Skip to main content

Google Home & Away Routines can now trigger when you arrive/leave a specified location

In late August, Google rolled out a pair of new features for Assistant Routines. Google’s Home and Away Routines for smart home devices now has a new arrive/leave location trigger.

Opening Routines (from Google Assistant settings or the Home app) and scrolling down to “Household Routines” reveals a new “Starter” for both “Home” and “Away.” “When I say to my Assistant” and “When everyone’s away” or “When someone comes home” are now joined by “When the user arrives/leaves.” It does not appear for other types of Routines.

The dedicated page lets you pick “Arrive” or “Leave” and then specify a specific location. This takes you to Assistant’s existing “Your places” menu where “Home” and “Work” are listed by default, and you can “Add a new place.” Back in settings you can “get notified on your phone when this routine starts.”

Compared to automated Presence Sensing, Google is giving users a more explicit setting for those that didn’t have luck with the existing capability. Meanwhile, more granular programming is now unlocked. With “Home,” you can make it so that the Assistant Routine doesn’t start until you’re closer to a point near your house, e.g. picking up kids from school. 

Location triggers for Google’s Home and Away Routines look to be widely rolled out today. They join:

More about Google Home:

Thanks Encestral Z!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications