Chamberlain MyQ Garage Universal Smartphone Garage Door Controller review

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Have you ever driven down the road and wondered if you closed the garage door when you left?  Unfortunately, it happens to me a lot, and then I’m in the situation where I can worry about it until I get home or drive back to check.  Sometimes I’m 150 miles away when I think about it and then driving back is not an option, which means I worry about it all weekend.  The MyQ Garage Universal Smartphone Garage Door Controller aims to solve my problem, by letting me check the status of the door and then opening or closing it as appropriate.I do have another device that tells me if the garage door is closed, but there is no way for me to close it remotely.  Now I’ll be able to overcome my forgetfulness anywhere I have Internet access and my smartphone.

Features:

  • Installation in about 30 minutes
  • Works with iOS and Android devices
  • Works with most garage door openers manufactured since 1993
  • Control your garage door with your smartphone

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The device consists of two main pieces:  the hub on the left and the remote sensor on the right.  There is a power supply for the hub in the kit and various screws and brackets to mount the items in your garage.

The first step in the installation is to configure the hub with your WiFi at home.  You must have a good signal in your garage for the MyQ to work well.  I checked mine out using my smartphone and because the garage is directly below the room with my router, I had a very strong signal.  There are two suggested ways to configure the hub.  One is using the app, which you download, or you can use the WPS function of your router if it’s supported.  I went the WPS route and after powering up the MyQ hub and then pushing the WPS buttons on both the router and hub, it was configured in a flash.

Now it was time to go down to the garage to actually mount the hardware.  This was very simple.  If you can use a screwdriver, you should have no problem.  All the brackets and screws are provided.

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The hub (the black box on the right) slides into a bracket that is attached to the ceiling.  The bracket is attached  sing two screws and sheet rock anchors. Then plug in the provided power supply and connect it to the hub.

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Here’s a closer look at the hub.  In the center is an LED which flashes when the command is given to close the door.  It also sounds a beep while closing.  The only cable required is for power.

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And here’s a look from a different angle.   By the way, before you purchase the MyQ, go to their website and check that your opener is on their supported list.

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Next you’ll need to attach the remote sensor to your garage door.  The included instructions make it very clear as to the orientation of the sensor and where it should be mounted.

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One thing that was not pointed out in any of the documentation is what type of battery the sensor requires and how long it will last.  FYI, it is a CR2450.

Once the hardware is installed, it is simply a matter of downloading the free smartphone app and following the instructions for setting up a new device.

Firstly, ensure you have a WiFi signal at the hub.  This is shown by the indicator light on the hub.  A solid green light means you’re good to go.  Next, you fire up the app and go step by step.

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At some point, you have to sync the remote with the hub by pressing the test button on the remote sensor.  Then it’s time to program your door opener.  Now would be a good time to dig out the opener manual if you don’t know where the program button is or how it works.   I didn’t have a manual, so I looked around the opener and finally discovered a learn button under the lamp cover.  I pushed the button and continued with the app and in a  matter of seconds the garage door began to close.  This couldn’t have been easier.

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When using the app, you are presented the home screen which depicts the position of your garage door.  By tapping on the icon of the door, it will either open or close the actual door and the graphic will change to show the current state.

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And now it’s opened.

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It is also possible to set alerts via the app, to inform you of transitions of the garage door.

During my time of using the MyQ, I didn’t experience any issues with the door not responding to commands from the app.  However, on one occasion, the app hung on my Android smartphone, and I had to force stop and restart it.  From that point it worked with no further problems.

The MyQ is an addition to your normal way of opening and closing the garage door.  You can still use your remotes and hardwired buttons and the MyQ will send alerts and indicate the position of the door in the app.  With the addition of another remote sensor, the MyQ can control up to 2 doors.

The MyQ has made my life a little easier in that I don’t worry anymore about whether I remembered to close the garage when leaving the house because it allows me to close it when I forget.  And because we use the garage as the main entry to our house, I can give the password for the app to my relatives for access when I’m not  home.  It also lets me know when they come in.

Updates 03/08/16

This item has been in constant use since the review and has saved me going nuts remembering whether I closed the garage door or not. When I didn’t, a simple tap on the app icon and I went my merry way.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Chamberlain. For more information, visit http://www.chamberlain.com or Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price:$129.99 MSRP
Manufacturer:Chamberlain
Retailer:Amazon.com
Requirements:
  • Broadband Internet
  • Home WiFi
  • Compatible garage door
Pros:
  • Easy Setup and installation
  • Boon to forgetful people
Cons:
  • None

16 thoughts on “Chamberlain MyQ Garage Universal Smartphone Garage Door Controller review”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. Does it store a history of when the garage door was open/closed? Or does it only sure immediate current status only?

  3. You mention that you have another device that can tell you if the garage door is open or closed, could you mention what it is? (Curious.)

  4. Ruud van der Ham

    There is an even easier solution to this ‘problem’. If you install a 50$ gadget called AutoClose (available at amazon.com), the door closes automatically after a certain time, e.g. one quarter. Exactly what you need !

    1. The problem with that solution is that it can close at times when I don’t want it to and I have no monitoring of the status. For the extra money, these additional features are well worth it.

  5. Bought one from Amazon Saturday and it was delivered the same day! Installed it this morning (Sunday), set it up on our iPads and Galaxy S5s, and it is working perfectly. Total time from start to finish: 30 minutes. By the way, using WPS on your WiFi router makes the WiFi setup of the hub a snap. You press the right of the three buttons to start WPS on the hub.

    My wife loves the piece of mind!

  6. I bought the one for a Chamberlain compatible unit so it didn’t need the sensor. It consisted of the base unit which is upstairs next to the other network devices, and a replacement for the wall switch.

    Also there is a module for the Vera smart home controller to work with the MyQ garage units. Now I have it set to run as part of a full scene. I mainly have a nighttime scene that closes the door if it’s open, and locks the deadbolts if they’re unlocked. Yes, I have zwave controlled locks, and they rock 🙂

  7. I installed one of these about 8 months ago and love it! No problems and it provides peace of mind! No worrying if the kids (or me) left the door open. I also know what time they get home if it’s after I’m asleep!

  8. Communications goes from the app, to the Chamberlain server, via the Internet, to your router and then the receiver in the garage. I can’t find out if any of the path is encrypted.

  9. I bought this about 6 weeks ago. So far, I am very happy with it.

    However, I did receive an alert that my garage opened in the middle of the day and I know it shouldn’t have opened. I checked the app and it showed my garage was closed, but only for a few minutes (coinciding with the alert that the garage was opened). Did the garage door open and close by itself? Was it a false alarm? I don’t know. As a result, I installed a smartcam in the garage that can automatically record motion events. If I receive another unplanned alert, I can check the smartcam app to see what actually happened.

  10. Ariel,

    I had a ghost alert about the door opening once too. I know it wasn’t open because my daughter was in the yard at the time it alerted and she didn’t see the door open or close. It hasn’t happened for 4 months since. Must have been a gremlin 🙂

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