Probably the most common myth about garage door openers is that your neighbor’s remote control could open your garage door. Worse, a burglar could drive down your street pushing the button on a remote control until someone’s garage door opens. While this may once have been true, for over ten years, all garage door openers sold have something called “rolling code” technology. Without going into detail, it essentially means that only your remote control will open your garage door.
If you have a garage door opener that is more than ten years old, you should probably consider replacing it to take advantage of this and other security features present on modern garage door openers.
Another common myth is that the door could close on a child or on the trunk of your car. This is another myth that may have been true at one time, but since 1993, all garage door openers are required to have a safety mechanism that will reverse the door if anything is detected in the path of the door. These safety mechanisms are usually a sensor that detects if a beam of light across the door opening is blocked. It is important to make sure this safety feature is in good working order and properly adjusted.
Finally, people occasionally express concern that there car will be trapped in the garage in the event of a power outage. Since 1982, all garage door opener are equipped with a release handle that allows the door to be disengaged from the opener and opened manually.
