Mighty Mule Mm9545m: Best Garage Door Opener For Features
It’s hard to find a feature that the Mighty Mule MM9545M is missing. It’s a belt drive model, which makes it nice and quiet, and like most other garage door openers it has two remotes, sensors, wall panels and Wi-Fi but it also features a built-in garage light.
Having a built-in light is a major bonus. This model uses LED too, which means the light will last much longer before you need to think about replacing a bulb.
The MM9545M comes with its own app, called that Mighty Mule Smart Control App. Once downloaded this enables you to open and close your garage door with ease from your phone.
Overall this is a great garage door opener, and there are scores of positive user reviews to be found online. It’s slightly more expensive than the Chamberlain B970, but cheaper than the B1381, which is the Chamberlain model with an LED light, so it’s good value.
- Read the review: Mighty Mule MM9545M
A Word About Chamberlain Group Openers With Yellow Learn Buttons
In combing through the opener compatibility information for each of these garage door controllers, I discovered a consistent exception involving garage door openers made by the Chamberlain Group with a yellow learn button. Three of the five controllers I evaluatedincluding the Chamberlain MyQ modeldont work with these openers, which were made by the Chamberlain Group and sold under the Chamberlain, LiftMaster, and Craftsman brands in the U.S. between 2010 and 2021.
The only controllers that will work with these openers are the Meross MSG100 and the Tailwind IQ3 model , which can be purchased with special adapters for these openers. Tailwind includes them at no additional cost.
I reached out to the Chamberlain Group to learn more about this odd group of openers, and a spokesperson told me they use photoelectric sensors with an energy conservation feature where the sensor lights would shut off after the garage door had been closed for some time. The feature has since been removed from all Chamberlain, LiftMaster, and Craftsman openers.
The bottom line: Check first to determine whether the controller you buy is compatible with your garage door opener. To help you do so, Ive included a link to the compatibility checker provided by each brand in their write-ups below.
Editors Choice: Meross MSG100 Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener
Most Compatible: Tailwind IQ3 Smart Automatic Garage Controller Pro
Easiest to Set Up: Chamberlain MyQ-G0401-ES Smart Garage Control
How To Choose The Best Smart Garage Door Opener For You
If you’re don’t have one already, you can purchase a garage door opener that already has smart home compatibility built in. However, if you have an older garage door opener, you can make it “smart” by purchasing a kit that will let you connect it to the Internet, thereby allowing you to control it remotely using your smartphone.
Will it work with my garage door opener?
Before you buy a smart garage door opener, you should make sure it will work with your existing garage door. Usually, you can find out which doors an opener is compatible with on the manufacturer’s site. However, the vast majority of smart garage door openers will work with most garage door openers made after 1993.
How many garage doors do you want to control?
Some smart garage door openers can only control one garage door, while others are able to control two or three garage doors. Be sure to check the product to make sure it will control what you need it to.
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth?
The best smart garage door openers have Wi-Fi, while others use Bluetooth to connect to your phone. We recommend sticking with Wi-Fi models, as they’ll allow you to remotely monitor your garage door Bluetooth models will work only when you’re within about 20 feet of the garage.
Smart home compatibility
Maybe just buy a new garage door opener
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Flaws But Not Dealbreakers
If your door is left open, the Tailwind iQ3 will notify you only twice. And it wont repeatedly notify you, as most other controllers will. This is both a blessing and a drawback, depending on how you feel about notifications. But it does mean you could miss a notification and end up leaving your door wide open. An effective workaround is to set the door to close automatically.
Tailwinds notifications are not as customizable as those from competing controllers. For example, you cant set a specific notification if the door is opened between, say, 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on a Thursday. This may be a non-issue for many people, but wed like to see it as an option.
Best Buy Customers Often Prefer The Following Products When Searching For Chamberlain Garage Door Openers
Garage door openers are the unsung heroes of the home, keeping us safe and secure behind our garage doors day after day. They’re also a source of frustration for many homeownerstheir remotes are finicky, they jam, or they don’t work at all. For those who have had enough, it’s time to upgrade to a newer model. Here are some of the best garage door openers on the market today.
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Can Siri Or Alexa Open The Garage Door
Many smart garage door openers are compatible with other smart home devices, such as Amazon Echo or your smartphone. By integrating your smart garage door opener with compatible devices, you could open the door for guests while sticking a roast in the oven by saying “Alexa, open the garage door,” or even close the garage door behind you while your hands are full of groceries with a simple “Siri, close the garage door.”
Best Overall: Genie Stealthdrive Connect
The Genie StealthDrive Connect is a quiet garage door opener with a wide array of features. Its built-in Aladdin Connect technology connects via Bluetooth® with both Google Home and Alexa so you can check on your doors status from your smartphone.
