Understanding Smart Garage Door Openers
When you need to leave your home in a rush, you might forget details like whether you closed the garage door. If you’re away from home, you may also want to know when the door was opened or closed. Smart garage door openers introduce innovative technology that solves these and other needs relating to your garage door.
What Is a Smart Garage Door Opener?
Smart garage door opener systems use your wireless internet connection and sensors on the garage door controller and rails to send data to an app. As for the role of smartphone apps in garage door operation, you can use your phone to see whether your door is open or shut and the last time it was used. Smart garage door openers also allow homeowners to control their garage door from their phones, no matter where they are. If you leave for the day and realize you left the garage open, you can close it from your workplace without driving back home.
The Advantages of Upgrading to a Smart Garage Door Opener
Smart garage door openers expand functionality. Here are a few reasons homeowners often upgrade to smart garage door systems:
- Convenience: You can open the garage door remotely, providing a space for deliveries or letting guests in, and close the door when you’re done. Another example of this convenience is Amazon Key. This service, when combined with a smart garage door opener, allows Amazon deliveries to be placed safely inside your garage, even when you’re not at home. This showcases how smart garage door openers can enhance your day-to-day convenience.
- Peace of mind: Your smart garage door opener lets you monitor your garage door from anywhere, so you always know it’s closed without returning to check.
- Security: See the incredible impact of garage door openers on home security when you enhance your monitoring capabilities with data about when the door was last used and set up alerts for when it opens or closes.
Selecting the Ideal Smart Garage Door Opener System
You have several options when you upgrade to a smart garage door opener. Here are a few factors to consider to narrow down your choice and get the ideal smart garage opener for your needs:
- Budget: Smart garage door openers come at various prices, so you should decide what you’re willing to spend and shop with that number in mind.
- Features: Different smart garage door openers have varying capabilities, so research available features before you commit to a certain model.
- Longevity: Depending on quality and technological capabilities, a smart opener may last a long time or have a shorter serviceable life.
- Installation: Consider whether you plan to install the system or use an expert — experts are generally a safer investment for more complex systems.
After considering these factors, decide whether you want a smart garage door opener as an add-on accessory to your existing system or an entirely new system. Then, you can begin looking at the top brands. A few popular choices include LiftMaster, Genie Aladdin Connect and iSmartGate.
Best Overhead Door’s Expertise in Smart Garage Solutions
We have served the Portland, Oregon, area with garage door installations for almost 30 years. Throughout our years in business, we have continuously developed our knowledge to suit new technologies and gained experience servicing these systems to meet your needs.
Make the Switch to Smart Technology
At Best Overhead Door, we can help you select the best garage door for your needs and provide a seamless installation and integration of garage door openers with smart home systems. Talk to us about the Lift Master Smart Opener, or contact our team online for more information about smart garage doors.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Smart Garage Door Openers
One of the most popular recent advances in garage door technology is the smart garage door controller. This is a feature for your automatic garage door that gives you much more control over the way your garage door opens and closes. If you’ve heard of a smart home, a smart garage door opener is another addition to the smart home system. With the developments of smart home devices such as smart thermostats, video cameras, security systems, voice assistants, etc., smart garage doors are the next step you can take in automating your home through your wifi-network.
What Is a Smart Garage Door Controller?
A smart garage door controller is a Wi-Fi-enabled garage door opener that allows you to control your garage door using a digital device like your phone or tablet after downloading the related app.
You may be wondering, why get a smart garage door opener if you already have a remote garage door opener that works fine? What can a Wi-Fi garage door controller do that my current remote doesn’t? Here are a few smart garage door opener benefits to consider.
What Are the Benefits of Smart Garage Door Openers?
Convenience is the most obvious benefit of having a smart garage door opener. Once your opener is enabled, you never have to worry about losing your garage door remote or having it run out of batteries at an inopportune moment. You will always be able to open your garage door as long as you have a Wi-Fi connection and your digital device.
An even greater benefit is home security. You can set the door to open just before you get home, so there’s no time spent waiting outside for the garage door to open. As soon as you get home you can drive right in. You will also always know when your garage door is opened, even if you aren’t home, thanks to an automatic alert on your device. Some smart garage door openers even have the added capability of connecting to your home security systems.
You can open and close your door remotely from anywhere, as long as you have power at home, so if you arrive at work or are headed out on vacation and suddenly realize you left the garage door open, you don’t have to return to close it. You can also use this feature to allow people access to your garage or home without giving them a key or passcode.
What Are the Disadvantages of a Smart Garage Door Controller?
There are not many disadvantages to having a smart garage door opener. There is the time and expense it takes to have it installed, but these are minimal compared to the benefits such a device can bring.
