How a Remote Garage Door Opener Works

The first garage door opener remote controls created were a simple transmitter and receiver. The transmitter would transmit on a certain frequency, the receiver would listen for the radio signal, then open the garage. While a breakthrough at the time, the technology needed to be revamped when garage door openers became widely available and used. When a person opened their garage door, they tended to open their neighbor’s garage door as well. Surprisingly, it was powerful enough to interfere with other receivers in the area. Since then, the technology behind garage door openers has improved significantly.

 Security Codes

A different type of wireless garage door opener was created that used custom frequency codes to open a garage door. Systems required a garage door owner to set a digital password on the receiver and transmitter. While these switches provided garage door systems with a variety of different codes, they were not designed with security in mind. The intent was to avoid interference with similar systems nearby.

 Frequency Ranges

New garage door openers use a frequency spectrum range between 300-400 MHz. This approach prevents criminals from recording a code and replaying it to open a garage door. Since the signal is supposed to be always different from that of any other garage door remote control, it is claimed that it is impossible for someone other than the owner of the remote to open the garage. When the transmitter sends a code, it generates a never been used code through the encoder. The receiver, after receiving a correct code, uses the same encoder with the same original signal to generate a new code that it will accept in the future. Because there is a high probability that someone might accidentally push the open button while not in range and desynchronize the code, the transmitter and receiver generate back up codes ahead of time. That way you aren’t locked out of your own garage.

Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call us here at Action Garage Door at (877) 392-2590 or contact us online if you ever need a professional opinion about which type of garage door opener is the best fit for you. Our garage door is always open.