One of the many great things about investing in the Android ecosystem, is the incredible amount of flexibility, and power it offers. You can easily customize the appearance of your Android device, and basically make your device look exactly the way you want it to. Another really cool thing that you can do with an Android device, is automate everything that you want to. This can come in very handy, if there are a number of things that you repeat on your Android smartphone a lot.
Arguably the best app for automation on Android is Tasker and while it’s very powerful, there’s a slight learning curve to it. Don’t worry though, we are going to make sure you feel at ease while Tasker. First, let’s talk about how Tasker works:
Tasker: How it works?
For those not in the know, Tasker is an app that basically allows you to automate tasks on your Android device, by using triggers. Triggers are what effectively “trigger” some action. So, theoretically, you can set a particular location as a trigger to launch some activity, or send you a notification. The possibilities are endless, and once you get experienced at using Tasker, you can create a lot of complex automation profiles. In this article, we will be covering some basic automation that I like. However, you can take these examples, and modify them however you see fit.
Install Tasker from the Play Store (Free trial, $2.99)
1. Automatically Launch Chrome When Connected to WiFi
Chrome is my browser of choice on Android devices, and I usually do all my browsing on it, which is why it makes sense to me, for my phone to launch Chrome whenever I connect to a WiFi network. This is a rather easy profile to create, and you’ll get the hang of it in no time. To do this in Tasker, simply follow the steps below:
1. Launch Tasker. You will start off in the Profiles tab, simply tap on the plus icon at the bottom of the screen to create a new profile. From the menu that pops up, select “State“. This will essentially become the trigger for your automation profile.
2. When you tap on “State”, you will see a grid of options that you can choose from, tap on “Net”, and here, tap on “Wifi Connected”.
3. If you want the profile to only trigger when you connect to a particular network, enter the name of the WiFi network in the SSID field. I will leave it blank. Once done, simply tap on the back arrow in the top-left of your screen. You will see a pop-up that says “New Task” followed by a plus icon, tap on the plus icon.
4. Input a name for the task, I’ll use “Launch Chrome“, but you can use anything you like. Then, tap on the tick mark next to it.
5. You have successfully created a task, now it’s time to add some actions to it. Tap on the “+” icon at the bottom of the screen to add a new task. Then, tap on “App”.
6. Tap on “Launch App“, because we want Tasker to launch an application, and then select Chrome, in the app selection menu.
7. Tap on the back arrow on the top-left of the screen. Optionally, you can enter a URL in the “Data” field, so that Chrome automatically opens up to that web page whenever you connect to WiFi.
Now, whenever your phone connects to WiFi, it will automatically launch Chrome, with the website you entered. In my case, it launched with “Beebom” already open in the tab. Awesome!
2. Launch Music When Headphones are Connected
Another thing that I wished my Android phone did, was automatically launch the Music app whenever I plugged in my headphones. Thankfully, Tasker lets me do this very easily.
1. In the Profiles tab, tap on the “+” icon on the bottom of the screen. Then, tap on “State“.
2. Next, tap on “Hardware”, and then on “Headset Plugged”.
3. You can choose whether the profile should activate with “Any” headset, or only ones with a Mic, or without one. Once done, tap on the back arrow on the top left of the screen.
4. Tap on “New Task“, and give it a name. I’m going with Launch Music.
5. Tap on the “+” icon on the bottom of the screen, and tap on “App“.
6. Tap on “Launch App“, and select your preferred music player from the options.
7. Once done, tap on the back arrow on the top-left of the screen.
Now, whenever you connect a pair of headphones to your Android device, it will automatically launch the music player for you. So, you never need to worry about having to launch the app yourself.
3. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when Battery gets low
I use an Android Wear watch, which means that Bluetooth is usually always on on my mobile. However, when the battery gets low, it’s a good practice to turn off Bluetooth to save power. With Tasker, I can let it be responsible for keeping track of the battery.
1. In Tasker, create a new Profile -> State.
2. Here, go to Power -> Battery Level.
3. Set a range for your battery, I’m using 0 to 20%, and then tap on the back arrow.
4. Tap on New Task, name it “Low Battery“.
5. Create a new Action -> Net -> WiFi.
6. Set WiFi to Off, and tap on the back arrow.
7. Create a new Action -> Net -> Bluetooth.
8. Set Bluetooth to Off, and tap on the back arrow.
That’s it. Now, whenever your phone’s battery goes below 20%, Tasker will automatically turn WiFi, and Bluetooth off. So, you don’t need to worry about the battery level on your phone, Tasker will take care of all that for you.
4. Turn on WiFi when I reach Office
I usually keep my Android device’s WiFi off, while I commute to work. However, I always have to turn WiFi on as soon as I reach office, so I can get started with work. Fortunately, I can have Tasker do this, as well.
1. Create a new Profile -> Location.
2. Since I’m at the office, I can just tap on the GPS icon on the top, to get my current location. Otherwise, you can pan the map, and drop the location pin near your office. Then, tap on the back arrow.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Then, add a new Action -> Net -> WiFi.
