# Homelink? How does it work?



## ng0

I apologize if this has been discussed. I searched and couldn't find anything. There's a lot of discussion about homelink but I can't seem to figure out how it works and what if anything I'll need to use it.

I have a pretty standard lift master garage door opener. Is there some attachment I need to make it work with homelink in the car? How is homelink different than normal garage door buttons on any other car?

Thanks so much for answering my stupid questions!


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## SoFlaModel3

ng0 said:


> I apologize if this has been discussed. I searched and couldn't find anything. There's a lot of discussion about homelink but I can't seem to figure out how it works and what if anything I'll need to use it.
> 
> I have a pretty standard lift master garage door opener. Is there some attachment I need to make it work with homelink in the car? How is homelink different than normal garage door buttons on any other car?
> 
> Thanks so much for answering my stupid questions!


Nothing special, the car will learn from your current remote and/or potentially need you to place your garage door opener in learn mode as well (usually only necessary for rolling codes).

You'll have a guide explaining the steps and it's very easy to setup!

You can have multiple doors as well so if you have more than one garage door and a gate to get into you're covered!


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## ng0

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Nothing special, the car will learn from your current remote and/or potentially need you to place your garage door opener in learn mode as well (usually only necessary for rolling codes).
> 
> You'll have a guide explaining the steps and it's very easy to setup!
> 
> You can have multiple doors as well so if you have more than one garage door and a gate to get into you're covered!


Thanks so much! So no extra hardware required?

I wonder if I'll be able to control the garage door from my phone?


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## SoFlaModel3

ng0 said:


> Thanks so much! So no extra hardware required?
> 
> I wonder if I'll be able to control the garage door from my phone?


No extra hardware required.

If you want to control it from your phone you may need extra hardware. I have the LiftMaster app and can control the garage door anywhere in the world as well as getting push notifications when it opens/closes.


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## MelindaV

ng0 said:


> Thanks so much! So no extra hardware required?
> 
> I wonder if I'll be able to control the garage door from my phone?


here's the Homelink programming setup page

you essentially are setting up the car as the remote. To be able to control the opener with a phone app, you need to have a wifi opener (for Chamberlain, it's their MyQ ones....).


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## ng0

Thanks! All this info is really helpful!


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## sigmo32

On our S it was very straightforward to set up - if I recall it was 5-10 minutes. When it works well, it's awesome. Pulling toward the house the garage door starts going up automatically. We don't use it on close since that's a bit more fickle.

Early on we had some issues with LED lights in the garage causing interference. Our model is pretty standard, Lowes/Home Depot type, about 15 years old. Made sure to pull the 6-9" antenna down straight, and range works as expected now.

Recently the GPS trigger has started firing too soon, meaning it's still out of range and thus we have to manually touch the homelink button on the center console. Still easier than fishing around for the remote, but not as seamless. I've tried resetting the GPS trigger by parking further from the entrance point, but it hasn't worked better yet.

The HomeLink feature also works with Summon, which is a sweet demo for people new to Tesla and/or semi-autonomous driving features. We start with the garage closed, activate the summon feature - car wakes up, raises the door, backs out, lowers the door. Works every time!


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## MelindaV

sigmo32 said:


> Recently the GPS trigger has started firing too soon, meaning it's still out of range and thus we have to manually touch the homelink button on the center console.


do you think the range using the car's homeink is the same as using the garage door opener's stock remote? shorter range? or longer range? 
I generally click my remote button when I turn the corner prior to my house (~200ft/52meters). Will the homelink antenna stretch to that distance or will it need to be closer?


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## RandyS

A tip, if you're looking for remote opening/closing of your garage door and your existing garage opener doesn't support it...Here's how I came to want that remote capability....I had the feature turned on in my Model S where it would raise my garage door when I approach. It has worked well in the past...Well, until a few days ago...

I got a motion alarm from my garage Nest camera when I was at work, and sure enough, on my Nest phone app there was a person walking around in my garage and the MAIN GARAGE DOOR WAS OPEN.
Turned out to be a friendly neighbor who found my door open. He unlatched the door from the opener track and manually closed it for me. I didn't recognize who it was at the time and immediately came home to see what was going on...The door was closed by the time I got home.

In playing back the Nest video, I figured out what happened. I opened the door to go to work, rolled out onto the driveway and stopped because a lady was walking her dog and was walking slowly down the sidewalk. So I closed the door from the screen and waited several seconds for the lady to clear the driveway. As I'm watching the video, I see the door close properly as I'm sitting in the driveway. Then a few seconds later, it opens all by itself(!) And my car is out of view (I must have just pulled out and driven away). I think the Tesla feature got confused because I lingered in the driveway, and it thought I was coming home so it gave the signal to open the door....

