Home Assistant can track a phone’s location with GPS, infer home/away status from a router or network connection, or combine several signals into one Person entity. GPS can place a device in zones such as home, work, or school; Wi-Fi and other connection trackers generally indicate whether a device is connected or nearby, not where it is on a map. For most person-focused automations, assign the relevant trackers to a Person and use zone triggers.
What a Home Assistant device tracker does
A device_tracker is an entity provided by an integration, not a standalone integration that you add by itself. The Home Assistant Companion App can provide phone location, while router integrations can report whether a device is connected to a network. Depending on the source, a tracker represents either a position or a connection.
A tracker’s state may be home, not_home, or the name of a zone. It can also be unknown or unavailable when its state is not known or the entity cannot report. Trackers that share exact position can provide coordinates and, when supplied, gps_accuracy. Current tracker models also expose tracking_type to distinguish position from connection and in_zones to list zones containing the device. See the Device tracker integration documentation for entity behavior. A developer note dated June 15, 2026, says legacy trackers without the newer attributes are scheduled for removal in the first half of 2027; check current migration guidance before acting on that timeline: Changes to device tracker entity models.
GPS tracking with the Companion App
After the Home Assistant Companion App is set up, it can create a device tracker for the phone. The app may update location when the phone enters or leaves a configured zone, when the app is opened or brought to the foreground, during background fetch or a significant location change, after a manual refresh, or in response to a requested update. Those are possible update triggers, not a guaranteed universal schedule: operating system behavior, permissions, and app settings affect when an update arrives.
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Location sharing has three useful levels. Exact sends GPS coordinates; Zone Name Only sends a relevant zone name or not_home; and Never or disabled sharing sends neither coordinates nor zone information. Location sensors require appropriate app permissions and device-level location settings. Home Assistant documents that location data is sent to the user’s Home Assistant instance directly or through Home Assistant Cloud according to configured URLs, not through other servers or organizations. See the Companion App’s location documentation for the applicable settings.
Wi-Fi, router, and ping presence
A router integration reports what the network sees as connected. This is a connection signal, not geographic positioning: a router-based tracker does not inherently provide latitude and longitude or show a person’s location away from home. When connected, it is treated as being in its associated zone, normally Home unless that zone is changed. Many router trackers use home and not_home, although exact states and update behavior depend on the integration. This can be a practical way to tell whether a device is on the home network without sharing detailed phone location, but it cannot tell you where the person is elsewhere. Home Assistant’s presence detection guide explains this approach.
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Ping is another connection-style signal. Home Assistant sends ICMP echo requests to a configured host or IP address and reports reachability; it does not provide GPS coordinates. A single ping tracker can be unreliable for phones because they may turn off Wi-Fi while idle. The Ping integration documentation describes its setup and limitations.
Bluetooth proximity and combined signals
Home Assistant’s Bluetooth integration supports local adapters and remote adapters. A remote proxy—often an ESP32 running ESPHome—can be placed elsewhere and relay nearby Bluetooth signals to Home Assistant over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. This can add a local proximity or connection signal for compatible devices, but Bluetooth detection is not GPS and does not turn a nearby-device observation into a location trail. Details are in the Bluetooth integration documentation.
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A Person entity can combine multiple trackers assigned to one individual. Home Assistant applies this precedence: if any connection trackers are connected, it uses the most recently updated connected tracker; otherwise, if position trackers exist, it uses the most recently updated position tracker; if neither condition applies, it uses the latest tracker with a not_home state. If a Person’s state seems surprising, review the devices assigned to that Person and the states those trackers report. See the Person integration documentation.
Which tracking method fits the job?
| Method | What it observes and reports | Useful for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Companion App GPS/position | Phone location; coordinates, accuracy when supplied, and zone or name state | Zones beyond home, such as work or school | Needs location permissions and suitable background behavior; update timing varies by trigger and operating system. Source |
| Router connection | Whether a device is connected to the router or network; usually home/not_home or an associated zone |
Simple home/away presence | No exact coordinates; depends on router integration and device connection reporting. Source |
| Ping | ICMP reachability at a configured host or IP address | A local reachability signal when a device answers ping | Phones may turn off Wi-Fi while idle, making one ping signal unreliable. Source |
| Bluetooth adapter or proxy | Nearby Bluetooth signals relayed through a local or remote adapter | Adding Bluetooth coverage for compatible devices | Requires compatible devices and suitable adapter or proxy placement; it is not GPS. Source |
Set up presence automations around a Person
Home Assistant recommends connecting tracked devices to Person entities and using zone triggers for presence automations. A Person represents one individual even when several trackers contribute to that person’s status. A zone trigger can respond when that person or a tracked device enters or leaves Home, work, school, or another configured zone.
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- Set up a source. Add the Companion App for phone location, or configure a supported router, ping, or Bluetooth integration for the connection or proximity signal you need.
- Check the tracker entity. Confirm that it updates and reports the kind of state your use case needs. Do not expect a router, ping, or Bluetooth connection tracker to supply GPS coordinates.
- Assign the tracker to a Person. Add the relevant phone and other trackers to the individual’s Person entity, then check that the combined state reflects the intended signal.
- Create the automation with the matching trigger. Use a Person or zone trigger for a person arriving or leaving. Use a state trigger on an individual tracker when the automation specifically needs that tracker’s raw state.
Examples include sending a notification when someone arrives at school or turning on climate control when they leave work; Home Assistant’s presence detection guide covers these patterns. Because GPS, router, ping, and Bluetooth sources update differently, avoid assuming they share a fixed cadence or change state at exactly the same moment.
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