Do you want to control your garage door by voice with Alexa?
The Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door Opener is one of the top smart garage door openers on the market. But does MyQ work with Alexa and is it even safe to control your garage door by voice?
In this article, you will find out how Chamberlain MyQ can work with Alexa.
Does Chamberlain MyQ work with Alexa?
MyQ can work with Alexa if you use IFTTT or the SimpleCommands app. The Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener does not directly work with Alexa. However, you can connect MyQ to Alexa using IFTTT to close your garage door by voice or trigger your MyQ garage door to close in an Alexa Routine. The SimpleCommands app gives additional functionality of opening or closing your MyQ garage door with an Alexa Routine.
The MyQ IFTTT integration is compatible with Alexa Routines. You can easily close your garage door using a simple command such as, “Alexa, close garage door”.
How do I Connect Chamberlain MyQ to Alexa?
The easiest way to connect MyQ to Alexa is with IFTTT. IFTTT is a web-based application that allows you to connect and automate different tools using simple “If This Then That” commands.
There are two steps needed to close your garage with a simple command such as “Alexa, close the garage door”. First, we need to connect MyQ to Alexa using IFTTT and create an applet. Second, we need to create an Alexa Routine that triggers the IFTTT applet.
The second step is optional but allows you to remove the IFTTT trigger language:
- IFTTT Only = “Alexa, trigger close garage door”
- IFTTT + Alexa Routine = “Alexa, close garage door”
I prefer the more natural language and don’t want to say “trigger” in the command.
Connect MyQ to Alexa with IFTTT
The first action is to create an IFTTT account and connect the MyQ and Alexa services.
Make sure you have “subscribed” to the MyQ IFTTT subscription service before continuing. This is currently a free subscription, but MyQ has charged for this in the past.
Follow the steps below to connect MyQ to Alexa
1. Start a New IFTTT Applet
- On your IFTTT page, click “Explore” in the upper right corner
- Then click “Create” where it says make your own from scratch
2. Add Alexa as the IF Trigger
- Click the + Button (IF)
- Search for the Alexa service
- Select “Say a Specific Phrase”
- Type “Close Garage Door” or something similar (this is the phrase you will use if you only use IFTTT to trigger the garage)
3. Add MyQ as the Then Action
- Click the + Button (THEN)
- Search for the MyQ service
- Select “Close Garage Door”
- Choose the Garage Door you want to control
- Select “Create Action”
4. Name Your IFTTT Applet and Finish
You can save and activate your IFTTT applet using any name.
You can now close your garage door by saying:
Alexa. Trigger close garage door.
Follow the steps below to create an Alexa Routine so you don’t have to say the word “trigger” in front of your command.
Create MyQ and Alexa Routine
You created an IFTTT applet for Alexa to close a MyQ garage door. But you don’t want to start the command with the word “Trigger”.
You can easily add a custom Alexa command to start your IFTTT applet to close the garage.
Create a New Alexa Routine
- Click the hamburger menu in the upper left corner of the Alexa app
- Select “Routines”
- Click the + button in the top right corner to create a new routine
- Complete the 3 steps to create your Alexa Routine with MyQ
Create a Name for Your Alexa Routine
Tap the + button and create a name for your routine. I used “Close Garage”.
Create When this Happens Alexa Command
Tap the + button by “When this happens” to build the trigger to start the routine. Choose “Voice” and type in the customer Alexa command you want to say to close your garage. I simply used “Close Garage”.
Add IFTTT Action to Close Garage
Tap the + button by “Add action”. Select IFTTT and choose the applet you created that linked your MyQ Garage Door to Alexa. Click save when you are done.
Congratulations! You are done. Your MyQ Garage Door Opener is now linked to Alexa using a Routine and IFTTT.
You can now close your Chamberlain MyQ Garage Door by simply saying:
Alexa. Close Garage.
What Voice Commands can I Create for My Garage Door?
Currently, you can only close your MyQ Garage Door with Alexa.
MyQ doesn’t allow you to open the garage door with a voice command.
If you want to Open and Close your garage door with Alexa, then I recommend choosing a different smart garage door opener than Chamberlain MyQ.
Is Controlling Your Garage with Alexa Safe?
There are two considerations when controlling your garage by voice:
- Is controlling the garage by voice secure?
- Is controlling the garage by voice safe?
