Geofences with Android™ Phones

In Android OS versions 6 - 9, Google worked on extending the battery life of your phone. By version 9, Google had implemented a Deep Sleep mode that put some apps to sleep even though they were running in the background. Apps would wake up periodically to see if they needed to receive or send notifications or receive an email, text messages, etc.

The Trane® Home app is one of the apps that would be put into the Deep Sleep mode causing geofence triggers to be delayed or fail to send.

Google has released Android OS version 10, and one of the key changes is Google's handling of Location permission. Instead of a system-wide function, Location permission is now application-based. 

Not all phones will be able to upgrade to OS version 10, and it may take some time for the phone vendors to get the update out to their customers who can upgrade. Check with your mobile carrier for more information.

If you can upgrade to OS version 10, your applications may have different settings for the Location permission based on how Google decided to set them during the upgrade. If many applications are set to Allow all the time, it may cause your device's battery to drain faster than expected.

If you want to use geofencing with the Trane Home app, set Location permission to Allow all the time.

• You will also get a notification from some apps the first time the app looks for a location. This notification will allow you to set the Location permission at that time.
• Updating the OS and changing the Location permission for the Trane Home app does not make geofencing work 100%. Other factors will still affect geofences, such as WiFi strength, GPS Signal strength, your surroundings, etc., but we have found it to perform better than in previous OS versions.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Trane Home Customer Support via email at help@tranehome.com or call 1-877-288-7707, Monday-Friday 9 AM – 8 PM ET, and Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM ET.