Tasker for Attorneys: Have Your Android Wear Watch Find Your Misplaced Phone

When I have my Galaxy Gear Live connected to my phone, it automatically turns the volume and vibration off on the phone. Of course, if I then misplace my phone under a pile of papers in the office, I can't find my phone. With the volume down, I can't just call it. How can I find it quickly and easily?

Fortunately, Tasker can come to the rescue.

First, get Tasker. Yes, it is a paid app. But it is worth the price of admission for the control and automation it can bring. To increase the usability with your Android Wear Watch, get WearTasker as well.

In Tasker, the first order of business is to create a variable. On the Tasker home page, go to the VARS tab. Add a new variable and call it %FOUNDPHONE.

Next, create a new task and call it “Kill Ringer”. The only action that we’ll add to this task is to set a variable. So, add a new action, choose the “Variables” action category, and choose variable set. The name will be %PHONEFOUND. Set it to 2. Save this task.

Next, in Tasker, go to the TASKS tab and create another new task. Give it a name you find useful.

In your new task, add an action. Choose the Variables action category. Then choose Variable Set. The name of the variable to set is %FOUNDPHONE. Set it to 1.

The next action to add is to increase your phone's volume. Select the Audio action category, and choose ringer volume. Set the volume to 7 or higher so that it will ring loudly.

Now, add another action. Choose the “Media” action category. In there, choose “Play Ringtone”. The type should be “ringer” and stream should be “Alarm”. Under if, the first box should be %FOUNDPHONE, the sign should be equals, and the third box should be 1. This step is important. If you don’t set the ringtone to only play when the variable = 1, then it might ring in an unceasing loop. That would be annoying, to say the least.

The next action we’ll add is a pop up. This way, when you find your phone, you’ll be able to easily quiet the ringer. Add a new action, choose the “Alert” action category, and then choose “Popup Task Buttons”. Under the Text, put in something like “Found my phone”. For mode, choose text. For task, you’ll put in Kill Ringer. Lastly, set the Timeout (Seconds) slider to 60.

What this does is create a popup on your phone with a button that says “Kill Ringer”. When you push the button, it runs the first task we created, which sets the %PHONEFOUND variable to 2, which stops the ringer. Also, the popup will disappear after 60 seconds.

The last task we want to add is to again set the %PHONEFOUND variable. This time, set it to 2. This way, if the previous popup disappears due to the timeout, your phone will stop ringing.

Now, leave Tasker and go to WearTasker. Click the floating action button at the bottom and choose “Add task”. The task to add will be the one we just finished creating in Tasker. Save and exit.

WearTasker will update your watch with this task. When you open WearTasker on your watch, it will have a button with the name of your task. Pressing it will run the task, increasing your phone’s volume and causing it to ring.

Now, when you misplace your phone in your office with the volume low, you’ll be able to quickly and easily find it.

Tasker for Attorneys: Turn off Your WiFi When It Isn't Needed

Like many attorneys, I am on the road a lot. It doesn't make sense to have my smart phone constantly searching for a WiFi signal when there is none nearby, or, at least, there are none nearby I want to connect to. FutureLawyer highlighted this problem in a post today.

Yet, I also don't want to have to remember to constantly turn it back on when I'm at home or the office. This is another time when Tasker can be a big help.

Previously, I had shown how you can silence your phone when you get to the court house. Today's post will start out the same way. 

To do this, open Tasker, go to the profile tab, click the + in the lower right, and choose Location.

When you do this, you will then scroll to the top and choose "+ New Location". This will then bring up a map. There, find the location of the area where you want your wifi to be on. Then, long click in the middle of the location. I typically set the radius to either 30m or 50m. Once you've done this, you should have a flag over your location with a yellow circle. This yellow circle shows an area that, if you set foot in it, your phone will trigger.

Once you have it set up how you like it, tap on "Location Edit" in the top left. It will ask you to name your location. I typically just give it the name of the WiFi network or place I'm at. It will then ask you what task to assign the profile. Choose new task and name the task, if you like.

For the entry task, choose the "Net" Action Category and then choose the "WiFi" net action. You will then set it to "On". Then, at the profile page, long click on the task associated with your WiFi profile and choose "Add Exit Task". Again, the task will be in the "Net" category and the "Wifi" action, only set it to off.

Now, when you enter the area designated in your profile, your WiFi will automatically turn itself on, and when you leave the area, it will automatically turn itself off.