Is Your Garage Door the Easiest Way Into Your Home?

Most people lock the front door without thinking and leave the garage as the soft spot. For a lot of homes, it's the way the family comes and goes every day. That makes it worth a few minutes of attention. None of these fixes are expensive, and several are free.

1. Stop the coat-hanger trick

This is the big one. Every opener has an emergency release, usually a red cord hanging from the trolley on the rail. It's there so you can open the door by hand in a power outage. The problem is that it hangs right behind the top of the door.

The San Francisco Police Department's Taraval Station warned homeowners about thieves who thread a coat hanger or hooked wire through the gap at the top of the door and pull that release. Once it lets go, the door lifts by hand.

The station's advice was to keep the release lever from being tripped from outside while keeping it usable from inside. Options include:

• A release shield or guard that blocks a wire from reaching the release
• Securing the release lever so it can't be tripped by a pull from outside, but can still be freed by hand from inside in an emergency
• Having a garage door technician look at your setup and recommend the right fix

2. Retire fixed-code remotes

Very old openers use fixed codes, often set with a row of tiny DIP switches inside the remote and the motor unit. The remote sends the same signal every time, which makes it easier to copy. Rolling-code systems, such as LiftMaster and Chamberlain's Security+, generate a new code each time you press the button.

If you open your remote and see a row of little switches, your opener is old enough that it's worth an upgrade for security alone. See opener installation, or our opener cost guide.

3. Use lock mode when you're away

Many LiftMaster and Chamberlain wall controls have a Lock button, sometimes called vacation mode. According to Chamberlain's support site, when lock mode is on, the opener ignores remote controls. The opener lights flash twice if someone presses a remote, and the wall control's light flashes continuously. Press and hold the lock button to turn it off.

It's a good habit before a trip, and handy if you've lost a remote.

4. Don't leave a remote in a car parked outside

A remote clipped to the visor of a car in the driveway is an open invitation if the car gets broken into. Keep it on your keychain instead, or use a keypad or phone app. The same goes for the car's registration, which shows your address.

5. Erase remotes you can't account for

Lost a remote? Sold a car with one in it? Had a contractor or dog walker who used one? Most openers let you erase all remotes and keypads from the motor unit's learn button and reprogram only the ones you still have. Your manual will have the exact steps. If you use the myQ app or another smart controller, remove shared access for anyone who no longer needs it.

6. Get alerts when the door is left open

A door left open overnight is the easiest break-in of all. Smart openers and add-on controllers can send your phone an alert when the door opens or stays open. Some LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers also offer timer-to-close, which closes the door after a set time. Chamberlain says the opener beeps and flashes its lights before closing, and LiftMaster's instructions say unattended closing is only for sectional doors.

Before you set up any automatic closing, run the safety-reverse test and make sure your photo-eyes work. We explain the test in our fall checklist. If your sensor lights look wrong, see sensor lights yellow, green or blinking. For the latest on myQ apps and integrations, read myQ changes.

7. Treat the house door like a front door

If someone does get into the garage, the door from the garage into the house is the next barrier. Make it count:

• A solid door, not a hollow-core interior door
• A deadbolt, and actually locking it, especially at night and when you're away
• Long screws in the strike plate so the frame holds up to a kick

8. Cover the windows

Windows in a garage door look great from the street. They also show whether a car is home and what's stored inside. Frosted or obscure glass, or window film, fixes that.

9. Keep the door itself in good shape

A door that doesn't close all the way, sits crooked, or has a broken bottom section is easier to force. If your door stops short or bounces back up, see garage door won't close. If it's stuck open and you can't secure the house tonight, go to emergency repair.

If you use a manual slide lock on the door for extra security, don't run the opener while it's engaged. The opener will fight the lock and can damage the door or itself.