Two ways to get a smart garage door
A smart opener lets you open, close and check the garage door from an app on your phone. You get there one of two ways: a new opener with Wi-Fi built into it, or a kit added to an opener that was made to take one.
Some makers put the Wi-Fi inside the motor. Steel-Line lists its F-linX Wi-Fi on several sectional openers and on its roller door opener, and Merlin says its wall mounted Commander Ultimate MJ3800MYQ comes with myQ Wi-Fi inbuilt.
Others add it afterwards with a kit. B&D pairs its Smart Phone Control Kit with its Roll-A-Pro, Power Drive and Secure openers. Merlin's myQ Connectivity Kit, M828U774, holds a gateway plus a set of safety beams, and Merlin says owners whose beams are already in place need only the gateway.
Will your opener take phone control?
Start with the label on the motor. Merlin's support page says myQ only works when the opener's model name contains MYQ, such as MS105MYQ or MR855MYQ, and only on roller and sectional doors, because myQ does not suit tilt doors.
An older motor may not qualify at all. Merlin's 2019 myQ FAQ said an existing opener could not be upgraded to myQ without a myQ enabled model, and that myQ gear bought overseas did not work with Australian and New Zealand openers.
Door type rules some kits out as well. ATA's Smart Phone Control Kit manual says the kit must not go on an opener that drives a J-Type or single piece door.
When the opener on your ceiling cannot take a kit, the job becomes a new opener with the smart control included, which is covered under garage door motor replacement.
Safety beams come with the smart control
An app can move the door while nobody is in the garage to see what is under it, so the makers tie phone control to safety beams. B&D says a change to the Standards Australia standard made beams compulsory with the sale of any smart opener device from 1 December 2020.
Each maker writes that into its own instructions. ATA's kit manual wants beams on the opener before the kit goes in, Merlin says its myQ app needs Safety IR Beams installed, and B&D's Smart Pro manual calls for beams wherever a smart device can run the door out of sight.
Beams also switch on extra features. Merlin's MT3850EVO manual says its timer-to-close works only with beams fitted, and that its Alert-2-close warning gives 8 seconds of beeps and flashing lights before the door starts to come down. The garage door safety guide explains how beams and auto-reverse work together.
What fitting a smart opener involves
- A door that runs true: Merlin's MR855EVO manual says a sticking, binding or unbalanced door is repaired before any opener goes on, so the motor is never left to make up for it.
- Beams across the doorway: fitted and lined up close to the floor. B&D's Smart Pro manual sets them 100mm above the ground.
- Travel limits in the right order: B&D's Smart Pro manual says the open and close limits are set before the opener joins Wi-Fi.
- Fresh limits after a kit: ATA's kit manual says the opener's limits are cleared and set again once the kit is fitted.
- A broadband connection: Merlin's MT110MYQ Commander manual says myQ needs a home router with active broadband.
Wi-Fi in the garage
B&D's Smart Pro manual says the router must be within range of the opener. The quickest way to check is with your own phone: stand beside the motor with mobile data switched off and see whether a web page still loads over your home Wi-Fi.
When the remote works and the app does not, Merlin's MT110MYQ manual points to the network: check the internet connection, the router, and the green and blue lights on the gateway.
Blackouts matter here too. B&D says running its app during a power cut depends on Wi-Fi being available, so a battery backup on the opener keeps the app working only while the router has power as well.
Power for a smart opener
Going smart does not change the power the motor needs. Merlin's MT110MYQ manual asks for a 240 V general purpose outlet close to the powerhead, and B&D wants an earthed power point on the ceiling within an arm's length of its Smart Pro opener.
If there is no outlet up there, putting one in is electrical work, and so is hard wiring an opener. Every state requires the correct electrical licence for that, so that part goes to a licensed electrician. Say where your nearest power point is when you tell us the job.
Keeping a smart garage door secure
- Register the opener with its maker: Merlin recommends it so you receive security updates.
- Keep it on a secured home Wi-Fi network, as Merlin advises.
- Give every smart home device a password of its own, another of Merlin's suggestions.
- Take people off the app when they move out or stop needing access. B&D's app lets authorised users add and remove others and set access times.
- Turn on door alerts if your app offers them. B&D's sends one when the door is used or left open.
A door that can move with nobody watching
B&D's Smart Pro manual warns that a door under smartphone control may operate unexpectedly. Keep bikes, toys and children out of the doorway, never treat the app as a reason to skip the beams, and keep testing the auto-reverse every month as Steel-Line's manual asks.
What you can sort out, and what to leave
You can
- Photograph the label on the opener so the model name is clear
- Check the home Wi-Fi reaches the garage, using your phone
- Have the network name and password ready for the day
- Register the opener and keep the app's user list tidy
Leave to a door specialist
- Fitting the kit, the gateway or the new opener
- Fitting and lining up the safety beams
- Setting or clearing the door's travel limits
- Any new power point or hard wiring, by a licensed electrician
What we would do
Before you tell us the job, take a clear photo of the opener's label and note whether beams already cross the doorway. Those two details tell the door specialist whether you need a kit or a new opener, and whether beams have to be added, before anyone comes out.