The 8 best ways your smart garage door opener assists you

If you're anything like most people, technology and smart gadgets make life so much easier, and when you find a new gadget, like Chamberlain's Liftmaster's newest model garage door opener, you are beyond thrilled. This is definitely not your pappy's garage door remote.

LiftMaster was the first model garage door opener to add Wi-Fi capabilities and has since included it on nearly all their models. You can monitor and even operate your garage door remotely using your tablet or smartphone and MyQ technology.

NO WAY! You have to be kidding, right? Let's try this again! You can control your garage door no matter where you are, anywhere on this entire Earth. It's a fact!

With the LiftMaster 85503, you haven't even broken the seal on what you can do; look at these features:

• Integrated camera
• 2-way communication
• Wi-Fi technology built-in
• Smartphone or tablet control

Peek inside your garage now – live feed video

The integrated camera features these things:

• Movement recognition
• Night vision
• Full 360-degree views
• HD Video quality with 1080p real-time feed

Ok, so what does all this boil down to?

It means when people go in and out, you can see them, such as:

Tracking your kids when they come home from school;

Seeing your friend pick up your bicycle so you don't have to go home;

Watching the cable man go in to repair your cable and knowing he didn't hang out for hours.

Essentially, you see any and everybody that has access to your garage door. And you see it when it happens, right then, when the camera s activated by the door opening.

This is an actual image of what you see when your garage door camera is activated.

Wait, How did they get in the garage to begin with?

You have two options for granting access to your garage using the MyQ app and your LiftMaster smart garage door opener.

1. For once-off access, like the repairman or your neighbor:

• Have the person contact you through the phone or a text message after they arrive at your house.
• Use your app to open the garage door and verify they are inside before closing the garage door.
• When they are ready to leave, they notify you, and you reverse the process to let them out.

Ok, but that means you have to constantly watch your phone for messages, calls, and notifications. You can't always do that. You have to work, commute, and take care of tasks that require your attention. So, what do you do now?

2. Use the MyQ app to give users access using one of three ways.

1. Recurring access for those people who come to your house weekly, like the housekeeper.
2. Temporary access for those who are only going to be there one time, like the delivery man or repairman.
3. Emergency access for someone you know and trust if you are hurt, and no one can get in or need someone to go inside while you are not home.

The screenshots below show how simple it is to set up access for various individuals.

These are smart device screenshots? The LiftMaster MyQ app walks you through each step of the setup process, from the relationship of the person to the type of access.

Is recurring access or temporary access difficult to set up? Not at all. Follow the on-screen questions. When you get to the access period, choose how long you want them to have access and then the date and times. It's that easy.

The guest will receive and email with instructions on how to download and set up their account. Once they are set up, you will have the ability to watch what's happening with their account on your end. You can set up your account to alert you when the user is in their account. If you don't want alerts, you can also view their actions in the event history logs. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER!! Users that you set up do not have access to see:

• Camera streams
• Event history logs
• Settings and configurations
• Commercial operators or gate openers.

These scenarios might help you better understand the possibilities this feature offers.

• You pay the boy down the street to play with your dog for 2 hours, and you pay by the hour. You can use the camera feature to see what time he starts and stops. This not only ensures you pay him for his time but lets you know he did the job.
• Verify your housekeeper's hours and days with notifications and event history.
• You have an important doctor's appointment and can't be home for your package delivery that is set for the same time. No problem. Alert the delivery company that you are going to open the door when they arrive.

NO WAY, IT JUST CAN'T BE TRUE. I know, right. Who knew garage door openers could be so smart.

LOOK OUT; THERE'S MORE…ANOTHER MIND BLOW ON THE WAY

You can talk to anyone in your garage, AND they can talk back to you.

The LiftMaster 85503 has a two-way audio system that is integrated and gives you:

• Instant two-way talking capability
• Volume control
• Microphone control

If you set your alerts up to let you know when someone enters your garage, you can jump on your app and have a conversation with them while they are there.

