Your garage responds to the app just as quickly as a normal button click, with one caveat: when you close your garage through the app, the lights will flash and you will hear a few beeps before your garage starts to close, and it will continue to beep until it’s closed. This is for safety reasons, because your garage won’t know if anyone else is in the garage while it’s closing, or nearby to make sure no one is entering or exiting the garage’s aisle.
Unfortunately, the only way around this is to not use the app. The MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad ($99) can be installed outside your garage to close your garage without a beep, providing a similar experience to a video doorbell and smart lock for your garage. I tested one and it worked fine. The key code is easy to set up and closes your garage without a beep. Plus, it alerts you outside your garage like a security camera, but the call button was a mixed bag. It also requires drilling holes into the garage or outside your home (MyQ says it’s too heavy to use duct tape), and unfortunately my HOA prohibits that. Still, if you’re allowed to install it, it’s a good price for a combination lock and exterior video feed for your garage.
Photo: Nena Farrell
Notify me
The default MyQ owner (i.e. the person who originally set it up in their home) also receives a ton of notifications every time their garage is opened or closed, whether through the app or the standard garage door button, whereas additional users don’t get any notifications by default. Both can go into the app and select the gear icon for their garage door (or any other MyQ product in question) to edit the notifications they receive for that specific product.
I have both my phone and my husband’s set up to notify me when the garage is open for more than 10 minutes, and another when it’s open for an hour. You can add more notifications, and even set it up to connect with Amazon Key to have deliveries delivered directly to the garage (which still notifies you). I haven’t encouraged my husband to try it yet, but my model has a built-in camera, so I feel comfortable giving it a try.
Speaking of video, MyQ has storage subscription plans for its video products (the brand also has video garage door openers, video keypads, and standalone cameras). The first tier starts at $20 per year and goes up to $100. Depending on which tier you choose, you get additional features like face, person, and motion detection, detection zones, and 7-day or 30-day storage.
