6 Common Issues & Fixes For a Garage Door Remote Control That Doesn't Work

Many things can cause your garage door remote to stop functioning, and this can be a real setback if you are in a hurry to go to your job or get inside your house, especially when that puts us in an ordeal regarding our schedule. There are times when you can address the situation if your garage door remote is not working, but you need to fully understand the issue at hand and the solution to it. That’s why we want you to dive into this post to comprehend how you can solve the most common problems that can cause a malfunction in your garage door remote.

What to Do If the Garage Door Remote Is Not Working?

As we mentioned before, you can solve a damaged garage door remote situation yourself without calling professionals every time your garage door doesn’t open. However, to solve the problem you need to identify it, understand it, and then choose the correct solution to apply. Taking that into account, here is a list of the six reasons why your garage door remote is not working and how to solve them:

1. The Batteries Are Dead

Consider yourself lucky if this is the reason why your garage door remote opener is not working because that means they aren’t necessarily broken or damaged in any way; in these cases, you don’t need to replace them. The signal transmitter (remote opener) and the receiver (garage door opening machine) need enough energy to work as they should, so if one of them is lacking energy, the whole process goes down.

To determine if this is what’s causing the problem, you can try to manually open the garage door by pressing the button in the receiver directly. If the garage door opens automatically, your batteries are likely dead.

Solution

This is an easy fix since you just have to look for new batteries and change the old ones for the new ones. Garage door remote batteries last approximately two years, but that may vary depending on the quality of the batteries and how often you use the remote opener.

2. The Signal Is Disrupted

If you already checked your batteries and confirmed they are still functioning, the problem may be a signal disruption in the connection between the remote opener and the opening machine. Many things can produce a disruption, but the most common causes are that you are too far away from the garage door, or there is something directly blocking the antenna.

Solution

The first thing you should do when this happens is stepping closer to the garage door and trying again. Range issues are common with garage door remotes, so if it doesn’t work the first time, keep trying for a few seconds. You can also check the antenna to see if there is debris blocking the signal. However, if the antenna is damaged or broken, you should call a professional to repair it.

3.The Lock Button Is On

Another problem that is easy to fix can be attributed to the wall mount control panel lock button. Anyone can accidentally press the lock button and make it so it seems as the remote doesn’t work.

Solution

Press the lock button on the wall mount control panel to disengage it. Test your remote after making sure that the door isn’t locked.

4. The Remote Needs Reprogramming

This situation is related to signal disruptions that can cause your remote to stop working. If your remote opener fell or had a sudden signal disruption, it can lose its connection to the opening machine, so you need to reprogram it to associate them again.

Solution

To reprogram the remote opener, do the following:

• Hold the learn button for about a second (the button can have a different name like “program”)

• A red light is going to turn on and stay for about 30 seconds.

• Hold the open button on the remote until the red light blinks.

• Test your remote to see if it works now.

5. The Garage Opener Is Not Installed Properly

Improper installations are a common reason for remotes not working properly. Whether you installed your chain drive or belt drive garage door opener yourself or had someone else do it, keep in mind that even the slightest mistake can produce this kind of problem in the future.

If your garage door remote is not working and you don’t know why you should check your garage door to verify that every component and piece is working properly (springs & rollers for example). If you weren’t the one who installed your garage opener, ask the one who did it for you.

Solution

Installation issues can vary depending on the circumstances and the garage door’s model, so the best thing to do in this situation is to ask a professional to examine your door properly and tell you what is provoking the malfunction.

6. GFI Is Damaged

The GFI is the Ground Fault Interpreter, and its job is to protect you from electricity malfunctions that could be harmful to you or the people close to you. If the GFI is damaged or broken, it could activate itself automatically and stop the garage door remote from functioning.

Solution

You can go to the garage door remote wall outlet and press the button that resets the GFI to solve the issue. However, if that doesn’t work or you notice that something is damaged, you should ask a professional to advise you on which hardware repairs you should make.
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