Hubitat Garage Door control for Chamberlain MyQ enabled systems

Why Hubitat Elevation Here's a cool thing I did!
1

Finally got the MyQ garage door off of their cloud service... where they constantly changed their APIs and kicked all external app based connections out! I found a ton of articles which listed different options and methods. I wanted to list the steps and accessories I used, so others can replicate.

  1. Zooz Zen16 Garage door opener kit
  2. Security+ 2.0 Wired Dry Contact Adapter
  3. Wago in-line wire connectors
  4. Project Box

My garage door opener is a Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener. It's about 10 years old and has a separate Internet Gateway for the App based control.
ChamberlainCIGBU_Gateway

With a wall control panel with built-in display.
ChamberlainWallControlPanel

Since the unit has a separate Internet Gateway unit, I went ahead and disconnected it, so that I can setup my garage door control on Hubitat, using these instructions: How to Use the ZEN16 MultiRelay as a Garage Door Opener on Hubitat - Zooz Support Center
Used the wiring option for the second diagram, the wall unit has a light control switch as well.

The additional step is to add the Garadget dry contact adapter, in-line, in between the existing wall control panel and the Zooz Zen16 relay. This is to bypass the Security + communication between the wall control panel and the actual motor unit, so that the Zen16 relay can trigger the garage door!

If you're handy with soldering and have an extra wireless door opener fob lying around, you can definitely solder the two connection points where the button is pressed and wire them to the Zooz relay - that way, you can keep the Zooz relay anywhere inside. I wanted to go the route of not wanting to keep track of batteries on yet another device and ordered the Garadget adapter.

Net result: The setup works B-E-A-utifully :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Control and response via HomeKit is instantaneous!! :house:
The wiring is all inside the project box, away from prying hands :slight_smile:

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I've disconnected the MyQ internet gateway. Don't care for it anymore :triumph:

PS: I've also reached out to Zooz to check if they'll update their documentation to add the DryContact adapter as the additional step. They responded saying that it's an external third party device, not under their control, so they won't update their documentation

6 Likes
2

Very nice project, Indeed!!
I do like that Chamberlain wall panel.

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I'll throw out that if you ever want to switch to Zigbee, the MHCozy two channel works well

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Nice. Does the Garage door app from Zooz work with this Zigbee relay?

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That I don't know but it should, I mean it just uses the zooz as a switch so it should work with the mhcozy. Maybe I'll pull mine out and check. You don't really "need" the garage door app, but yeah I'll check.

Update: Yes it does... The zooz garage door app looks at any switch

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Yes that Zigbee MHCoze relay works great. That's the Zigbee relay that I'm using. And I use the Zooz app. I chose to leave the MyQ adapter in place as another way to control the door. Been up and running flawlessly for a couple of years. And, yes I thought of the remote battery as a point of failure. In those two years I haven't had to replace the battery. The trick will be to think of that as the problem when someday the door won't open. I had several spare remotes from kids who grew up and moved out so a sacrificial remote was readily available. I put the whole mess inside a project box and it's on a shelf in a room next to the garage so super reliable. So great not to have to rely upon MyQ to operate the door.

1 Like
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Excellent work and ideas but here is an idea that I use and it works just fine. I'm old, cheap and lazy so I use the easiest cheapest way to get things done (and that don't look terrible) so just use a Zigbee Finger Bot to do the work and you can leave your MyQ the way it is (still get notified etc). There is a Hubitat community driver for it and all in it took me 45 minutes to install and program and $18 for the Finger Bot and kit (I advise getting the kit since it has different size arms etc). I'm not counting the 2+ weeks it took to get it from China (I don't live in China) but that's it. I put mine on my main wall controller but a friend of mine used a spare remote and all good.
Anyway I've built a control box or three using the Zooz Zen16 relay for my sprinkler systems as I wanted Zwave and not WiFi and they have been working great for a long time now but like I said I'm old, cheap and lazy now and this fits that bill to me.

Here's a picture, not to bad!

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8 Likes
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Nice. I didn’t realize that there was a Zigbee equivalent of the WiFi SwitchBot :+1:t3:

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Not old, cheap and lazy at all. It's a simple, reliable solution and you should be happy and proud of it.

