Tips For Resetting A Garage Door (& Adding Remotes To An Older System)

If you've ever moved into a new-to-you home and inherited an automatic garage door opener system, you may have been given one remote or even no remote to open and close your door. While this scenario is certainly inconvenient, it also poses a potential safety risk to your new home and household. Nearly every new garage door opener comes with two remotes, and most vehicles contain programmable garage door buttons. This means the previous inhabitants of your new home may still possess remotes or vehicles that can open your garage door.

There's no need to panic, however. You can reset your garage door opener as a way to prevent garage break-ins by prompting it to forget all previous remotes and vehicles (consider putting a zip tie on your garage door for the same reason). All it takes is locating the right buttons on the unit. Then, you can add back the remotes in your possession and any new ones you purchase (including universal remotes).

If you've been lucky enough to move into a home where the previous owners or tenants saved the manual for your specific garage door opener system, you should be able to follow its instructions to reset the system and add your remotes and vehicles. You may also be able to find your model's manual online using Google or a site like Manua.ls. If, however, the product's manual is not accessible to you, all is not lost. Fortunately, the basic components of a garage door opener kit are largely the same, regardless of the manufacturer.

All you need to do is locate a button on the opener (the electronic box hanging from the garage ceiling). This button will be labeled "program" or "learn" and may be hiding behind the plastic casing. Hold the button down for at least 10 seconds. This will disable all currently synced remotes. Then, push the button without holding it. Immediately push the button on your remote to add it back to the system. Repeat this last step for any remotes you wish to add to the system, or if you end up installing a new garage door opener in the future.