So what did I do to fix the problem? I disabled the auto-open feature on the car, which isn't a big deal (I can manually open the door with the screen)...And I ordered the Nexx Garage remote garage door opener / closer from Amazon for $99 and installed it. I have an older Genie garage door opener. Now, with my phone, I can see what the status of the door is remotely and open or close it. And if I'm home, I can use my Amazon Echo to verbally command the door to open or close. It works very well. The device requires a nearby LAN wireless access point and standard push button contact closure on the garage door opener....Works great, Highly recommended....


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## SoFlaModel3

RandyS said:


> A tip, if you're looking for remote opening/closing of your garage door and your existing garage opener doesn't support it...Here's how I came to want that remote capability....I had the feature turned on in my Model S where it would raise my garage door when I approach. It has worked well in the past...Well, until a few days ago...
> 
> I got a motion alarm from my garage Nest camera when I was at work, and sure enough, on my Nest phone app there was a person walking around in my garage and the MAIN GARAGE DOOR WAS OPEN.
> Turned out to be a friendly neighbor who found my door open. He unlatched the door from the opener track and manually closed it for me. I didn't recognize who it was at the time and immediately came home to see what was going on...The door was closed by the time I got home.
> 
> In playing back the Nest video, I figured out what happened. I opened the door to go to work, rolled out onto the driveway and stopped because a lady was walking her dog and was walking slowly down the sidewalk. So I closed the door from the screen and waited several seconds for the lady to clear the driveway. As I'm watching the video, I see the door close properly as I'm sitting in the driveway. Then a few seconds later, it opens all by itself(!) And my car is out of view (I must have just pulled out and driven away). I think the Tesla feature got confused because I lingered in the driveway, and it thought I was coming home so it gave the signal to open the door....
> 
> So what did I do to fix the problem? I disabled the auto-open feature on the car, which isn't a big deal (I can manually open the door with the screen)...And I ordered the Nexx Garage remote garage door opener / closer from Amazon for $99 and installed it. I have an older Genie garage door opener. Now, with my phone, I can see what the status of the door is remotely and open or close it. And if I'm home, I can use my Amazon Echo to verbally command the door to open or close. It works very well. The device requires a nearby LAN wireless access point and standard push button contact closure on the garage door opener....Works great, Highly recommended....


I have the LiftMaster app on my phone and yet I find simplicity in tapping the Homelink button by my mirror rather than opening the app. I basically have the app for push notifications and the occasional call from my wife... "did I remember to close the garage door?"

With Model 3 I will test out auto open/close and possibly disable it in favor of manually pressing the button.

I am the second house in from a corner and I have a sneaking suspicion it will think I'm home too early and miss on on auto open and something about auto close freaks me out


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## sigmo32

MelindaV said:


> do you think the range using the car's homeink is the same as using the garage door opener's stock remote? shorter range? or longer range?
> I generally click my remote button when I turn the corner prior to my house (~200ft/52meters). Will the homelink antenna stretch to that distance or will it need to be closer?


That's a good question. I can test a bit with auto disabled this week and trigger it from known working points for the remote. My hunch is it's similar range, though it might be slightly longer. The tricky thing to tell with auto is sometimes it dings as we're pulling in the driveway, and it seems like if we drive a little faster it gets close enough to trigger. I'm not sure if it literally sends the signal when it dings, or if it is a longer transmission.

In contrast, my remote does NOT work from the bottom of the driveway...


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## MelindaV

sigmo32 said:


> That's a good question. I can test a bit with auto disabled this week and trigger it from known working points for the remote. My hunch is it's similar range, though it might be slightly longer. The tricky thing to tell with auto is sometimes it dings as we're pulling in the driveway, and it seems like if we drive a little faster it gets close enough to trigger. I'm not sure if it literally sends the signal when it dings, or if it is a longer transmission.
> 
> In contrast, my remote does NOT work from the bottom of the driveway...


thanks : ) My driveway is on the left side of the street on a blind corner, so I open my garage well before I'm in my driveway to (hopefully) give a warning to any on-coming traffic. Waiting until I'm in the driveway, for the door to open would be a bummer.


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## Rich M

MelindaV said:


> thanks : ) My driveway is on the left side of the street on a blind corner, so I open my garage well before I'm in my driveway to (hopefully) give a warning to any on-coming traffic. Waiting until I'm in the driveway, for the door to open would be a bummer.


I only have one data point, but the Homelink mirror in my Rav4 has about half the range of the remotes that came with the garage door opener.


