Accessories
Chamberlain WiFi Garage Door Opener Review
After spending a month using the Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener I can’t imagine going back to a dumb garage door opener.
The convenience of opening my garage door with my smartphone from anywhere with an Internet connection, alerts when the garage door opens and other smart features like a backup battery and smart sensor on the garage wall round out the value of this device.
The Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener is an essential smart home accessory that simplifies our life thanks to connectivity with our home Internet.
The Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener lets users control with iPhone or Android and includes alerts and smart features.
The biggest surprise when you start to investigate a smart garage door opener is that for all the extras you get with a Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener, the price isn’t that far off from a basic garage door opener.
Our Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener review focuses on the 1-1/4 HPS HD950WF sold at Home Depot for $268, but you’ll find similar connectivity on Chamberlain garage door openers with MyQ for $148.
Chamberlain WiFi Garage Door Opener Review Video
Depending on your level of expertise you can install this yourself, but many users will likely opt for a professional installation. After a local shop installed the Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener connecting it to my home WiFi took just a few minutes using the MyQ app on my iPhone. There is also an Android app available.
My wife and I both love the option to open the garage door from anywhere. It comes in handy when someone stops by to pick something up or drop something off when we are not home. The app allows us to open and close the garage door remotely anywhere we have an Internet connection. The only time I ran into problems was after a power flicker knocked my router offline, but as soon as I reset the router the garage door was back online.
The smart garage door opener delivers convenience at a smart price.
With the Internet connection the Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener can also send notifications when the garage door is opened. I have this set to on so that I know when someone enters the garage. Usually this is just my Wife or in-laws, but it’s a handy alert to have. It is possible to customize the alerts and to get alerts on multiple devices. Before you buy one, make sure that you have a WiFi signal in the garage. We had not problem connecting to home WiFi, but if your garage is detached this is an important factor to consider.
Inside the garage door opener is a backup battery that allows us to open the garage door even when the power is out. Living in Ohio, where summer storms can easily knock power out, this is a huge benefit.
The garage door button inside the garage also includes a sensor that turns the garage door opener light on when it detects movement. This is another handy feature that lights up the garage without opening the door or flicking on the dedicated light switch. My wife really appreciates this feature.
The interior control automatically turns on lights when it senses movement.
Also included in the package is an exterior keypad to raise and lower the garage door opener without your phone and two in-car openers. I like that you don’t need to enter a code to close the garage door. Another benefit over the Genie that this replaced is that the motion sensors have yet to trip from a sunset, which would often stop our old garage door opener from closing.
If you close the garage door with the MyQ app on your phone the lights flash and an alarm sounds. It offers enough time for anyone to get out of the way and it is loud enough to hear clearly. A glance at the app shows you if the door is open or close and how long it has been in that position.
The MyQ app allows users to link to other smart home accessories. It is possible to connect Nest to the system so that you can manually tell the thermostat you are away. The system also connects to Wink home automation devices.
For not much more than a traditional garage door opener the Chamberlain WiFi garage door opener delivers the convenience of a smart phone controlled garage door, alerts when someone opens the garage door and convenient features that appeal to everyone in our house.
bduerr1
07/17/2015 at 7:22 am
i cannot tell you haw much different my exoerience is. I ourchased the added wifi adapter and conected t to my router. If I am on my wifi network it will work most of the time but it wi smetimes take several long seconds to start it cycle to close: light flashing, the start to close. If i use my remote control the door starts to close immediately and i can see that it is closed before i leave the driveway. If I am driving away and my phone goes off wifi onto cellulardata, I get a stupid message tht the app lost connnection and do not know id the door is open or closed. once it the c=reconnects, again, several long 10 to 15 second timeframes, it wil correctly update. n many cases I do not get the announcement that the door was oened until long minutes after the door is opened.
Overall the latency in th esystem is extremely annoying and I have simply gone back to y stock remote controls.
Do not spend any extra for this feature. it sounds good but it has limited settings and is SLOW. If i could stop the flashing and have the door close immeditely, it would be a better systm.
natdarcy21
08/13/2015 at 7:57 am
It is interesting that this new technology has been combined with an appliance that has been around so long. My garage door opener has been giving me trouble lately; do you have any idea who I can contact to get it fixed? Thank you for such a detailed article and for representing this garage door opener so clearly. I will look into this option soon! https://lipebrothersgaragedoors.net/services.html
matt hedges
04/11/2023 at 12:27 pm
Beware if you set the auto close option. You may not realize it is shutting while leaving and take out your garage door. Chamberlain should try to use the wall mounted motion detect to prevent it from closing till motion has stopped as a possible fix to that potential crash.