Smart Garage Door Controllers for 2021
10 January 2021
Happy New Year!
Debbie and I submitted our latest changes to our floor plan to our architect last week and we are excited about the new year. We’re looking forward to getting the latest iteration back as we’re very close to a final design to present to builders for bids.
As I was thinking about what to write about this week our new Roomba activated and started vacuuming. It is interesting watching it do its thing while bumping into walls and furniture as it continues to learn its way around. It then made me wonder what activated it until I remembered Debbie had just left to run some errands. I had integrated operations of the Roomba on specific days when the garage door was activated and that was what set it off. That’s when it dawned on me to research some smart home garage door solutions for our new place.
Obviously we want to make our garage door smart so we can use voice control and schedule automation — like we’re experimenting with now with the Roomba. With added capabilities like Amazon Key, being able to allow family/friends access while we’re away and to drive other automations, it only makes sense to extend the smart home to the garage. Plus the peace of mind that comes with connectivity — you know the feeling, pull out of your garage, make it halfway down the street only to wonder if you closed the garage door. What if you could just open an app and see your door and even use the app to close it? What about voice assistant control on your phone or in your car to do it for you?
If you already own a motorized garage door opener you can use one of the easy add-on accessories to open and close the garage door. If you’re in the market for a whole new opener mechanism, you can find smart opener options from makers such as Chamberlain, LiftMaster and Ryobi.
Smart garage door controllers come in a few variations. In general, a control attaches to your existing opener. In most cases, you’ll need to attach two small wires to the open and close command nodes on your existing garage door opener.
Smart garage kits also usually include some type of sensor to attach to your garage door. This sensor detects and transmits your garage door status, so the control accurately knows whether the door is open, closed or somewhere in between, and with the garage door opener app, can send you a push notification if your garage is open when it shouldn’t be. It also typically serves as a safety sensor.
The ability to connect to a wifi signal is key to ensuring your new smart garage door and remote control work the way you want them to. This is why I’m actively including the garage in my wifi planning for the house and property. As I expect the mobile experience in our home and property to be seamless for Debbie, our guests and myself it only makes sense. And though I’ll be wiring as much as possible there’ll still be areas dependent on strong, stable wifi signal — robot lawn mower, security cameras and sensors and landscape lighting to name a few.
On the smart side, an add-on controller connects to your wifi network, which is easy enough. You’ll need a strong 2.4GHz internet connection that reaches your garage. Typically, a corresponding app will walk you through adding your device to the network, as well as the general installation.
Garage door opener app features and smarts differ from brand to brand. One app may offer geofencing, scheduling, remote access and voice control, while another app may just make your smartphone a duplicate of your garage door controller.
Deciding which control is the best smart garage door opener for you comes down to what control features you want most and what smart home platforms you use in your home, like Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple HomeKit. No matter your requirements, there’s likely a smart garage door opener and app out there to meet your needs. As you’re probably aware by now, we’re an Amazon Alexa house so we’ll be steering that direction.
Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub
Chamberlain’s MyQ Smart Garage Hub adds 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. Chamberlain’s MyQ system is easy to install, with no wires to attach to your existing door opener.
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. We have MyQ integration at our current place disappointingly not integrated yet with our SmartThings or Amazon Alexa. I’d assume it’s in their R&D plans due to both platforms’ popularity. Hopefully it will be an option later this year as we get closer to completion of our smart home. There is Google Assistant and IFTTT compatibility which offers HomeKit users compatibility though it does require the MyQ Home Bridge adapter.
The Tailwind iQ3 is reliable thanks to a wired setup, and features auto opening and closing. As I mentioned earlier I like to wire whatever possible so I like this. Obviously easier with a new home build but if you’re a little handy you can usually run cabling without much effort and a little understanding of networking. The iQ3 can control up to three garage doors and works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT and SmartThings. Currently it lacks Apple HomeKit compatibility.
Overall, this garage door controller checks all the boxes for basic smarts and convenient automation if you don’t need HomeKit compatibility. What I really like is either Bluetooth or in-vehicle sensor control to automate open and close as well as granting access to family/friends for remote access.
Garadget adds voice control and remote access to your existing garage door. The Garadget’s sensor system is different from the other smart garage door solutions as it employs a reflective tag placed on the top panel of your garage door and a laser built into the Garadget device itself. So when the laser hits the reflective tag, Garadget knows your garage door is closed. Like many garage controllers, the Garadget does require some wiring to make the door controller work.
The Garadget has its own Amazon Alexa skill and IFTTT integration lets create custom commands for Google Assistant. The Garadget app for smartphone (iOS and Android) doesn’t include scheduling, but does excel at simple commands and mobile app garage remote access.
The Garager 2 is one of the more eye-catching and interesting garage devices with a two-in-one camera and easy door control. This surveillance camera attaches to the bottom of your garage door and controls your garage door from the Alcidae app for smartphone (Android and iOS). The camera includes 1080p color and night vision video and two-way audio, though clip storage does require a $5-per-month subscription.
The control works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, via wifi, for commands to open and close your garage. If you really like the idea of adding video monitoring and the ability to watch and talk to your garage space, this might be a solution to check multiple boxes. For Debbie and I we love the idea but already had plans to add separate video surveillance in the garage. The Garager also delivers notifications and remote control or via voice assistants.
The Nexx Garage is a smart garage controller that adds skills to your normal garage door open and close. You’ll get voice commands, remote access and auto opening through the Nexx Garage app for smartphone (iOS and Android) without involving IFTTT applets. Though Nexx Garage isn’t as widely integratable as Chamberlain’s MyQ system.
The Nexx Garage’s biggest shortcoming to me are the sensors you’ll need to detect the door’s status. Two sensors attach to your garage door and the wall above it and must be placed within 1/4-inch of each other for best results. The top sensor in this pair is wired but adding more visible wire is something I don’t like the look of, even in a garage. This solution seems overly complicated and problematic to me though it does feature compatibility with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
As you can see there are a lot of different options based on your technical capabilities, budget and smart home needs. We still haven’t made a decision yet and will probably wait as long as possible to give us a broader field of options. My preference would be a garage door opener with integrated sensors, automation and remote/voice control on board but these add-on kits certainly fill the bill. I’m really curious what you all are using out there. We’d love to hear from you regarding any of these options or others you’re using so please comment below. Stay tuned as we move on with our smart home planning and finalize decisions around a variety of technologies. Have a great 2021!
UPDATE Jan. 12, 2021
Since posting this I ran across this interesting side bar to smart garage door openers.
Why Chamberlain built a $3,000 automatic garage door for your dog — The Verge
“They’ve built a fully-automated, internet-connected pet door for your dog, one that gives them the freedom to go outside whenever they want, or lets you remotely activate it yourself. Your pet can approach the door to ask you for permission while you monitor its cameras from an app — one that’ll also automatically track your pet’s comings and goings in a diary.
It’s called the myQ Pet Portal, and it’s packed with tech, including twin 1080p cameras that beam encrypted video to your phone anywhere in the world via Amazon S3 servers, IR and light-touch safety sensors to avoid pinched tails, microphones and speakers to talk to your pet, plus the encrypted Bluetooth Low Energy beacon that goes around your dog’s neck. The door won’t open until your pet is stationary for a few seconds to make sure they actually want to go out, and it closes automatically behind them.
Preorders for the myQ Pet Portal start today at an eye-watering $3,000 and up, which at first blush makes it seem like exactly the kind of ostentatious, far-out product concept that graces the CES show floor in Vegas every year — an awesome idea to gawk at, but not something anyone actually needs. After all, can’t you already buy a simple pet flap for well under $100?”