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## MelindaV

well, I don't plan to buy a Toyota, so its range shouldn't matter


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## OneSixtyToOne

ng0 said:


> I apologize if this has been discussed. I searched and couldn't find anything. There's a lot of discussion about homelink but I can't seem to figure out how it works and what if anything I'll need to use it.
> 
> I have a pretty standard lift master garage door opener. Is there some attachment I need to make it work with homelink in the car? How is homelink different than normal garage door buttons on any other car?
> 
> Thanks so much for answering my stupid questions!


FYI
Besides your garage door, Homelink can also control other things in your house like lights and appliances. It's a repackaging of the old BSR X10 home automation technology. Way back when (1980s) I use to have my whole home computer controlled with these modules. Besides lighting control I use to have my electric blanket turn on 15 minutes before I went to bed. Toasty!

If you google X10 and Homelink you'll find forums where people explain how to interface it with your car. You can do things like turn on your house lights AND open your garage door, change the thermostat, turn on your sprinklers, etc. etc, etc.

https://www.x10.com/


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## MelindaV

I still have some x10 controllers. Didn’t realize it was the same as homelink


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## Twiglett

Rich M said:


> I only have one data point, but the Homelink mirror in my Rav4 has about half the range of the remotes that came with the garage door opener.


Same here with a new Honda.


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## OneSixtyToOne

MelindaV said:


> I still have some x10 controllers. Didn't realize it was the same as homelink


Homelink lighting accessories. (Look familiar?)
http://www.homelink.com/about/lighting


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## sigmo32

As promised, I tested our Homelink setup as compared to our standard garage door remote. In our (non-refresh) 2016 Model S, the transmitter is located near the nosecone. I assume it's similar for the newer cars as well. This becomes relevant because the body of the car can block/interfere with the signal depending on your approach angle.

For example, pulling up to my garage door (within a few feet), the remote works great inside the car, outside the car, and homelink works great. Backing up to the garage door, I could not get Homelink to activate (only tried a few times though), whereas the remote worked well outside the car, and moderately well inside the car.

At the end of my driveway, neither Homelink nor the remote are able to trigger the door (60 ft). There is a spot to the side of the house on the roadway, while on approach the remote can trigger the door, but the Homelink system did not. This is about 70 ft away - further than the end of the driveway test, which was interesting. Must be a signal path through a window or something on the side of the garage.

In short - it seems to be no better than the remote, and in several cases shorter distance. I do still have the anecdotal experience of it working many times while driving up the driveway toward the garage. The main caution I would add is you don't get to choose where the automatic trigger occurs, but you might still be able to activate it manually.

Additional caveat - our garage door lift/system is ~12-15 years old, so some of the signaling tech may have improved. We also use LED lighting exclusively, which is known to potentially cause some signal interference.


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## mishakim

OneSixtyToOne said:


> Homelink lighting accessories. (Look familiar?)
> http://www.homelink.com/about/lighting


I think you're misunderstanding the connection between Homelink and X10. They're not the same thing at all, X10 used a really primitive signaling over power line protocol (it's been replaced by Insteon). Homelink uses RF over the air. The various options for using Homelink to control lighting simply provide a bridge unit that has Homelink RF and whatever other home automation protocol you want - Insteon/X10, Z-wave, MyQ (Chamberlain), etc. So it receives a Homelink command from the car, which the car thinks is a garage door opener command, and the bridge turns that into a lights-on, or whatever else you want, command.


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## garyt

MelindaV said:


> here's the Homelink programming setup page
> 
> you essentially are setting up the car as the remote. To be able to control the opener with a phone app, you need to have a wifi opener (for Chamberlain, it's their MyQ ones....).


Thx great post


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## Rusty

I just upgraded software on my MS. Homelink now allows a distance in feet to be entered for when you want the garage door to open. This is great for me because I have a steep driveway and was having to get on the incline before the door would open. It was a good check of the Hill assit system, but much better to wait at the bottom of the hill for my garage door to open now.


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## vita10gy

You guys saying that you need a wifi enabled garage door opener to open the garage from the phone app: Does that include when the car is in the garage, or can it go Phone -> car -> garage?


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## MelindaV

vita10gy said:


> You guys saying that you need a wifi enabled garage door opener to open the garage from the phone app: Does that include when the car is in the garage, or can it go Phone -> car -> garage?


I think you are thinking of something separate from Tesla...

There are homelink apps that work with wifi openers where you can control the door from your phone wherever you are... the Tesla homelink controller works from the car just like your stock door's remote control works with a RF signal.


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## vita10gy

MelindaV said:


> I think you are thinking of something separate from Tesla...
> 
> There are homelink apps that work with wifi openers where you can control the door from your phone wherever you are... the Tesla homelink controller works from the car just like your stock door's remote control works with a RF signal.


Ah, so there's no "open garage door" in the tesla phone app?


