A call that we occasionally get Is from people who have garage doors that are seemingly opening up on their own. The caller will come home after a long day to find their door wide open, or wake up in the morning to a gaping door. This is understandably nerve-wracking because for many people the garage door is the main entrance to their home, and if you’re like my family, we don’t lock the man door from the garage to the house, because there doesn’t seem to be much need when the garage door is closed.
The reason that this happens is actually pretty simple and easy to fix. It has to do with your garage door opener, and your neighbors too!
You see, garage door openers and remotes are equipped with something called rolling code. These radio codes change up constantly and sync together, between remote and opener so that they can communicate to open and close the door. Since there are virtually endless codes available, the thought is that there isn’t an easy way to hijack a remotes code and break into your home. However, sometimes there will be a new opener near yours, and its remote can somehow attach onto both your, and their new opener. When this happens, their remote will open your door too! This is why you will find your door open at random times. It’s a weird happenstance, but it does occur. Thankfully it is easy to fix!
The easiest way is to un-program all the remotes and reprogram your remotes and keypads. Just gather all the accessories that go to your opener, and a ladder. Set the ladder up right under the opener, where the antenna comes out of the motor, and take the light cover off. There are a few buttons under that light cover. The one you are looking for is the learn button which will be shaped like a triangle, circle, or square and brightly colored. The color and shape depend on the model of opener, but there should be about three buttons, two to adjust the limits which will be right next to each other and the learn button which is a different shape and color and will be set slightly apart from the two others.
Simply hold the learn button down for 3 to 5 seconds. This will remove the programming from all attached remotes and keypads so that no one will be able to use the door without you specifically programming their remote back in. To do this, push the learn button in once again briefly, and then push the button on your remote that you want to use to control the door. Make sure to test out the remotes and keypad before you get down from the ladder! Occasionally it will take a few tries to get it to stick, but this is the only way to program the remotes and keypads and it will work! If it doesn’t then call Hung Right Doors, you may just need a new remote.
If your door opens without you opening it don’t worry! It is a well-known issue that is very easy to correct. It happens semi regularly, but not often to the same openers twice