Can incoming phone calls trigger routines in your smart home? - Stacey on IoT

On a caller Internet of Things Podcast episode, we took a telephone from our Voicemail hotline conception with a question astir astute location routines triggered from an incoming telephone call. Mike doesn’t support his telephone successful the chamber erstwhile helium sleeps astatine nighttime and helium occasionally misses calls from his daughters due to the fact that of that. He wants to cognize if an incoming telephone telephone tin crook connected a airy oregon marque an announcement connected a astute speaker.

Much of the reply to this question depends highly connected what astute location devices Mike uses, which ecosystem helium has and adjacent whether his telephone uses Android oregon iOS. So we’ll suggest a fewer solutions for immoderate of the antithetic answers are to these constraints.

Apple’s iOS and HomeKit requires a workaround

Right disconnected the bat, successful the satellite of Apple iPhones, you’re precise limited. An incoming telephone telephone tin beryllium announced connected an Apple HomePod but the telephone can’t beryllium utilized arsenic an automation trigger. Apple is acold much limiting successful its Phone app than Android is. So if Mike has an iPhone and a HomePod oregon HomePod mini, for example, helium tin person those precocious nighttime calls announced.

Image courtesy of K. Tofel

His daughters could besides usage the HomePod arsenic a distant intercom, assuming they person iPhones. They would simply inquire Siri to intercom oregon denote “Hey dad, aftermath up and telephone me,” for example. I cognize this diagnostic works remotely arsenic I’ve utilized it done CarPlay portion connected the road. Of course, if the girls person distant entree to the astute home, they tin crook connected the chamber airy to aftermath Mike up arsenic well. However, automations based from an incoming telephone telephone aren’t a anticipation successful this situation.

IFTTT saves the time for Android

If Mike has an Android phone, he’s successful overmuch amended signifier to lick this situation by downloading the IFTTT app. You tin link a circumstantial telephone fig to IFTTT and acceptable up a regular that starts whenever the telephone receives a telephone from that number.

This requires the IFTTT exertion installed connected the telephone truthful the work tin “see” the trigger event. When a telephone comes successful from that circumstantial telephone number, the app tells the IFTTT unreality work to tally a routine. So Mike could configure IFTTT to crook connected a airy successful this case.

Alexa is different enactment if there’s an Echo successful the house

With the Alexa app installed connected either an Android oregon iOS device, determination is simply a diagnostic to remotely talk done an Amazon Echo device. We don’t cognize if Mike has an Echo instrumentality but if helium does, his girls could use the Alexa app to driblet successful connected the speaker and talk a connection to their father.

Image courtesy of Amazon

No, this isn’t automated. However, if Mike’s girl calls and helium doesn’t answer, a elemental fastener property successful the Alexa app lets them scope retired by dependable to aftermath him up. He would past cognize helium missed the telephone and could proceed the speech connected the Echo oregon telephone the girls backmost arsenic needed.

While not each of these imaginable solutions are rather what Mike is looking for, they could suffice arsenic workarounds. Much of the solution present depends again connected respective factors specified arsenic mobile operating systems and astute location platforms. Hopefully, we’ve got a solution to grip the main options here.

To hear’s Mike’s question successful full, arsenic good arsenic our treatment connected the topic, tune successful to the Internet of Things Podcast below:

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