Chamberlain myQ Garage Door Opener Alternative!

Chamberlain recently restricted use of their service for the MyQ garage door opener from being used by 3rd party applications, which includes Home Assistant. Many users have been upset by this since they are no longer able to use the MyQ garage door opener which they paid for with their platform of choice. Only the app created by Chamberlain may be used to control their MyQ devices. See the announcement here: chamberlaingroup.com/press/a-...
In this video, I demonstrate how I have added smart home capabilities to my garage door using Z-Wave devices by Zooz. The multi-relay is connected directly to the garage door opener rather than putting the relay between the garage door opener and the switch so it can behave as an independant/secondary switch (I had a few minor problems with connecting it the way it is shown in the instruction manual). I also show a couple of automations I have set up as examples of what you can do with the garage door opener and tilt sensor.
I briefly mention in the video that you may enable local access to the MyQ garage door opener by purchasing the ratgdo hardware kit if you do not wish to replace the MyQ garage door opener. There are some advantages to using the ratgdo if you have a more modern garage door opener such as knowing the open/close status without needing an extra sensor and the ability to control the light. To purchase the ratgdo, please visit: paulwieland.github.io/ratgdo/
*Important Note:* The ratgdo also handles Security+ 2.0 which is an encrypted serial communication protocol so that is important to consider if you have one of those types of garage door openers because that may be a more elegant solution if you can have access to all of the status information without the need for a relay and extra sensor.
For basic smart home functionality for garage door openers like mine, the Z-Wave solution I present in the video works well even though it does require a separate tilt sensor if you wish to know the open/close status.
For a written version of this video, please visit:
theprivatesmarthome.com/blog/...
Amazon affiliate links for the Z-Wave devices mentioned in the video if you wish to support my efforts (I appreciate it!):
Zooz ZEN16 multirelay: amzn.to/3FUIgAu
Zooz tilt/shock sensor: amzn.to/3QXSfLU
Zooz 800 Series Z-Wave USB stick (if you don't have a Z-Wave controller yet): amzn.to/3MGgtYg
You may also purchase Zooz hardware on The Smartest Home website. Even with paying shipping (it's free for orders over $99 USD), you may be able to get the devices cheaper than on Amazon especially during the holidays when they run sales: www.thesmartesthouse.com
EP31

[@aporlebeke]

Really appreciated this video. Was looking at this exact zooz products and setup for the garage (minus siri & homekit) and the wiring and reasoning I wasn't 100% clear on. Thanks!

[@homenetworkguy]

Thanks! Glad you appreciated it! This works great if you don’t have a fancy garage door opener that uses rolling security codes. It might be a bit more expensive to buy that Z-Wave relay and Z-Wave tilt sensor but it’s so easy to integrate it into Home Assistant to have full local control (sometimes it’s worth extra to have non-cloud controlled devices). Also that Zooz relay can automate up to 3 garage doors if you multiple garage doors (but you’d also need additional tilt sensors).

[@dewolf142]

For a fully wifi solution (that's very inexpensive), I use a shelly 1. And it looks like they have a mini out now that's less than $12. There's a couple of gotcha's to setting this up: 1) adjusting the relay output (that actually controls the garage door) to only trigger for ~.5 seconds to effectively operate as a momentary switch and 2) to program the input, which is to be repurposed to be used as a door position indicator. All that for only around $20 in parts! and local control!

[@homenetworkguy]

Nice! That is pretty inexpensive. Z-Wave is certainly not the cheapest solution but I like that it operates on a different frequency than WiFi. Also the mesh network works pretty well. I forgot to mention in the video that I set the relay to act as a momentary switch so that functionality is built in (just a parameter you set on the Z-Wave device). The interesting part you mentioned is programming the input as a door position indicator. I just use a separate sensor to know the actual physical position of the door. It would be interesting to know the alternatives to using a door sensor. Some of the new garage doors have a lot more information (and encryption) to indicate if the door is up/down or obstructed. I think my garage door opener is pretty basic so doesn’t have a lot of fancy features. Haha.

