Canyon Garage Doors & Repair Santa Clarita, CA ― We all know the feeling of reaching into your purse or glove compartment for your garage remote only to find it is not where you left it. You begin to search frantically… Where could it be? Was it stolen? Panic ensues…
Currently, in the US, stealing garage door opener remotes is one of the most popular methods for burglars to enter homes illegally. Getting ahold of your remote is not a difficult job for burglars. They roam shopping center parking lots often looking for cars with unlocked doors. Homeowners have the habit of clipping their remotes to their visor. Then, once finding the remote, it is not hard to locate your car’s registration for your home address. This is most commonly located in your glove compartment or center console. And just like that – they have access to your home. Moving quickly, they can get into your home and raid it all before you finish trying on clothes!
“There has got to be a way to prevent this….” Fortunately for you, there are multiple preventative measures you can take to avoid this. Read on to learn more.
Disable your remote
Based on the brand of your door opener, there is either a green, red, orange, yellow or purple LEARN or SMART Button (pictured) located on the motor housing. Hold this down for a few seconds to deprogram all remotes and keypads associated with the opener. This will prevent anyone who finds your remote from using it to access your home.
Next, you’ll have to reprogram all remotes and keypads by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Follow the procedures in your opener’s maintenance manual. There are also videos to help you like the one below.
(*Note that unplugging your garage opener will not necessarily clear the settings. Most garage opener use store codes using the battery so that you don’t have to reprogram in the case of a power outage.)
But I Don’t Want to Reprogram My Remote!
If reprogramming your remote is not something you want to do, you can temporarily deactivate your opener’s signal. If there is a control panel installed near the home’s access door, you can use the LOCK button. Pressing this button disables all signals from each remote control and exterior keypad. However, you are still able to open and close your door on this control panel.
Doorbell Opener
I don’t have a control panel
Manual Release
If you don’t have a control panel, but rather a door-bell style wall control, then your safest bet is to unplug the door opener from the wall outlet and keep it unplugged until you are able to locate your remote control.
To open/close your door, pull on the emergency release cord to detach the overhead trolley and operate your door manually.