Tasker is a powerful automation app. But, it does come with a steep learning curve. Beginners often find it little overwhelmed.
But trust me, it’s not as complicated as you think. Once you get the basics right, you can make it work for you. We have talked about some simple tasker profile before. And in this post, we will see some more of them, both for beginners and intermediate users.
This post is a part of best Tasker profiles series, you can find part 1 and part 3 here.
Related: 15 Best Tasker Plugins to Completely Automate Your Android
Best Tasker Profiles
First 5 profiles are covered in this video (at the bottom). And I highly recommended watching it.
Profile #1. Say WhatsApp Notification
Description – If you receive a WhatsApp message while the display is off. Your phone will speak the sender’s name like– WhatsApp message from John. This profile is useful when you are driving.
Profile
Context 1 > Click on + sign > Goto event > search for notification > select WhatsApp from the list
Context 2 > Click on + sign > State > Display > Display State > Off
Task
Action 1. > Misc > Say > Under text field type ‘New WhatsApp %NTITLE‘
Profile #2. Change wallpaper Automatically
Description – Your phone will automatically change the wallpaper every 2 hours.
Before we start, collect all your images (that you want to set as wallpaper) under one folder. They need to have the same file extension for all pictures and file name should follow a sequence like IMG01, IMG02 and so on.
Profile
Context 1 > Time > Set ‘from’ and ‘to’ value as you like and repeat every 2 hours.
Context 2 > State > Display > Display State > ON
Task
Action 1 > Variable > Variable Randomize > give a name to your variable let say %Random, min =1, Max=total no of images you have
Action 2 > Display > Set Wallpaper > paste the path of your folder, followed by %Random and then image extension. For instance, it should look something like this sdcard/DCIM/Camera/IMG%Random.png
Profile #3 Lend Mode
Description – If you lend your phone to your friend and (s)he tries to open your personal stuff (like Facebook messages), then the phone will beep and instead of opening the app, it will go to the home screen. (See advanced video)
Profile
Context 1 > Application > Select your private apps
Task
Action 1 > Apps Go home
Action 2 > Alert > Beep
Action 3 > Flash > Enter the message.
Profile #4 Pomodoro Mode
Description – When you tap your Android over NFC tags, it starts 25 min timer. During this 25 min, you focus on your work. To avoid any distraction, Tasker will turn OFF all notification. After 25 minis over, your notifications will start again.
Update: Now, I have now moved to ClearFocus app. It also remembers the task.
Profile
To launch this profile, we will use NFC tags and application called trigger.
Task
A1 > Say > ‘Pomodoro mode active, Work now’
A2 > Plugin > Notification OFF (you will need to download this plugin)
A3 > Task > Wait > set the timer to 25 min
A4 > Say > ‘Pomodoro mode deactivated, Take 5 min break’
A5 > Plugin > Notification turn ON
A6 > Say > ‘ Tap your phone to NFC to start Pomodoro‘
Profile #5 Who is fiddling with my phone
Description – When there are multiple, unsuccessful login attempts, your device will take a discreet picture, then set it up like wallpaper and flash a warning.
You will need to:
1. Download Secure settings plugin from Google Play. No root needed.
2. Grant permission to Tasker and secure setting to get access to your lock screen. Goto to setting > device administration.
3. Allow Tasker to use external apps. Go to preference > misc > check mark ‘Allow External access’
Profile
Context 1 > State > Plugin > Secure setting > Configure it by tapping on the small pencil symbol > condition > failed login attempts > max value 4 > check mark ‘device admin enabled’ > save.
Task
A1 > Media > Take photo > select front cam, give any filename you want – let say ‘pic’ and checkmark ‘insert in the gallery’ and ‘discreet’ option.
A2 > Display > Set wallpaper > enter the path of the image, by default, it’s stored at /sdcard/DCIM/Tasker/pic.jpg
A3 > Say > Intruder detected
A4 > Alert > Flash > ‘Now this will be hard to explain
[Profiles not covered in the video]
Profile #6 Sleep Timer
Description – I listen to audiobooks, before falling asleep. But when I wake up in the morning, I found my playlist still playing. But with tasker, I can set up a sleep timer. See gif.
Here we will create Task first.
Task
A1 > Media > Media Control > under cmd select ‘stop’ > go back
A2 > At the bottom right side of the screen, you will notice square grid, tap on that and select any icon you want. Once done exit tasker
Trigger
To launch this task we will use, inbuilt ‘timer’ from Tasker. Goto to your widget and look for task timer. Press and hold the widget to move it, to your home screen.
Once there, it will launch Tasker and ask you to link task. Select ‘sleep timer’ that you have just created. And that’s it.
Profile #7 Speak up Battery Low
Description – When the battery level goes below 10%, the phone start play this song. And also turn ON, battery saver mode by disabling auto-sync, WiFi, Bluetooth, etc.
Profile
Context 1 > State > Power > Battery level > set the desire battery level. I prefer from = ‘9’ and to ’10’
Context 2 > State > Hardware > USB connected > Any. Check mark ‘invert’ and go back
Task
Action 1 > Media > Music Play > Paste the path of mp3 file, you would like to play.
A2 > Net >Bluetooth OFF , Auto Sync OFF, WiFi OFF
Profile #8 Disable lock screen in Home
Description – When at home, your lock screen is disabled. But when you go out, the lock screen is activated.
You will need secure settings plugin for this. And it only works with the PIN. Although you don’t need a rooted android but make sure secure settings has access to your device lock screen. See gif.
Create an entry task called ‘Lockscreen OFF’ and an exit task ‘Lockscreen ON’ and then we will link them to Profile.
Tasks
Task -> Lockscreen ON >Action > Plugin > Secure Settings > Password/PIN > Disable > Save
Task -> Lockscreen OFF > Action > Plugin > Secure Settings > Password/PIN > Enable > enter your pin and save changes
Profile
C1 > State > Net > WiFi Connected > Tap on the magnifying glass to select your home SSID. Now select entry task as Lockscreen OFF and exit task as OFF.
Profile #9 Where are You [Root]
When you get SMS with specific keywords like ‘#location’. Tasker will turn on GPS and reply with the current location. Useful when you are driving and can’t reply to text manually. Gif
Profile
C1 > Event > Phone > Received Text > enter the code word under content field. Also, Specify caller if you want.
Task
A1 > Plugin > Secure setting > System+ Action > GPS > On
A2 > Get location > Source – GPS
A3 > Phone > Send SMS > Number: %SMSRF, Message: I am here at http://maps.google.com/?q=%LOC
Profile #10 Jessy Pinkman!
Description: When you bring your device near magnets (like speakers) it will play this music file from breaking bad. But what is the use of this profile? None. Not everything has
But what is the use of this profile? Well nothing, not everything has to be useful.
All credit goes to Reddit user farki.
Profile
C1 > State->Sensor->Magnetic field > from 300 to any
Tasks
A1. Increase media volume
A2. Music play ‘Yeah B****h! Magnets.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these profiles will encourage you to do more with Tasker. But to really understand its true potential, make your own profiles. Experiment a lot. You can follow tasker’s groups on Reddit, XDA and Google+
If you have any ‘profile request’ or suggestion, then let me know in the comments.
Video Tutorial for first 5 Profiles.