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## MelindaV

vita10gy said:


> Ah, so there's no "open garage door" in the tesla phone app?


i don't believe so


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## Maevra

vita10gy said:


> Ah, so there's no "open garage door" in the tesla phone app?


Nope, not on the current version anyway.


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## sigmo32

Maevra said:


> Nope, not on the current version anyway.


Car is not at the house at the moment, but we have always had a Homelink button in the Summon area of the app that allowed garage door control.


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## sigmo32

Rusty said:


> I just upgraded software on my MS. Homelink now allows a distance in feet to be entered for when you want the garage door to open. This is great for me because I have a steep driveway and was having to get on the incline before the door would open. It was a good check of the Hill assit system, but much better to wait at the bottom of the hill for my garage door to open now.


I can confirm that this update also now allows us to set a distance that is very reliable for our Homelink. It's a shorter distance than I would prefer (have to wait in front of the door a bit), but the automation is better than stopping, pressing the button, and waiting longer. Great improvement!


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## Maevra

sigmo32 said:


> Car is not at the house at the moment, but we have always had a Homelink button in the Summon area of the app that allowed garage door control.


Good to know! Hopefully that comes to the Model 3 app in the future. Right now we don't have Summon activated yet on the 3.


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## leethebruin

I've got a Genie garage opener (maybe about 10 years old). Prius and BMW 328i were both operating the garage door fine. Set up TM3 fine as well. But, when TM3 is programmed to operate the garage door, the BMW stops operating it, and vice versa (when I cleared out and re-programmed the BMW homelink). Meanwhile, Prius works fine with the garage either way. Any theories?


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## SoFlaModel3

leethebruin said:


> I've got a Genie garage opener (maybe about 10 years old). Prius and BMW 328i were both operating the garage door fine. Set up TM3 fine as well. But, when TM3 is programmed to operate the garage door, the BMW stops operating it, and vice versa (when I cleared out and re-programmed the BMW homelink). Meanwhile, Prius works fine with the garage either way. Any theories?


Joking... no need for a BMW now 

Seriously though... some kind of interference maybe? Odd that it only impacts 1 and not the other though.


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## mishakim

leethebruin said:


> I've got a Genie garage opener (maybe about 10 years old). Prius and BMW 328i were both operating the garage door fine. Set up TM3 fine as well. But, when TM3 is programmed to operate the garage door, the BMW stops operating it, and vice versa (when I cleared out and re-programmed the BMW homelink). Meanwhile, Prius works fine with the garage either way. Any theories?


How many other remotes (hand-held, wireless keypads) do you have? I'd say the Genie has a limit to the number of "remotes" it can pair with, and the BMW and Tesla are swapping places in the last spot.


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## garsh

mishakim said:


> How many other remotes (hand-held, wireless keypads) do you have? I'd say the Genie has a limit to the number of "remotes" it can pair with, and the BMW and Tesla are swapping places in the last spot.


Surprising that it would replace the last programmed the remote. You'd think they'd have it replace the oldest.

If this really is the behavior, then you might want to clear out all programming from the head unit, and reprogram all of the ones that you still use.


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## Poobah

leethebruin said:


> I've got a Genie garage opener (maybe about 10 years old). Prius and BMW 328i were both operating the garage door fine. Set up TM3 fine as well. But, when TM3 is programmed to operate the garage door, the BMW stops operating it, and vice versa (when I cleared out and re-programmed the BMW homelink). Meanwhile, Prius works fine with the garage either way. Any theories?


The Genie overheard you when you said you were replacing the BMW?


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## leethebruin

mishakim said:


> How many other remotes (hand-held, wireless keypads) do you have? I'd say the Genie has a limit to the number of "remotes" it can pair with, and the BMW and Tesla are swapping places in the last spot.


Yes, could be the case. I wonder if I just delete the code from the Prius if that will create an extra space on the head unit? I might give that a shot.



garsh said:


> Surprising that it would replace the last programmed the remote. You'd think they'd have it replace the oldest.
> 
> If this really is the behavior, then you might want to clear out all programming from the head unit, and reprogram all of the ones that you still use.


I haven't yet found any instructions for clearing the programmed devices from the head unit, but I'll probably look al little harder now.


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## leethebruin

mishakim said:


> How many other remotes (hand-held, wireless keypads) do you have? I'd say the Genie has a limit to the number of "remotes" it can pair with, and the BMW and Tesla are swapping places in the last spot.





garsh said:


> Surprising that it would replace the last programmed the remote. You'd think they'd have it replace the oldest.
> 
> If this really is the behavior, then you might want to clear out all programming from the head unit, and reprogram all of the ones that you still use.


