient as having the door open automatically, but when it comes to automating safety-related tasks, I prefer to take a more cautious approach and avoid using the “Cool” method.
In order to make this work i think you need a NFC with ESP think, so it is more complex that putting a simple NFC stickers and trigger it with your phone.
