December 01, 2025

Set away mode when everyone leaves

Automatically transition your home to Away Mode when the last person leaves. This foundational automation enables energy savings, security activation, and peace of mind that your home is properly secured.

⭐ Why This Matters

Energy Savings: Turn off unnecessary lights, adjust thermostat to eco mode, stop running appliances
Security: Lock all doors automatically, arm security system, activate surveillance cameras
Convenience: No manual mode switching needed. Works automatically for everyone with consistent behavior.

Use cases

Daily & Short Trips

Daily Work Commute - Everyone leaves for work/school
Running Errands - Quick trips away from home
Evening Outings - Dinner, movies, events

Extended Absences

Weekend Trips - Family leaves for activities
Vacations - Extended absence from home

Products needed

Essential Equipment

Smart Home Platform App

Installed on every adult's phone
Options: Home Assistant Companion, SmartThings app, Life360, Apple Home (for HomeKit)
Requirements: GPS/location always on, background app refresh enabled, battery optimization exceptions

Optional Enhancements

Motion Sensors

Verify no one home

Smart Locks

Auto-lock doors

Smart Thermostat

Energy savings

Security Cameras

Visual verification

Basic automation setup

IF everyone leaves home THEN set house to Away mode AND turn off all lights AND adjust thermostat to eco

⚠️ Important: Verify Truly Empty (Multiple Conditions Recommended)

Both phones not present for 10 minutes
No motion detected in any room for 9 minutes
No TV is currently on
No music playing
Optional: No computers active
Why? Phone GPS can drift. Someone without phone may be home (kids, guests, nanny). Prevents false away activation.

Triggers

Last phone leaves home geofence
OR Person 1 leaves AND Person 2 leaves
OR All tracked devices leave home zone

Conditions (Important!)

Both phones not present for 10 minutes
No motion detected in any room for 9 minutes
No TV is currently on
No music playing
Optional: No computers active

Actions

Immediate: Set house mode to "Away" • Send confirmation notification
Triggered by Away Mode: Turn off all lights • Lock all doors • Adjust thermostat • Arm security system • Start robot vacuum (optional)

Platform-specific examples

Home Assistant

Trigger All persons leave home for 10 minutes

Condition No motion for 9 minutes + TV is off

Action Set mode "Away", Turn off lights, Lock doors, Set thermostat

SmartThings

IF All members away 10 min AND No motion 9 min

THEN Change mode to "Away"

Routine 2: Mode "Away" → Lights off, Lock doors, Set thermostat

Hubitat

Trigger All presence sensors "not present" 10 min

Condition No motion for 9 min + Media off

Action Change mode to "Away"

Setup: Mode Manager + Rule Machine for Away actions

Apple HomeKit

When Last person leaves

Condition After 10 minutes + No motion detected

Do Lights off, Lock doors, Set thermostat, Arm security

Alexa

When Last person leaves (via Alexa app location)

Wait 10 minutes

Actions Mode "Away", Lights off, Lock doors, Adjust thermostat

Google Home

Starter Last person leaves home

Delay 10 minutes

Actions Set home to Away, Turn off lights, Lock doors

Away mode actions checklist

Lighting

Turn Off:

All interior lights
Decorative lighting
Night lights
Under-cabinet lighting

Turn On (if dark):

Away lighting pattern (see security section)
Exterior lights on timer

Climate control

Thermostat settings:

Heating season: 60°F (15°C)
Cooling season: 78°F (26°C)
Switch to “Away” or “Eco” mode

Other climate:

Turn off bathroom fans
Stop humidifiers/dehumidifiers
Close smart vents in unused rooms

Security

Lock everything:

Front door
Back door
Side doors
Garage door (close if open)
Deadbolts

Arm security:

Interior motion sensors
Door/window sensors
Cameras start recording
Enable push notifications

Appliances & devices

Turn off:

Coffee maker
Space heaters
Fans
Entertainment systems
Smart plugs (non-essential)

Automation pause:

Robot vacuum (or start if scheduled)
Watering systems (unless scheduled)
Turn off screens on dashboards

Notifications

Alert options:

“Home is now in Away mode”
“All doors locked ✓”
“Thermostat set to eco mode”
“Security system armed”

Advanced features

Graduated timeouts

Different delay times for different situations:

Short trip (daytime, no calendar event): 10 minute delay before activating away mode
Likely longer trip (calendar shows event): 3 minute delay

Use conditional logic to check time of day and calendar status to determine appropriate timeout.

Approaching home detection

Create “Approaching” zone 500m from home:

Benefits:

Pre-heat/cool home
Turn on entry lights
Unlock door as you arrive
Disarm security

Setup: Create zone trigger when person enters approaching zone (500m radius).

False positive prevention

Scenario: Phone GPS drifts, triggers away mode while you’re home

Solution 1: Motion verification Add condition: Must have no motion for extended time (15 minutes)

Solution 2: Door activity check Add condition: No door opened in last 15 minutes

Solution 3: Manual override

Physical button: “Staying Home”
Voice command: “Cancel away mode”
App toggle: Disable auto-away for X hours

Phased away activation

Gradually transition to full away mode:

Phase 1: Pre-Away (5 minutes after leaving)

Turn off non-essential lights
Reduce thermostat by 2°

Phase 2: Away (10 minutes after leaving)

Turn off all lights
Set thermostat to eco
Lock doors

Phase 3: Secure Away (20 minutes after leaving)

Arm security system
Enable enhanced monitoring
Activate away lighting patterns

Handling edge cases

Kids without phones

Solution 1: Time-based override Add condition: Don’t activate during after-school hours (3-6 PM on weekdays)

Solution 2: Door lock check

Kids can’t lock deadbolt from inside
Check deadbolt status before activating away

Solution 3: Motion sensor required

Must have no motion for longer period
20+ minutes instead of 10

Guests visiting

Solution 1: Guest mode toggle

Manual switch: “Guests over”
Disables auto-away
Re-enables automatically after 24 hours

Solution 2: Extended delays

Increase motion-free time to 30 minutes
Require explicit departure signal

Dead phone battery

Solution 1: Fallback verification

Must have multiple verification methods pass
Motion + door activity + time of day

Solution 2: Manual check-in

Send notification: “Haven’t heard from you, are you home?”
Await response before activating

Solution 3: Conservative approach

Only activate if ALL signs point to empty
When in doubt, don’t activate

Left phone at home

Automatic recovery: Create automation that detects quick return (door opens within 1 hour of away mode activation) and switches back to Home mode.

Troubleshooting

Away mode activates while home

Check:

GPS accuracy on phones
Motion sensor placement and function
Motion-free timeout setting
Other verification conditions

Fix:

Increase geofence size
Add more verification conditions
Extend motion-free timeout
Add manual override button

Away mode doesn’t activate

Check:

Location services enabled on all phones
App has background permissions
Geofence configured correctly
Conditions are being met

Fix:

Review location settings
Test geofence manually
Check automation logs
Verify all triggers/conditions

Delayed activation

Causes:

Conservative timeout settings
Many verification conditions
Cloud processing delays

Solutions:

Reduce timeout if safe
Remove unnecessary conditions
Use local processing

Security considerations

Don’t rely solely on GPS:

Add motion verification
Check door activity
Verify TV/music status

Fail-safe approach:

When uncertain, don’t activate
Better to not activate than false activate
Manual override always available

Notification strategy:

Always notify when activating
Include what actions were taken
Allow quick undo via notification

Related automations: