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Physical security
How to Secure a Garage Door From Break-Ins
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The garage is easy to forget about. It often holds expensive tools and bikes, and an attached garage can lead straight into the house. Closing the common gaps is cheap.
This is one part of our home security hardening guide.
How the coat hanger exploit works
Every automatic garage door has an emergency release, usually a rope with a handle hanging from the opener’s trolley. Pulling it disconnects the door from the opener so it can be lifted by hand.
An intruder can push the top of the door in slightly, reach through the gap with a coat hanger, hook that rope and pull it. Once the release lets go, the door lifts open by hand. No noise, no damage, and no need to defeat the opener.
Add an automatic garage door lock
An automatic lock that works with your opener closes that gap. It locks the door whenever it closes and unlocks it when the opener runs, so you don’t change how you use the garage.
Our pick
LiftMaster 841LM automatic garage door lock· LiftMaster
A deadbolt that locks the door automatically whenever it closes and works with the opener, so you don’t change how you use the garage.
Downside: LiftMaster lists only a short set of its own openers as compatible (such as the 8550W and 8500W), so check your opener's model first. It can't replace a center post system required for wind events. If your opener isn't on the list, look for an automatic lock that is compatible with it, or use the manual lock below.
What good looks like: compatibility with your opener, and a lock that engages on its own every time the door closes.
Or use a manual slide lock for long trips
If you’d rather go low tech, a manual slide lock on the door track works when you know the door won’t be used for a while, like a long trip. Just remember it’s on before you hit the opener.
What good looks like: a lock that fits your track and is easy to see, so no one runs the opener while it’s engaged.
Lock out the remotes at night
Many openers have a lock or vacation button on the wall control that disables the remotes. Press it before you go to bed and when you’re away. A stolen or cloned remote is useless while it’s on.
No lockout button? Unplug the opener, or plug it into a smart switch rated for the opener’s power draw and schedule it off for the hours you want it disabled.
Our pick
Feit Electric indoor smart Wi-Fi plug· Feit Electric
It’s rated for 15 amps, which is more than a typical opener draws, and its app makes daily schedules easy to set up.
Downside: While it's off, nothing opens the door electrically, including the wall button and keypad, so schedule it for hours you won't need it. It depends on your Wi-Fi and the app. The free alternatives are the lockout button or unplugging the opener.
What good looks like: a lockout button on your opener’s wall control, or a scheduled smart switch if it has none.
Don’t leave a remote in a car parked outside
A remote clipped to the visor of a car in the driveway is a key to your house for anyone who breaks a car window. Take it inside, or use the opener’s app or a keypad instead. Our vehicle security guide covers protecting the car itself.
Deadbolt the door into the house
The garage is a lower security zone than the rest of your house, so getting into it shouldn’t mean getting into the house. Treat the door from the garage into the house like an exterior door: a deadbolt, used every night. Our guide to reinforcing a door against kick-ins covers the hardware.
Light it and watch it
A garage is a natural place to work on a door out of sight, so cover it with lighting and a camera like any other entry point. The lighting and camera sections of the main guide cover placement.