As of firmware V9.95, Tailwind is compatible with Apple HomeKit - meaning that you can set up Tailwind in the Apple Home app and use Siri to open and close your garage door. You can also check out this video on how to set up Siri Shortcuts.
Note that you can record any phrase you want for each shortcut, and you need to create a separate shortcut (and phrase) for open and close commands. So if you want garage door 2 to open when you say "Hey this Tailwind thing is pretty cool", you can do that. The phrase is completely customizable for each door and each command (open or close). This is especially useful for the open commands because it's inherently more secure. Nobody can steal your phone and say "Hey Siri open garage door".
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The Face / Touch ID requirement means the Tailwind app will not launch into the foreground on your iPhone without that authentication.
Shortcuts execute without this authentication, which is why we recommend using phrases that are not simple to guess.
Is there a way to use the “get garage door status” shortcut response output? I’d like to create a shortcut that gets the status, and if the door is open, it would then close it. If the door is closed, it would then open it.
Is it possible? I’ve tried but maybe I’m missing something.
Not that I know of, but if you figure something out please post it!
The open command no longer appears to work in the shortcuts app on IOS 16.1.1. Have tested on 2 iPhones. No change to shortcuts but the command never opens the door. Close shortcut works fine.
I’m using iOS 16.1.1 and haven’t run into any difficulties. My only advice is to begin with is to restart and check for firmware updates. If all fails try reinstalling as if it’s day one. Someone else may have some less invasive ideas.
Any one got this working without having to unlock the phone? I'd like to be able to just call out Hey Siri Open Garage door as I'm approaching the house, but IOS 16 tells me I have to unlock my phone first.
I'm new to Tailwind, my Remotio controller app didn't require the lock screen, but that was also before IOS 16, so I won't say its specific to Tailwind.
In Aus, its illegal to handle you phone while driving, so just means I have to pull up in my driveway, before picking up my phone to press a lock screen button shortcut
Hi Kris,
You can try Apple HomeKit automations but they also require a confirmation before running - at least here in North America. If you happened to have purchased a vehicle sensor you could just use that and it would be fully automated.
The team tells me that any unlock or similar requirements are controlled by Apple.
FYI… I use my Apple Watch.
Have you changed the setting to allow Siri when locked?
I've added Shortcuts to the Today Screen, and they work, but it still means I have to 'touch' my phone.
I've added Shortcut Complication, which allows a folder of shortcuts (open and close) which works, but again, needs me to take my eyes off the road to touch something.
Its weird that I can do the above, but Siri still requires to be unlocked.
I have the Allow Siri when Locked.
You used to be able to select Run shortcut when locked. This has gone.
I'll have a play with Automations, but I want to have the door start to open as I approach the house. But only in one car. So the automation would have to be the phone connected to bluetooth for the car and passing a location.
Yes this is exactly what Tailwind was designed to do but it uses the vehicle sensor to detect the vehicle because Apple will not allow our app to detect the vehicle bluetooth connection directly like Android does.
I wrote an article about this here if you're interested https://gotailwind.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001995232-If-I-have-an-iPhone-do-I-need-a-Tailwind-Vehicle-Sensor-TVS-for-my-vehicle-
Ok, so some may say this is mission successful and others will definitely tell me I'm dreaming.
I now have an Apple Automation that detects when I'm leaving the house (and which car I am associated with) and will close the garage door for that vehicle. And then as I approach the home on return it will open the garage door automatically for me.
No need to touch the phone, locked or unlocked, no siri commands. Just location and vehicle based.
Achieved using the following.
I need to save state of the vehicle I am in, by detecting when I get in the car and the bluetooth connection. It will open my Music app of choice on connecting to Bluetooth, and I click play. This sets a variable (stored in Reminders, as its persistent) which can be reused, but basically identifies the car I am driving, by that Bluetooth connection.
As I drive away, I use the Focus change automation to run a shortcut that closes the garage door. It uses the vehicle I am driving and the door status to identify which door I need to close and if it needs closing.