Never pinned down the max number of devices that the head unit could pair with, but did find the manual online and was able to clear out the codes... which did the trick. Thanks for motivating me down this path!


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## Reliev

maybe im doing something wrong but my garage door doesnt have a learn button, maybe its too old?


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## Rich M

relidtm said:


> maybe im doing something wrong but my garage door doesnt have a learn button, maybe its too old?


Do you have a pic or make/model?


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## Reliev

genie intellicode (its a rental house) so maybe i need to upgrade when we buy.


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## SoFlaModel3

relidtm said:


> genie intellicode (its a rental house) so maybe i need to upgrade when we buy.


Did you try the remote first and the car said you had to go to the opener as the next step?


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## Reliev

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Did you try the remote first and the car said you had to go to the opener as the next step?


Yes it did the remote worked it flashed my lights.


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## Rich M

I happen to be visiting the parents who have an intellicode. The learn button is up on the unit if you follow the antenna wire up from the bottom. Black button you can press with a long flathead screwdriver. As soon as you press it a red led will blink right below it, but you may not be able to see it with the lightbulb on. You have 30 seconds to run to your car and do what you need to. Pics below.


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## SoFlaModel3

relidtm said:


> Yes it did the remote worked it flashed my lights.


Try this: http://m.geniecompany.com/support_programming-faq.aspx

It says it will be near the antenna on your unit.


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## Reliev

awesome thanks ill do it here shortly after I'm done cooling off watching a youtube video right now it creeped me out for a second because that looked identical to my garage I didn't know what it was for thanks both of you.


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## SoFlaModel3

relidtm said:


> awesome thanks ill do it here shortly after I'm done cooling off watching a youtube video right now it creeped me out for a second because that looked identical to my garage I didn't know what it was for thanks both of you.


Oh don't forget to have your car fully in the garage or fully out unless you want to have a heart attack


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## Reliev

yeah, I guess you didn't do that? ha, I moved them both out when I found out I had to get a ladder to the garage door opener. Ill post in a few hopefully it works.


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## SoFlaModel3

relidtm said:


> yeah, I guess you didn't do that? ha, I moved them both out when I found out I had to get a ladder to the garage door opener. Ill post in a few hopefully it works.


So not on mine, but let's just say we _almost_ scratched my dad's Model S roof


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## Reliev

I tried pressing the red arrow button but the led (blue arrow) never illuminated


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## Rich M

That's the right button. You could try long pressing it, or pressing it twice? Or just ignore that the LED didn't light up and try finishing setup in the car anyway.


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## Reliev

everytime i press test i see the red light blink 3 times


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## Reliev

I think there is something wrong with the learn button if I push it doesnt click I wonder if I can get a cheap one to fix it


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## SoFlaModel3

relidtm said:


> I think there is something wrong with the learn button if I push it doesnt click I wonder if I can get a cheap one to fix it


That's a bummer! The GPS award homelink is such an amazing feature!


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## Reliev

yeah I completely forgot about it until my wife asked what I was doing ill buy the nest one added it to my gadget list when we get out of here


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## GDN

relidtm said:


> View attachment 6878
> 
> 
> I tried pressing the red arrow button but the led (blue arrow) never illuminated


I've got one of those laying out in my garage right now. Too bad you aren't closer to Dallas I'd give it to you. It is about 15 years old and the motor / screw drive worked great still. I had taken the safety beam eyes apart a few years ago when I added some sheet rock and they never worked quite right since then so I replaced the whole thing last weekend with a Chamberlain. I can be a big geeky so I like wifi and battery backup on the new one, but the old Genie screw drive worked just as well as the new belt drive, it was just a bit louder.


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## smak

So I'm in a condo, and on try #1 homelink isn't working. The GPS part is working, it lights green when I'm home, but it doesn't open the garage.

We have a brand new garage door. Is it less likely that it'll work than an older garage door? The old garage door did work with homelink on my old car.

I'm not sure I'd have access to, or there actually is a learn button


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## SoFlaModel3

smak said:


> So I'm in a condo, and on try #1 homelink isn't working. The GPS part is working, it lights green when I'm home, but it doesn't open the garage.
> 
> We have a brand new garage door. Is it less likely that it'll work than an older garage door? The old garage door did work with homelink on my old car.
> 
> I'm not sure I'd have access to, or there actually is a learn button


On the newer machines you will generally have rolling codes and the "remote" (your car in this case) needs to connect to the receiver via the learn button to complete the setup.


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## smak

SoFlaModel3 said:


> On the newer machines you will generally have rolling codes and the "remote" (your car in this case) needs to connect to the receiver via the learn button to complete the setup.


Gonna be very difficult. The box is at the very top of the condo garage. Would have to be a very large ladder.

