There’s nothing like coming home at the end of a long, tiring day, groceries in the car, kids in the back, and as you pull into your driveway and press your garage remote – the final straw – your garage door won’t open! Things like this are truly annoying, which is why they never happen at a “good” or convenient time! Here are some things to check, before you give us a call!
• Check the battery in the remote. It may be that the battery is old and getting weak, and so it can’t put out a strong enough signal to activate the operator. Different remotes have different life spans. Take the remote with you when you go to buy the battery, so you can make sure you get the right one!
• Check the wall station inside your garage. Most garage door openers have a wall station. If your wall station has just one button (like a doorbell) – you can skip this step, it’s not for you. If you have a wall station that has three buttons, this may work. The first is an open/close button, the second is a light button, and the last is a “lockout” button. It’s the lockout button you need to look at. If the lockout button has somehow been engaged or pressed, it will lock out any remote that is programmed into your operator. Sometimes a wall station will have a little light that flashes if this is what’s going on. If the lockout is a button, you need to press it to disengage the lockout feature. If your wall station seems different, look at the manual that came with your garage door.
• Reprogram the remote. Your remote may have “lost the code” – which means that it isn’t communicating with the opener. You will need to reprogram your remote, which sounds difficult, but it’s really easy to do. Again, however – you need your garage door’s manual to figure out how to reprogram the remote, because every garage door manufacturer is a little different.
• Replace the remote. If you’ve tried everything above, and your remote still isn’t opening your door, you may need to get the remote replaced, especially if you have another remote that does work. If you have more than one remote, and none of them work, but your wall station does work, then the culprit is likely the radio receiver on your operator. A new radio receiver can be added to the operator, and your old remotes can be programmed into the new receiver!