Garage Door Security: How to Protect Your Garage and Home From Break-Ins
Your garage door is usually the largest opening in your home, and in many houses it leads straight to an interior door. It also protects your car, tools, bikes, and everything else stored inside. This guide covers practical garage door security steps: protecting the emergency release, handling remotes and keypads, locking the opener while you’re away, and keeping the door in good working order. It also explains which steps you shouldn’t take, because a garage door’s safety features matter just as much as its security. If your opener is older or you want features like an outside keypad, our garage door opener services cover repair, replacement, and installation.
Quick checklist:
- Protect the emergency release from being hooked from outside, without disabling it
- Don’t leave a remote in a car parked outside
- Lock the door between the garage and your house
- Use the opener’s lock or vacation feature when you’re away
- Upgrade an opener that doesn’t use rolling-code technology
- Never leave the door partly open
- Fix a door that won’t close fully right away
Protect the Emergency Release
Every automatic opener has an emergency release, usually a handle on a cord hanging from the opener’s trolley. Pulling it disconnects the door from the opener so it can be moved by hand during a power outage or emergency. That’s an important safety feature, but it can also be a weak point. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office Crime Prevention Unit warns in its garage door security tip about a hooking technique that can be used to pull the release from outside, and suggests ways to block it.
The sheriff’s office recommendations include:
- Securing the release lever with a heavy-duty zip tie or wire, after removing the pull cord.
- Adding a small piece of channel steel between the lever and the track so it can’t be hooked.
- Installing a metal or wood shield above the center of the door to stop a hook from getting through.
- Keeping a way to release the door in an emergency. If the cord is removed, the tip suggests hanging a cord with an S-hook on a nail inside the garage near the door.
Don’t disable the release. You need it to get the door open in a power outage or emergency, and federal rules require opener manuals to explain how to use it (16 CFR 1211.16). Whatever you add, make sure an adult inside the garage can still release the door quickly. If you’re not sure your setup is safe, ask a technician to look at it.
One more caution about the release itself: pulling it when the door is open can let the door drop if a spring is weak or broken. Follow your opener manual’s instructions, and if a spring has failed, leave the door closed and call for garage door spring replacement.
Treat Your Remotes Like House Keys
A garage door remote opens the door to your house as surely as a key does. In its safety and security tips, published through RISMedia, manufacturer Overhead Door recommends keeping remotes out of your vehicle and away from parking attendants, considering a keychain remote instead, and locking the entry door from the garage into the house.
- Don’t leave a remote in a car parked in the driveway or on the street. Someone who gets into the car gets into your garage.
- Use a keychain remote if you park outside, so the remote stays with your keys.
- Don’t hand over your garage remote with your car at valet stands or service shops.
- Account for every remote. If one goes missing, or you move into a home with remotes from the previous owner, have the opener’s memory cleared and reprogram only the remotes you have. Your opener manual explains how, or we can do it for you.
- Keep remotes away from children. The CPSC recommends keeping remote controls out of children’s reach, which is a safety step as much as a security one.
Check Your Opener’s Technology
Older openers may use a fixed code, meaning the remote sends the same signal every time. Newer openers use rolling-code technology, which changes the code the remote sends with each use, so a copied signal won’t open the door again. Overhead Door’s tips advise that if your opener doesn’t have rolling-code technology, you should change the default access codes or upgrade to a newer model.
Many current openers also offer smartphone control, outside keypads, and battery backup for power outages. If you can check from your phone whether the door is closed, you can close it when you’ve forgotten. Our guide to belt, chain, and wall-mount openers covers what to look for when you upgrade.
Keypad Security
- Change the keypad code from any default, and avoid obvious choices like your house number or birthday.
- Change the code if you’ve shared it with a contractor, house sitter, or past guest.
- Shield the keypad with your hand when you enter the code.
- If the numbers you use most look worn, change the code.