As I drive towards the home, I have a second Focus change automation that detects my arrival and uses the same logic to understand which car I am driving and which door to open and opens the door.
I am lucky enough to live at the end of a cul de sac and the 'area' I need to be in to determine approach to the home is not crossed by any other roads. So by the time I get to my driveway, the door is just finishing opening.
Now Apple could make it easier, by allowing persistent variables, as that saves me writing to a secondary store (Reminders in this case) and also it would be easier if I could just use the Bluetooth connection and the arrive and leave states without having to trick the phone by focus changing. But it works. Today.
Screenshots of the number of shortcuts to make this possible. And then the automations.
THIS IS BRILLIANT! I’m not quite clear as to the steps to make this work. Could you please add some details as to the steps to set this up. I’d greatly appreciate it if I too could replicate this method.
Mark, I'll document up a little more and see if I can't publish the shortcuts. Gimme a day or two.
Thanks Kris. Please let us know. We will definitely be sure to let everyone know about this if you get it published. We, more than anyone, wish Apple would allow this to be easy like it is on Android.
This is quite the automation! I wonder if the location presence can be leveraged for coming and going to open/close the door. I may fiddle with it. I have the car sensor which works fine but always like to figure out new automations on HomeKit.
Tony, That's the point of the automation elements on the Focus, its a work around because Apple doesn't allow Arrive or Leave to automate on location with out a prompt, ie you have to touch the phone. Focus change does not require that, and as such, I use arrive at home for focus change which is automatic, and then piggy back running the open and close off the focus change...
End result is I get the door opening as I arrive home, no touch, and the door closing as I leave, no touch.
Instructions coming soon
Explanation of Functionality
When your phone connects to a specific car Bluetooth, an automation will remind you (you have to touch for Bluetooth) to open your favourite music app. In the background it will set a variable that represents that you are in that car.
As you leave the home, your phone will automatically turn off the personal focus mode. On doing so it will automatically run a shortcut to close the garage door, once checking that you are in a car that requires the door to be closed (ie you can have multiple cars and garage doors, logic will determine if the door needs closing)
As you return home (arrive), your phone will automatically turn on Personal focus mode. On doing so, it will automatically run a shortcut to open the garage door, once checking that you are in a car that requires the door to be open (ie you can have multiple cars and garage doors, logic will determine if the door needs opening). It will also reset the variable to say you are no longer in a car.
Prerequisites
I’ve tested this on IOS 16.2.
Assumptions/notes
You are cool with having to click ‘something’ on entering your car to start this process. I generally put on my favourite music or something else anyway, and had been using a shortcut to open my music app on connection for a while before I started this. Right now Apple Shortcuts/Automations doesn’t support Bluetooth connection as a method for running a shortcut without interaction, which is why I need to utilise the ‘cheat’ of changing focus modes.
I don’t use focus modes in my day to day for anything else, if I did then I may need to put more logic in the shortcut. But right now, the shortcut won’t accidentally open or close the door unless I’m in the car and connected to the Bluetooth, so if I was changing focus modes regularly at home, the only issue may be I doesn’t initiate the door close, which Tailwind will remind me the door is still open and I can just close later. I’m sure with a little thought I could create a scenario where on Bluetooth connection, set personal to focus, then it would be able to be turned off on leaving. I don’t have this problem now, but would be relatively easy to add to the Set Focus on the Bluetooth connection in the first automation before the in car setting, so that the door doesn’t close.
Getting started
Given there is a bit of complexity to work with here, if you aren’t familiar with Apple Shortcuts, I’d suggest going through the following steps to ensure you have the ability to see the variables and see some success.
So you should be able to run the true and false shortcuts and at anytime ask for the current state, using the Get shortcut. It is this shortcut that will get used in an ‘if’ statement during the open and close garage door shortcuts to check the state and provide the logic for whether the open or close should be run.
It also means, that I can leave the house in another car or uber or go for a walk or a ride and not worry about the garage door opening or closing.
