Misplaced Your Garage Door Remote? Try These Tips

If you find yourself faced with a stuck garage door because you’ve misplaced the remote, there’s no need to panic. First of all, there is always a way to manually open a modern garage door and, secondly, there are a couple of replacement options for you to consider if the original remote is never found. In today’s blog post, the garage door repair technicians at C & M Garage Doors shares our top tips for dealing with a lost overhead door remote, including clear instructions on how to get your door open quickly using only your hands.

Opening a Stuck Garage Door When the Remote Is Lost

The very first thing you’ll want to do if you lose your remote is to open your garage door since that’s what you intend to do when you discover the remote is missing. Now, while there may well be some differences between one garage door and another, the majority of overhead doors on the market today are designed in a very similar way, at least as far as emergency manual opening procedures are concerned. The following instructions should work for your door but if you cannot easily find and access the parts to which they refer, please call your local garage door repair experts instead.

• Make Sure the Door Is Closed – This may seem like a very silly first instruction, since we are talking about how to open your garage door when you lose the remote, but bear with us, we have a very good reason for putting this instruction before any others. If you disconnect your garage door opener when the door is open, it could close with great force, potentially causing serious injury and/or damage in the process. For this reason, we urge you never to disconnect your door opener unless you are sure that is properly closed. Having performed this check, you can safely move on to the next step (as garage door installation and repair professionals, we have witnessed the destructive power of overhead doors on many occasions and can confirm that safety should always be your primary concern when performing any manual operations).
• Locate and Pull the Emergency Cord – Before you can safely open an overhead door manually, you first need to disconnect the electric opening mechanism. This can be done most easily by pulling on the emergency cord provided by the manufacturer. On the majority of overhead garage doors, the emergency cord is red and can be found hanging down from the trolley, in front of the door (in the center). Once you have located the cord, grasp the handle at the end and pull down on it firmly. This action will disconnect the electric motor and opening mechanism, allowing you to safely operate your garage door manually.
• Lift the Door Open – Now that the garage door opener is disconnected, you can lift the door open by hand. Make sure that you have a firm grip on the bottom of the door and pull it up as smoothly as you can. You will need to exert a certain amount of force, owing to the weight of the door, but a properly maintained overhead door should open relatively easily when a reasonable degree of strength is used. When you reach the fully open position, let go gradually, making sure that the door remains in position and does not start to slide back down again. Assuming it remains in the fully open position, you can now safely step away from the door and drive your vehicle out of the garage (or get whatever tools you want to retrieve).
• Pull the Door Shut – Once you have retrieved your tools or removed your vehicle, you can close the door manually. Do this by pulling down on the door until it starts to move, then supporting the weight as it comes down, to avoid an overly fast closure. If you have any doubts about your ability to close the door in a safe and controlled manner, please either ask another member of your household for help or contact a reputable garage door repair company in your area. Overhead doors are, by their very nature, quite heavy. This means they have the potential to cause a considerable amount of damage to property and injury to persons if they are allowed to close precipitously, under their weight.
• Secure the Door with Your Lock Bar – As your garage door can now be opened and closed manually, you should be sure to use your lock bar to secure it. If you do not have a lock bar, we recommend that you invest in one immediately. An overhead garage door that is no longer connected to an electric garage door opener is a clear security risk that needs to be addressed without delay.

That should be all you need to know to get your garage door opened after losing the remote control and to close it again securely afterward. To find out what to do about the missing remote in the long term, please carry on reading below!

Replacing a Lost Remote for a Garage Door Opener in Loveland (Or Any Other Location)

If you are unable to find your remote, despite searching for it everywhere, you will need to get a replacement. While it is not particularly difficult to open and close an overhead door manually, it can be very inconvenient if you have to do it daily. There are two main choices when it comes to replacement remotes for overhead garage doors:

• OE Replacement – Often the simplest solution, especially for newer models of garage doors, is to obtain a replacement remote from the original manufacturer. The manufacturer’s name should be clearly visible on the remote and the receiver. If you cannot see it on the receiver, we suggest contacting the garage door installation company that you hired to fit the door. If you are still unable to identify the manufacturer or you have a door opener with an older remote that is no longer in production, you can try the following option instead.
• Universal Remote – Universal garage door remotes can successfully be programmed to work with a huge variety of receivers, including many that are no longer being made. If you cannot identify the make and model of your existing remote or replacements are no longer available, you can try one of the universal models that are found for sale across the USA today.

Whichever option you choose, the task of programming a replacement remote can normally be completed fairly easily by following the manufacturer’s instructions. In the event you should encounter any difficulties, we suggest that you get in touch with your local garage door specialists. Any reputable firm should be able to provide you with all the assistance you need. And if you’re in Loveland, our garage door repair team will be delighted to help.