I have installed 3 Garadgets in my garage and all 3 work fine with the Garadget app. The problem is they now interfere with the original LiftMaster remote controls and the Homelink controls in our cars. It is rather inconvenient having to always use my phone to open and close the doors. I have disconnected the usb on one of the devices and both the remote and homelink are functioning properly again.
To resolve this please move Garadget(s) a bit further from the opener’s own antenna.
Thank you! I’m going to give this a try, as I have the same problem and it’s been driving my wife and I crazy.
I moved the garadget about 18" away from the opener/antenna and it completely fixed my issues with my regular wireless remotes and homelinks. Yay!!
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How far does the garadget device need to be away from the antennas to not interfere? I have moved it to the other end of the opener, but it still doesn’t work. If I go further, then I will have to build a some sort new mounting device to hold the garadget, which doesn’t seem to be a good solution.
Usually just couple of inches do it. Have you confirmed that it’s the Garadget that is the source of the interference? No new LED bulbs in the garage?
I have 2 units, 1 has no interference with the remotes, the 2nd door does interfere with the remote. I don’t want to move the gsradget since it’s already mounted and the reflective tape in place. Would extending the antenna wire resolve this issue?
Yes, adding an external antenna with a longer wire would allow to place it further away from opener’s antenna while keeping Garadget in its current location.
Here are some options with correct connector.
Please PM the device ID for firmware update when you have antenna connected.
I added extra 14 gauge wire to the existing opener antenna. This has helped a bit, the range on the original openers is still not as far as it used to be, but i can at least open the door from the edge of my driveway.
Do you still need to update my firmware? will updating the firmware have any impact on the interference with the opener’s antenna?
I was suggesting the external antenna for Garadget.
If your Garadget still uses the internal antenna then no firmware update is required.
I tried moving the Garadget 18" from the unit antenna, but it still did not help. I will try extending the opener’s antenna like tyman101 did. Otherwise, I cannot tell from the eBay link which specific external antenna is compatible. Perhaps a direct link (like to an Amazon product) would be helpful. Will post back on the result of tyman101’s approach.
Here are some of the choices for 2.4GHz antennas that will work with Garadget’s connector:
So just to be clear, the benefit of placing the external antenna on the Garadget is to move the tip of the antenna further away from the opener’s antenna tip, and that is why doing so reduces interference? The increased length of the antenna does not add to the interference because only the tip of the antenna matters?
If so, this particular antenna would attach to Garadget and help, provided the firmware is updated?
The solution (that worked for me) was to extend the antenna for the opener, not the Garadget.
Steps:
- Expose a quarter inch of wire from the antenna on the opener.
- Measure the distance needed to extend the wire to the front of the garage door opening.
- Connect 13-14 ga wire (I used split speaker wire, 14 ga, and electrician’s wire connector caps rather than soldering them together).
- Extend the wire about 3-4 inches to the outside, at the top corner of garage door opening.
Problem solved!
For more info, there is a YouTube video for this solution as well.
Yes, the cord of the external antenna is not active element and it does not transmit/receive the signal. This allows more flexibility in mounting the active element (tip) of Garadget’s antenna further away from door opener’s antenna. Also when signal is weak or Garadget’s internal antenna is shielded by the opener’s enclosure, this also improves the connection.
In your Amazon link I see the adapter for the antenna connection, but not the actual antenna. The antenna would be (typically) black rubbery part that screws on the larger of the two connectors.
Before you try installing an antenna extension, one thing to try is to clip a small weight on to your existing antenna if it’s the kind that hangs out of the bottom of the garage door opener.
I had this same issue and it was driving me crazy. I had switched bulbs to an LED bulb and the range on my regular remote opener and the one on my car’s visor seemed to gradually decrease over time and also seemed to be affected by the weather (or maybe it was random). It got to the point where I had to be within inches of hitting the door to be in range to open or close it with the regular remote and the visor remote would only work while I was inside the garage.
I tried switching back to a fluorescent bulb and then an incandescent bulb and finally to one of the special shielded LED garage door bulbs and this seemed to have a small impact on range. What ended up finally fixing my range issue was to attach a simple clothespin to the antenna wire on the garage door opener. This straightened the antenna wire and now I can open the garage door as soon as I turn in to my driveway.