In emergency situations, the Genie StealthDrive Connect has a built-in backup battery that allows up to 50 cycles after a power outage. This opener also comes with two pre-programmed three-button remotes, a wireless PIN keypad, and a multi-function wall control console for enhanced accessibility and security.
The StealthDrive app will alert users when their garage door is left open, so this is a good option for those who want that extra layer of security.
| Overall Rating |
|---|
- Drive type: Steel belt drive
- Aladdin Connect app pairs with Alexa and Google Home
- Five-piece rail system
- Battery backup with up to 50 cycles
- Includes pre-programmed remotes
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Smart Garage Door Openers 101
If you already own a motorized garage opener, even one with a belt drive opener or a chain drive, you can use one of the easy add-on accessories above for smart garage door control. If you’re in the market for a whole new opener mechanism and you want a smart device, you can find smart opener and door sensor options from makers such as Chamberlain, LiftMaster and Ryobi.
Smart garage door controllers come in a few variations. In general, a control attaches to your existing opener with a double-sided adhesive strip. In most cases, you’ll need to attach two small wires to the open and close command nodes on your existing garage door opener.
Smart garage kits also typically include some type of sensor to attach to your garage door. This sensor detects and transmits your garage door status, so the control accurately knows whether the door is open, closed or somewhere in between, and with the garage door opener app, can send you a push notification if your garage is open when it shouldn’t be. It also usually serves as a safety sensor.
The ability to connect to a Wi-Fi signal is key to ensuring your new smart garage door and remote control work the way you want them to. On the smart side, an add-on controller connects to your Wi-Fi network, which is easy enough. You’ll need a strong 2.4GHz internet connection that reaches your garage. Typically, a corresponding app will walk you through adding your device to the network, as well as the general installation.
How Our Picks Compare
Can users opt out of data sharing?
| Tailwind: Yes, by not using some features that rely on location-tracking. |
| Chamberlain / MyQ: Users can unlink accounts with third-party partners or request to opt out of communications with MyQ at any time. |
| Remsol / iSmartGate: No data is shared with third parties. The only data collected is user IP address which is shared with Remsol only for a period of 7 days. |
What data is shared? And are customers notified?
| Tailwind: No data is shared. |
| Chamberlain / MyQ: We do not provide any customer data to any third-party data brokers or similar. If a user links an account to a partner service, data may be shared to deliver the service. |
| Remsol / iSmartGate: No data is shared. |
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Chamberlain Myq Smart Garage Hub
Its still a no-brainer: Everything we said about the Chamberlain model MYQ-G0301 myQ Smart Garage Door Hub is now true of the Chamberlain model MYQ-G0401: Its the easiest smart garage door controller to set up, the most functional controller on the market, and, its the least expensive on the marketby a wide margin. That said, theres little reason to upgrade from the previous model.
The all-wireless system means you dont have to tinker with running new wiring to your garage door opener, and a single Hub can control two doors . The app is simple to configure and use, and the system supports a small but growing number of smart home ecosystems, including HomeKit. The myQ isnt compatible with every opener, but if it works with yourscheck online before you buyits definitively the one to get.
How I Evaluated The Smart Garage Door Opener Controllers
As CRs smart-home reporter, Im no stranger to working with connected devices. I live with them, too. In my own home, Ive installed about 70 smart home devicesPhilips Hue smart lightbulbs, Samsung water leak detectors, and an LG smart refrigerator, to name a few. I also own a Genie smart garage door opener , and Ive previously evaluated the Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Control as part of my .
To evaluate the smart garage door controllers for this story, I focused heavily on the installation and setup of each device because I know that can make or break the whole experience. All but the Chamberlain controller had to be wired into my garage door opener, and a few of them also had hardwired door sensors, meaning you have to run a wire along the ceiling and walls from the controller to the door.
If the controllers supported digital assistants and smart home ecosystems I considered how easy they were to integrate with each platform and how well each integration worked. For example, in my evaluation, I found that Google Home, like Amazon Alexa, requires you to set a PIN code that you tell the assistant to open your garage door. Amazon makes this easy to do in the Alexa app, but Google makes you set it in the controllers app, and you have to dig through that apps settings to find it.
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Why You Should Trust Us
Ive spent the past four years testing smart garage-door opener controllers and have installed more than a dozen of them in four different garages. Ive been a journalist for 20 years, and I cover smart-home technology for Dwell Magazine, BBC Science Focus, and The Ambient. For Wirecutter, I have spent many, many hours over six years testing dozens of smart-home gadgets, including smart smoke alarms, smart thermostats, smart-home sensors, and smart sprinkler controllers.
