MyQ smart garage door opener review: Quiet and fun to use

The garage responds to the app as quickly as it responds to a regular button press, with one caveat: Choosing to close the garage using the app will cause the garage to flash lights and beep a few times before closing the garage. let the car start to close and will remain that way. beeps and flashes until closing is complete. That’s for safety reasons, because the garage doesn’t know if anyone else is in the garage when you close the door or if you’re nearby to ensure the garage’s walkways are clear of people entering or exiting.

Sadly the only way to solve this problem is to not use the app. You can install it MyQ Garage Smart Video Keyboard ($99) outside your garage to close it without getting any beeps and get the same experience as a video doorbell and smart lock but for your garage. I tested one and it worked well—the lock code was easy to set up and you can close the garage without any beeps, plus you get alerts like security cameras on the outside of the garage, but I had a mixed experience using the call button. You also have to drill it into the garage or the outside of your house (MyQ says it’s too heavy to use adhesive strips), which my HOA unfortunately forbade me from doing. Still, it’s a good price for a combination lock and an external video feed for your garage, if you’re allowed to install it.

Photo: Nena Farrell

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The default MyQ owner (that is, whoever first set up MyQ in your home) also gets a series of notifications every time the garage door is opened and closed, whether through the app or through your standard garage door buttons. Conversely, when you’re an added user, you don’t get any notifications by default. Either party can go into the app, select the gear icon on the garage door (or other MyQ product in question), and edit the notifications they receive for that particular product.

I set both my phone and my husband’s phone to get notifications if our garage is open for more than 10 minutes and another notification for me if it’s open for an hour. You can add more notifications and you can also set it to work with Amazon Key to have it delivered right to your garage (and get notified about it too). I haven’t been able to convince my husband to use it yet, but the camera that came with my model made me feel comfortable trying it out.

Speaking of videos, MyQ has it hosting subscription package for its video products (the brand also has video garage door openers, video keypads and a standalone camera). The first package starts at $20 a year and goes up to $100 a year, depending on the package you choose, you’ll get additional features like face, person and motion detection, zone detection, and a storage period of seven or 30 days.