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Thought I'd show what a friend of mine did for his opener. He used a spare remote and a Zigbee Finger Bot, mounted it to a garage cabinet shelf wall then used an old piece of tupperware to cover it to keep the dust and dirt out of it but still serviceable (change batteries, etc.) if ever needed. I like his setup better and will probably change mine someday if I can find a tupperware cover! LOL

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3 Likes
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Nice I too want to get away from My Q. I have the Konnected Alarm and relay like below the alarm board is already set up and working just have to connect the relay to it.

  1. Konnected board and dry Relay
    which I think can activate the contact-adapter from garadget below? can the two wires from the adapter connect to the existing wall switch or do they have to bypass the existing wall switch and go direct to the garage opener?
  2. garadget adapter

This way its hardwired and I would only need to purchase the Adapter
John

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The two wires from the Garadget adapter - the white wires (one plain and one with the red line), to the wall control panel. Plain white to the white, red line wire to the red wire on the wall panel.
The remaining two wires (colorless) go to your dry contact relay - doesn't matter which one connects to which port of the relay.

Does your relay, thru Konnected, show up on Hubitat? If yes, you should be able to use the Zooz app, listed on their help site: How to Use the ZEN16 MultiRelay as a Garage Door Opener on Hubitat.
Don't forget to add a tilt sensor, or a open/close sensor to complete the programming, for you to know that the garage door is open/closed.

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Yes My Konnected has all my window sensors and door sensor in Hubitat the relay can be set up as a a virtual switch in Hubitat. MyQ should still show door status when open or closed as well correct ? also will the existing wall switch still function ok. I want to be sure this will work and by pass the Security+ 2.0

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Yes, the MyQ service still works and shows status, control and functionality as normal. As far as Chamberlain is concerned, you’ve just added another wired wall switch. The trick is that the dry contact relay is triggering the connection points on the re-wired Garadget adapter, which is passing the message to the MyQ device via the existing Security + protocols.
The existing wall switch works as it always has. The kids are none the wiser & we got extra control on the Garage door :+1:t3:

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Great project! I did this exact setup as well, but he's what I learned:

DO NOT put the project box near the opener itself. I thought I'd be smart and put the whole deal right up on top of the opener. There's a short distance to make the connection, the power plug right there, and it's out of the way in the garage, right? When I did that, the relay kept dropping off the network and the remotes stopped working unless they were VERY close to the garage. What the heck?

It took me about a month of repairing the relay and trying different stuff before I moved the project box and connected it to the main button/control panel. Everything has worked perfectly since. Looks like the Z-wave Zen16 and the antenna wire for the remotes don't like each other!

Where did you find that project box? It's way better than my Gladware.

2 Likes
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Interesting find. I've read about others placing their Zen16 directly above the garage opener motor and not have any issues!
Since I wired mine to the wall switch, I placed it on the interior garage wall. On the other side of the wall, in the mud room, is a dedicated Aeotec ZWave repeater - to help with the ZWave lock and a motion sensor. I checked the ZWave map and the Zen16 is connected to the Hub with a bounce from the Aeotec. All looks good for now.

Amazon - I've linked it in my initial post :point_up_2:

2 Likes
18

For anyone who wired the relay to a spare garage door remote and doesn't want to deal with replacing batteries:

I got one of these cr2032 to usb adapters and its working great in mine!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097N7F2RR

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This is wild... I can definitely use that adapter in places where the CR2032 get chewed up pretty quick!
That Amazon link doesn't show any options to purchase. I found it @ another place:

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Hi, Is the Zen 17 a newer version of the Zen 16 or is it a different unit I'm ready to make a purchase but want to make sure of the correct unit for my application of a garage opener relay.

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Similar but different products. Main difference is the 16 has 3 relays and the 17 has 2. This Zooz support article explains the difference. Both will work though.
https://www.support.getzooz.com/kb/article/1104-zen16-vs-zen17-what-s-the-difference/

I am using the Zen16 for my GDO where one relay controls the garage door and the other relay controls an additional beam sensor I installed to ensure I am far enough into the garage.