The $130 Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Opener lets you open and close your garage door from anywhere with an Internet connection. It also grants you the ability to set custom alerts and monitor the open/closed status of your garage door.
There's a lot to like about the MyQ. Installation is simple. Broad compatibility means the MyQ should work on your current garage hardware. Chamberlain's inclusive attitude also means you can coordinate the MyQ to interact with a growing number of connected home platforms.
You'll find that interoperability to be crucial to the MyQ achieving its full potential. The basics of the MyQ all work as expected, but soon after you install it you start wondering what else it can do. What if it could learn when you're coming and going and respond automatically? Wouldn't a camera in the garage also make sense?
View full gallery
Go through the typical iOS or Android Bluetooth pairing process to link the devices and share your home Wi-Fi settings between your phone and the MyQ base station. That step puts the hub on the Internet, granting you access to your garage door opener from anywhere you can get online with your phone. Via the MyQ app, you then make an account and add the device via the serial number from the base unit.
Select the make and model for your opener within the app, and then follow the prompt to hit your opener's program button. Chamberlain says the MyQ is compatible with any photoelectric sensor-equipped opener made after 1993. The opener will then broadcast the open/close code for the hub to memorize. Lastly, attach the door sensor to your garage door via the included adhesive strips and hit the test button to pair the sensor to the MyQ hub.
None of these steps are terribly onerous. Yes, you'll need to get up on a ladder and drill into the ceiling of your garage (unless you mount the hub some other way). There's no need to mess with breaker switches or hard wiring the hub to anything, making it an exception in its category. It also matched the photoelectric signal to my Overhead Doors Overdrive opener on the first try.
The MyQ app gives you a fair amount of control and insight into your garage door activity. Screenshot by Rich Brown/CNET
Lee Owen
Susie Neuner
There are different factors that you need to take into account before buying a garage door opener. The openers are available in different styles and sizes. In order to ensure that you purchase a product that best meets your needs, it is important to learn all that you can about how to buy a garage door opener.