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I'm looking for an Android app that could disable Wi-Fi when it detects movement (walking, driving), and enable it again when the phone is stationary. An example use-case is when you're on a voip call and you drive through an area in which you've set your phone to automatically connect to that access point. The call would interrupt while the connection transitions from mobile data to Wi-Fi, then back to mobile data. I usually turn off Wi-Fi manually, but I tend to forget to turn it back on later. So it would be great if an app could automate that.

Requirments:

  • Automatically disables Wi-Fi when movement is detected
  • Automatically re-enables Wi-Fi when the device stops moving
  • Compatible with Android 4.4.2

Nice to have:

  • Ability to set a triggering speed threshold
  • Ability to have different profiles for different moving speeds (walking, jogging, driving)
  • Allows a small time window before triggering (walking a few steps across the room should not disable your Wi-Fi)
  • Pop-up notifications whenever Wi-Fi is switched on/off
  • Reasonable price
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2 Answers 2

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To automate all things on my Droids, I use Tasker1. Like Steve with IFTTT, I didn't check with your specific situation – but given the fact that Tasker is the most powerful automation tool available for Android, I trust it to be capable of this. Tasker works with so-called "profiles", consisting of a (number of) "conditions", which you can assign "tasks" to. WiFi is one of its easiest tasks ;)

Tasker Motion Detection
Tasker with the Motion Detection addon (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)

So let's check how it goes with your requirements:

  • Automatically disables Wi-Fi when movement is detected: Tasker can react on a lot of things, amongst others Sensors. Unfortunately, it doesn't ship with movement detection built in – but there's the Movement Detection addon available to fill this gap (see screenshots above).
  • Automatically re-enables Wi-Fi when the device stops moving: By default, Tasker automatically reverts to the "before-state" whenever a condition is no longer met. You also can define exit-tasks, so to make sure you could place the "turn it back on" here.
  • Compatible with Android 4.4.2: I have no device to check, and Play simply says "varies with device" – but considering how actively Tasker is maintained, I'd say yes.
  • Ability to set a triggering speed threshold: Certainly to a degree at least, as Android gives this in different categories like "walking", "cycling", "car" – which match "different speeds".
  • Ability to have different profiles for different moving speeds (walking, jogging, driving): Ahm... see previous bullet-point: Yes.
  • Allows a small time window before triggering (walking a few steps across the room should not disable your Wi-Fi): Yes, the mentioned add-on has that configurable.
  • Pop-up notifications whenever Wi-Fi is switched on/off: Not by default, but you can add this to the task. Tasker can do popup-notifications, toasts, or put stuff to your notification bar – so chose what you like. You can also have a notification with audio-alert ;)
  • Reasonable price: Well, that's a little subjective. I'd say for what it does the price is reasonable :) OK, facts: Tasker costs about US$5 (they have a free 7-day trial on their site, which easily can be extended for another 7 days2 – so you can "try before buy"). The Motion Detection add-on adds another buck to that.

As I wrote, Tasker is well maintained. There are tons of add-ons available to extend its functionality, and many apps directly support it (so you can automate them using Tasker: I e.g. control FolderSync this way, to sync certain stuff only on given conditions). For a list of tutorials, addons, supporting apps, and more, be welcome to see my Tasker Resource collection.

1: Link goes to the Tasker Tag-wiki at our sister site for more details
2: Export your configuration, uninstall Tasker, re-install Tasker, import your configuration

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    It looks perfect on first glance. I'll give it a test run. €4 is definitely a reasonable price for what it does
    – Tymric
    Nov 23, 2014 at 12:48
  • 1
    Back then, I've bought Tasker straight away after having tried it for 3 days – never regretted the decision. Took me those 3 days to "learn" how it works; with the new interface, that should be a bit easier :) Enjoy! And in case you've got questions on it: Be welcome over at Android.SE, we've even got a special tag for that :)
    – Izzy ♦
    Nov 23, 2014 at 14:12
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    It only took an hour of fumbling before I made the decision to buy it. It's an excellent app. Thanks again
    – Tymric
    Nov 23, 2014 at 15:04
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You can probably come up with a recipe using IFTTT it can control your WiFi based on a number of factors. I am only starting to get familiar with the various triggers and actions but your requirements should be a reasonable fit.

  • Price wise it is free.
  • It can enable/disable WiFi based on various conditions.
  • Works on a number of versions of Android and iOS.
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  • I tried IFTTT before posting the question, and couldn't find a trigger for motion. I only found ones for entering and leaving an area. Perhaps I missed it, so could you please add a screenshot or some instructions?
    – Tymric
    Nov 23, 2014 at 12:50

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