MyQ Opened my Garage in the Middle of the Night

[u/Mustang471]

I've used the MyQ app for a few years now and never had a problem. I have a rule setup in the app to close my garage door at midnight if it was left open. Nice feature if you accidentally leave it open, or so I thought. When I went to bed last night, I checked to make sure the garage was closed and it was. At midnight, my phone received an alert, "At 00:00 on Aug 24, the schedule: close at midnight, was triggered." However, it didn't close the garage, it opened it. I double checked my security camera footage and that's exactly what happened. Anyone ever seen this? I feel like this is a huge issue.

[u/amazinghl]

When MyQ failed me twice to open my garage, I stopped using it. I would suggest you do the same.

[u/6SpeedBlues]

MyQ is junk. When they closed off the API, I found other options and NEVER looked back

[u/ChiefBroady → u/6SpeedBlues]

Same. Now I use Aladdin Genie and it works fine.

[u/Yes_Im_From_Maine → u/6SpeedBlues]

This is the only answer anyone on this post needs to see. I personally went with an Apple HomeKit meross opener and works amazingly well. My original MyQ is now collecting dust. Fuck them.

[u/Neat_Surprise_6403 → u/Yes_Im_From_Maine]

Have never had a failed open or close with Meross and Homekit.

[u/gedeyenite40 → u/Yes_Im_From_Maine]

This.

[u/mntgoat → u/6SpeedBlues]

What's the option you went with?

[u/AegisToast → u/mntgoat]

RATGDO! It’s cheap, pretty straightforward to install, and gives way better control than MyQ ever did

[u/talegabrian → u/AegisToast]

Another RATGDO recommendation. It was developed specifically to address the myq api change issue

[u/danman226 → u/AegisToast]

Ratgdo is the way to go. Once you have it set up, block the MyQ openers from access to your network also.

[u/6SpeedBlues → u/mntgoat]

Predominantly, I realized that automating the control of the door in any fashion presented a massive security risk that outweighed any sort of benefit I might find from adding controllability to the door itself. There are simply too many ways that something can go wrong and cause the door to open when you don't want it to no matter what the control source might be.

What I ended up doing instead was moving to using a tilt sensor on the door to be able to know its state and use that as a trigger to do things like turn the lights on inside the garage when the door opened and turn them off after it closed.

I have a Zooz relay that I bought with the intention of connecting it to my wall controller (a little soldering doesn't concern me) but have simply not found that I actually need to add the control. My truck and the wife's car have the Homelink integration that is easily programmed to control the door, and I hid a very small remote inside my car (tucked under the steering column). These remotes are MORE than sufficient to operate the door and the tilt sensor lets me control other items and trigger other automations without needing direct control of the door in any fashion.

[u/Fluffy_Accountant_39 → u/6SpeedBlues]

Yep, I automate all kinds of things (some probably pure nonsense), but I won’t automate my garage door. I have automated a lock on the interior garage door, and that feels ok to do.

But if the outer garage door automation fails, it’s not only a security failure of the door - it’s also totally obvious to any passerby.

I love never touching light switches, or having a heated mat near my hot tub pre-warmed when it’s cold outside. But considering the security risk, I can handle the “hard work” 😁 of hitting the button on my car’s HomeLink mirror to open the garage door.

[u/rugg3d → u/mntgoat]

r/ratgdo

[u/fastautomation]

I briefly used the MyQ system that came with my Chamberlain opener, but replaced it with the Meross opener control for this reason. I have had zero issues with the Meross in 3 years.

I also have it close at midnight. Since I have mechanicals in my garage, I also have a routine set that closes the door after 15 minutes if the temperatures are below freezing.

[u/Ok-Awareness3794 → u/fastautomation]

Yes. And meross has a local option

[u/Yes_Im_From_Maine → u/Ok-Awareness3794]

Have no idea why MyQ closed off their API other than greed/money, but it’s been a boon for Meross. Love my Meross openers!

[u/fastautomation → u/fastautomation]

https://shop.meross.com/collections/smart-garage-door-opener/products/smart-wifi-garage-door-opener

[u/goober1223 → u/fastautomation]

The only problems I have had with Meross is not synchronizing accounts between phones. At this point only my wife or my phone can use it, but not both. But for only $30? It’s been an insane value.

[u/superbigscratch]

Sounds like it does not know the door is closed. There must be a switch or something which reports the status to the MyQ app and it is not doing it. So it thinks the door is open and sends the signal.

[u/Mustang471 → u/superbigscratch]

It does seem like it thought the door was open. I looked at the camera footage again. It beeps like it's going to close, I hear the opener kick in but the door doesn't move. There is a brief pause, less than 1 seconds. Then it tries again and the door opens.

[u/halberdierbowman → u/Mustang471]

Maybe the safety laser got knocked out of alignment? So the door tried to close, thought someone was standing in the doorway, and then aborted? I would check if they're aligned properly. I think they're easy to accidentally knock something into and misalign them. 

[u/HomeAutomationCowboy]

I’ve had this happen a couple of times before I solved my issue out. It turned out the door was NOT fully closed. It looked closed, but had a half inch or so of travel. Since the it hit hard on the auto close, it opened back up. I had to adjust the up /down travel to get it to solve the issue.

[u/enzothebaker87]

I personally have never had this happen but this could also be a hardware issue. I suggest cross-posting this in the GarageDoorService sub to see what those guys have dealt with.

[u/TehMulbnief]

Disable the WiFi and by a ratgdo. That’s what I did. MyQ is absolute trash.

