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The Chamberlain Group LLC, the corporate parent company to LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Merlin and Grifco, is a global leader in access solutions and products. We design and engineer residential garage door openers, commercial door operators and gate entry systems. Read our story.
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Positive reviews highlighted that this garage door opener was easy to install and convenient and reliable to use. Many reviews noted that it was ultra-quiet and worked well in cold weather. Negative reviews criticized this product for requiring a subscription to use certain features on the smartphone app.
Garage door openers come with step-by-step instructions for easy installation. If you have trouble installing the opener, contact the manufacturer for help or get a professional to install it for you.
In 1993, a United States law was written to require all garage door openers to have a reverse mechanism. This reverse mechanism forces the door to go back up if it senses an object or person blocking the garage. This prevents anyone from getting injured and any item from getting damaged.
We make locating a dealer easier than ever. Whether it's new garage doors, overhead doors, opener and gate installation, or maintenance and repair, LiftMaster has the right dealer for you. Trust a LiftMaster dealer to provide the highest quality service you expect from the leader in home access solutions. Once you've selected a garage door opener dealer, learn what to expect from your installer and how to prepare for their visit. For 50 years, LiftMaster has been exceeding expectations by providing peace of mind through expert services and innovative solutions. Our garage door products and accessories will keep you safe, secure and connected for years to come.
If you plan on buying a smart controller, check its compatibility with your garage-door opener first. Not all smart garage-door opener controllers will work with all garage-door openers. And contrary to what you might expect with technology, the newer your garage-door opener is, the less likely it is to work with the majority of retrofit smart garage-door opener controllers.
We favored controllers that could operate more than one garage door (up to three in most cases, although you need to purchase extra door sensors, usually around $35, for each additional door). Some of the models we tested require you to buy the whole device again for subsequent doors.
Also, we looked at how well each device complied with UL safety standards for unattended remote garage-door operation. A garage door is a big, heavy mechanical device, and before UL standards were released and became widely adopted, accidents were common.
The Tailwind iQ3 Smart Automatic Garage Controller delivers the best performance and is the most reliable of all the smart garage-door opener controllers we tested. We attribute that to two features: a hardwired door sensor and a unique Bluetooth/GPS technology that lets you control the door hands-free.
Installation is involved, and it requires dealing with wires and using a ladder. The sensor must be installed by your door, and then you string wire back to the module and the opener. This was easy to do, but tedious, and it took an hour. In our opinion, this little bit of extra work up front pays off in the long run in terms of reliability and peace of mind.
The Wyze Garage Door Controller is a unique new model that relies on an included Wyze camera and AI to determine if your garage door is open rather than relying on physical sensors. An included controller device plugs into your existing door opener and allows you to use an app to open and close your door. Interestingly the controller also has a built-in smoke and carbon monoxide detector. You can opt to buy a kit that includes a Wyze v3 camera for $40, or just the controller module for $19.
Extra garage door opener remotes come in handy; however, choosing the right opener can be confusing. Each manufacturer makes its own replacement remotes, and universal remotes are also available. You must determine the features you need and the size of the remote. Full-size remotes clip onto the car visor. This is convenient; however, it may become a security risk if your car is stolen. Mini-remotes clip onto your key chain and operate just like a full-size remote.
Look for the manufacturer and model information on the motor unit found on the garage ceiling or on the external receiver near the wire antenna. Using the manufacturer information, you can purchase an exact replacement for the garage door remote by matching brand and model number and purchasing it directly from a representative of the manufacturer, your local hardware store or online. If you have an older garage door opener, this is the way to go. Many universal remotes do not work on older models, but the manufacturers still sell the remotes.
Universal garage door remote controls are available that you can program for use with most brands of newer garage door openers. You still need to know the manufacturer to make sure the remote works for your garage door and to program the remote. You can program universal garage door openers to open one or two garage doors. With the addition of a light control switch, a universal remote also turns on the garage light or your home lights. If you have a newer garage door opener but you are unsure of the exact model, a universal remote will probably do the trick.
The number of buttons on your garage door remote is determined by how many devices you want it to control. If you have two garage doors and a remote-controlled garage light, you need three buttons. One garage door and one light or two doors requires two buttons. Garage door remotes are available with up to four buttons.
If you purchase the remote for your particular brand of garage door, programming is usually simple. You press, hold and release the buttons in the pattern specified in the instructions and the remote will automatically determine the right radio frequencies for your garage door opener. Universal remotes are a little more complicated. You have to first set the dip switches on the remote to indicate the garage door opener brand, then the radio frequency. Your universal remote should come with a full set of programming instructions.
You can also replace a garage door opener with a wireless keypad. Wireless keypads can open up to three different gates or garage doors, and are usually mounted outside the garage so that family members can open the garage without the remote. Wireless keypads require a security code to open the garage door. They are convenient if you have lost or forgotten your remote and for use by temporary guests or service persons.
Smart garage door openers come with the same risks as any smart home device, including potential hacks if someone gains access to your network. Fortunately, smart garage doors also come with many of the same protections as other smart home devices, including data encryption and password-protected access and settings. Further, a smart garage door opener may improve home security by enabling homeowners to check if their garage door is open and close it remotely if needed.
Garage door openers, smart or not, run on electricity, which means it will not work in the case of a power outage. You may still be able to manually open and close your garage door, but try to avoid doing this unless absolutely necessary, like if you need to get your car out. It can be hazardous to force a garage door up or down with an opener attached.
Many smart garage door openers are compatible with other smart home devices, such as Amazon Echo or your smartphone. By integrating your smart garage door opener with compatible devices, you could open the door for guests while sticking a roast in the oven by saying \"Alexa, open the garage door,\" or even close the garage door behind you while your hands are full of groceries with a simple \"Siri, close the garage door.\"
Shop around, and you'll find a number of options on the market, all of which promise to transform your existing garage door opener into a smart garage door opener with all of the bells and whistles mentioned above. Our top picks available now are listed below to help you find the best smart garage opener for your home -- we'll update this list periodically as we continue to test new models.
Available for less than $50, the newest version of Chamberlain's MyQ Smart Garage Hub promises to add smarts to a wide variety of garage door openers. With MyQ installed, you can check your garage door's status and open or close the door remotely from the MyQ app on your iOS or Android smartphone. The system is easy to install, with no wires to attach to your existing door opener, though it does require bolting a bracket onto your ceiling rather than the more common adhesive tape approach used by other manufacturers.
MyQ works with a variety of smart home products such as Nest, Wink, Vivint and Xfinity Home to control and automate multiple smart home devices from one platform. Chamberlain isn't compatible with SmartThings or Amazon Alexa, but there is Google Assistant and IFTTT compatibility, and it supports Amazon Key, which lets the company's delivery drivers open the door to drop off your packages off inside the garage (before closing the door behind them).
The $80 Tailwind iQ3 is reliable thanks to a wired setup, and with a vehicle sensor in your car, it'll automatically open whenever you pull up. Those auto-opening and closing smarts worked well in our tests -- on top of that The iQ3 can control up to three garage doors at once and works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. You won't get HomeKit compatibility, though, and installing wires can be a bit of a hassle.
Available for about $99, the Garadget adds voice control and remote access to your existing garage door. The Garadget's sensor system is made up of a reflective tag placed on the top panel of a garage door and a laser built into the Garadget device. When the laser hits the reflective tag, Garadget knows your garage door is closed. Easy, right? Like many a garage controller we tested, the Garadget does require some wiring to make the door controller work. 041b061a72