Broken garage door opener with shut garage doors, must I break out a window?

Bust a window? Are you locked out of your house?

I’m confused. Is it just the remote not opening, but you can open the garage with the button on the wall of the garage?

Is this a detached garage?

^^Great question. My husband and I might be building a detached garage and now I understand why it’s important to put a regular walk-thru door on it.

Can you get into the garage another way? There is a pull release that will disconnect the door from the opener It is usually on the trolley near the top of the door. Pull that cord and handle and the door will be free.

Look carefully at the switch positions. Make sure they are all matched. You might have bumped one when installing a new battery. Sometimes you can tell if the transmitter is transmitting by going near an AM radio tuned away from a station so you hear static. Push the transmitter and listen for a change on the radio.

Are there gadgets that can scroll through and open the garage? I’ve always thought the easiest way to break into a house is the garage, because I always thought there are gadgets that can lift the garage door by figuring out the code. If that’s so, maybe locksmiths have them? Or, garage door fix it guys.

Did you read @luckyguy post he did tell you how to use the door manually until you figure it out or get it fixed,they put those releases in place in case the unit fails or a power outage.

^^It doesn’t make sense to me that the OP is stuck inside? Unlatching the garage for manual operation is only an option if you’re inside. Why would someone have to break a window to get out? Can’t they just open a window? Unless the windows are just picture panes?

@JLeslie Modern garage door systems use rolling codes. Not unhackable but much harder than the old dip switch coded ones. I just replaced mine this summer and it’s got an access point connected to wifi so I can open it with my phone if it’s an emergency. If it opens or closes I get a notification as well. I though it was silly at first but it has proven to be very handy.

The pull string is the easiest way to unlock your garage. Since my door has windows I removed the pull string and fixed the latch for this reason.

I hope this also gives the OP a solution as well

I didn’t know about the rolling codes. That’s a good thing. The wire hanger makes perfect sense! The OP should try that.

My fancy garage doors on my husbands garage lock when they go down. If the power is out I think you have to turn the lock from inside. I’m not even sure if there is another step? The motor is a wall mount, not from the ceiling. Not that it matters, I don’t want to get off on that tangent.

All I know is I lock all doors, including the door from my garage to my house, which many people leave unlocked.

House= 1948
Separated two car garage
No doors in building construction.
Window on back side- hinkey neighbors
Windows (panes) up on front doors, 5 per. Also original.
Buttons to open are on the Divider support -between the two sides.
I reeeeally don’t want to break the glass.
:/ help!

@msh Did you try to rig a hanger and pull down the release on the door?

I had to leave my house in another city to return to care for family here. My furniture/household stuff is in the garage…. Creatures have most likely built condos and entire cities in there since this happened.
That’s why I’m torn about breaking a garage door window.
I hate this. It’s so frustrating.
I wondered at asking a garage door company, but $ is a concern, and I had huge hassles when I got a new g-door opener at my house. Er…My former house. Sorry. I had just saved up and done some great updates on that place. I had to walk away because of market value/upside down, and the need to be here pretty quickly. Sooo. Yeah. $ is a factor.
Sorry, TMI and I’m whining.
Any ideas under the ocean here?

Are you reading? Get something long and thin like a hanger and find a space to put it through around the garage door and pull down the release.

There aren’t openings. The doors fit flat against the structure. I’m outside. I can’t finagle anything in on the sides. Its an older type of garage – doors smack up against the frame. The roller-track makes the door flush to the sides…

Even along the top? Can’t jimmy a wire through there?

It’s a long shot but have you tried cleaning the infra red receptor and sender?

If it is a wood door you can drill a small hole in it to get the hanger through then fill the hole with wood putty after.

Oh, did someone mention trying new batteries in the opener?

I hadn’t thought of a blocked infa red! Ok-
I will work on that first.
I hadn’t thought of using my drill either!
That will be the next. No windows! Yea!
The batteries- yes, it was my first try.
Why do they use an odd size batteries on some remotes?
Thank you all so very much!
I at least have some options now. That gives me new ideas to work with-
I needed this – I appreciate it very much!

@msh ¾ inch hole, tight hook on the hangar so it fits through.

I had springs break on my garage door and was unable to get my car out of the garage a couple of times over the year. Once had to be rescued by the garage door company. I have a door into the house from the garage, but didn’t (Stupidly, still do not) have a key to that door. It wasn’t for the lack of the release on the door opener, it was the door is wooden and Way too heavy for me to lift to escape.

Oh no! I cannot begin to fathom the weight of these babies. There would be no way. They are solid. And you were trapped on the inside? I’m so glad it wasn’t on the weekend or a holiday! It would’ve been hard to get someone to come out then and help. Yow!
Bless your heart!
I appreciate that they are made to last. The opener is much younger- definitely not made to last.
I had a flaslight out in the dark the other night checking to see if the tracks were blocked, or that the coils hadn’t snapped and made a hole the size of the South Pole in the walls. In the dark, I could see it better without the glare from the one garage window in the back wall.
No one called the police so that was positive! I found the springs sound… and went back inside pretty quickly! :)

Those springs are probably the most dangerous things in your house. The stored energy in them could tear your arm off, I’m not exaggerating.

