Garage Door openers? Zwave vs Wifi vs Zigbee

What is the most popular garage door opener these days?
Is a Wemo Maker the way to go since it is wifi? I keep reading that wifi is the future but I am not here to debate that.

Or should I go the GoControl/Linear GD00Z-4 Z-Wave?

I have Aladdin connect it works great I just wish Smartthings supported it.

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I believe in terms of numbers the most popular is still Chamberlain. Their web app is called MyQ. There is an unofficial integration between MyQ and SmartThings

With regard to alternatives, the linear that you listed (which is also sold under the go control, Iris, and Nutone brands) and another brand, Telgard, both meet UL safety requirements and work well with SmartThings.

The WeMo and other relay options essentially just hotwire the garage door controller, and do not meet those safety standards for remote operation.

Whether you care about that or not is a personal decision, but it would be important if you want to use the device on a rental property, or even an Airbnb location.

The Linear is the only one with an official SmartThings integration, and is very popular in the community.

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Iā€™m using Wemo Makers for my roller garage doors because the company I got the doors from have been making their controller boards work with them. They wonā€™t supply this functionality without a ā€˜safety edgeā€™ system to prevent injury or damage when the doors are closed remotely and allows for a single button open and close.

My only reservations with the Wemo is the lag, the events seem somewhat delayed so even after itā€™s obvious the door is open, it can take a few seconds to get the event. Also, the Maker only has one sensor input so you canā€™t accurately determine if a door is open or closed using that. Iā€™m going to augment mine with a contact sensor at the bottom so I can tell if the door has actually closed.

I made a device type for the Maker in case you decided to go down that route:

Iā€™m also writing a SmartApp that creates a virtual garage door opener using other devices to determine the state of the door and the control it. Thereā€™s already something like this that someone else made but I prefer to make my own stuff when I feel I can improve upon something.

One final thought on security, the Wemo Maker relies entirely on UPNP without any kind of authentication. If you can get onto someones WiFi network, you can control their Wemo stuff. I would hope theyā€™d have some sort of authentication to prevent this but so far Iā€™ve not seen anything. I suppose you could mitigate this by having a public and private network - the SmartThings hub would have to be connected to the latter probably but then youā€™d only be able to use the Maker through SmartThings, the Wemo app probably wouldnā€™t work unless you connected to the ā€˜privateā€™ wifi

I use the linear openers, they work great and I picked them.up on sale at lowes for like $30 a piece. Between zwave or zigbee it really comes down to which you have a netter mesh with. My house is all zwave so trying to put something zigbee in my garage wouldnā€™t work.

Thanks for the feedback.
How is the security with the GoControl/Linear GD00Z-4 Z-Wave?
I may go that route.

I use the MyQ Liftmasters, the Integration JD linked has been working Flawlessly(on the app side, not always on the ST side due to platform issues), The myQ has the added benefit of itā€™s own app that can send you a reminder if a door has been open for too long(you set the threshold) In this respect if ST is down, or fails I still get a notification that a door is open when it shouldnā€™t be. I live in the Upper Midwest, and this has saved me $$$$ from st not sending a notification in the winter(heated garage)!

Iā€™d say itā€™s as secure as Z-wave (which like most things can probably be hacked somehow), the SmartThings security (supposedly banking level encryption on communications) and how difficult itā€™d be to guess your SmartThings login details, or how easy itā€™d be to get into your phone or other device with the ST app :slight_smile:

So fairly secure compared to other options IMO.

Linear works AWESOME for me. Especially with the @RBoy smart app that adds great functionality. Check out the RBOY web site and you will see what his smart app adds.

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I have two GoControl/Linears, which have performed perfectly evening during all the ā€¦ ahumā€¦ recent issues. Using a presence sensor on my motorcycle, I have it open/close the garage door without me fumbling for a remote fob with my gloves on. Otherwise, I mostly use them to ensure doors are closed if left open for longer than 30 minutes, if no motion is detected.

About GoControl, I was reading about their problems until I got hit by a storm. The controller beeping non stop. Tried multiple methods of revival from Internet, none works.
Called them, their support is LOW as it can be.
ā€œif you didnā€™t bought it within the last year, from AT&T or one of their commercial dealers ā€¦ forget about itā€.
Really, them what about the retails sellers like Amazon, eBay, Home Depot, Lowes ā€¦

Looking into alternatives.

Iā€™m sure that was very frustrating. :disappointed_relieved: That device has a one-year warranty. (That information is available before you purchase it.) If you call after the warranty is up, you may not get much support. Thatā€™s not surprising.

If you want a device with a longer warranty., you will probably have to pay more for it.