Geofencing: run a Hue scene when you arrive or leave

What geofencing does

A geofence is an invisible circle around a place, such as your home. HueCommand asks your iPhone to watch for you crossing that circle. When you come in, it activates the scene you chose for arriving. When you go out, it activates the scene you chose for leaving.

You don't need to open the app. iOS wakes HueCommand when you cross the boundary, and the app sends the scene to your Hue Bridge. HueCommand doesn't keep a continuous location session running, so you won't see the location indicator stuck on.

Geofencing requires Pro and is available on iPhone and iPad. It isn't part of the Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch or Vision Pro apps.

What you can set for each location

• Name: for example Home or Cabin.
• Location: drag the map until the pin is where you want the center. The map starts at your current location if HueCommand already has permission.
• Radius: from 200 meters to 1,000 meters, in 50 meter steps. The default is 300 meters. A larger circle triggers sooner on the way home; a smaller one triggers closer to the door.
• When I arrive: a scene to activate, or None.
• When I leave: a scene to activate, or None.
• Bridge: if you have more than one Hue Bridge, choose which one this location controls. Scene lists only show that bridge's scenes.

Each location has an on/off switch in the list, so you can pause one without deleting it.

How to set up geofencing

1. Open HueCommand and go to the Automate tab.
2. Tap Geofencing.
3. Tap Enable Location and choose Always when iOS asks. Geofencing can't trigger in the background without Always access.
4. Tap Add Location.
5. Name it, drag the map to set the center, and set the radius.
6. Choose a scene under When I arrive and, if you want one, under When I leave.
7. Save.

When you're not on home Wi-Fi

When you arrive, your phone may not have joined your home Wi-Fi yet. If you've set up Remote Control (Pro) with your Hue account, HueCommand checks whether the bridge is reachable on the local network and, if not, sends the scene through the Hue cloud. Without Remote Control, the scene can only be sent once your phone can reach the bridge on your home network.

Leave scenes have the same rule: as you drive away and drop off Wi-Fi, the scene needs Remote Control to reach the bridge.

Timing and repeat triggers

iOS decides exactly when to report a boundary crossing, so a trigger can come a little after you pass the edge of the circle. To avoid lights flipping back and forth if you hover near the edge, HueCommand ignores a repeat of the same arrive or leave event for the same location within 60 seconds.

The Geofencing screen shows the last event, such as "Arrived at Home", so you can check that it fired.

Your location stays on your phone

Your geofence locations are saved on your device. HueCommand doesn't send your coordinates or a location history to any server. When you cross a boundary, the app sends a scene command to your bridge, either locally or through your own Hue account if you use Remote Control.

If Anonymous Analytics is on, HueCommand records that an arrive or leave event happened, without the location's name or coordinates. You can turn analytics off in Settings, under Privacy.