Lock the Opener When You’re Away
Many wall controls include a lock or vacation feature that stops remotes from opening the door. Overhead Door’s tips recommend using the vacation lock switch or unplugging the opener while you’re away. Overhead Door’s Sure-Lock wall console, for example, was designed to let homeowners lock out external activation during extended absences. Check your own opener’s manual to see what your wall control offers.
Just remember to turn the lock off when you get home. A lock feature that’s left on is a common reason remotes suddenly stop working, as we explain in our guide to why a garage door won’t open.
Thinking About a More Secure Opener?
We repair, replace, and install garage door openers, remotes, and keypads. Tell us what your current setup does and what you want it to do.
Close the Easy Openings
- Never leave the door partly open. Overhead Door notes that a partly open door can close unexpectedly and weakens your home’s security. Propping it open a few inches for ventilation also makes it easy to reach under.
- Lock the door between the garage and the house. Treat it like an exterior door, because if the garage is breached, it is one.
- Secure the side service door. A garage side door deserves the same quality lock as your front door.
- Cover or frost garage door windows. Windows add light, but clear glass shows what’s inside. Manufacturer Clopay notes that opaque or tinted glass lets light in while improving privacy.
- Consider an alarm sensor. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office suggests adding a sensor on the overhead door as part of a home alarm system.
A Door That Won’t Close Is a Security Problem
The best security habits don’t help if the door won’t close. A door that reverses before reaching the floor, stops partway, or won’t come down at all leaves your garage and home exposed. Common causes include blocked or misaligned safety sensors, a track or roller problem, and opener settings that have drifted. Our guide to why a garage door won’t close walks through what you can check yourself.
If the door is stuck open and you can’t secure it, treat it as urgent. Our emergency garage door service is there for doors stuck open, with same-day service available.
Don’t Trade Safety for Security
Some “security” shortcuts make a garage door more dangerous. Avoid these:
Good Security Steps
- Blocking the release from being hooked from outside
- Locking the opener while you travel
- Keeping remotes out of parked cars
- Upgrading an outdated opener
- Locking the house entry door
Unsafe Shortcuts to Avoid
- Disabling the emergency release entirely
- Disconnecting or bypassing the safety sensors
- Mounting the wall button where children can reach it
- Adjusting springs, cables, or brackets yourself
For the wall button, the CPSC advises installing it as high as practical, and federal installation rules call for a minimum of 5 feet above the floor so small children can’t reach it.
Garage Door and Opener Service Across the Treasure Valley
Velocity Garage Door is a locally owned, family-run company based in Meridian, Idaho. We repair, replace, and install openers, remotes, and keypads, and we fix doors that won’t close or run safely. When we look at your setup, we explain what we found and what we recommend before any work begins. We serve Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Garden City, and the rest of our service areas.
Make Your Garage Harder to Get Into
Whether it’s a new opener, reprogrammed remotes, or a door that won’t close, we can help you secure your garage the safe way.
Garage Door Security: Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone open my garage door using the emergency release?
It’s possible. Crime prevention officers have warned about a technique that uses a hook to pull the emergency release from outside. Blocking access to the release, for example with a shield above the center of the door, makes this much harder.
Is it safe to zip-tie the garage door emergency release?
Only if you can still release the door quickly from inside in an emergency or power outage. Never disable the release completely. If you’re unsure whether your setup is safe, have a garage door technician check it.
Should I keep my garage door remote in my car?
Not if the car is parked outside. A remote left in a car gives anyone who breaks into the car access to your garage. A keychain remote keeps it with your keys instead.
How do I lock my garage door opener when I’m on vacation?
Many wall controls have a lock or vacation feature that stops remotes from opening the door. Check your opener manual. Unplugging the opener also works, but remember that the door must be released by hand if you need it while it’s unplugged.
Are older garage door openers less secure?
They can be. Openers without rolling-code technology send the same code every time. If yours doesn’t use rolling codes, change the default codes or consider upgrading to a newer opener.