If you like the idea of being able to open and close your garage door with voice commands, using an iPhone or Apple Watch, read on! In this article, we explain what you need to make it happen and cover some of the most important benefits of having a garage door that can be opened and closed using Apple’s voice-controlled personal assistant. If after reading the article, you are still not sure whether you can modify your existing garage door opener to respond to voice commands, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time during normal business hours. We will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and to provide you with a quotation for a new opener if yours is not compatible with the necessary equipment to create a voice-operated system.
Is Your Smart Garage Door Opener Compatible with iPhone and Apple Watch Technology?
The first thing you need to do is to check whether the brand and model of door opener you have installed in your Calgary home is ready to accept voice commands as it is or can easily be adapted for this purpose.
The two main brands with models that can easily be adapted to work with Apple’s HomeKit framework, or may already be capable of doing so in some cases, are LiftMaster and Chamberlain. Whether you need any extra accessories and which accessories you need will depend mainly on the year of manufacture of your particular model:
- After August 2017 – Some models of opener made by LiftMaster and Chamberlain after August 2017 are already Wi-Fi enabled and can connect to your home network without the need to install any new accessories. In the case of LiftMaster openers, the model number will have a W at the end, to denote this capability; for Chamberlain openers, you may need to consult your user manual or contact us if you are not sure. You should see Security+, Security+ 2.0 and MyQ logos on the housing of units made after this date, along with a Wi-Fi logo for those units that are ready to go out of the box.
- 2014 to August 2017 – Calgary garage doors that have a LiftMaster or Chamberlain opener manufactured during this time should only need a MyQ Home Bridge in order to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and accept voice commands via your Apple Watch or iPhone. Both brands sell MyQ Home Bridges for this purpose and inside, the technology is identical. The remote controls for openers made in this period are equipped with Security+ 2.0 and MyQ technology, and feature a yellow learn button that enables users to program the units.
- 1996 to 2013 – Owners of garage doors with LiftMaster or Chamberlain openers that were manufactured between 1996 and 2013 will need to purchase two accessories to connect their openers to a home Wi-Fi network: an 888LM MyQ Control Panel and an 828LM Internet Gateway. Remote control units for openers made between 1996 and 2006 include Security+ technology and can easily be recognised by the orange learn button that can be used to program the remote to perform specific functions. If your remote was made after 2006, it will have the same Security+ technology but the learn button will be purple rather than orange.
Reach your Local Garage Door Expert B&W Garage Door Specialists @ (403) 275-6048
What You Can Do with Siri: Our Calgary Garage Doors Opener Experts Explain the Functionality
Once you have installed the necessary accessories to enable your garage door opener to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and communicate with the Apple HomeKit software framework, you can take advantage of the following functionality:
Open and Close Your Door When You Are Close to Home
As long as you are within range of your home Wi-Fi network, you can ask Siri to open or close your garage door in Wi-Fi mode, and it will send the necessary commands. We have helped many local homeowners to add this functionality to their Calgary garage doors and it is the main reason that many people wish to use Siri with their openers.
Check the Current State of Your Garage Door Close to Home
Something else you can use Siri for when you are close enough to your home to connect to your Wi-Fi network is to check the current state of your garage door, i.e. whether it is open or closed.
Long Distance Open and Close Functionality
Homeowners with Apple TV (version 4.0 or later), or iPads running iOS 8.0 or above, can take advantage of the remote functionality offered by Apple’s HomeKit framework and their door openers. You can open or close your garage door using voice commands from anywhere in the world, as long as you are connected to the Internet.
Long Distance Status Checks
If you have the same equipment mentioned above, you can also check whether your garage door in Calgary is open or closed at any time, from anywhere in the world.
In addition to controlling your garage door on its own, you can integrate the opening and closing functionality into group commands that are designed to control multiple HomeKit-enabled home appliances and equipment via the Apple Home app. Furthermore, you can use other applications and technology to take advantage of the same functionality, such as Google Assistant, NEST, IFTTT and XFINITY Home.
If you would like us to help you start using voice commands, please feel free to call or email our Calgary garage doors opener specialists whenever convenient. In the event you need to upgrade your garage door opener or the door itself before connecting to your home Wi-Fi network, we can provide you with all the assistance you need, including competitively priced installation, maintenance, setup and repair services. We have a great deal of experience with all types of garage door openers and thorough product knowledge of the entire LiftMaster and Chamberlain range, making us the obvious choice for local homeowners who would like to make the most of everything that modern technology has to offer in this field.