I'll see what the condo board says.


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## ahagge

And I just found out the hard way that there are now 2 incompatible versions of rolling code openers! Apparently in 2013 the Chamberlain Group (who makes LiftMaster, Chamberlain and Sears Craftsman openers, among others) switched to their "Security+ 2.0" which apparently uses a different protcol AND a slightly different frequency.

Long story short, my brand new LiftMaster opener doesn't work with my 2011 Nissan LEAF's HomeLink..._unless_ I spend another $30.00 and dedicate an electrical outlet to their "Homelink Repeater" which apparently translates between the older and new protocols.

So a question - especially for existing Model S/X users - does the Tesla Homelink support the new "Security+ 2.0" protocol? Supposedly most new cars made after 2013 do, but I'd like to know for sure...

Sigh.


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## Argyle

ahagge said:


> And I just found out the hard way that there are now 2 incompatible versions of rolling code openers! Apparently in 2013 the Chamberlain Group (who makes LiftMaster, Chamberlain and Sears Craftsman openers, among others) switched to their "Security+ 2.0" which apparently uses a different protcol AND a slightly different frequency.
> 
> Long story short, my brand new LiftMaster opener doesn't work with my 2011 Nissan LEAF's HomeLink..._unless_ I spend another $30.00 and dedicate an electrical outlet to their "Homelink Repeater" which apparently translates between the older and new protocols.
> 
> So a question - especially for existing Model S/X users - does the Tesla Homelink support the new "Security+ 2.0" protocol? Supposedly most new cars made after 2013 do, but I'd like to know for sure...
> 
> Sigh.


I can't answer for the Model S or X but I bought a Chamberlain opener in 2016 and the Model 3 works with it.


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## BigBri

I've had the same issue as above. I bought a new Liftmaster opener 6 months ago and my 2012 car didn't work with it. Homelink isn't on my 2017 Leaf but I'll test it with the Model3 when it shows up in the next 6-8 weeks and see. Hoping it does! Those flimsy remotes are a pain. Had to fill mine with foam so it'd stop rattling and creaking.


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## garsh

I recently replaced my 90s-era Craftsman garage door openers with a pair of Genie belt-drives. They're very quiet, and work perfectly fine with Homelink.

I did have a problem with the one. I called up Genie support, and the woman I talked to did not have an accent, was knowledgeable, and actually had access to example units! I was quite shocked! We diagnosed the problem as a bad main board. They shipped me out a new board, I replaced it, and it's been fine ever since. It was one of the best tech-support experiences I've had. So I'm sold on Genie now. 

I got this one from Lowes. Includes a keypad and battery backup for $188. You can often find $20 off $100 and $40 off $200 coupons on ebay (and elsewhere, if you know where to look).

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Genie-1-25...age-Door-Opener-with-Battery-Back-Up/50426250


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## rareohs

sigmo32 said:


> I can confirm that this update also now allows us to set a distance that is very reliable for our Homelink. It's a shorter distance than I would prefer (have to wait in front of the door a bit), but the automation is better than stopping, pressing the button, and waiting longer. Great improvement!


I can't get this feature to work. Successfully programmed Homelink so I can manually press the Homelink button on the screen to open/close the garage door, but can't get it to do it automatically....


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## SoFlaModel3

rareohs said:


> I can't get this feature to work. Successfully programmed Homelink so I can manually press the Homelink button on the screen to open/close the garage door, but can't get it to do it automatically....


Make sure you're editing it for the setup in your driveway right in front of the garage door. Then set your distance (like 20 or 30 ft). It should work!

Once set, the house lights up green on approach and counts down the distance until reaching what you set for auto open/close.


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## rareohs

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Make sure you're editing it for the setup in your driveway right in front of the garage door. Then set your distance (like 20 or 30 ft). It should work!
> 
> Once set, the house lights up green on approach and counts down the distance until reaching what you set for auto open/close.


So did you start the entire learning process with door open or close? Because when you press the button aiming at the frunk that causes it to open or close. I guess my brain can't figure out how it knows if it's open or closed when you start, and then how to tell the difference.

Last time I approached it did count down the distance but never opened. And driving away never closes.

I'll start the entire process over again.


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## rareohs

deleted and re did the entire thing. Same results: works great for manually opening and closing; nothing happens automatically.

Seems like I have it set correctly, see photo.

What's weird is that the homelink button is black sometimes and green sometimes....


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## SoFlaModel3

rareohs said:


> So did you start the entire learning process with door open or close? Because when you press the button aiming at the frunk that causes it to open or close. I guess my brain can't figure out how it knows if it's open or closed when you start, and then how to tell the difference.
> 
> Last time I approached it did count down the distance but never opened. And driving away never closes.
> 
> I'll start the entire process over again.


