Product Review: Chamberlain MyQ Smartphone Garage Opener & Universal Mini Remote

Look at this guy on the box! I mean, could this dude be any happier?

This MyQ thing must be incredible if it can get a man grinning like a fool. Also, how did they get Norm Macdonald’s little brother for this gig?

I’m here to investigate this matter for you.

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There’s something that always drives me crazy when it comes to my garage door. And that is simply not knowing whether it’s closed. Now, I’m not the youngest anymore and often it’s a matter of not remembering if I hit that button on my garage door opener/closer in the car. But with three kids, none of them in their teens yet, I also have reason to worry that one of them has prioritized their popsicle over home security, and has wandered down the street to a friend’s place, leaving the garage an open and welcoming place for anyone who wants to help themselves.

Regardless of the situation, I’m often wondering “Is it closed?” To date, I had no way of knowing, short of calling home (providing someone is at home to check) or calling the neighbours (providing someone there is at home to check) or asking someone to drop by to check. None of those options are particularly attractive to me, since there are too many variables.

Well, that’s all changed. The good folks at Chamberlain asked if I’d care to review their MyQ Garage product, which they describe as a Smartphone Garage Door Controller. There are a number of functions I appreciate. First of all, it really is a garage door controller. See the garage door on my screenshot? That’s how simple the app is – you tap the garage door picture and it will open or close your garage door. The cool thing is, it will do it from anywhere in the world.

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Secondly, a quick glance at that garage door picture on the app tells me if the door is open or closed. And it will attach a timer – for example, in my screenshot, I can see that my garage door has been closed for 27 minutes. There’s value in knowing how long your garage door has been closed, or open. And now you can have that information quickly – anywhere you are.

And lastly, the app allows you to set up rules. One that I’ve set up is that I receive a push notification to my phone if my garage door has been open longer than half an hour. That way I can decide if I want to close it remotely, or call home to see if this has been done on purpose, etc. Pretty sweet.

You must be thinking that this technological marvel would be insanely difficult and expensive to have installed. Well, actually, it’s not. Honestly, I was shocked when I opened the box. I thought something was missing. There are less than a handful of components to the MyQ system, and frankly, the simplicity of the installation is as much of a selling point as the simplicity of the system’s operation.

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It took me less than 10 minutes to get the whole thing installed, registered online and running. A tiny bracket for your garage ceiling, where you’ll hang the MyQ wifi hub (the bigger black part). Plug it in, connect it with your wifi system (literally two taps on your phone, once you’ve installed Chamberlain’s free app) and it’s ready to go. Attached the door sensor (the smaller black part) your garage door with supplied velcro tape (it already has the battery built in) – it goes on the uppermost panel of your garage door. And the whole thing is installed. Then it’s a matter of programming your garage door opener to work with it. First of all, the system works with basically any garage door opener made after 1993. And the programming? I had to hold down my programming button one time. 5 seconds later my garage door opened magically and my set-up was complete. It is shockingly simple.

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And it works as promised. Worried about safety? Like maybe you closing the garage door and it coming down on a child? Chamberlain has done a good job to add safety features. When you activate the door closer, the wifi hub beeps loudly and flashes a bright light down into the garage (you can see the light from quite a ways away, if you are anywhere near the open garage door) – these warnings go on for a number of seconds before the door starts physically closing. Of course, modern garage doors have pressure sensors, which tell them there’s a problem (like a kid stuck underneath it) and they should automatically open if something gets in between the door and the ground. But this added warning system should keep anyone out of the way of the garage door long before it starts closing.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about expandability, that’s something the system does too. The app allows for multiple devices (one for each garage door you might have). And it allows for multiple locations – if you have more than one residence, or perhaps you look after someone else’s place while they’re away, etc. – no problem. Add as many locations as you want, name them whatever you want, then add any number of devices at each location – you can name each device too. I believe there are also smart lighting controls that can be tied into this system, but I’m not 100% sure. Hey Chamberlain, maybe I should review one of those too!

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Overall, the MyQ system has impressed me – from ease of installation, to ease of use, to functionality – the MyQ delivers on what it promises. I’d recommend checking one out – the peace of mind that comes with allowing me to check on and control my garage door from afar is worth a lot to me. Where can you buy it? Pretty much any place that sells garage door stuff (ex. any home improvement place), and online of course. FYI, I found it at Home Depot for $155 CDN. Here’s a link to Chamberlain’s site if you’d like more specifics.

UPDATE December 2015: Chamberlain recently sent me a nifty device called the Universal Mini Garage Door Remote. Spoiler: that’s exactly what it is. At first, I thought “What is the point of this thing? I have a device in each car that does exactly the same thing!” But that is the point. You see, I don’t have spare garage door openers, and their form factor isn’t really conducive to popping them out of the car quickly to give to someone who I want to grant access to my garage.

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Enter the Mini Garage Door Remote. First of all, it’s compatible with nearly any brand and model of garage door opener, which is where the “universal” part comes in. Programming it to your particular opener(s) is honestly the easiest thing imaginable. Here are the steps: Press and hold the bottom button on the remote. Press the “Learn” button on your garage door opener. Press the button on the remote that you want to program to that door twice. It literally took me seconds to program this for each of our garage doors.

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It has two buttons, so it can control two doors. Yes, it can control doors in two different locations if that’s a solution you’re after. And yes, it’s very compact – 2.25 x 1.25 inches. The weight is negligible. It acts as a keychain as well and comes with a robust keyring, which obviously makes it easy to attach to something if you see fit to do so. It’s perfect for giving to anyone to get into your garage. One perfect solution for us is to clip it inside our kid’s backpack. When they get home, they can easily and quickly open the garage. It’s also convenient to slip into your pocket when you take the dog for a poop-break, contractors that you trust, nannies, etc. I ride a motorcycle, and I’ve always wanted a slim, compact solution to popping open the garage door when I leave or come home – this is it!

Of note, although I didn’t test this – the mini remote can also control Chamberlain’s Remote Light Control module, allowing you to turn indoor and outdoor lights on and off, as well as things like exterior Christmas lights.

They’re $49.99 and available in the US now, and will be available in Canada at Home Depot in a few weeks – starting in 2016.

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Disclaimer: Chamberlain sent me their MyQ Garage and Mini Remote Control products for consideration – to review and to keep afterwards.

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