One of the most frightening prospects is having your garage door open involuntarily. It's cool and helpful when you press your remote and intentionally do it. However, when some unseen force seems to open your garage door without your consent, then things start to get a little weird.
Is your garage door opening by itself? Sometimes, your door can do this, and it can make for a terrifying experience. You probably want to know why this happens, and you are in the right place if you do.
Radio Frequency Interference
As you can see, your garage door and its remote have no wires connecting them. If they did, you can imagine that the whole mechanism would be a little awkward to operate. Instead, these components use a wireless communication mechanism.
There are several alternatives for devices that do this, but garage doors and openers communicate over radio frequencies. The problem that this design choice can create is that there is a set number of the said frequencies that can be used.
Therefore, another garage door near yours can be using the same one. In this instance, a neighbor could be the one trying to open his/her garage door. However, if the radio frequencies are the same, this action could end up opening yours.
Fortunately, this problem is correctable. It only requires you to reprogram your garage door opener. Completing this task means that you can adjust the motor's frequency. Note that other home electronics that work on the same wireless communication channel can also interfere with the garage door.
Garage Door Buttons Are Pressed
The whole point of the buttons present on your wall unit or remote is to provide alternatives that you can use to open your garage door. A simple reason for a phantom opening is that one of these buttons could be pressed unintentionally.
Maybe your remote is being pressed against other objects, which causes the unwanted button press. Similarly, something in your garage could be moved to press the button on the wall unit, and this would create a similar outcome.
Alternatively, the wiring that surrounds either of these buttons can potentially become damaged. When this happens, the correct signals are not always sent. Therefore, even when the device is idle, it can mistakenly detect a button press, which leads to your garage door opening.
Garage Door Opener Issues
A garage door opener appears to be a simple device from the outside. However, it has an intricate internal design. While this accounts for its ability to carry out its intended function, any internal problems or damage can lead to various issues, including unwanted door opening.
1. Loose Wires in the Motor
Buttons are not the only things surrounded by wiring in your garage door opener. The motor generates the power that is necessary to move the garage door, and electrical impulses get passed to it via wires. Should any of these wires become loosened, an activation signal can get mistakenly sent to the motor, which yields the door opening process.
2. Problem with the Opener Motherboard
You can think of the motherboard as the functional centerpiece of any device with an automated mechanism. It connects various components that are used to activate controls and to interpret multiple signals. In a matter of speaking, the motherboard is the brain of your garage door opener's operation.
It consists of traversal paths for conductors and electrical signals. Of course, if these components that process instructions do experience problems, then your opener is susceptible to incorrect movements.
3. The Control Wiring Is Damaged
If you observe your garage door opener, you can see some wiring that runs between it, your wall switch, and your doors. This wiring also forms a part of the signal transmission and opening process. Even damage here can create a situation where signals are misinterpreted, and your garage door opens for seemingly no reason.
Solutions
There are solutions if your garage door starts to go through the phantom opening process because of any of the reasons highlighted above. Here are two of the best solutions to consider if you should ever experience this inconvenience.
Reprogram Opener
This solution was briefly highlighted above. The process behind it is not a very complicated one, but there may be some variation depending on the opener model that you have. In most cases, there is a dedicated button for programming that you can use in tandem with an LED light to indicate where you are in the process. Typically, you hold this button until the light appears and begins to flash. Then, press and release the button you intend to use to operate your garage door.
More sophisticated systems may require you to enter a pin and go through a menu to complete the process. Refer to the owner's manual for your device for further assistance.
Install Liftmaster MyQ App (for Openers with WiFi), So You Can Monitor the Door When You Are Not Home and Close It If Necessary
If you use an opener that is compatible with WiFi technology, the Liftmaster MyQ app is a must-have. While it does not fix issues, such as issues with wiring, it does allow you to close your garage door when it opens unintentionally.
The app is always connected, and it ensures that you know when your garage door has opened. Once you have the app, you can remotely close the garage door with the tap of a button.
Even if you don't have a trendy new opener, you can purchase additional hardware that allows traditional garage door openers to connect to your WiFi network. Of course, after you do this, the app becomes entirely usable.
Garage door openers are amazing once they work right. Unfortunately, many people experience issues, such as unwanted door opening. There are several different reasons why this could be happening to you.
Most likely, your garage door is located at a critical place in your home. Therefore, once it is compromised, you have a massive security concern on your hands. This consideration can increase the sense of panic that you feel when your door starts acting up.
Whether this problem occurs from conflicting frequencies, unintentional button presses, or component damage, there are viable solutions provided above that you should use.
