GarageMate
After buying a Jeep Wrangler, I started to wonder if there was a way to leave my garage door opener remote at home and simply open the garage door with my iPhone (also works with Android) and the answer is YES!
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
From a safety perspective, it is kind of crazy that most of us leave a key to our home clipped to the visor in our vehicles most of the time. I wasn't too worried about it until I thought about running my vehicle topless and then having to carry around the remote with me all the time. However, even when you take security out of the situation, you also have batteries that need replacing to deal with on occasion and when you take your car in for service, you end up having to carry the opener to your "rental" or with your on a shuttle. My old vehicle allowed me to program a remote inside the mirror to open the garage door, but when I took it in for service, I still had to carry around the garage door remote. Personally, I would rather just have three things to carry most of the time: my phone, keys, and wallet. I start running out of pockets when I have to carry more.
Well, the GarageMate ($49.95 when I wrote this review) was the solution to my problem!
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
From a safety perspective, it is kind of crazy that most of us leave a key to our home clipped to the visor in our vehicles most of the time. I wasn't too worried about it until I thought about running my vehicle topless and then having to carry around the remote with me all the time. However, even when you take security out of the situation, you also have batteries that need replacing to deal with on occasion and when you take your car in for service, you end up having to carry the opener to your "rental" or with your on a shuttle. My old vehicle allowed me to program a remote inside the mirror to open the garage door, but when I took it in for service, I still had to carry around the garage door remote. Personally, I would rather just have three things to carry most of the time: my phone, keys, and wallet. I start running out of pockets when I have to carry more.
Well, the GarageMate ($49.95 when I wrote this review) was the solution to my problem!
Installation
Honestly, I don't know how they could make it easier. You simply download the GarageMate app, plug the GarageMate into the same outlet you have for your Garage Door Opener, plug two wires into the first two holes your opener (see photo below) then push the blue button to pair the GarageMate with your phone (I have an iPhone, but they also have an Android app). You type in the supplied password into the app and you are all set.
I simply pushed the two wires into the first two holes, but if you have issues, you can pop open the hole with a flathead screwdriver. It is as easy as connecting speakers to speaker cable.
How does it work?
The app has a couple options. You can open the garage door by opening the app and hitting the button that looks like a garage:
Or you can set it up to open automatically ("Auto-click):
I have mine setup with "Auto-click". I believe you have to be more careful with this mode since opening the app will automatically send the signal to open or close the garage. When I took the screenshot for this article, I was in my office in the house and the garage door opened when I launched the app. Luckily, I have an Arlo camera in the garage that sent me a notification that it sensed motion or I might not have realized that my door was open.
The main upside to this mode is that you can simply tell Siri (on the iPhone) to "Open GarageMate" and it will open the app and send the signal to open the door. It is hands free (if your phone is setup for hands free "Hey Siri"). Once the app is open, you can then just push the button to put the door back down.
The range is pretty good, but it uses Bluetooth 4, so you can't shut the garage away form home if you discover that it is open. Personally, I prefer Bluetooth for this application. I don't want to lose the ability to control my garage door because the internet is down. Also, wifi carries more security risk. GarageMate uses Bluetooth 4, so it has decent range.
The main upside to this mode is that you can simply tell Siri (on the iPhone) to "Open GarageMate" and it will open the app and send the signal to open the door. It is hands free (if your phone is setup for hands free "Hey Siri"). Once the app is open, you can then just push the button to put the door back down.
The range is pretty good, but it uses Bluetooth 4, so you can't shut the garage away form home if you discover that it is open. Personally, I prefer Bluetooth for this application. I don't want to lose the ability to control my garage door because the internet is down. Also, wifi carries more security risk. GarageMate uses Bluetooth 4, so it has decent range.
How well does it work?
It works great, for the most part. The only issue I have run into is that "Auto-click" can be a bit flakey if you are using Bluetooth Audio to listen to music in the car. That being said, it will still open the app and you can hit the button if "Auto-click" fails. I keep my iPhone on a mount in my vehicle, so I can access it easily if I need to manually hit the button. Not a big deal unless you keep your phone in a briefcase or something.
The Wrap Up
While I am the only one using the app in this household, it will allow you to setup 8 users. It has vacation modes, password protection, and you can setup more than one garage. There are some garage door openers that are not compatible, so make sure you review their notes on that subject before ordering.
For my purposes, the GarageMate is a perfect solution. It requires no batteries, it is easy to setup, and it works great. I highly recommend it for those that would prefer using their phones to open their garage doors.
For my purposes, the GarageMate is a perfect solution. It requires no batteries, it is easy to setup, and it works great. I highly recommend it for those that would prefer using their phones to open their garage doors.
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