How to Use Auto-Open for iOS

Auto-Open relies on a few different technologies in your phone, not only the Yale Access App but also your Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS. These must be enabled in order for Auto-Open to work. All of these are regulated by your operating system communicating to the Yale Access App.

Yale uses two states to enable Auto-Open to function: Home mode, and Away mode. These modes indicate where Auto-Open thinks you are: at home, or away from home respectively.

When you are at home (in Home mode), Auto-Open is not actively doing anything. It is waiting until you leave home.

When you approach your home, Auto-Open will open your Garage door or Gate via Bluetooth. This means Auto-Open cannot operate your Yale Smart Opener when you are away from home.

You are considered away from home when you leave your immediate neighborhood, which is about 200 meters, or a couple city blocks. It is only active when you return to your home area.

Tips for good Auto-Open performance

Leave Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned ON.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth must be enabled to use the Auto-Open feature. Your phone uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to determine your location. If your location is not accurate, Auto-Open will not work correctly or at all.

Take advantage of the notifications.

• By default, Auto-Open will notify you when you enter Home and Away modes. This helps you to reliably predict Auto-Opens behavior. It is recommended to leave these notifications enabled.
• You will also be notified if there are any errors that would prevent Auto-Open from working properly.

Leave the Yale App running in the background - Do not force-quit it.

• Force quitting the Yale App will cause it to lose track of your Home or Away status. If this happens, the app will not try to Auto-Open your Garage or Gate as a safety precaution.

Do not power off your phone when you are away from home.

• Powering off your phone will cause the Yale App to lose track of your Home or Away status. If this happens, the app will not try to Auto-Open your Garage or Gate as a safety precaution.

Home and Away modes explained

Home mode

Nothing happens automatically.

What does it mean?

You are assumed to be at home, and Auto-Open is not actively doing anything.

How is it activated?

Automatically

You are placed in Home mode after Auto-Open successfully opens your Garage/Gate when returning home.

Manually

You can place yourself in Home mode by visiting Auto-Open Settings > Advanced Settings, and switching from Away mode to Home mode.

Errors

In cases where your state cannot be determined, Auto-Open may default back to Home mode. These cases include:

• Your phone restarts
• The Yale App was force-quit

Away mode

Your phone will attempt to activate Auto-Open the next time you are near your home.

What does it mean?

You are assumed to have left home, as well as the area around your home. Auto-Open will listen for your lock’s Bluetooth signal, and attempt to unlock your door the next time you are within 4.5 meters of your Yale Smart Opener. This listening does not use significant battery power.

How is it activated?

Automatically

You are placed in Away mode when your phone leaves the area around your home. This is typically about 200 meters away from your Yale Smart  Opener, or a couple city blocks.

Manually

You can place yourself in Away mode by visiting Auto-Open Settings > Advanced Settings, and switching from Home mode to Away mode.

• PLEASE NOTE: If you are standing near your Yale Smart Opener when manually entering Away mode, your Yale Smart Opener will trigger Auto-Open within a few seconds. This is expected behavior, and will only happen because you are physically near your Yale Smart Opener. This will not happen when you are away from home.

Errors

If you are automatically placed in Home mode because of an error, you will usually be given an option to re-enter Away mode.

Troubleshooting

My Garege/Gate didn’t unlock when I expected it to

You may not have gone far enough away from home

• To enter Away mode, you must go further than 200 meters or a couple city blocks. Only then will Auto-Open attempt to unlock your Garage/Gate when you arrive home.
• You can make sure Auto-Open tells you when you’re far enough away by enabling the notification. Auto-Open notification settings can be found in Lock Settings > Auto-Open.

Auto-Open may have reverted to Home mode because of an error

• Most of these cases will send you a notification, with an option to correct the issue before you arrive home. Causes include:
• Your phone was restarted
• The Yale App was force-quit
• A communication error with your Yale Smart Opener

My Garage/Gate opened when I didn’t expect it to

• Auto-Open incorrectly thought you left home
• If you have very poor Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity. Your phone uses these to determine your current location.
• The location of your  Yale Smart Opener is set incorrectly. You can change this in Auto-Open Settings > Advanced Settings.
• Auto-Open didn’t detect your Yale Smart Opener when you came home..
• Bluetooth on your phone was turned off when you came home.

How does Yale use my location data?

Your location data is only stored on your phone within the Yale App. Yale does not collect or store your data remotely, and has no way of looking at your location data. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.