Technically speaking it doesn't matter if the door is open or closed when you setup as I'm fairly certain the car doesn't know which is which and just sends the same signal.



rareohs said:


> View attachment 7088
> deleted and re did the entire thing. Same results: works great for manually opening and closing; nothing happens automatically.
> 
> Seems like I have it set correctly, see photo.
> 
> What's weird is that the homelink button is black sometimes and green sometimes....


60ft may be too far so perhaps that's the setting to tinker with. I set mine up in the garage for just getting the functionality to work. Then I moved the car to the driveway and edited the configuration to 20ft for opening and checked auto-close.

With that setting the house turns green before I hit my driveway and activates as my car is on my driveway and works every time.

The car will make an audible sound when it triggers for you so it's possible it's triggering in a spot where the signal doesn't make it cleanly to the receiver.

Pull up close to the outside of the door and hit Reset Location and try setting to 20ft. That should do it!


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## rareohs

Well for whatever reason, this morning it worked - partially.

Didn’t auto-close when I left, but it did auto-open when I came back.

I did reduce the distance from 60’ to 40’ while I was out this morning.

Other thought: the location of the charger in our garage means I have to back in when I need to charge... which means when I leave I don’t use reverse, I just put it into D and pull out...

Do you think auto close might only work if you *back* out of the garage?


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## SoFlaModel3

rareohs said:


> Well for whatever reason, this morning it worked - partially.
> 
> Didn't auto-close when I left, but it did auto-open when I came back.
> 
> I did reduce the distance from 60' to 40' while I was out this morning.
> 
> Other thought: the location of the charger in our garage means I have to back in when I need to charge... which means when I leave I don't use reverse, I just put it into D and pull out...
> 
> Do you think auto close might only work if you *back* out of the garage?


Now that's a good question and I'm just not sure on the answer. I do pull in head first and back out though.


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## Argyle

rareohs said:


> Well for whatever reason, this morning it worked - partially.
> 
> Didn't auto-close when I left, but it did auto-open when I came back.
> 
> I did reduce the distance from 60' to 40' while I was out this morning.
> 
> Other thought: the location of the charger in our garage means I have to back in when I need to charge... which means when I leave I don't use reverse, I just put it into D and pull out...
> 
> Do you think auto close might only work if you *back* out of the garage?


For what it's worth I haven't gotten auto close to work. I wonder if you have to be in D, not R for it to trigger which causes it to fail to close the door if you're still reversing and the location trigger is hit. I haven't had time to experiment to see if I can get it working, I just turned it off for now.


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## SoFlaModel3

Argyle said:


> For what it's worth I haven't gotten auto close to work. I wonder if you have to be in D, not R for it to trigger which causes it to fail to close the door if you're still reversing and the location trigger is hit. I haven't had time to experiment to see if I can get it working, I just turned it off for now.


If you're backing out, I can confirm mine triggers while still in reverse.


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## rareohs

Thanks all! Seems to be working but I’ll keep an eye out for reverse vs forward exiting...

Second question: has anyone been able to get Homelink working for a security gate???

We have a liftmaster gate but when I try to do the same programming process, the very first step fails - aiming the remote at the front bumper and holding button down, but headlights never blink...


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## SoFlaModel3

rareohs said:


> Thanks all! Seems to be working but I'll keep an eye out for reverse vs forward exiting...
> 
> Second question: has anyone been able to get Homelink working for a security gate???
> 
> We have a liftmaster gate but when I try to do the same programming process, the very first step fails - aiming the remote at the front bumper and holding button down, but headlights never blink...


Glad to hear the garage is working! On the gate for my neighborhood it worked with just the remote and no "step 2". Double check the batteries on the remote.


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## rareohs

SoFlaModel3 said:


> Glad to hear the garage is working! On the gate for my neighborhood it worked with just the remote and no "step 2". Double check the batteries on the remote.


Changed battery and bingo! Works perfect. Thanks!


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## SoFlaModel3

rareohs said:


> Changed battery and bingo! Works perfect. Thanks!


Nice, I had a feeling! It's bizarre that the remote may still work but with old batteries sometimes they don't work for learning.


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## smak

Just setup my mom's house tonight. Worked great, it only took like 10 seconds for the lights to flash, and said it was done. Drove away, and back there and it opened automatically.

I couldn't get my condo to work, but I'm going to try again. Otherwise I'll probably just velcro the remote behind the screen or something to keep it out of the way.


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## ahagge

ahagge said:


> So a question - especially for existing Model S/X users - does the Tesla Homelink support the new "Security+ 2.0" protocol? Supposedly most new cars made after 2013 do, but I'd like to know for sure...


