What was the primary good house product? One might argue it was the electrical storage door opener. The first such openers with a radio-based distant controls got here to market manner again in 1931, predating the primary TV distant by 20 years. Comfort and comfort had been the motivation behind all three technological advances. In the case of the storage door, individuals had been in search of a method to get out of their vehicles and into their houses whereas avoiding the climate. Given that historical past, it’s a surprise that it took so lengthy to carry IoT expertise to the most important door in the home.
Well, the excellent news is that it’s right here now. And the higher information is that almost all present storage door openers may be built-in with the remainder of your good house, significantly lowering the price of that comfort. What’s extra, these merchandise are quickly bettering in each simplicity and functionality. Buy one and also you’ll not solely be capable of open and shut the door from wherever—letting in friends, family members, or supply individuals—you’ll additionally know whether or not the door is open or closed in actual time.
Why you must belief us
TechHive’s writers and editors have been reviewing good house merchandise for many years, and so they draw on their deep and vast expertise to judge each new product that involves market. We set up the merchandise we evaluate in our personal houses to achieve real-world expertise as we consider how effectively they are often built-in into present programs in addition to how they carry out on their very own.
The greatest good storage door opener controllers
Best good storage door controller — Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Hub (mannequin MYQ-G0401)
Pros
- Price stays unbeatable
- Attractive styling matches in with the everyday storage décor
- Plenty of third-party compatibility
Cons
- Occasional hassle with disconnects
- Still no assist for a 3rd storage door (you will need to purchase a second controller)
It’s nonetheless a no brainer: Everything we mentioned concerning the Chamberlain mannequin MYQ-G0301 myQ Smart Garage Door Hub is now true of the Chamberlain mannequin MYQ-G0401: It’s the best good storage door controller to arrange, probably the most useful controller in the marketplace, and, it’s the least costly in the marketplace—by a large margin. That mentioned, there’s little motive to improve from the earlier mannequin. The myQ app is straightforward to configure and use, and the system helps a small however rising variety of good house ecosystems, together with HomeKit. While it isn’t suitable with each opener—check online before you buy—it’s definitively the one to get.
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Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Hub (model MYQ-G0401) review
Best good storage door controller, runner-up — Meross Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener (mannequin MSG100)
Pros
- Very cheap
- Solid efficiency throughout our testing
- Lots of additional options to make sure you don’t depart the door open
Cons
- Wired door sensor provides complexity
- Virtually no handholding throughout set up
Price When Reviewed:
$40
Best Prices Today:
$35.99
$50.98
Meross good house merchandise have left us with blended feelings. They’re all cheap, however worth is outlined by greater than a price ticket. The Meross Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener is on the higher finish of that scale. If Chamberlain’s product doesn’t suit your wants, this one is price your consideration. (Note: This system isn’t HomeKit suitable, however Meross presents a separate model that is. It wasn’t out there at press time, nevertheless, for us to judge.)
Read our full
Meross Smart Wi-Fi Garage Door Opener (model MSG100) review
Best safety digital camera for garages — LiftMaster myQ Smart Garage Camera
Pros
- Easy to arrange and easy to make use of
- Magnetic base makes it tailored for storage mounting
- Good general video high quality
- Integrates effectively with different myQ gear
Cons
- No recording options until you pay for a subscription
- Electrical outlet administration may be tough in a storage setting
Price When Reviewed:
$79.99 (as of June 20, 2024); $149.99 when first reviewed
Best Prices Today:
$106.90
We criticized the excessive worth of this efficient special-purpose digital camera after we first reviewed it a number of years in the past, however instances have modified and its MSRP–and particularly its road worth–have dropped considerably. You don’t must have a myQ good storage door controller put in (and the myQ digital camera doesn’t work together with the myQ controller in any respect); however when you do, your digital camera feed will seem instantly above your storage door controls inside the app. It’s a helpful method to get one-stop entry to every little thing that’s happening within the least inviting room of your home. Its magnetic base makes it simple to mount on the underside of any storage door opener with a steel enclosure. The digital camera additionally works with the Key by Amazon system and app, which on this case would empower Amazon supply drivers to open your storage and place your Amazon packages securely inside.
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LiftMaster myQ Smart Garage Camera review
How to select the fitting good storage door controller
While storage door openers are available an enormous vary of manufacturers, kinds, and capabilities, the excellent news is that you simply’ll probably be capable of discover a good controller that works along with your system with out a lot hassle.
As I discussed above, the Chamberlain myQ is my prime choose for quite a lot of causes, however as a result of it completely depends on wi-fi expertise, it isn’t suitable with each system in the marketplace. To begin, go to myQ’s compatibility tool and test whether or not your present opener is supported. If it’s, and also you don’t care that it’s not suitable with Alexa or Samsung SmartIssues, your work is completed: Get the myQ. If it isn’t, you may both get an all-new opener as Chamberlain suggests (though that received’t resolve the Alexa and SmartIssues points), or delve into the world of wired good storage door controllers.
The Nexx NXG-200 have to be connected to your storage door opener by way of wires, and house may be tight relying in your ceiling peak.
Actually, upgrading your previous, incompatible door opener isn’t a horrible concept, and new fashions are safer and cheaper than you would possibly suppose. Considering {that a} wired storage door controller can run you about $100, it’s price pondering exhausting about whether or not you wish to pour more cash into an outdated system that is likely to be near failure, or simply improve it from the beginning. (Many new openers have good expertise inbuilt, obviating the necessity for an add-on controller.)
But when you do have an opener that’s incompatible with our prime choose, and also you wish to hold it round, you’ll want a wired controller just like the Nexx Garage NXG-200 (you should definitely learn our April 5 story a few security vulnerability associated with Nexx garage door controllers) or the Garadget Wired controllers. These have to be related to the opener by way of a pair of wires, so that you’ll should be comfy with some minor electrical work so as to set up them. Like myQ, Nexx presents an online compatibility tool, however right here you’re prone to discover that Nexx is both suitable straight out of the field, or suitable solely with a further adapter. In different phrases, wired controllers are typically suitable with every little thing, or, no less than, I haven’t discovered any openers but that aren’t suitable with them.
The Garadget fires a laser as soon as a second on the door to find out whether or not it’s open or closed.As with the product from NEXX, the Garadget have to be hardwired to your opener.
The catch includes the adapter. Generally talking, you probably have an older storage door opener, Nexx and Garadget will work with it straight out of the field. If you might have a more moderen opener, you’ll want their adapter as effectively. This is as a result of newer openers typically have a extra complicated encryption system inbuilt, and a typical push-button distant—which is what wired good controllers emulate—received’t work with them. The resolution is to put a button that is suitable with this encryption in between the controller and the opener: The controller tells the button to activate, which in flip tells the opener to open or shut. It’s just a little wonky, however in my testing, these setups work simply in addition to the wi-fi different.
The downside is that it’s simply much more costly to do it this manner. Purchasing a Nexx and an adapter will run you $105 at press time, and a Garadget plus adapter prices $98. Compare that to the lower than $40 you’ll spend on the myQ and there’s actually no selection.
Again, if myQ isn’t suitable, both Nexx or Garadget will make for a suitable different, offered you’re prepared to spend just a little additional to get the job accomplished. We’ll evaluate new merchandise on this house as they arrive to market and can replace our prime choose as warranted.