Garage door remote not working? Try these checks

Start with the wall button

If your garage has a wall button, press it first. It tells you where to look.

• The door moves. The opener, which is the motor unit that moves the door, is working. The fault is in the remote, its signal or a setting. Carry on with the checks below.
• The door does not move. The problem is bigger than the remote. Go to garage door won't open instead.

Six checks, in order

1. Change the battery. This is the first check for any dead remote, and AGG Doors finds it is the fix most of the time. Many remotes take a CR2032, which is a 3 volt coin battery. Open your remote and read the type printed on the old battery before you buy a new one. Fit the new battery facing the same way as the old one.
2. Try again from close to the door. If the remote works from a few steps away but not from the street, the signal is getting through and the range is short. Between them, the ATA GDO-11 and Merlin MR855 manuals list what changes a remote's range: temperature, outside interference and where the remote sits in the car. A metal door, foil-backed insulation or metal cladding can shorten it as well.
3. Look at the opener's aerial. The aerial is the wire on the opener that picks up the remote's signal. Opener makers say it should hang fully down. Check that it has not been tucked away or tied up.
4. Check for vacation mode. The manuals for the ATA GDO-11 and the B&D Controll-A-Door Diamond PD both describe a vacation mode. A remote can be set to switch off the opener's receiver, which is the part that listens for remotes. Every remote then stops working until the mode is reset. Your opener's manual shows how. AGG Doors keeps a library of garage door opener manuals.
5. Re-code the remote. An opener keeps a list of the remotes it will obey. Coding is how a remote gets onto that list. If a new battery did not help, coding the remote to the opener again is the next step. The steps are different for each model, so follow the ones for yours on AGG Doors' coding instructions page.
6. Test every remote you own. If one remote fails and the others work, the problem sits with that one remote. If none of them work, go back to check 4. A receiver fault is also possible, and that is a job for a technician.

Remote only works sometimes?

For a remote that works on some presses and not on others, AGG Doors lists five possible causes:

• a weak battery
• radio interference
• a fault in the remote itself
• a fault in the opener's receiver
• a problem with the aerial on the motor

The battery and the aerial are the two you can check yourself. If the remote is still patchy after both, book a visit.

Door opening by itself?

Merlin's manual for its MR855 roller door opener gives owners two things to try. First, find every remote and make sure no button is stuck down or being pressed. Second, clear the opener's memory and code all your remotes back in.

If the door still opens on its own after that, AGG Doors says the cause can be a faulty remote, water in the motor, a faulty control board, radio interference, or wiring or add-ons that were connected wrongly. Book a visit so the opener can be checked.

How rolling code remotes work

A rolling code remote, also called a hopping code remote, sends a new code every time you press the button. The TrioCode 128 system on the ATA GDO-11 draws from over 100 billion codes. B&D's Tri-Tran system, used on the Controll-A-Door Diamond PD, draws from over 4.29 billion and sends on three frequencies. Both work at around 433 MHz.

Just moved into a Rowville home? Reset the remotes

At the 2021 Census about 15% of Rowville homes were rented and 81% were owned. Either way, the remotes you were handed may not be the only ones that open your door.

Merlin's advice for anyone moving in is simple. Wipe the opener's memory, then code your own remotes back in. A remote kept by a former owner or tenant will then stop working. The ATA GDO-11 manual, for one, has a section on erasing stored codes.

The steps differ by model, so use the manual or coding instructions linked in checks 4 and 5.

Keep the remote out of the car

Victoria Police advises taking garage remotes out of your vehicle whenever it is parked, even inside a locked garage. It also says to lock the inside door between the garage and the house, because offenders have used garage doors as a way in.

Keep remotes out of children's reach too. Door and opener makers say children should not play with remotes or wall buttons.

New and extra remotes

AGG Doors stocks remotes for most brands at its warehouse at 10 Dallas Ct, Hallam. You can buy one over the counter or through its online shop, and remotes can be posted. Have the brand and model of your opener ready. An extra remote can usually be coded in if it is the same brand and frequency as the opener.

AGG Doors also fits keypads and wall buttons.

When to book a visit

Call us if any of these apply:

• none of your remotes work after the six checks
• the remote is still patchy with a new battery
• the door opens by itself after you have cleared and re-coded the remotes

The call-out to a Rowville address is $249 including GST, and that covers the technician's labour on site. Any part is priced first, and you decide before it is fitted. Most opener repairs are done within an hour. The repair cost guide lists the other prices AGG Doors publishes.

Standard bookings are usually available within one to two business days. Call 03 8789 9397 or send a quote request, and tell us the opener's brand and model.

Remote questions