Now that I have my Model 3 (woo hoo!), I can confirm that Homelink on it supports "Security+ 2.0" on my brand new Liftmaster door. Just in case anyone else has one...


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## Henchman

If your gate doesn't work with homelink, as ours didnt.. You can get an aftermarket little box to get it to work .


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## skygraff

Argyle said:


> For what it's worth I haven't gotten auto close to work. I wonder if you have to be in D, not R for it to trigger which causes it to fail to close the door if you're still reversing and the location trigger is hit. I haven't had time to experiment to see if I can get it working, I just turned it off for now.


I back into my garage so always leave in D and have had absolutely no success with auto close. I've driven around the block which is definitely more than the 10ft set and no joy. No chime, no skip option, no nothing; tried reversing past the garage to double check both of your experiences. I've also disabled it and will check again after the next software update.

Thanks for confirming it wasn't just me.


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## Mistersandman

Question. Let’s say I have it set to auto open and auto close. When I come home the garage is already open because my wife just beat me home by a few minutes. Will homelink know that the garage is already open and do nothing? Or will it automatically try and open the door whereby it actually closes it instead since it’s already open. Hope this makes sense.


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## SoFlaModel3

Mistersandman said:


> Question. Let's say I have it set to auto open and auto close. When I come home the garage is already open because my wife just beat me home by a few minutes. Will homelink know that the garage is already open and do nothing? Or will it automatically try and open the door whereby it actually closes it instead since it's already open. Hope this makes sense.


Homelink will send a signal, so if it's open it will close your garage upon approach. That's ok though as it shows you auto open in 70 feet, 60 feet, 50.... you can tap to cancel before it fires.


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## ahagge

Mistersandman said:


> Question. Let's say I have it set to auto open and auto close. When I come home the garage is already open because my wife just beat me home by a few minutes. Will homelink know that the garage is already open and do nothing? Or will it automatically try and open the door whereby it actually closes it instead since it's already open. Hope this makes sense.


I'm in a similar situation - we typically keep the garage door open during the day, only closing it in the evening. The good news is that as the Model 3 comes into range, it will open the Homelink icon, but will not immediately do a "button press". It will display a "Skip" button below the Homelink icon for about 5 seconds before it does the button press. If you see that the door is already open, just press the "Skip" button within that 5 seconds.


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## scaots

I had some trouble with programming. Had to hold the remote right in front of the logo and press it a couple of times to get the lights to flash. Then I had to push a button on the opener then activate it from the car a couple times. And finally it works.


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## lxzm

Picked up my Model 3 on Saturday and I can't believe how much I LOVE it! Amazing car. I'm having a little difficulty getting homelink working however. We have a garage door and a security gate, both of which have worked fine with homelink on many other cars. I was able to set up my garage door and it's working great (at least for auto-open -- auto-close is a bit intermittent). The gate however is giving me fits. It picks up the signal from the remote, and the gate responds when I test it prior to saving the program. But it only works that one time. After that first test, and without moving the car or changing anything else, the gate won't ever respond when I press the button. I've tried reprogramming it too many times to count and always with the same result -- works during the test step, but never again. I'm on 2018.18.13. Any ideas???


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## lxzm

Thought I'd update for anyone else having odd homelink issues. Mobile service was out today and helped me troubleshoot my gate problem. Turns out it was the placement of the receiver on the gate. Don't know why it works fine with other cars, and works the first time I program it, but once I moved the receiver antenna to a different location it works now every time.


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## firedfly

rareohs said:


> Last time I approached it did count down the distance but never opened. And driving away never closes.
> 
> I'll start the entire process over again.


@rareohs Is auto open still working for you? I'm having the same issue with auto open and close.

I back in to my garage and auto close is never triggered. I read on the Tesla forums that you must open the garage with the garage door's wall/remote for auto close to work (I had been using the model 3 to open the garage before I leave). Using the wall control to open the garage door did not help with auto closing when I leave.

I'm also having the same issue with auto open. When I programmed the location, I pulled forward to the garage door and set the location. I've tried having it auto open with distance settings of 20, 30 and 40ft. It never chimes to auto open. It just counts down that it will auto open and as I get in front of the garage it says it will auto open in 5 or 10 ft. Perhaps I have a gps issue? Any suggestions?

UPDATE: I still haven't figured out how to get auto-close to work. However, auto-open now works. When I had the auto-open distance set to 40ft or less, homelink wanted me to drive past my garage into my yard (side-entry garage) to trigger the auto open. So, something seems off with the GPS even though I had reset the location several times. Setting the auto-open distance to 80ft has worked like a charm the last few times and the garage door opens as I'm pulling up my driveway (I'd guess 40ft from the garage door).


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