You also should not toss away your regular garage door remote entirely, as most smart garage door opener technology is designed with the idea that your primary method of opening and closing the garage door will still be the remote opener — unless you have it set on an automatic opening and closing schedule.
A common worry among homeowners is that if the garage door is wifi-enabled, will it still open without power? The answer is yes! Much like remote-operated garage door openers, these openers will have battery backups and other fail safes so you can still operate your garage door in case of a power outage emergency.
If you can tolerate these issues, you may want to take advantage of smart garage door opener technology for your home.
What Are the Best Smart Garage Door Openers?
If you’re sold on smart garage door openers, you may now be wondering which one to get. You actually have quite a few choices. As the popularity of this technology increases, the number of available systems is only growing. Here’s a brief smart garage door opener buying guide to some of the most popular opener systems to help you figure it all out.
MyQ Garage Door Opener (LiftMaster®, Chamberlain®)
When you install a new LiftMaster® or Chamberlain garage door opener system, you will definitely want to get it with MyQ, which is a leader in smart garage technology.
MyQ openers have all the features mentioned above, allowing you to set a daily schedule for when your garage door opens and closes, receive security alerts and open or close the door from anywhere you have a wireless connection. Another useful feature is that MyQ can be integrated with Amazon Key, which allows Amazon to deliver packages directly into your garage for your convenience. MyQ also has compatibility with platforms to provide connectivity between popular smart home platforms such as ring, another Amazon product.
Nexx Garage
People enjoy the Nexx Garage system for its simplicity. It plugs into a regular outlet and uses a wireless and a wired sensor to register when the door is open or closed.
It has all the standard smart garage features, like open/close notification, door open alerts and auto-open scheduling and is also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, which means your garage door can be voice-activated and serve as an integrated part of your smart home system. Pairing Nexx Garage with your home assistant is easy and happens basically automatically.
The most modern versions of Nexx Garage also feature geofencing, which is a feature you can enable that opens your door automatically when your smartphone enters the vicinity.
Genie Aladdin Connect
Another popular smart garage door opener is the Aladdin Connect, from Genie. This one works with a Bluetooth center statically attached to the door, so you don’t have to worry about the connection dropping. Like the Nexx Garage, the Aladdin Connect is also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant.
Bonus features on the Genie Aladdin Connect include the ability to control up to three garage doors with the same system and an automatic setting called trigger that automatically closes the door if it has been left open for more than a set amount of time.
Although many garage door opener companies have their own smart garage door systems, you do not necessarily need to have a company’s garage door opener to use their smart garage door controller. Some smart garage door systems come with a new garage door opener installation, while others you can buy separately and install yourself.
Contact Best Overhead Door to Learn More
If your garage is in Portland, OR, Vancouver, WA, or anywhere in the Portland Metro area, Best Overhead Door is here to help you sort it all out. We can show you a range of new garage door openers with smart technology or help you select and install the smart garage door controller of your choice.
For more information about smart garage door technology and what it can do for you, read our recent posts or contact Best Overhead Door today. Reach out to us online or call us now at 503-620-1205.
What to Do If Your Garage Door Opener Stops Working
If you’re like most homeowners, you probably rely on your garage door opener to get in and out of your house. But if the opener stops working, it can be a real hassle. When it doesn’t function correctly, don’t panic — there are plenty of tips and tricks available to help.
From the photosensor to the antenna, there could be a few different culprits to blame. We are breaking down some easy DIY troubleshooting tips to help you get your garage door operating like normal. If these tips don’t work, you may need to turn to a professional for repairs or a replacement.
Learn more about what to do if your garage door opener stops working.
Troubleshooting Tips for Garage Door Opener Failure
While it’s possible that you could have garage door opener damage that requires expert repair, there are actually a number of reasons why your garage door opener may not be working that you can handle yourself.
Before calling a professional for help, try these easy fixes for troubleshooting garage door openers first:
1. Isolate the Problem
The first thing you need to do is make sure that the garage door opener system is actually the problem. Start by disconnecting the garage door opener and disengaging it from the power source.
If it is already off or disconnected, you may have solved your problem right away. If your garage door stops working while opening, then you might have another problem, so it’s recommended you try our other troubleshooting suggestions.
After disconnecting the garage door opener, try to open and close the door manually. If you can, something related to your garage door opener system is the culprit. If you cannot, you have a different problem.
2. Deal With Any Unrelated Garage Door Problems
If the door will not open or close manually, the most likely culprit is a snapped torsion spring or cables. Examine your springs and cables carefully. If one is broken, it is not recommended that you try to replace it yourself, as untrained spring replacement could lead to injury. Homeowners that utilize their garage doors frequently should consider upgrading to high-cycle springs that are more durable and longer-lasting.