Do you live in Western NY? I’d gladly help you.

What a kind thing to offer! Thank you!
No, I am smack in the middle of Ohio.
I’m going to go out to take a new look at the whole situation tomorrow.
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
I so hope the police don’t show up on a burglary call.
“No officer, I am not trying to steal my own stuff…..”
Again, thank you so very much! I appreciate your offer.
May I call, collect, for bail, if needed? :)

That is a little far for a casual house call. Sure you can call me if you get arrested. I’d even post bail.

Maybe a cop could help? They probably know how to break into garages. I would call the cops if say my child was locked inside with the remote. Don’t call 911, but you could call fire rescue or the cops tomorrow and see if they can swing by and help at their convenience.

Please don’t ask a cop, you will get laughed at. I had a female cop friend tell me once someone called to have a tire changed. The predictable response was um, sir we don’t do that.

Been there, done that.

We broke a window. Twice. If we were going to stay here, we would install a side door for such emergencies.

@Cupcake – There’s your million $ idea! Patent a glass pane that swings open for easy entry! Swing An Opener. No..wait..No Entry Glass Panes For Pains Of Garage Door Fun! But
I guess it would end up…Hey Everyone, Do You Want Free Stuff?
In that case, no. Skip the patent.

My neighbor is a paramedic with the fire department and they answer “frivolous” calls all the time. He didn’t really complain about it.

Fire dept yes, police no. Even then you basically taking advantage. It’s not an emergency.

If all else fails, you could measure the window first and have a piece of Plexiglas cut ahead of time so you can quickly replace the broken pane once you are in. Don’t forget points and glazing compound.

@ARE_you_kidding_me I’m not suggesting it’s an emergency. Calling the local police and describing the problem and asking if they can help doesn’t hurt anything. They can always say no. A lot of the time cops are just out patrolling.

I think a call to a garage company is worth a try too, but they will definitely charge the OP.

@JLeslie That’s what I’m trying to suggest. It’s neither the responsibility of the police or fire dept. They have enough burdens and generally not enough support. It’s a job for a garage door company or a handy man. I’m not calling anyone out here so don’t take this the wrong way. It really chaps my backside when people feel like they need to call upon someone else to fix their problem and expect it to be free. Now, if the OP was calling the fire dept to inspect the garage, smoke alarms safety advice etc then that is within their scope. Unless it’s a volunteer fire dept and they have not donated to them or are not paying their taxes.

What free? I’m a tax paying citizen. If you live in a town where cops are driving around giving traffic tickets all the time I don’t see a big problem with it. If you live in a crime ridden city then maybe don’t pull the cops off the street.

I wouldn’t call the cops personally, but it sounds like the OP is tight on money.

It’s not what you pay them for or what they are trained to do. Would you call them to unclog your toilet? Would you call a pizza delivery guy to change your oil? This is same comparison as asking police or fire dept to help you fix your garage door so I don’t even see why it’s a consideration.

No. But, a cop might know how to break in. A cop helped me jimmy my car once.

All I know in my case, is I needed two new springs put on and twisted a certain number of times to let the garage door opener open the door. It took two pretty burly looking guys and step ladders to hold the door up for them to work on it. Expensive? yes. Worth it? Oh hell yes. Next time I think I’ll get an aluminium door.

@JLeslie Cops do that pretty regularly. It’s in their scope to make sure you are secure and safe when you ask for help.
Fixing a garage door is not in that scope. Just trying to be clear on that. It’s different. That said, calling AAA or a locksmith is what you should do in those situations.

@majorrich I have a 2 car garage with a single wood, (heavy!) door. The opener is assisted by 2 large and scary coil springs. About 10 years ago one 50 year old spring let loose, and the door came down with a bang that sounded like thunder. It shook the house. I wouldn’t even think about replacing those springs myself and I’m the kind of guy who will try anything.

That said in an emergency I would still find a way to open that door just high enough so I could crawl under it and get inside.

In my next life my garage doors will be made of titanium!

@ARE_you_kidding_me Do what regularly? Break into cars? I’m talking about the cop helping break in, not about them fixing the door. Are we talking about the same thing?

@LuckyGuy same here but my springs are tortional, about 4 feet long and twisted around a shaft that drives a take-up pully. But a wooden two-car door just insanely heavy. I have to think a doot that heavy would be lethal if it managed to squash you.

I can’t imagine how heavy real wood is. I don’t even know if I could lift it even if I released the latch.

The older style springs had cables and stretchy springs. They were pretty dangerous if the cables failed.

@JLeslie We are, I doubt you would get one to even agree to it.

Ok, that’s different. I was only saying the OP could ask. That’s it.

Of course she can, I ‘m just saying it’s not really appropriate to. It’s not really an emergency. If you find one who will then buy that person lunch because they are going above and beyond.

Are cops there only for emergencies? I say no. They help keep the peace, they help the public. There are police even in towns with almost no crime. They are part of the social network of the town. They are often by nature the type of people who want to help. Some places they have a lot of down time. It depends on the town.

We have a police number specific to non-emergencies that can be called at any time. They will route you to the appropriate city office or will send out an officer, but it will be at the bottom of their priorities.