GARAGE DOOR OPENS OR CLOSES ON ITS OWN
No, you don’t live in a haunted house! You might have thought so for a minute when you came home to an already opened garage door. Your mind probably raced, trying to remember if you actually closed it when you left, or not. You are sure that you did, so why is it open now? And…what if someone is in your house now?
Another worrisome scenario is when you ARE home and hear the garage door open. You know your spouse is at work (you just talked to him on the phone) and you two live alone, so who just opened your garage door? Here at Newnan Garage Repair we hear about scenarios like these every so often. That’s why we wrote this post; hopefully it will help you if you are experiencing bouts of opening or closing garage doors that seem to act on their own!
If a ghost isn’t the culprit, who or what is? Relax; it’s nothing malicious at all, but simply a wrong garage door code frequency! Almost always, it is done by accident and chance. Either way, taking our advice will protect you from this unusual garage door behavior whether it happens here in Newnan, GA or anywhere else you may happen to be.
So how does this happen? How on earth can someone have the same garage door opener frequency as you? There are many factors involved. For instance, a neighbor may have just moved in next door or nearby. He or she may have adjusted their opener code for security purposes and unknowingly matched it to yours. Yes, it happens!
When you heard your garage door open, you were so startled by it that you probably didn’t notice your new neighbor pulling up into his garage at the same time! One of our Newnan Garage Repair customers told us about his garage door that would open around lunch time every day. Since he worked from home, he was around to observe this. He would close the door but it would open (on its own, of course!) again half an hour later. Finally, he observed his new neighbor leaving for work after coming home for a lunch break. Connecting the dots, he realized that his mysterious garage door opening was tied to his neighbor’s garage door opener code. They both had a good laugh over it after which they changed the code to a different one and the mysterious openings abruptly stopped.
Other factors
Other factors that can make your garage door open or close seemingly on its own include transmitter problems, radio frequencies, low remote batteries, short circuits and radio interference. We’ll discuss these in a little bit, but first, let’s talk about protecting your home from unwanted intruders if these mysterious garage door openings happen to you.
As you are probably are aware, many people don’t lock the door leading into the house from the garage itself. This may be due to laziness, forgetfulness, or lack of awareness on its importance. After all, a locked garage door seems pretty secure at keeping intruders out, doesn’t it? The fact remains, if you come home to an open garage door and the door leading into the home itself is unlocked, your property is now vulnerable.
Nosy neighbors, vagrants, homeless people and burglars are now free to enter your home, and do as they please. This can all be avoided by learning to simply lock this interior door whenever you are away or during the night when you are home. Repeated acts turn into habits, so start locking your interior garage door and make your Newnan, GA home a little safer in the process.
Your remote’s battery
If your garage door is opening or closing on its own, be sure to check the status of your remote’s battery. A weak battery can send out random signals from your remote and these can not only affect your garage door but also your neighbor’s too. Do you have a home battery tester? If so, use it and if not, you can take your batteries to a local Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart or Best Buy and they will be happy to test them for you there. Bear in mind that they hope to sell you new ones if needed, but you are not in any way obligated to do so.
Old remotes
Older remotes will have fewer frequencies that can be programmed into them. Chances are that your development was built around the same time as your home so your neighbors will be using older remotes, too. Fewer programmable remote codes allow for greater chances that one of your neighbors will be using the same frequency once in a while. If your home is 20 years old or older and your garage door is opening or closing on its own, change your frequency and see if this erratic door behavior doesn’t stop.
Your transmitter
Another problem that may be causing your garage door to unexpectedly move up or down is your transmitter; it might need to be reset. Don’t worry – this is not hard to do. Find the learn button on your remote. Press down on this and hold it for a few seconds. In a little while the indicator lights will begin blinking. While they are doing this, press the learn button once again and this resets the transmitter. If you need help with this, you can check your owner’s manual or you can try calling the toll free number to your manufacturer. If you don’t have a manual you can almost always find a copy online by searching for the manufacturer’s name with the added words “owner’s manuals.”
Call a pro!
Don’t forget – you can always rely on the pros for help! Many Newnan, GA garage door shops will be able to help you with your garage door opener settings. Simply call and schedule assistance with your favorite full service, residential garage door firm and start enjoying regular and safe remote workings once again!