Best Smart Garage Door Opener: Chamberlain B970
Smart devices make it easier to monitor and control your devices, and the Chamberlain B970 does just that. It can pair to a smartphone or tablet using the myQ App and WiFi connection so a garage doors status can be monitored from anywhere via frequent notifications. The app also provides the power status of the backup battery so it can always be ready for emergencies.
The Chamberlains ultra-quiet belt drive has a soft start-up to reduce excess noise. Thanks to its Max Lift Power System, this opener has extreme lifting capabilities for a smooth extension even in harsh weather conditions.
We recommend the Chamberlain B970 garage door opener for tech-savvy individuals who appreciate a door that doesnt squeak. While it may be prone to minor bugs, the Chamberlains overall performance is tough to beat.
| Overall Rating |
|---|
- Drive type: Steel belt drive
- Built-in myQ technology
- Triband technology remote openers with 1,500.0-ft. range
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Belt Drive Or Chain Drive
Chain drive garage doors use metal chains and gears to move the trolley up and down to open or shut the garage door. Though a little noisy, they handle heavier weights and are less expensive.
With belt drives, the trolley is moved up and down using a rubber belt, which is much quieter than the chain driver. They require less maintenance compared to chain-driven doors whose metal-on-metal friction can be pesky. But a belt drive will have trouble lifting heavy garage doors like 2- or 3-car doors or heavy wooden doors.
Screw-drive garage doors
Here, a threaded steel rod operates the trolley to move the door up and down. Although quiet and durable, they cant handle heavyweights like the chain-driven garage door openers.
Direct-drive opener
Here, the whole unit moves to lift the door. They are the quietest and least complex mechanisms available, but also the most expensive
How To Program A Garage Door Opener
Garage door openers have settings to adjust the maximum opening height. These are typically found on the opener housing. Programming to sync with handheld remotes and built-in car remotes will vary by manufacturer. It usually involves a sequence of pressing and holding the desired button to clear any codes and store the new one. Additional steps to connect the opener to your home Wi-Fi network and a corresponding smartphone app are usually completed in a few minutes.
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Why Trust The Spruce
This article was written and researched by Camryn Rabideau, who is a freelance writer and product tester for The Spruce. She considered a wide range of garage door openers, including models from top-name brands and smaller manufacturers, and evaluated each pick for power, convenience, and versatility. All of the garage door openers included have at least 0.5-horsepower motors and can be used on standard 7-foot garage doors. Emma Phelps, an updates writer for The Spruce, also assisted with this article by reaching out to Michelle Nichols, a Merchant at The Home Depot, who provided purchasing insight and helpful resources for garage door opener installation.
Security Privacy And Smart Garage
Wirecutter takes security and privacy issues seriously. And to help you understand which data the companies youre bringing into your garage may be taking out with them, weve compiled this table to answer some of the most common questions people have.
We reached out to the companies that produce our top picks and asked them to respond to an extensive questionnaire, to confirm issues that we think should be of primary concern for any potential buyer. Here are the results we think you should consider before making a purchase.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Garage Door Opener Installation Services
The cost to install a garage door opener varies according to a number of factors. Youâll need to factor in the cost of the garage door opener itself, along with the cost of the installation process. There is a huge variation in the total cost for installing an automatic garage door opener. Prices vary according to the brand, model, power, and type of garage door and garage door opener in question. Additionally, removal of the old garage door opener is not always included in the installation cost. You might also want to talk to the installation pro about removing the old opener before they start the job.
It makes sense to invest in hiring a contractor to perform your garage door opener installation. In most cases a pro will have the right tools and know how to get the opener installed much more quickly than the average homeowner. After the installation, ask the door opener specialist how to lubricate the opener and how to maintain it going forward.
One important factor to consider when estimating how long it will take to install a garage door opener is whether youâve got the right electrical outlet in the ceiling of your garage. Most garage door openers need to be grounded within a couple feet of the motor unit. You cannot use an extension cord to connect to the outlet. Be sure to get a detailed, written estimate for the time and elements involved in your garage door opener installation.
How We Chose Which Smart Garage Door Opener Controllers To Evaluate
There are many garage door controllers on the market, ranging in price from about $30 to well over $100. We started by including the controllers made by the two biggest garage door opener brands on the market: Chamberlain and Genie . We then included a few upstarts and budget-focused brands: Meross, Tailwind, and Wyze. The Wyze model in particular stood out to us as one of the first controllers to also include a camera. That means you can visually check to see whether your garage door is closed from anywhere.
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