MyQ Voice Control – Security
The first consideration is how secure is it to link MyQ and Alexa. As mentioned above, you can only close your MyQ garage door by voice (unless you use the SimpleCommands app). Opening the garage by voice would bring in additional security concerns.
MyQ doesn’t ask for voice PINs or other security codes to perform the actions. Without a voice PIN, you wouldn’t want to create a voice command to open your garage. This would be a security risk.
Without a PIN, a person could yell through your windows and trigger Alexa to open the garage. Limiting voice controls to closing your garage ensures the process is secure.
MyQ Voice Control – Safety
The second consideration is safety. When you close your garage by voice, you can’t see if someone or something is in the way.
MyQ makes remote voice control safer by sounding an alarm and flashing lights for several seconds before the garage door closes. The audible and visual alerts only occur when the garage is closed with the app or by voice.
This doesn’t solve the issue of something in the way of the garage like a car. You should always ensure the garage door path is clear. Most garage doors use a laser light and pressure sensitivity to prevent a door from closing if it is obstructed.
What Other Garage Door Openers Work with Alexa?
The Chamberlain MyQ garage door opener is a great device that is extremely simple to set up. However, it doesn’t integrate with systems such as SmartThings and you can only close your garage door with an Alexa voice command.
There are several other smart garage door openers for you to consider that provide additional functionality.
Make sure you reset your MyQ opener to factory settings before selling or returning the device.
- OPEN, CLOSE & SCHEDULE your garage door anytime, anywhere.
- VOICE CONTROL with Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant.
- KNOW YOUR HISTORY – Know who is coming or going and receive notifications if someone has forgotten to close the door.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
The NEXX garage door opener is the most popular option other than MyQ. NEXX states you can open and close the garage door with Alexa commands. However, the device can’t be used in an Alexa routine.
NEXX is a good choice if you need to open and close your garage by voice.
MyQ and Alexa – Conclusion
For me, the combination of MyQ Garage Door opener and Alexa (using IFTTT) provides all the functionality that I need.
I can conveniently close the garage door by voice or through an Alexa Routine. For example, a “Good Night” routine can shut off all the lights, lock the front door, and close the MyQ garage door.
Opening the garage door by voice would be convenient. However, I’m more interested in the security aspects of closing the garage door.
I use the Chamberlain MyQ with Alexa in my home. You can’t beat it for simplicity and value.
If you prefer Google, you can learn how MyQ works with Google Home.
- OPEN & CLOSE Your Garage Door From Anywhere With Your Smartphone Through the myQ App
- UNIVERSAL – Works with all major brands of garage door openers made after 1993 that have standard safety sensors
- CONNECTED - Link to IFTTT or Google Assistant for free. Close your garage door with Alexa and MyQ using IFTTT.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
P.S. Please leave a comment below to ask a question, help someone else or share your experiences. Thanks!
Worked perfectly for me. Had it set up in about 3 minutes.
thanks!
Can I “subscribe” to the free plan and this will work or do I need the paid plan?
Here is the explanation: Our free plan is perfect for anyone who is looking to create a few automations for specific devices or services. Our Pro plan is for you if you own multiple smart devices, are interested in building with multiple actions, or are looking for faster Applet speeds.
The free plan has always been plenty for me.
Awesome!! Explained perfectly!! It worked! Thank you very much!
Excellent tutorial! Many thanks for the guidance. It worked perfectly.
Thanks, Jason! This was helpful!
Hi Jason,
Closing the Chamberlain garagedoor with ifttt works well.
I have another question about opening a/o closing a different brand. I have a gate opener/closure for the BFT u-control gate600. Via the app. it works perfect to open or close the gate, even by GPS.
Do you happen to know if it should be possible to connect this app to Alexa, just as with the chamberlain door?
Best regards, Josh
Hi Josh,
Unfortunately, I don’t use this device. We can see if anyone else has a recommendation.
Jason
Jason, Nice article. It worked for me. Is there any other way to use Alexa to open the door w/ Chamberlain MyQ?
Great instructions. No problems setting this up, and it works great to close the garage door. However, I would like to just as Alexa “Is the ‘garage door’ open (or closed), but Alexa just replies that she cannot find the device ‘garage door’. Is there something I can do to enable this?
Hi Jim,
I use a secondary sensor connected to SmartThings for this. I looked and couldn’t think of a way to get this information from Alexa with just the MyQ device.
