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What a Home Assistant device tracker does
A device_tracker is an entity provided by an integration, not a standalone tracking service you add by itself. The Companion App can provide a phone’s position, while router integrations can report whether devices are connected to the network. Different integrations therefore produce different kinds of presence information and may update at different times.
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A tracker’s state may be a zone name, home, or not_home; it can also be unknown or unavailable. When position data is shared, coordinates and sometimes gps_accuracy may be available. Current tracker models use tracking_type to distinguish position from connection tracking and in_zones to list zones containing the device. The developer documentation dated June 15, 2026 says legacy trackers without these attributes are scheduled for removal in the first half of 2027; check current migration status before acting on that timeline (Home Assistant Developer Docs).
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How GPS tracking works with the Companion App
After the Home Assistant Companion App is set up, it can create a device tracker for the phone. Depending on the phone’s operating system, permissions, and app settings, location updates may be triggered by entering or leaving a configured zone, opening or foregrounding the app, background fetch, significant location changes, a manual refresh, or a requested update. There is no single update interval that applies to every phone and configuration.
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Location sharing can be limited to fit your needs:
- Exact: sends GPS coordinates.
- Zone Name Only: sends the relevant zone name or
not_home, rather than exact coordinates. - Never or Disabled: sends neither coordinates nor zone information.
Location permission and the phone’s location settings are prerequisites for location sensors. The Companion App documentation says location data is sent to your Home Assistant instance directly or through Home Assistant Cloud according to the URLs you have configured, not through other servers or organizations. See the Companion App location documentation for the app’s settings and behavior.
How Home Assistant knows when a phone is home over Wi-Fi
A router integration reports the network’s view of a device: whether it is connected to the router or network. That is a connection signal, not geographic positioning. A connected device tracker is treated as being in its associated zone, normally Home unless that association has been changed. Router trackers commonly use home and not_home, although exact state behavior depends on the integration.
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This approach can support straightforward home/away automations without sharing detailed phone location. It cannot tell you where someone is once they are away from the network, or provide a route or coordinates. Home Assistant’s presence detection guide describes router-connected devices as one way to detect who is home.
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Ping is another network signal
The Ping integration sends ICMP echo requests to a configured host or IP address and reports reachability. It does not provide latitude or longitude. A phone may turn off Wi-Fi while idle, so a single ping tracker can miss an otherwise present phone; Ping can be combined with other trackers on a Person. Details are in the Ping (ICMP) integration documentation.
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Bluetooth and proximity detection
Home Assistant’s Bluetooth integration supports local adapters and remote adapters. One remote option is an ESP32 running ESPHome, placed where additional Bluetooth coverage is needed; it relays nearby Bluetooth signals over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Bluetooth can add a local proximity or connection signal for compatible devices and setups, but it is not a substitute for phone GPS coordinates. See the Bluetooth integration documentation for supported arrangements.
How GPS, Wi-Fi, ping, and Bluetooth compare
| Method | What it observes | Typical output | 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 operating system and trigger. |
| Router connection | Whether a device is connected to the network or router | Usually home/not_home or an associated zone |
Simple home/away presence | No exact coordinates; results depend on the router integration and device connection reporting. |
| Ping | ICMP reachability at a configured host or IP | Reachability/connection state | A local presence signal when a device answers ping | Phones may turn off Wi-Fi while idle, making a single ping signal unreliable. |
| Bluetooth adapter or proxy | Nearby Bluetooth signals | Proximity or connection data through compatible integrations | Adding local Bluetooth coverage | Requires compatible devices and suitable adapter or proxy placement; it is not GPS. |
Combine trackers with a Person
A Person entity represents an individual and can combine that person’s trackers, such as a phone’s position and a router’s connection state. Home Assistant applies a precedence rule: if any connection trackers are connected, it uses the most recently updated connected tracker. If none are connected but position trackers exist, it uses the most recently updated position tracker. Otherwise, it uses the latest tracker with a not_home state. This explains why a Person may show home even when a phone’s GPS tracker appears away: another assigned connection tracker may currently take precedence.
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If the Person state seems wrong, inspect which devices are assigned to that Person and compare their tracker states and update times. The Person integration documentation explains tracker assignment and state selection.
Choose the right trigger for an automation
Home Assistant recommends connecting tracked devices to Person entities and using zone triggers for presence automations. A zone trigger is appropriate when the event you care about is a person entering or leaving Home, work, school, or another configured zone. Use a state trigger on an individual tracker when the automation specifically depends on that tracker’s raw state.
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For example, a school-arrival notification should respond to the relevant Person entering the school zone. An automation that reacts to a particular router’s connection can instead watch that router tracker’s state. Avoid assuming GPS, router, ping, and Bluetooth trackers update on the same schedule: each integration and device can report differently. The official Device tracker documentation covers tracker behavior and the recommended Person-and-zone approach.
Choose a Home Assistant host separately
Presence tracking is provided by integrations and sensors, not by the computer that hosts Home Assistant. Home Assistant Green is one dedicated hardware option, but it is not a GPS tracker or presence sensor. The official hardware page also lists Raspberry Pi, Odroid, x86-64 computers, containers, and virtual machines as host options (Home Assistant Green; Home Assistant hardware).
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