Your garage door won’t open when you use your remote control from your car in the driveway? If your garage door opener is working properly in every other way but NOT receiving the signal from your remote when the garage door is closed, there are a few things you can do. (If your garage door button on the wall of your garage opens your garage door, then we know the door is working and must consider this as a communication issue.)
We are going to assume there is a communication problem from using your remote from outside with the garage door shut. There may be something interfering with the signal or possibly something else.
First make sure the batteries are in working order in your remote control. If so, go inside your garage with the remote you had in your car, and with the garage closed, test the remote to see if the door opens. If not then your remote is most likely broken and you need to replace it. We will assume this since the button on the garage door wall opened the door. Try another remote you know that works. Test it from inside the garage and then test it from outside the garage.
How to fix a Garage Door Opener – Remote not working
If the remote works from inside the garage but not from the outside, then most likely the antenna wire on the garage door opener itself may be damaged, broken, or not in visible range. Check to be sure the antenna is attached and if it is not hanging down from the unit, move the antenna so it can catch the beam being sent by the remote. Please note that the antenna on some garage door openers is encased inside the unit itself.
Garage Door Opener Antenna Extension
Another issue could be that there is some sort of interference from different wireless devices in use near your area. If this is the case then find the antenna mount point and add a wire to it to make it longer. If this does not work there are other solutions. There are extenders that allow you to send the signal from outside the house and it runs by a wire to the garage opener unit.
There are reliable units called universal garage door opener receivers. These are an optional add on unit if you have issues opening your garage door from the outside. These units are used because they improve the range of your remote. As most garage door remotes work only about 20 feet from the opener, this unit will make it so you can open your garage from up to 100 yards away. This unit is called the Liftmaster 850LM Universal Gate and Garage Door Opener Receiver and is available for right around $40 dollars and WILL solve your garage door opening issues.
There are now systems that link into your home WIFI wireless that let you open your garage door with your smartphone.
How To Open Your Garage Door With Your iPhone or Android Phone
Do you know of an easier method to allow a remote control to open a garage door with interference problems? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.
I have a Genie pro 80 garage door opener, recently my remote opener wasn’t working, I put new battery in still won’t work, I can’t get access to the back because it’s sitting next to a beam.
Stan you are a genius. That’s exactly the problem I had. Unfortunately I bought a new logic board thinking that was the problem, so that LED cost me $80.
My remote would work to open but not to close unless I waited more than 5 minutes.
I discovered the problem. There is a short in the motherboard that prevents the remote from opening or closing the door as long as the light is in operation. (with or without a light bulb). SOLUTION – When leaving – Open the door with the wall devise. Wait until the door is completely open and then press the wall button that turns off the light. You can hear a slight click.
The next time that you press your remote it will close the door.
No problem upon returning home at night because, after 5 minutes, the light circuit is automatically turned off and your remote will work just fine.
I have the opposite problem with my Lift-Master 1245 1/3HP garage door opener.
It wont open or close it if the light is off and you have to be within feet of the garage door opener for it to work, outside it won’t. New remote and battery from reputable dealer.
Thank you any help, Ron
Model953ESTD. Both remotes and keypad do not communicate with unit. Wall button works unit fine. Batteries are fresh. HELP!!