GeoFence inconsistency

Post your MobiLinc comments and feedback here.

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby miataguy » Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:06 am

AdminWes wrote:Thanks miataguy,

I'm assuming then that the notification did fire when you got home. If that's the case, I really don't know what else you can try. iOS simply didn't tell MobiLinc that the device crossed a boundary.

If you've lined up the boundary in a neighborhood then there's nothing else that I know of that you can try to increase the reliability. The only other thing to try is to adjust the boundary line so that it crosses through a different neighborhood on the off chance that Wi-Fi hotspots may be stronger or different in a different neighborhood.

Wes

OK thanks.
miataguy
 
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:11 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Tue May 31, 2016 7:17 am

Hi Illusion,

95% of the time is about what I would expect. It's not possible to hit 100% for the following reasons:

1. iOS actually controls when the boundary is crossed. If iOS hasn't seen Wi-Fi access points it recognizes or cell tower data has changed, this can impact iOS ability to recognize when the boundary has actually happened. While very rare, it does happen where iOS just doesn't fire a boundary crossing.
2. When the boundary crossing event does occur, iOS gives MobiLinc only 2 minutes to tell the ISY about the variable state change. If the iPhone is in a weak cell area, or cell data happens to be down or impacted at the time (maybe the iPhone doesn't have a clear line of sight to a cell tower) then MobiLinc won't be able to reach the ISY to tell the ISY about the variable state change.

Keeping the iPhone out and in clear line of sight plugged into a power source is the best chance at getting all the many variables working together for reliable geofence crossing activity.

Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Tue May 31, 2016 8:27 am

Hi Illusion,

If you don't see the boundary crossing notification then iOS hasn't told MobiLinc about the boundary crossing for whatever reason only iOS knows.

If you see the boundary crossing notification, but the variable doesn't change, then MobiLinc wasn't able to reach the ISY to change the variable state. Could be a lot of reasons, but the high-level is that the network call inside of that 1.5-2 minutes that iOS gives apps to run in the background wasn't able to make a successful connection.

Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Tue May 31, 2016 8:53 am

Yes, iBeacons gives you in-home or business location awareness when paired with the Advanced Location plug-in of MobiLinc. They won't change anything with geo-fences. Geo-fences are good at 100m and higher. iBeacons are in the <10m range for location needs.

With iBeacons and Advanced Locations, you can have MobiLinc update ISY variables based on which iBeacon you are near (room scale - about 10-20 feet resolution).

http://mobilinc.com/features/advancedlocations/

Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby BlackSheep » Sun Nov 27, 2016 9:18 am

AdminWes wrote:Yes, iBeacons gives you in-home or business location awareness when paired with the Advanced Location plug-in of MobiLinc. They won't change anything with geo-fences. Geo-fences are good at 100m and higher. iBeacons are in the <10m range for location needs.

With iBeacons and Advanced Locations, you can have MobiLinc update ISY variables based on which iBeacon you are near (room scale - about 10-20 feet resolution).

http://mobilinc.com/features/advancedlocations/

Wes


I live in a very densely populated city with plenty of wifi hotspots and good cellphone coverage, yet I still have very unreliable variable updates on crossing geo-fence boundaries. I have been using Mobilinc for nearly a year, and the app only correctly records a boundary crossing probably 50% of the time. This makes writing programs very difficult, and I am ready to give up on trying.

As a last-ditch effort, I purchased a RadBeacon to try and help programs reliably determine whether my wife and I are home or not. The RadBeacon itself is operating correctly, but mobilinc does not report the position to the beacon correctly. The RadBeacon's app correctly shows when I am within range of the RadBeacon, but mobilinc does not. It will sometimes report when I come within range of the beacon, but it never updates to show when I am out of range of the beacon.

So, now I am left with a home automation system that relies entirely on location, and I have an app that cannot report geofence crossings accurately, or the presence of a beacon.

Any suggestions, or will I be forced to give up on this product?
BlackSheep
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 11:49 am

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:10 am

Hi BlackSheep,

A couple of suggestions:

- Please update your iOS device to the very latest of iOS 10.
- If updated to the latest version of iOS 10, please then reboot your iOS device.
- Make sure that MobiLinc is allowed to run in the background. Open the iOS Settings app and scroll down to MobiLinc. Then turn on "Background App Refresh" and Location set to "Always".
- Then, delete your geo-fence and recreate and try the geo-fence again.

