In a constant search to bypass MyQ, has anyone heard of or are using this BeamUp garage door opener? Never heard of it until today,
https://a.co/d/7v8MRtz
Walled garden wifi & cloud dependent, so it wouldn't ever be an option I'd consider.
I guess it's nice they say they'll never charge for app services, but I think it's foolish to believe such a thing these days.
5 Likes
Wink said no fees right on the box, and they started charging. Others have also done so, so I agree with you it would be foolish to trust most of these companies.
There are a multitude of solutions that can run local. What is wrong with something like a Zooz Zen16/17 or the various Zigbee relays that are available? Even soldering two wires on the back of the opener button or a switchbot is dead easy. Heck even a smart outlet with a wall wart has been used (with a relay) to trigger the door.
7 Likes
I use a GoControl unit on mine. Works very reliably and was ~$50 IIRC.
Yeah, i did that. Didnt work very well. I eneded up having to take it out. Honestly, I really don’t care about it. I would never fully automate that door. It was just for being lazy and not wanting to have to get up to close the door. I was more suggesting it for those looking for an alternative.
UPDATE:
I just reread this and realized I didn't really explain WHY the Zooz option didnt work. I had it installed for close to a year, but it was periodically (about twice a month) causing shorts and popping the circuit breaker in my garage. I initially took it out as part of the trouble shooting, and it hasn't happened again in the six months since I took it. The problem didnt start until I added the zooz, and stopped once it was removed. That pretty much tells me that it was the cause of the problem. But as I said, I would never fully automate the garage door to open or locks to unlock, I just don't trust them that far. All I really wanted was to be able to close the door without having to go out to the garage to do that. For that the Genie aladdin app works just fine. I still have the tilt sensors on the door to monitor whether it is open or closed, but that's the extent of the automation with the door.
If I'm doing this I'm replacing the entire opener, not just adding functionality . In general I'm not super happy with the Genie opener I have. If I were to decide to go ahead and replace the whole thing, I would want to do it with something that I COULD integrate in the future if my position on the issue changes.
Understand this. My clunky old opener keeps on working and I'll likely not look to replace it until it completely dies. I do heavily automate the garage door with automations ensuring it's not accidentally left open when switching to NIGHT, AWAY, VACA, etc. It's also nice to have it "see" my arrival just down the block so the door is already fully open when I back in.
While I am frustrated with MyQ and I did purchase a RATGDO and I couldn’t be happier. I previously used a Zen16 and a Garadget button. Primary reason for buying the RATGDO was because I can lock the garage door remotes from working. This can be done via MyQ wall remote but it’s buried a bit in settings. Now a lock option appears and I simply have a rule to lock the garage at night so no one can break into my kids cars in driveway and open the garage when we are sleeping or on vacation. This is even available in HomeKit so Siri can lock it too. I blocked WiFi access to my opener so MyQ no longer works and firmware updates cannot be applied.
1 Like
Like @gwp1 ... I also heavily automate my garage doors for multiple reasons ... and my custom-made replacement of the MyQ system has served me very well... might be ugly... but it's been super-reliable for me. DIY z-wave remote garage door opener - 
Lounge - Hubitat
