How to Open Your Garage Door During a Power Outage

When you have a power outage, opening your garage door can be a pain. Make sure you are familiar with how to engage your door’s manual mode in case of such emergencies. Look in your door opener’s manual for your brand specific recommendations. Below is a general guide on how to manually open your door.

Locate the Trigger

The majority of garage door openers have a bypass for situations where you cannot open your door the traditional way. Look for the red hanging rope on your garage door opener. This manual release disconnects the trolley from the attachment point to the rail. When you pull the release it will cause an open garage to come slamming down. Make sure that no one is near the door or the door is in the closed position when you activate the release.

Reattaching the Door

When power returns, you probably would want your automatic door again. To reengage the door opener, pull down on the cord but this time towards the door to keep the lever from activating. Pull up on the door until it jumps into place and then your door is back to automatic mode. Or, hit the button on the remote opener and the track will force the spring attachment back into place.

Check Door Safety and Function

When you put the door back to automatic mode, and the door seems uneven then you need a professional garage technician. The door spring may be broken or the track may need to be replaced. Don’t try to fix any tension-based springs by yourself, as it could cause serious injury or cause permanent damage to your garage door.

If you need help with engaging your door’s manual mode or have found an issue after opening your door manually, please give us a call at (877) 392-2590 or contact us online. Our qualified professionals are ready to help.