Replacing lost Garage door remote, a universal will work?

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TeaLeaf

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#310897 29-Nov-2023 16:10

The only thing I can see in the manual is it says hold down the "Learn" button on the indoor unit, it will blink for xyz time, press the key on the remote you want to program.

It doesnt say any specific type of remote, so will a universal model work? JayCar perhaps?

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#3165778 29-Nov-2023 16:13

Perhaps tell us what make and model you have.

TeaLeaf

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#3165782 29-Nov-2023 16:16

RunningMan:

Perhaps tell us what make and model you have.

pretty private information to be sharing? not sure how it will help either, are you genuinely a remote garage door installer? If not knowing the make and model will be meaningless/generic.

Will try scanning the manual further.

jonathan18

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#3165783 29-Nov-2023 16:17

I imagine you can source non-OEM remotes for most garage doors - certainly I’ve bought remotes for our Merlin door from Ali Express. They work ok; annoyingly they use that stupidly expensive battery that looks like a midget AAA.

I find the smart WiFi opener we’ve attached to the door more useful - eg, can control it anywhere including as a shortcut on Android Auto. Also has a key advantage of ensuring the door is shut at night time!

TeaLeaf

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#3165786 29-Nov-2023 16:20

jonathan18: certainly I’ve bought remotes for our Merlin door from Ali Express.

I find the smart WiFi opener we’ve attached to the door more useful - eg, can control it anywhere including as a shortcut on Android Auto. Also has a key advantage of ensuring the door is shut at night time!

So they were just Generic ones for your Merlin? Same here.

Is that wifi opener a Merlin product?

jonathan18

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#3165787 29-Nov-2023 16:21

TeaLeaf:
RunningMan:

Perhaps tell us what make and model you have.

pretty private information to be sharing? not sure how it will help either, are you genuinely a remote garage door installer? If not knowing the make and model is meaningless.

Seriously, make and model is private info?! It’s absolutely not meaningless - you asked for guidance, and specific advice can’t actually be provided unless you supply that info.

Otherwise do what I did and research it on the web. Search for your brand/model, and ensure frequency etc of any non-OEM remote aligns and ideally it specifically lists compatibility with your model. But don’t knock people for asking for the basics if you want help.

jonathan18

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#3165789 29-Nov-2023 16:25

TeaLeaf: So they were just Generic ones for your Merlin? Same here.

Is that wifi opener a Merlin product?

Non-Merlin remote, yes, but as per my above post I made sure it was compatible with the specific model. Not hard to find this info.

No, the WiFi product (also from AE) works across a wide range of garage doors, as it just hooks into the wired remote inputs - from that it controls the up/down, and a sensor on the door is used to determine if it’s open or closed. Not complex to install or expensive to buy and it’s fantastic. Easy to work out if it’ll work on a particular model - just put a paper clip across the two inputs and if it opens/closes the door when the circuit is complete it’ll work.

RunningMan

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#3165790 29-Nov-2023 16:26

TeaLeaf:

pretty private information to be sharing? not sure how it will help either, are you genuinely a remote garage door installer? If not knowing the make and model will be meaningless/generic.

Ahh, not sure how that's private info at all, but anyway, just trying to help.

Try this website, enter the make and model and see what it tells you. A generic remote likely works on a generic frequency. See if your model also uses the same frequency as a start.

https://www.google.co.nz/

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Gordy7

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#3165793 29-Nov-2023 16:28

TeaLeaf:
RunningMan:

Perhaps tell us what make and model you have.

pretty private information to be sharing? not sure how it will help either, are you genuinely a remote garage door installer? If not knowing the make and model will be meaningless/generic.

Will try scanning the manual further.

Letting us know the make and model is not giving away any remote codes.
If the remotes use rolling code then you will likely only be able to use the remotes specific to your door opener.

Gordy

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SATTV

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#3165794 29-Nov-2023 16:29

Mitre10 have some universal garage remotes for $70 or so.

I have bought one of these and it was cheaper than a remote and I use it a lot more than I thought I would

https://www.meross.com/en-gc/smart-garage-door-opener/garage-door-opener-remote-control/29

John

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TeaLeaf

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#3165795 29-Nov-2023 16:29

jonathan18: Search for your brand/model, and ensure frequency etc of any non-OEM remote aligns and ideally it specifically lists compatibility with your model. But don’t knock people for asking for the basics if you want help.

steady on, not knocking anyone, is not something to be overly precious about I just wasnt sure if its something you should post and the relevance of it.

Like I said, yours is the same as mine...............................

anyway, thanks for the tips.

I think we had te 3 channel c945 keys prior.

I tried googling the model and didnt come up with compatability. But will try again, perhaps against the remote.

Cheers

TeaLeaf

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#3165797 29-Nov-2023 16:33

Gordy7:

Letting us know the make and model is not giving away any remote codes.
If the remotes use rolling code then you will likely only be able to use the remotes specific to your door opener.

I dont think so, I think they are programmed. Is this something I should look to reprogram for security reasons? Highly unlikely given it didnt have an address on it.....

Thanks, puts my security concerns into perspective.

It was nice and small, I bet we find it the moment we replace it :-)

TeaLeaf

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#3165799 29-Nov-2023 16:35

SATTV:

Mitre10 have some universal garage remotes for $70 or so.

I have bought one of these and it was cheaper than a remote and I use it a lot more than I thought I would

https://www.meross.com/en-gc/smart-garage-door-opener/garage-door-opener-remote-control/29

John

Well it seems to have many purposes. I will see if its cheaper than the Merlin specific one.

Thanks everyone :-)

RunningMan

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#3165800 29-Nov-2023 16:36

OK, if you've got a Merlin, go here https://www.gomerlin.co.nz/remotes-controls/

You can use that to work out what model remote you should have for the year of door opener, and what frequency it uses. Either buy the genuine article, or use the model number of the remote to search for a compatible substitute.

RunningMan

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#3165801 29-Nov-2023 16:39

TeaLeaf:

I dont think so, I think they are programmed. Is this something I should look to reprogram for security reasons?

The remote is programmed to the door via the process you mentioned in the OP. Unless it's programmed to your door, it won't work. If it wasn't like this, you'd be opening all your neighbour's doors every time you came home.

EDIT: The exception would be something like the pre 2001 Merlin model where I think the code is manually set with a DIP switch inside the remote cover.

TeaLeaf

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#3165802 29-Nov-2023 16:41

RunningMan:

OK, if you've got a Merlin, go here https://www.gomerlin.co.nz/remotes-controls/

You can use that to work out what model remote you should have for the year of door opener, and what frequency it uses. Either buy the genuine article, or use the model number of the remote to search for a compatible substitute.

Lovely, thank you very much. I saw all these ultra cheap remotes when I first googled it and it became a bit overwhelming which would work.

Do you know if its possible to program the door unit itself with a new code, is that what they mean by the four number code?

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