How do I run an automation using Numbers while iPhone locked?

I have a 128GB iPhone 12 currently running iOS 17.3.1. I have two automations set to log my arrival and departure times at work for the purpose of tracking overtime. The automations are triggered by arriving and leaving my work location respectively and activate shortcuts which add a new row to the relevant table in a Numbers spreadsheet logging the current time and date before returning to the Home Screen. (e.g. I arrive at work at 7:25am on Jan 01 2024, automation #1 triggers and runs shortcut #1, which records “1/1/24” and “7:25am” in the relevant columns of the “Arrival” table and then returns to the Home Screen)


When manually triggering the shortcuts with the phone unlocked, they work as intended. However, when run via automation while the phone is locked, they fail with an error message stating ‘the “Add Row to Top or Bottom of Table” action could not open “Numbers” because the iPhone is locked.’


The issue isn’t to do with the location-based trigger as I have seen suggested in answers to similar questions on the forum. The automation is successfully triggering the shortcut, I have selected the “Run Immediately” option for both automations (rather than “Run After Confirmation”), and the shortcut fails with other triggers as well(e.g. run at 10:00am every day). I’ve tried removing the return to Home Screen action in case that affected things, but it made no difference.


Is there a way for the automations to successfully open/run Numbers while my phone is locked? Failing that, is there a different app that does run on a locked phone that I can use to replicate the same basic functionality? At minimum I only really need a list each of arrival and departures times/dates, and I can put them in a spreadsheet myself when I’m reviewing the data.


The whole purpose of the automations is to record the specific times. I will not reliably have my phone unlocked when they run, so it needs to work both when locked and unlocked. Any guidance on how to do this or alternative approaches that create a useable log of arrival/departure times would be much appreciated.

iPhone 7, iOS 14

Posted on Mar 12, 2024 4:45 AM

Reply

Similar questions

There are no replies.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

How do I run an automation using Numbers while iPhone locked?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.