5. Change the “Set” value to “On”, and tap on the back arrow.
Now, whenever you reach your office, Tasker will automatically turn WiFi on. So, you don’t need to pull your phone out, and turn WiFi on, everyday.
5. Turn WiFi On and Increase Volume When I Get Home
With Tasker, I can also have it automatically turn WiFi on, and increase the ringer volume to a suitable volume, when I get back home. This can be done by simply executing the steps given below:
1. In Tasker, create a New Profile -> Location. If you have other Locations created, you’ll have to tap on “New Location“.
2. Drop the pin on your home location, and tap the back button on the top left of the screen.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Add a new Action -> Net -> WiFi.
5. Change the “Set” value to “On”, and tap on the back arrow on the top-left of the screen.
6. Add a new Action -> Audio -> Ringer Volume.
7. Set the volume to your preferred level, and tap on the back arrow.
With this Profile, every day, when you get back home, Tasker will automatically turn your WiFi on, and increase the volume to the level that you set it to.
6. Turn WiFi Off When I Leave Office
Since we already have Profiles that automatically turn WiFi on when we reach home, or work; it only makes sense to turn WiFi off when we leave. This can be accomplished using Tasker very easily.
1. Create a new Profile -> Location.
2. If you’ve been following this article, you must already have your office, and home marked in Tasker. Simply select your Office location.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Add a new Action -> Net -> WiFi.
5. Change the “Set” value to “Off”, and tap the back arrow, on the top-left of the screen.
This Profile will now automatically turn your phone’s WiFi off, once you leave your work premises, making sure that you preserve your battery while you get back home.
7. Turn WiFi Off When I Leave Home
We should probably also ensure that WiFi is turned off when we leave home. I’m pretty sure you already know how to do this, by now, but if you’re still confused, here are the steps you need to follow to create this Profile:
1. Create a new Profile -> Location.
2. If you’ve been following this article, you must already have your office, and home marked in Tasker. Simply select your Home location.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Add a new Action -> Net -> WiFi.
5. Change the “Set” value to “Off”, and tap the back arrow, on the top-left of the screen.
The Profile is exactly the same, as the one that turned WiFi off when I left work, except that the trigger location is my home location, this time.
8. When Charging at Night
I usually leave my phone to charge overnight, and I would rather not be distracted by my phone ringing in the middle of the night, or burn my eyes out with a super bright screen. So, this Profile automatically reduces volume, and brightness to 0.
1. Create a new Profile -> Time.
2. Set the time at which you usually go to sleep, and tap the back arrow.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Create a new Action -> Audio -> Ringer Volume.
5. Set the value to 0, and repeat this for Notification Volume, as well.
6. Create another Action -> Display -> Display Brightness.
7. Set the brightness to 0, or whatever value suits you, and tap the back arrow.
Now, every night, when you go to sleep, Tasker will automatically turn down the volume, and screen brightness, so you can sleep easy.
9. When Disconnected in the Morning
Tasker can also automatically set brightness back to your preferred value, along with increasing the ringer volume to a nice, audible level every morning.
1. Create a new Profile -> Time.
2. Set the time at which you usually wake up, and tap the back arrow.
3. Go to New Task -> Enter a name for the Task.
4. Create a new Action -> Audio -> Ringer Volume.
5. Set the value to your preferred level, and repeat this for Notification Volume, as well.
6. Create another Action -> Display -> Display Brightness.
7. Set the brightness to whatever value suits you, and tap the back arrow.
Now, every morning, Tasker will automatically increase your brightness, and ringer volume back to the values that you prefer. You can simply pick your phone up, and you’re good to go.
10. Message Someone When Battery is Very Low
Say, you’re driving back home late, and you see that your phone battery is critically low. You should definitely let someone know that you’re on your way, so that they don’t worry. Tasker can automate this for you, as well.
1. Create a new Profile -> State.
2. Select Power -> Battery Level.
3. Set Battery level to whatever value you consider “critically low“.
4. Go to New Task -> Enter a Name for The Task.
5. Add a new Action -> Phone -> Send SMS.
6. Enter the number of the person you would like to text, along with the message you want to send.
That’s all. Tasker is now responsible for monitoring your battery, and if it reaches a value below than what you have specified, it will automatically send an SMS. This is really handy, and you should definitely have a profile like this.
SEE ALSO: How to Automate Tasks on iPhone using IFTTT (Guide)
Use Tasker to Automate Everything on Android
Tasker is an extremely powerful application, that can automate almost everything you do on an Android device. The profiles I use, are very simple, when compared to some of the more complex profiles created by users of this app. However, even if you’re only interested in small-time automation, you should definitely check this app out; it might take a while to figure out, but it’s worth it.
We would love to know about the apps you use to automate your Android device? Do you use Tasker? If you do, and if you have some cool Tasker Profiles that you think will prove useful to others, feel free to share them with us in the comments section below.
Image Courtesy: The Verge
Abubakar Mohammed