As the neighbor kid is coming to walk Fluffy, you get an alert and say,

"Hi, Bobby."

Then you remind Bobby that Fluffy was just groomed and ask him not to let him roll in the dirt,

Or let him know you left chocolate chip cookies on the counter for him, and milk is in the fridge. NOW he's really going to make sure Fluffy is nice and clean.

Give Yourself Peace of Mind and Make Your Home Your Safe Place

The LiftMaster 85503 features all the garage door advancements in technology available. It also provides you these added bonuses:

• Battery Backup > What does it mean? Never get locked out of your garage when the power goes out. You and your car can get in and out no matter when or where you are when the power goes out.
• Protection from hard impact openings > What does it mean? The garage door sensors will detect if the door is being forced open and will force it back down, preventing burglars from using prybars to gain entry.
• SECURITY+ 2.0 prevents randoms clicks from opening the door > What does it mean? Criminals can't randomly access your garage door code using an older model remote and luck. The garage door will send out new codes with every click.
• Alert-2-Close prevent accidental injury > Do you need to know, yes. If you are closing your door remotely, the door will make a beep and flash a light; this lets anyone near the door or in the garage know that the door is closing. They can either get out or get out of the way.

• Safety Sensors > What's a safety sensor? These sensors, also called photo-cell safety beams, protect anyone or anything under the garage door from being hurt.

  
• Motion-detection lighting keeps you from walking in a dark garage.

Wow, here are more cool things the LiftMaster 85503 and a smartphone can do.

So, the first four here have already been mentioned, but they are so awesome we just had to remind you of them, just in case you forgot:

1. Activate the garage door remotely using your smart device, regardless of where you are.
2. Allow users you want to have access to get inside: You don't have to compromise your security by sharing your password or losing your keys because you hid them for the neighbor.
3. Watch your garage and home and know what's happening as it's happening.
4. Communicate with the people in your garage. Answer people when they have questions and share information.

Here are the other cool features we've experienced with our LiftMaster 85503 smart garage door opener

5. Create your alerts. Do you want all alerts or only during specific times? It's up to you. Set your alerts the way you want them.
6. Did you close the garage? Check on the app. The kids were in a hurry to leave, and you sped out the drive to get them to school on time. Now, you're at your desk wondering if you remembered to close the garage door. You can't just run home. Your boss is on his way. No worries, it's 2021, and you have an app for that. Log in and make sure you closed the door; if not, use the app to close it.
7. Shop online and have it delivered inside your garage. Package stealing is the new thievery and weather can be tricky. Utilizing in-garage deliveries is a life, and package, saver.
8. View and save activity history. Monthly subscriptions come in 7-day or 30-day options to let you keep your videos.

So, do you see now that you need a new garage door opener?

Do you even know if your garage door is compliant with current laws or when it was installed? If it is older than 1993, the door does not comply with current regulations regarding safety sensors. Plus, older garage doors can be opened with a little luck and fortitude by criminals who randomly walk around clicking older remotes. Unfortunately, older garage door openers often respond to these clicks. Garage doors are the entry point of 9% of burglars. YES! It is past time to upgrade your garage door opener.

Is the LiftMaster too large for your garage, and you aren't sure it will fit? Are you intimidated by the technology and not sure you want all the bells and whistles.

No problem. There is a multitude of door opener models for you to look through.

Now you are really confused, you started to look and quickly became confused with all the choices. I get it, really. The typical homeowner doesn't understand all the technical jargon and specs! But, here is a little bit of helpful information in a visual format.

Need something easier to understand? Call us today at 603-833-7135 or 603-833-7979.

We at Elite Door of New England are professionals at garage door and garage door opener installations and sales. We will gladly help you choose your garage's best option based on your garage, your budget, what you want and need, and what will realistically work for you.

So now you wonder if you should just go ahead and upgrade the garage door while you are upgrading the opener. Use our 3 styles of doors to help you decide what will work for your style and garage. Better yet, visit our Design Centre, view pictures of other doors, and then design your own door.