Convenience is top on the list for homeowners buying automatic garage doors. The convenience of opening and closing the door from inside their vehicles is unbeatable. It removes the stress of physical labor involved in manually opening and closing the heavy door. However, this convenience may become threatened when your garage door remote stops working. While a garage door repair in Langley should help, it shouldn’t always be the go-to action.
Garage door remotes can stop working for many reasons. The failure doesn’t necessarily mean your garage door is bad and requires replacement. In some cases, the problem could be something as small as a worn-out battery.
Diagnosing the problem behind a non-working garage door remote can be tricky. However, we have identified the commonest causes of this problem and how you can proceed in each case. Dealing with a non-functioning garage door remote? Here are the common problems and solutions.
Drained Batteries
Most electronic devices rely on a chargeable or rechargeable battery. In the case of your garage door remote, a chargeable battery is necessary for it to function properly.
Most garage door remote problems can be traced to battery drain. While it signals a bad maintenance practice, this problem is the least of your worries. You can simply replace the batteries and your remote will be as good as new.
An excellent way to prevent this problem from recurring is to pay more attention to your remote and garage door operation. You may need to replace the battery if your remote takes more press before it signals your garage door.
Pro Tip: A typical garage door remote battery can last up to two years. You can purchase a replacement battery for safekeeping after changing the new batteries into the remote.
Disrupted Signal
Garage door remotes operate by sending a signal to the door itself. The radio signal can be anywhere between 350 to 390 MHz, and it controls the opening and closing of your door. This signal is closely related to what you have on your Television set or any other remote-controlled electronic device.
Like those devices, the functionality of the remote may be limited when the signal is blocked or jammed. Your garage door remote problem could be due to a blocked or jammed signal too. An excellent way to get around this problem is to point the remote directly at your door or move closer to the door.
You may need to keep troubleshooting if the remote doesn’t activate the door, even at a close distance.
Physical Damage
Garage door remotes have functional units that communicate with the garage door. Sometimes, these functional units may become damaged due to high heat, moisture, careless handling, or physical damage. Please note that physical damage to your remote doesn’t necessarily have to show on the casing. It could be internal damage due to impact force.
You can suspect this problem if you’ve changed the battery on your garage door remote and it still won’t work.
An excellent solution to this problem is to replace it. In most cases, you can browse the name and model of your garage door online to purchase a spare key. You can also contact your garage door repair technician to inspect the remote for any solution before ordering a new one.
Button Lock
Automatic garage door remotes are equipped with a lock and unlock button for easier use. Some may have a single button acting as the lock and unlock button. Irrespective of the type, the buttons may become soft and depressed due to use.
Depressed buttons can cause your garage door to misbehave or lock in place. It is important to physically examine your garage door remote to be sure it is in good shape. You can also depress the locked-in button, if there’s one, and try operating the remote once again.
Please note that damaged garage door buttons are enough grounds for a remote replacement. Continuously using such a remote can compromise your convenience and garage door operation. Read our article on money-saving tips for car buyers.
Remote Needs Reset
Sometimes your garage door may malfunction from regular use. Such malfunctions can be addressed by resetting the remote to its factory setting. A particularly interesting detail is that you can do this DIY.
To reset your garage door remote:
- Locate your garage door manual or download the product manual from the internet.
- Locate the door opener’s learn button on the control panel and hold for 30 seconds.
- Do the same on your remote and hold for 3 seconds. If done correctly, the garage door opener will blink or flash its LED light to signal connection.
Wiring Problems
If you’ve done all of the above with no solution, then you may be dealing with a wiring problem. For this, you need an experienced repair technician to diagnose the problem’s source and fix it.
It is important to stay away from tampering with the garage door as this could be dangerous and lead to bigger problems.