For your iBeacon, see if the latest iOS and the reboot helps.

Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby BlackSheep » Wed Nov 30, 2016 3:39 pm

Hi Wes,

I upgraded both iphones to iOS 10.1.1, and it has made no difference. The upgrade and the reboot haven't made any difference to the geofence problem or the beacon problem. The geofence is still unreliable, and the app is not reporting the beacon correctly at all.
BlackSheep
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 11:49 am

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Thu Dec 01, 2016 6:54 am

Hi BlackSheep,

Are you using our MobiLinc Connect service, a direct IP, or ISY Portal to connect to your ISY? MobiLinc Connect is the best option and recommended way to connect. ISY Portal is not supported.

For the iBeacon detection, if iOS isn't informing MobiLinc about the iBeacon status (INSIDE/OUTSIDE) then the UUID and/or the major minor numbers don't match the beacon's settings. Can you send me screenshots to: support@mobilinc.com of the following:

- Screenshot of the iBeacon setup in MobiLinc showing the UUID and the major/minor numbers.
- Screenshot of the iBeacon's manufacturer's app that show the actual iBeacon's UUID and major/minor numbers.

The best way to test iBeacons is once the UUID/Major/Minor numbers are confimred and saved in MobiLinc, with BlueTooth ON in your iPhone, turn off power to the iBeacon for 5 minutes. Then, after 5 minutes, power on the iBeacon next to your iPhone running MobiLinc looking at your iBeacon screen. Within about 60 seconds (can be and usually is faster), you should see MobiLinc respond to iOS telling it that your iPhone is now INSIDE of your iBeacon.

Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby BlackSheep » Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:26 am

Hi Wes,

Sorry for the slow reply, I have been away from home for the past few weeks. I will send you an email with the screenshots you asked for here in a few minutes.

To answer your question, I use the ISY Portal to connect to my ISY. If I could be more confident in the geofencing working, I would happily subscribe to the Connect service. I can see in the Mobilinc app that the boundary crossing have not registered in the app itself (I'm sure due to the iOS not informing the app of the change), so I don't understand how changing the link from the app to the ISY would change anything if the problem is with the app itself.

I have tested the beacon as you suggested, and it works fine each time it is tested. The problem I am experiencing is inconsistent. It will sometimes report correctly, then other times it will not. I left home and went out of town for a few weeks, and it took the app three days before it finally showed that I was OUTSIDE. The problem occurs more when I return home, where mobilinc will still show me OUTSIDE, even though the beacon app shows correctly that I am within range.

Thanks for all your help trying to figure these problems out.
BlackSheep
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2016 11:49 am

Re: GeoFence inconsistency

Postby AdminWes » Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:59 am

Thanks BlackSheep,

I received your email with the screenshots. OK, first off, ISY Portal does not support all MobiLinc features. We do not recommend ISY Portal and MobiLinc is definitely not compatible with their portal product. Especially when it comes to working with ISY variables. Their portal does not support variable changes that MobiLinc makes to the ISY.

So, first change is to change your MobiLinc configuration to use MobiLinc Connect instead. It's free for 30 days, no commitment to try just to prove to yourself that the iBeacon and geo-fence changes will indeed update a variable on your ISY. Plus, you'll gain all sorts of new features the ISY Portal can't provide like push notifications, Today View, etc.

For the other issue with the iBeacon sometimes not showing INSIDE or OUTSIDE in a timely mannor, this is an iOS issue. iOS 10 has had major issues with Bluetooth. So, first off, make sure you are running the very latest of iOS 10. If you are, then reboot your iPhone. Test the iBeacon by keeping MobiLinc open on your iBeacon screen and remove power from the iBeacon. After 30-60 seconds you should see the status change to OUTSIDE. Then apply power to the iBeacon. In most cases you should see INSIDE in about 20 seconds. Sometimes it can take a few minutes. By leaving the iPhone's screen on, you'll get the best chance at a quicker response from iOS here.

Hopefully this helps,
Wes
AdminWes
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2153
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:52 pm

PreviousNext

Return to MobiLinc Feedback and Comments

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests

cron