My setup
Download the following set of Shortcuts from here (if you haven't already)
Create a Close Garage Door Shortcut - literally just select run app and select the Close Garage door option for the door you are planning to close. Case is important in the name of the shortcut
Create an Open Garage Door Shortcut - literally just select run app and select the Open Garage door option for the door you are planning to open. Case is important in the name of the shortcut
Testing The Setup before Creating the Automation
If you run the Set BT State – True shortcut, and check that state, (using your test state shortcut from the Getting started section or looking at the JSON in the Reminder list) It should say TRUE
You can then open your garage normally like you were going to get in the car.
If you Run the Car BT Leave – It should check the variable and Close the garage door and set the BT State to False
If this happens, then you can check the state using the and check that state, using your test state shortcut from the Getting started section or looking at the JSON in the Reminder list, and it should say False.
Run the Set BT State – True again and check (per above)
With the Door closed, run the Car BT Arrive. It should check the variable and Open the garage door.
Once this completes, Run the Car BT Leave – It should check the variable and Close the garage door and set the BT State to False
If all of this works, you can proceed to setting up the Automations.
Creating Automations.
You need to create three automations in order to pull this together.
Manually Triggered Automation – On Car Bluetooth connection
The example in the screenshot is mine, where I additionally add the app opening my music app, but it can just set the BT State on connection. This is a personal automation, so just replicate what is here in the screenshot.
When setting up the Bluetooth connection – you will have to select ‘your’ car’s Bluetooth connection
Personal Focus – Leave
This Personal automation detects when you Leave the home (a set location) and then runs a shortcut (the Car BT Leave shortcut you created earlier)
You must already be on Personal Focus as mentioned earlier for this to work, and on returning to home, the Arrive Shortcut will reset the Focus to On.
Replicate the settings here. Including ask before running and notify when run.
Personal Focus – Arrive
This Personal automation detects when you Leave the home (a set location) and then runs a shortcut (the Car BT Arrive shortcut you created earlier)
On returning to home, the Arrive Shortcut will reset the Focus to On.
Replicate the settings here. Including ask before running and notify when run.
I’ve only tested this documentation once, with my wife’s phone, and it works. But I may not have described every step. Let me know if there are questions. And I’ll try to address. I’d suggest any issues with Shortcuts or other elements, you try some of the apple materials online. But I hope this step by step gets you most of the way there.
Got it...thanks Kris!
I’ve posted the instructions. Let us know any feedback for those who try it.
It’s pending, probably because of all the pictures and links
Thanks Kris. I’m looking forward to seeing it and giving it a try. It appears that Zendesk has some limitations and issues with upload sizes and formats. Would you be so kind as to send some information my way at markshme@me.com?
Where can we see Kris instructions once they are posted?
It's still pending here. If its inappropriate to post here let us know and I'll post elsewhere.
Hi Kris. Zendesk marked it as spam and put "pending approval" beside it. I've never seen that happen before. I followed all the Zendesk links on how to approve a post but nothing was working.
Then finally figured out it was flagged as spam. Once I marked it as "not spam" it posted immediately. Sorry about that.
All good Scott, its got a bunch of photos and useful information from me. Clearly Spam.
An update on my usage. I added some logic to the set Flag to ensure I was in a particular car, you should see it in the demo shortcut I posted. It basically checks which car I'm in and doesn't do anything if I am in a car that doesn't go into a garage.
I had some notifications in the shortcut, to tell me when that was working and because I don't drive my truck very often, it worked when I tested it, but I didn't see any notifications other times and assumed that all was well.
Two days ago, I started getting notifications sitting down in the house that I wasn't in the car to open the door, like I had 'left' the house in the truck. As it turns out in the Focus setting (for Personal) it had built a smart schedule based on my movements, and was being 'clever' during the day and 'setting' the focus (that was already on) to off and then later turning it back on again. Thankfully the logic of not being connected to the garaged car meant it didn't open the door (yay as designed) but I simply disabled the setting for use a smart schedule (must be there by default) and the problem has gone away.
Else I've been very smug as I pull into my street to see my garage door slowly rising without any action from me, and confident knowing that the door is always shut on my departure.
It's just too bad Apple had to make it that complicated :(
Android is so much easier for this.
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