Other non-garage-door-opener-related problems may include debris on the track, a door that is off its track or damaged rollers. Clear off any debris you discover and call a professional to replace rollers or restore rollers to the track. This is a common reason why a garage door stops opening mid-way.
Taking a closer look at your entire garage door system before doing any opener troubleshooting can be beneficial in narrowing down your issue.
3. Check the Photo Eye Sensors
It is mandatory for modern garage door openers to include a photo eye system that retracts the door and will not allow it to come down if the connection between the sensors is broken.
If there is anything under the door while you are trying to close it, it should not close, so make sure the area is clear. Even if there is not, there may be dirt, snow or some other debris on one of the photo eye sensors itself. This will cut the connection and make the system think there is something underneath the door.
Cleaning the sensors can also help get your door operating correctly. Try using a microfiber cloth to gently wipe the lens like you would a laptop screen or a pair of glasses. If you still see dust or dirt on the lens, consider lightly moistening the cloth and trying again.
4. Check the Remote
If your garage door opener is not working when you press the remote, test out the keypad on your door. Your remote is likely the problem if it opens. The first thing you should do is replace the batteries and try again. If the remote fails to open the garage door, you can either replace it or try to reprogram it.
5. Adjust the Sensitivity
Sometimes a garage door opener has its sensitivity settings too high or too low, which will prevent the door from opening. Consult your garage door opener owner’s manual to see how to adjust this setting.
6. Adjust the Limit Setting
Another setting you may need to adjust is the limit setting, which tells the garage door system where the ground is so it can start lowering the door. If the system thinks the garage door is further down than it is, it will treat the ground as an obstacle and pop back up. Again, the owner’s manual can show you how to adjust this setting.
7. Check to See If There Is a Power Outage
If all the lights on the street are out, it might not be your garage door opener that’s the problem. Even a localized power outage could mean your garage door opener won’t work unless you have a battery backup. If it’s a local power issue, you will just have to wait it out. There are other methods for opening a garage door without power, such as the manual release cord or the emergency key disconnect.
8. Check the Antenna
The garage door opening mechanism has an antenna that reads a signal from your remote to tell it when to open the door. If that antenna is damaged or broken, it may not be able to pick up the signal.
What to Do If Troubleshooting Does Not Work
If you’ve tried troubleshooting on your own and things are not improving, it may be time to turn to a professional. Explore the following solutions to help get your garage door opener working again:
Garage Door Opener Repair
Unfortunately, if none of these solutions work, especially if you are hearing strange sounds coming from your garage door opener mechanism when you try to open it, you may be dealing with a professional repair situation.
A professional can also tell you if your garage door is off-balance and needs additional attention. If the door is imbalanced, it can stop it from opening and become a safety issue very quickly. You will likely need to reach out to an expert for repair or replacement services right away.
Garage Door Opener Replacement
If you have a broken garage door opener that needs repair, and it has been some time since you purchased it, it is likely a good time to replace it with something new.
At Best Overhead Door, LLC we have smart garage door openers from all the best brands, including LiftMaster® and Genie™. Installing one of these systems can help you avoid many garage door opener problems in the future.
For example, with LiftMaster MyQ® smart technology, you can activate your garage door opener from any digital device via Wi-Fi and a mobile app. This means you will never have to stress about misplacing your remote or your remote’s battery dying ever again.
We can also offer you a garage door opener with a battery backup. With the battery backup in place, your garage door opener will still work even if you experience a neighborhood-wide or local power outage.
Our new garage door openers are safer, quieter and faster than older models, probably including the one you have now. If you are interested in finding something new, we can assist you in picking the right opener for your home.
Preventative Maintenance for Your Garage Door Opener
Don’t wait for your opener to stop working to care for it. At Best Overhead Door, we can help you keep your garage door opener operating at its best with preventative maintenance and repairs.
An expert technician should perform routine maintenance at least once a year to ensure your system is in top working condition. We can inspect your garage door and opener and share any necessary repair suggestions.
Our professional technicians will let you know if your garage door hinges are overly worn or if there is a misalignment with the track. We’ll check out every part of the system and hardware to maintain proper operation all year long.
Reach Out to Best Overhead Door to Learn More
At Best Overhead Door, we offer high-quality residential garage door opener repair, service and installation in the Vancouver and Portland areas. We can help you find the right system for your home and get it working as soon as possible.
Are you interested in learning more about our garage door openers and services from Best Overhead Door? Contact us or request an estimate today!