[@dewolf142]

I debated a lot between zigbee and z wave and i agree with you on the operating frequency part. In fact ive been fighting reliability issues on zigbee and wifi until just recently when i made an actual site design and set static channels on my zigbee networks and wifi APs. Regardless, for people without zigbee or zwave, wifi devices like shelly are super convenient and easy!

[@TechOut]

I need to get something like this. I was using HA to bridge my door to HomeKit since crappy Chamberlin want's to call it a smart garage door opener and work with 0 of the major smart home integrations. I see they are even discontinuing their hub that was first party with HomeKit like wtf?

[@homenetworkguy]

Yeah that’s crazy. I don’t have a deep knowledge how all their products work, but I’m glad I went down the Home Assistant route with Z-Wave because I love having full local control. Don’t need to worry about the service getting shut down.

[@rogscuba8]

I did the wiring like you did. But I got a big problem after 2 days. What if I am using MyQ 889LM wall opener? I can trigger to open and close from HA (Zooz Relay), but after 2 days, My 889LM opener would flash red/orange light. And HA and Zooz Relay can NO longer open/close the garage door. I don't know why the 889LM would flash red/orange LED, and why Zooz Relay cannot fire the signal to GDO to open/close the door.

[@homenetworkguy]

I’m not sure if my setup would work on a more modern garage which uses rotating security codes. I mentioned that in the description of the video that ratgdo may work better for those types of garage door openers.

[@Drysart]

​@@homenetworkguy This setup absolutely won't work with any modern MyQ-enabled garage door, as they use rolling codes even from the wall switches, so they can't be operated by just attaching a relay across the two signaling wires. But if you don't want to wait for a ratgdo and you already have a wifi enabled relay on hand (like your solution or like a Shelly), you can instead buy another remote control for the garage, crack into its case, and set the relay up across the remote's button contacts on the board, so that triggering the relay is effectively 'pressing the button' on the remote; then the existing logic in the remote takes over and sends the necessary codes to open the garage. (This is exactly the solution I implemented myself after MyQ broke in Home Assistant, since I have a bunch of Shellys laying around and you can get cheap Security+ 2.0 remotes from anywhere.)

[@homenetworkguy]

@@Drysart Yeah I said it probably wouldn’t work on a modern door. Also stated that in the description too. When I recorded the video I failed to mention that somewhat briefly at the beginning (when mentioning the ratgdo) but I was focused more on what you could do if you want to automate the door and you don’t yet have the myQ or a modern opener. Thanks for the tip as one option you could implement if you already have a fancy modern garage door opener! That is a pretty neat way to do it.

[@daveklassen7052]

Can you get remote opener fobs for this relay?

[@homenetworkguy]

You could use any kind of button that you can connect to your smart home software such as Home Assistant. For instance there are some Z-Wave buttons you could use. They are general purpose buttons though so it will be more clunky than a traditional garage door opener fob. I’m just using the original garage door fobs along with the original wall button. Then of course Home Assistant for the smart home functionality.

[@daveklassen7052]

@@homenetworkguy Thanks

[@CalvinHenderson]

Hubitat is another option to consider. Elevation 8 is their latest product.

[@homenetworkguy]

Yeah definitely other options out there. I’m currently only able to show my setup, but I’m sure there are other great solutions out there!

[@CalvinHenderson]

@@homenetworkguy I am going to setup my Hubitat C8 this week and get prepared for some light switches and such in the coming weeks. I also want to look at some thermostats in the future. The garage door is low on my to-do list due to my worry and concern for security. hahaha I might get there though.

[@geraldbennett7035]

your intro is difficult to hear with music playing

[@homenetworkguy]

You mean when you play music since my intro doesn’t have any music? Yeah audio could be better. I’m getting a basic lapel mic so I can move around more without needing to be close to a mic. I’m hoping it will help improve some of the audio (I’m gradually working to improve quality over time).

[@planetsalined]

After you made a point, move on. You mention that you first connected switch to zen16 and then connected to zen16. After you state why that wasn't a good method, you go on way too long. Just a few more sentences on this is sufficient. Also, showing the actual wiring from the zen16 to the garage opener is not shown and that is why I watched till the end. Like the details and thanks for the video but keep the talking to a miniumn and don't forget to show actual connection.

[@homenetworkguy]

Thanks. I realized that later. Was going to show a wiring diagram.