I have a smart plug that I want to use with a heated towel rack. I want to create an automation that, when I turn it on, it automatically turns off after 90 minutes (when the towels should be dry.) I can't for the life of me work out how to do it. Is anyone able to help?
My mistake - the Turn Off options does appear during set up of an automation when I select to turn that accessory on. I'd swear this didn't happen yesterday but I hadn't drilled deep enough to find it!
Try toggling the accessory off then on during automation setup (tap the accessory icon).
I see - you simply want a timer to start whenever to the towel rail is turned on (e.g tapping the accessory icon in the Home app). It seems that can currently only be done via another accessory like a motion sensor. I have a Wemo sensor from a few years ago and just created this automation:
I also have a (non-Homekit) Belkin timer that I use for turning an iron on for a set time. That may be your simplest option at this stage.
That is bizarre. I am sure that a few years ago Homekit allowed you to set a duration when creating an automation to turn an accessory on. I cannot find it anymore.
You will have to create a second automation to turn it off.
Hello Mark HK,
Thank you for posting on Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you are looking for support for your smart plug. What brand is it? does it have an app on its own?
You might be able to create a scene with your smart plug. Take a look at this resource, it might have the answer you're looking for. Create scenes and automations with the Home app
You could also try reaching out to the manufacturer to figure out if they support the feature you are looking for.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for your response. I can't find anything in HomeKit that has automation that will turn off a device after a certain period of being turned on. I bought a Wemo plug as I read it had the ability to do this, but it doesn't work with HomeKit 🤦🏻‍♂️. There must be lots of use cases for this automation - not just towel rails. I wonder if this is a feature that can be requested.
Currently all my automations have "turn on" time so I simply create another automation to turn the device off. This is no use, of course, for an automated activation such as a security light.
My only suggestion is to give feedback to Apple. That raises its own problems as there doesn't seem to be a dedicated feedback page (or even a Discussion topic) for Homekit/Home.app!
I read also that you could do this before.
I can't work out how to create a second automation after a period of time to turn off the device. Are you able to help?
Thank you Michael.
I have provided feedback both on this topic and also the fact that there isn't a dedicated feedback page or discussion topic for HomeKit!
On reading a few articles. It appears that the wait command only works for a few minutes. There are a few workarounds on the Internet such as repeating loops et cetera.
The drop down list ("never") in the snapshot I posted above allows me to set a turn-off time of up to 4 hours.
I don't think that this solution fits my use case. I am not looking to schedule a turning on of the plug to a specific time. The automation I am after is when I turn the device on it turns off after a specific duration of time that I set. For the plug on the towel rail example - I might shower at different times of the day. Or multiple times in one day. Everytime I shower I want to be able to turn on the towel rail and know that it is turning off in 90 minutes.
Auto-Off Timer HomeKit Plug