[u/Squeebee007 → u/TehMulbnief]

Ratgdo FTW.

[u/sodomygogo]

Just going to drop a plug for ratgdo or konnected.  You need home assistant. But they’re great and they plug and play with most chamberlains 

[u/Emotional_Mammoth_65]

I had the same issue but it wasn't caused by MyQ - the Internet connection portion of the device.

I had the following device on my wall as the wall switch, the 888LM. It unfortunately had a bad design and would cause the false button press to go to the garage door opener.

I called the liftmaster, and they sent me a new replacement. It looks like they have completely redesigned the newest version and it is called the 889LM now - this has been updated even since I obtained my replacement

Here is the recall notice:

https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Chamberlain-Group-Recalls-LiftMaster-myQ-Garage-Door-Control-Panels-Due-to-Entrapment-Hazard-Recall-Alert

[u/MaxPanhammer]

I'm not familiar with MyQ interface but is it set to CLOSE the door if it's open, or TOGGLE the door if it's open?

It wouldn't explain why it thought it was open when it was actually closed, but would at least explain the opening.

[u/Mustang471 → u/MaxPanhammer]

It's a setting to specifically close when left open. I have it set to close at midnight just in case we forget to close it ourselves. It's helped me out once or twice before.

[u/MaxPanhammer → u/Mustang471]

Gocha. I wasn't sure if it was a more manual process. That's very disturbing that it opened

[u/undrwater → u/Mustang471]

When using the door manually, does it have both an "open" and "close" button? Most of the openers I've seen are a single button that toggle.

Your later response also makes it sound like it toggled open somehow.

[u/keenbluejeans]

Our my q used to constantly give us false open/close notifications, and a lot of issues closing from the app/trusting the app. Luckily for me our opener crapped out a few months back and we got a genie with built in smart features. Works much better

[u/brads2cool]

The deluxe wall station is way to much money and ways around it

[u/Consistent-Hat-8008]

My solution was to replace proprietary "smart" crap with non-proprietary "dumb" crap and handling the automation myself.

I now have a simple rule: if it doesn't have zigbee, zwave, or relay inputs, it's not getting bought.

[u/JayD1056]

The best suggestion I saw so far is to add a simple smart plug so that when you are away the garage door can’t screw up.

[u/The_Ashamed_Boys]

I have a brand new door installed a week ago and the installer was asking for wifi information and I told them I wasn't using it since I already had a ratgdo.

[u/Wuel]

I’d look at what model wall switches you have. As emotional mammoth mentioned there was a recall on 888LM switches. I had 2 of them and my garage door opened up on me for no reason while I was sitting at my work bench. Happened a couple times before I figured out the recall

[u/MadCybertist]

MyQ is so bad. Once they blocked outside API I just moved to Ratgdo and I couldn’t be happier. Took literally less than 5 min to install and I have full control and insight. Can even have it move up or down by a single %, fully, or anything in between. Have it voice activated too.

[u/metroidfan220]

This is honestly why I haven't enabled that type of automation. No way to tell the opener to only close the door, it's a toggle.

[u/kigmatzomat → u/metroidfan220]

That's why you install a sensor to know if the door is really closed or not.

[u/GiantSquid_ng]

Konected GDO Blaq

[u/dethandtaxes]

I installed RATGDO and never looked back.

[u/zombie_spaceman]

I have seen it do this when it got of sync with the actual state of the door. In my case it was a bad battery in the sensor that attaches to the garage door. Still, scared the crap out of me in the middle of the night.

[u/skidplate09]

I ditched MyQ a few years ago. It was very unreliable. I use Meross now and it has been light-years better.

[u/shadowjig]

None of this home automation stuff is foolproof. This is precisely why I don't automate anything related to gaining access to my house.

[u/Adam40Bikes]

Garage doors are inherently insecure and I setup the most basic aqara system for garage security after we had a break in. 

I connected a smart plug to the opener and taped a door sensor to a physical sliding garage door lock. Every night I lock the garage door and the automation turns power off to the opener. 

[u/BOFslime]

MyQ deleted my entire HomeKit home and automations when I was purging its awfulness from my network and removing my account. Apparently when you give it access it takes full ownership of your apple home despite having almost no functionality to do anything with it (needs homebridge to open the door via Home). I was awestruck.

[u/Mindless_Pandemic]

Could be someone in the area playing with hacking tools randomly picked up your system. Look up hack garage doors.

[u/brads2cool]

Change your wifi password

[u/Mustang471 → u/brads2cool]

Not worried about that. It was an automated system activity. I received an email confirming the same. If someone got on my network and opened the door, I wouldn't have received that notification.

[u/brads2cool → u/Mustang471]

Why would you not?

[u/brads2cool → u/brads2cool]

How long has it been since you changed your wifi password, and how difficult do you think it is?

[u/sowekac]

Wouldn't it be better to send remainder to close door instead of doing it automatically? More hassle but safer. You may forgot and got yourself closed from home. It may close on something or someone etc.

I got reminder set up, I check the camera to see if it's safe to close and only then I close the door.

[u/No-Dragonfly3330 → u/sowekac]

This assumes the garage door doesn’t have safety sensors, which have existed for about 40 years now.

[u/Mustang471 → u/sowekac]

The reminder does send after 2 hours. Sometimes we are asleep by the time it sends. With sports schedules, sometimes the kids don't get home until after 9pm. That means it's after 11pm when the reminder is sent. Maybe I move the reminder to 1 hour.