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The garage door opener, in a way, marks the genesis of the smart home. Radio controlled remote controls for electric garage door openers date back to 1931 and predate the TV remote by almost 20 years. So it’s curious that modern smart home technology, which links wireless with Internet-based technology, has been relatively slow to reach the garage door. Relatively few companies compete in this market today, and many of their products feel more designed for people who like to tinker in their workshops than people looking to build a soup-to-nuts smart home.
The good news is that these devices are definitely getting better at both simplicity and capability, and while the garage door opener may remain a bit of an outlier in your smart home for the foreseeable future, adding a smart garage door controller to your setup offers some real advantages. . Not only will you be able to open and close the door from anywhere, letting in guests, family or delivery people, but you will also know if the door is open or closed in real time.
If you’re one of those people who frequently forgets to lock the door, or if you’re worried if you remembered to lock it while heading on a two-week road trip, you’ll definitely want to make the investment.
This is our top pick on this market, followed by a list of features to look out for when buying a smart garage door controller, and links to our reviews of other products in this category.
The best smart garage door controller
It’s still a no-brainer – everything we said about the Chamberlain MYQ-G0301 myQ Smart Garage Door Hub now applies to the Chamberlain MYQ-G0401 – it’s the easiest smart garage door controller to set up, the most functional on the market. market, Y, is the least expensive on the market, by a wide margin. That said, there’s little reason to upgrade from the older model.
The completely wireless system means you don’t have to fiddle with running new wires into your garage door opener, and a single hub can control two doors (if you buy a second sensor, which costs as much as the hub and sensor ). sensor set). The app is easy to set up and use, and the system is compatible with a small but growing number of smart home ecosystems, including HomeKit. The myQ is not compatible with each opener, but if it works with yours—check online before buying“Definitely the one to get.”
runner-up
Meross smart home products have left us with mixed emotions. They’re all cheap, but value is defined by more than just a price tag. The Meross Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener is at the better end of that scale. If Chamberlain’s product doesn’t fit your needs, this one is worth considering. (Note: This device does not support HomeKit, but Meross offers a separate model that is. However, it was not available at the time of publication for us to evaluate.)
How to choose the right smart garage door controller
While garage door openers come in a wide range of brands, styles, and capabilities, the good news is that you’ll probably be able to find a smart controller that works with your system without much trouble.
As I mentioned earlier, the Chamberlain myQ is my top pick for a variety of reasons, but because it’s based solely on wireless technology, it’s not compatible with every system on the market. To start visit myQ compatibility tool and check if your existing opener is compatible. If it is, and you don’t mind that it doesn’t support Alexa or Samsung SmartThings, your job is done: get the myQ. If not, you can either get a whole new opener as Chamberlain suggests (although that won’t solve the Alexa and SmartThings problems), or delve into the world of cabling Smart controllers for garage doors.
Christopher Null/IDGThe Nexx NXG-200 must be connected to your garage door opener via cables, and space may be limited depending on ceiling height.
Actually, upgrading your old, incompatible gate opener isn’t a terrible idea, and the new models are safer and less expensive than you might think. Considering that a wired garage door controller can set you back around $100, it’s worth thinking hard about whether you want to invest more money in an outdated system that could be close to failing, or just upgrade it from scratch. (Many newer openers have smart technology built in, eliminating the need for an additional controller.)
But if you have an opener that isn’t compatible with our top pick and you want to keep it, you’ll need a wired controller like the Nexx Garage NXG-200 or the Garadget. Wired controllers. These need to be connected to the opener via a couple of wires, so you’ll need to be comfortable with some minor electrical work to install them. Like myQ, Nexx offers a online compatibility tool, but here you are likely to find that Nexx is supported out of the box or is only supported with an additional adapter. In other words, wired controllers are generally compatible with everything, or at least I haven’t found any openers yet that are not compatible with them.
Christopher Null/IDGThe Garadget fires a laser once per second at the door to determine if it is open or closed. As with the NEXX product, the Garadget must be hardwired to your opener.
The catch involves the adapter. Generally speaking, if you have an older garage door opener, the Nexx and Garadget will work with it right out of the box. If you have a newer opener, you’ll also need your adapter. This is because newer openers often have a more complex encryption system built in, and a standard push button remote, which is what wired smart controllers emulate, won’t work with them. The solution is to place a button that is supports this cipher between the controller and the opener: the controller tells the button to activate, which in turn tells the opener to open or close. It’s a bit weird, but in my tests, these setups work just as well as the wireless alternative.
The problem is that it is much more expensive to do it this way. Buying a Nexx and adapter will set you back $105 at press time, and a Garadget plus adapter is $98. Compare that to the less than $40 you’ll spend on myQ and there’s really no other choice.
Again, if myQ isn’t supported, Nexx or Garadget will be an acceptable alternative, as long as you’re willing to spend a bit more to get the job done. We’ll review new products in this space as they hit the market and update our top selection as warranted.
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