Remote & Safety Sensor Programming

Safety sensors: the number one cause of a door that will not close

Look at the bottom of your door frame, about six inches off the floor, on both sides. You will see two small units facing each other. One sends an invisible beam, the other receives it. If anything breaks that beam while the door is closing, the door reverses. That is the law, and it is a good law — it is what stops a door closing on a child or a pet.

The problem is that these sensors are at floor height in a room full of bikes, bins, boxes and snow shovels.

Why the beam gets broken

• Something is in the way. A bin, a bike wheel, a bag leaning against the wall.
• A sensor got bumped out of alignment. Very easily done.
• Dirty lenses. Dust, cobwebs or road salt film.
• Bright sunlight shining directly into the receiving sensor at certain times of day.
• Loose or damaged wiring along the wall, often nicked by a lawnmower or a stored item.
• A failed sensor. Less common, but it happens.

What you can check yourself

• Clear anything sitting near either sensor.
• Wipe both lenses with a soft dry cloth.
• Look at the little indicator lights. Both should be on and steady — a flickering or off light means they are not lined up.
• Gently straighten a sensor so it points directly at its partner.

If the lights stay steady and the door still reverses, the fault is elsewhere — wiring, the opener’s logic board, or the door’s travel settings. That is where we come in.

Remotes and keypads

Remote not working? Try this order

1. Change the battery. This solves most cases, and cold weather kills batteries fast.
2. Test at close range. If it works standing next to the opener but not from the driveway, it is a signal or antenna issue.
3. Check the wall button works. If that works and the remote does not, the fault is in the remote or the receiver, not the door.
4. Try re-programming. Most openers have a Learn button on the motor unit.

What we handle

• Programming new and replacement remotes.
• Setting up wireless keypads on the outside of the garage.
• Programming the buttons built into your car.
• Replacing failed receivers and antennas.
• Connecting Wi-Fi openers to the app, and sorting out signal problems.
• Clearing all old remotes from the opener’s memory.

Two security points worth knowing

Clear the memory when you move in

If you have just bought the house, the previous owners’ remotes may still work on your door. Clearing the opener’s memory and re-programming only your own remotes takes a few minutes. Everyone should do this and almost nobody does.

Old openers use codes that can be copied

Openers from the 1990s and earlier often use a single fixed code. Modern ones change the code every time you press the button, so it cannot be recorded and reused. If your opener is that old, this is a real reason to upgrade.