What sensor did you use to accomplish this?
Hi Harold,
I’m just using the normal MyQ sensors…nothing additional for this project.
Jason
This doesn’t work because you have to chose a door name, and there are no options available and no way to add one.
Please make sure you follow every step. It will work but a lot of people miss the step to sign up for the service on the MyQ website.
Thanks for the clear instructions, always cool to learn integrations like this. Just FYI for those that just want the applet. It’s in the ITTT store and you can just pick it.
Select Search and type Garage and then Connect it
Just a nice step by step instructions and easy to follow. Thanks for your time
hi. i got it working closing the garage but when i tried to create to program open, i only had option for lights and close garage. pls help
Hi Jomer,
Unfortunately, we don’t have the option to open MyQ by voice at this time. I know it is a security issue, but hopefully MyQ realizes this is wanted by their customers.
I have this working almost flawlessly with the simple commands skill ( on alexa ) very easy if anyone would like help getting it setup I can assist.
Alexa, Open Garage Door or Close Garage Door
This does require Simple Commands App with account so you can link it to the alexa skill.
The only problem I face is I do not get notifications sent to my phone from the myQ app stating whether or not the garage door is open or closed when using alexa. I do get them if I open the garage door from my phone using the myq app ofcourse. Any suggestions?
I would to know how you were able to do this. Especially the open garage door part.
Hi Rick…you can close the garage by voice, but you can’t open it.
Hi Dan … would love to know how you got the ‘open’ working so I can set that up and try it. Thank you in advance!
Jason,
Thanks so much.. excellent tutorial, followed it verbatim and it worked like a charm.
Notes:
1. There were 2 places I had to sign in by entering my password during the steps (user may want to make sure to sign in to myQ and IFTTT and Alexa app before starting?)
2. A warning that it would not work (however it did in fact work).
Great! Thanks for the additional information.
Thank you for the step by step instructions. I don’t think I could have done this if you had left any step out. It worked great for my MyQ hub. The only snag was that the names didn’t match the first time. Had an apostrophe in there like “Mom’s door”. When I added the apostrophe in Alexa’s script it worked like a charm. Thanks again!
Great! Glad everything is working for you.
Doesn’t work. When you select IFTTT, alexa offers nothing to choose.
MyQ subscribed, IFTTT If/Then complete but nothing.
Author… Delete your routine and try again. Bet it don’t work.
Hi Irv,
It did work for me again and others are getting it to work also. Please make sure you are subscribing to IFTTT from MyQ. The link is in the article and is missed my a lot of people. MyQ makes you subscribe through them so they can maintain the potential to charge in the future.
Jason
IFTTT cannot find my garage door either. I tried it on my desktop and in the app.
Please make sure you have subscribed to IFTTT from MyQ. The link is in the article. This is resolving the issue with multiple people and this step is often missed or misunderstood.
Awesome, your directions worked for me, the free subscription sign up was key to finding my garage door name! (The’ve suspended the scheduled closing for now but it’s still easy to close with Alexa.)
Great! Glad you got it working. You can schedule the door to close at a specific time using the MyQ app.
Jason
THANK YOU! This is the only site that has made this possible for me. I searched in vain for months before I came along this gem. I do wish I could open the door, but that’s a limitation from myQ/Chamberlain. I was missing the service subscription before and my garage door name would never populate in IFTTT.
Thanks again, you helped me so much! 😀
It looks like this no longer works. The fine print on MyQ website and App states “Close actions are not available for the myQ Garage device.” Hence when you now follow your instructions and get to the last step it asks you to select a garage door and there are none in the drop down list.
I just recreated the process in my setup and everything works still.
Please make sure you have signed up for the MyQ IFTTT subscription before setting up the connection. You have to do that here:
https://www.myqservices.com/subscription/
I updated the article instructions to make this clear.
Jason
When I get to the last step, there are no garage doors to select from and I cannot complete the process. I have verified that my garage doors work from the MyQ app. Am I missing something?
Hi Joe,
I assume your MyQ garage door is set up in your home correctly. Also, make sure you have activated the IFTTT subscription service with MyQ. That is found at the following website: https://www.myqservices.com/subscription/
I thought there’s a subscription to IFTTT that’s required.
The “subscription” for IFTTT from MyQ is free at this time. They do state that it can change in the future.