WHAT IS IT: Check and control your garage door from anywhere
NEW, FUTURE or RETRO: new
PREVIEW or REVIEW: review
HOW GOOD IT IS: When I bought my current garage door opener it had a feature called MyQ. I had no idea what that meant, but I bought it anyway. A couple of years later I bought a car with MyQ button in the control panel and quickly learned I could program one to open my garage door. Woohoo, no more remote stuck to the sun visor!
When this product was introduced I went through a similar period of head scratching. Would it work with my door opener? What would it do? How well would it do it? Would I need an electrician to install it? Here's what I learned. The product literature stresses that it is made only for Chamberlain door openers. That's a little misleading because Chamberlain is the company behind several brand names. My door opener is actually a Sears Craftsman and it works 100% as it should. Chamberlain also makes Liftmaster and while I didn't test it with a Liftmaster, the fact that there is a virtually identical app seems to verify that it is the same.
It installed much easier than expected, total time less than 15 minutes including downloading apps and programming. Here's the sequence ... open package; replace old indoor switch with new one (2 wires. Screws into same holes); wait a minute for the new switch to get comfortable; push button to test opening the door (all of your remote settings are kept, no reprogramming necessary); plug gateway box into your router and wait a few seconds for it to get comfortable; go to your computer and register online; download the iPhone or Android app and match it to your system; done.
At this time the features are basic, but as part of the MyQ system there is a lot of opportunity for expansion. The system comes with an inside-garage replacement control panel that is more sophisticated than the original (can be set to automatically close the door at varying intervals, has overrides for lights and vacation settings, has a motion sensor to turn lights on). There is a small gateway device that plugs in to your internet router, and a downloadable app for both desktop computers and smartphones. You can raise and lower the door from your smartphone, and have alerts sent to you if the door is opened without your permission. The capability exists to tie in to other MyQ devices to let you do the same with lights or intrusion alert systems. As a personal preference I liked my original opener control panel better. It was bright red with a large ribbed button and featured a lighted LCD clock/thermometer. This control panel is not ruggedized and lacks the LCD panel. While there is a tiny dim LED to help find the activator button it is harder to find. Suggestion to the manufacturer, edge light the entire activator pad.
The only area of concern for something like this is the registration process. If you answer every question (you are not required to do so) you would be matching your name and address in a system that could be hacked and conceivably someone could track where you live. Contrary to what some have stated, your address is OPTIONAL. Fortunately the only piece of information that is critical is that your zip code be in the time zone in which you live, and of course your email address, though you can opt out of being contacted. You can even make up a bogus name for yourself.
WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE: I did a quick internet search and you would be amazed at the number of people who aren't absolutely sure they closed the garage door ... a pretty scary thought when you're already about 2 hours away from home. That's an obvious advantage. But there are some other unique features that make it worthwhile, such as in those instances where you have housekeepers or petsitters who you have given access (in my case rather than hand out keys to the front door, such people are given the garage door code, which can be changed later on). You are alerted when the door has been opened, how long it has been open, and you can be certain that it was shut after they leave.
SIMILAR TO: I have not been able to find anything similar to this
DO YOU NEED IT: As a gadget, it's not ridiculously expensive, but it doesn't seem to be a necessity for most people. In fact, there is a tiny concern you might accidentally push the wrong button and accidentally open your garage door when you are 1000 miles away. To safeguard against that, you can enter a double layer of password protection against opening a door lock without entering the password a second time. The value of the gadget increases if you have a house/cabin in a remote area where you don't live full-time. It's nice to be alerted if there is an intrusion. The value gets even better when you learn that you can control other devices, like lights, fans, almost anything electrical from your phone by adding MyQ accessories. That definitely turns it from being a one-trick pony to something really cool.
HOW IT IMPACTS YOU: You already own a smartphone, why not make it work for you? A few dollars for hardware plus a free app equals a whole lot of peace of mind. The reason it's being reviewed here is this is yet another example of how a tech toy you never thought you needed can actually make your life easier.
COMMENTS: As of April 2013 this is an very new product category. When I ordered mine there was no reference to it yet on the Chamberlain website. I installed it on 5/3/13 and the only issue I had was finding the menu to add push notifications for events (such as door being opened without your permission). I contacted tech support and a real, live human engineer spoke with me and lead me through the process.
TECH TOY WIZARD RATING: 4/5
WEBSITE: Official Chamberlain Website
BUYING OPTIONS: Buy it at Amazon
SEE IT IN MOTION: Never worry about an open garage door again
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