DIY Smart Garage Door Remote

This is a very useful, home security DIY garage door remote controller. If your Android or Apple smart phone is eWeLink compatible, which it likely is, then you can open and close your garage door from anywhere in the world. The eWeLink app is also compatible with Amazon Alexa & Google Home. My preferred way to open and close my garage doors are with an Alexa connected device or the Alexa app widget on my phone. After installation, normal garage door remote and wall button functionality are maintained.

Skill Level: Advanced-Beginner to Intermediate electronics, relays and mains high voltage experience level suggested.

The first image is looking upwards at my Genie garage door opener motor with the DIY remote case attached with double-sided tape.

Your Sonoff Basic needs to have updated firmware that supports "Inching" mode. If not, then you must update your eWeLink phone app and upload the most recent Sonoff Basic firmware to your Sonoff Basic switch and set it to Inching mode. Inching mode allows you to set the Sonoff Basic so that it only turns "ON" for a set period of time before turning off. Change this setting to 0.5 seconds so it mimics you pushing the button in your garage to open or close your garage door. YouTube has videos. Search for "How to Firmware Upgrade Sonoff WiFi Smart Switch." Ignore the Tasmota videos.

Inching mode automatically turns the Sonoff switch on, pauses for the set time and then turns it off. For this reason the smart speaker voice command to open and close the door is the same: "Garage Door On." This command mimics you pushing the wall switch in your garage to open or close the door. The phrase "Garage Door" is whatever you decide to label it in the eWeLink app.

Before taking on this project be sure to test your garage door opener to see if temporarily shorting the first two wall switch wires will open your garage door. These are the first two connectors out of four garage opener connections as shown with the red arrows in the second image. You can test if it works directly on the opener like I did, but it is safer to temporarily remove the wall switch from the wall and test the two wires while standing on the floor. I was up on a ladder when I tested the wires. When the opener kicked in it startled me and I almost fell off the ladder.

This project worked as I expected with my old Genie garage door opener. However, when I shorted the first two connectors on my new, replacement Chamberlain opener for my double door, nothing happened. I discovered the Chamberlain wall switch controller sends a code to the opener. Simply shorting the first two terminals does nothing. The only solution was to solder two wires to the SMD micro switch in the wall switch controller so that the Sonoff half-second on/off timer would mimic a button push. See the Chamberlain wall switch PCB in the 2nd to the last image. The last image shows the garage remote plugged into the Chamberlain door switch with 3.5mm mono audio jacks.

In the third image the red double-sided tape on the base keeps things held down during assembly. Two 5mm screw holes are provided in the base for wall mounting if needed. I included a lot of images so you can see how to wire the relay to the Sonoff.

The vertical rounded tab on the base has a hole in it. The hole is for a 3.5mm female mono audio jack. This allows the wires to the garage door motor to be terminated with a 3.5mm male jack for an easier to separate, cleaner installation. I didn't have the male/female jacks at the time the original pictures were taken.

Main Components:
Sonoff Basic Smart WiFi Wireless Light Switch, about $5
AC110V Relay LY2NJ, about $2
Miscellaneous: 110v power cord with 2-prong polarized plug, wire, spade connectors, double-sided tape and (2) screws (optional).

Final Comment: Why did I create this? I have a security camera facing my two garage doors. It's easy to see whether they are left open or are closed via Tiny Cam Pro on my Android phone. One day, while a half-hour away from home, I saw I had left the double door open which gave anyone complete access to the rest of my home. I switched into panic mode and raced home. From that day on I set about to come up with a low cost, easy to implement solution to this predicament.

Because this device is so helpful and easy to make, I am sharing it with you. Likes, images and makes are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

-VegasGuy

Update 03/25/22: I recently purchased a ferrule kit with crimper. I highly recommend putting ferrules on the wires that get inserted into the Sonoff switch. The ferrule connection is much more secure. Test fit a ferrule in the Sonoff before crimping.

Update 12/08/2019: I added text to the base to indicate "L" for line voltage and "N" for neutral when inserting the mains voltage wires into the Sonoff. FYI: The wide prong is neutral. The narrow prong is line voltage (hot). The rest of the wires do not require attention to polarity.

Update 12/12/2019: I modified the cover so that the hole for the Sonoff reset button has an internal self-centering cone. This stops the button from getting hung up inside the case during assembly.

Update 01/18/20: I added a 6mm hole to the base near the relay connectors. This hole allows the user to run hidden wires behind the drywall to a wall mounted garage door button. I deleted the image for the previous STL when I uploaded the new version. But Thingiverse has so far not regenerated a new image for the base of this version. If you know why, and possibly how to regenerate the image, please let me know.