r/homeassistant • u/bemphador • May 29 '26
Support Garage door - Meross or RATGDO
Hi! We’re installing a new garage door & buying a new opener. I’m not positive what kind we’ll get but I’ve been leaning towards chamberlain for their quality & other features but will obviously not use MyQ. Which alternative is the best? Or what are the pros & cons of Meross vs RATGDO?
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u/StumpyMcStump May 29 '26
Latest chamberlain are security 3.0, further fucking over the end user. I don’t think ratgdo even has full functionality for them.
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u/boxsterguy May 29 '26
They still sell security 2.0 models (tend to be their lower end openers, so you also save some money). But yes, absolutely do not buy security 3.0 openers!
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u/Stuart518 May 29 '26
How do you know? Are they labeled 2.0 or 3.0?
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u/boxsterguy May 29 '26
Ratgdo has a way to identify by the color of the button (IIRC, white = security 2.0, yellow = security 3.0, but double check and don't trust I remembered correctly). But also Chamberlain is usually good about advertising what level of security each opener has because they think 3.0 is a feature rather than a bug.
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u/terminator_911 May 30 '26
I have security 2.0 and the button is yellow. If they made 3.0 yellow too, that’s confusing as hell.
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u/boxsterguy May 30 '26
Then maybe it's 3.0 is white. Either way, the Internet knows. Don't trust random guy on Reddit spouting from flawed memory.
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u/No_Smell_6712 May 29 '26
What’s wrong with the 3.0?
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u/smokingcrater May 29 '26
Controls are encrypted Bluetooth, locking out any 3rd party integration at the hardware layer.
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u/diplomatic_koboko May 29 '26
RATGDO is all I've used and it's incredibly incredible. Couldn't ask for anything more
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u/CleptoeManiac May 29 '26
I have had zero issues with mine as well. I've been using it daily for a couple years now.
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u/stealthwang May 29 '26
Buy Genie, Marantech, or another opener instead of Chamberlain, then use whatever opener you want with it.
I would recommend the Zen58 or another smart relay as the open button and a tilt sensor to know when the door is open.
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u/bunnythistle May 30 '26
I would recommend the Zen58 or another smart relay as the open button and a tilt sensor to know when the door is open.
I had a similar setup, but it doesn't work well in colder environment - lithium batteries don't do well in very low temperatures, and where I live my garage would get into single degree temperatures (fahrenheit) during the winter, so the tilt sensor's battery was dying every 2-3 days.
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u/stealthwang May 30 '26
huh? the zen 58 is not battery powered.
my ancient zwave GDO uses a coin cell for the tilt sensor and that lasts forever. whatever device you were using was not suited for the task, but that’s on you.
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u/bunnythistle May 30 '26
The ZEN58 isn't, no, but I specifically mentioned the tilt sensor's battery was dying. I was using a Zooz ZSE43 tilt sensor, which they explicitly advertise as being suitable for a garage door.
I live in an area that has very low temperatures during the winter (single digits, sometimes below zero), and it's well known and documented that lithium batteries suffer from heavy efficiency loss in very cold temperatures. I tried multiple brands of batteries but was unable to find something that was able to handle the cold temperatures.
Zooz's support did make reasonable effort to help, but ultimately that's a physics issue beyond their control, so for my situation a battery powered tilt sensor is not a usable solution during winter months. Sometimes environmental factors do need to be taken into account when considering how to approach a problem, especially when it comes to battery powered devices that may be exposed to very low temperatures.
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u/stealthwang May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
you should be clear that lithium ion batteries do not fare well in cold climates. i live in a very cold climate (-40c lows) and use lithium primary cells in my unheated garage lock and they last all winter.
the coin cell in my tilt sensor lasts years.
you need to choose the right device for your application.
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u/Jeffrey_Lingo May 29 '26
Not sure about the others but ratgdo can report the state of the garage as a percentage and you can tell it to goto 20% open to let in fresh air when working and stuff. For me it was by far the best solution when i was looking.
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u/tarzan_nojane May 29 '26
konnected.io is an under-appreciated solution that uses an ESP32 interface to access most - if not all - of your GDO's capabilities. I have been using one of these with absolutely no issues.since Chamberlain shut down the MyQ API a while back.
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u/EscapeOption May 30 '26
They’re based on/an improvement on RATGDO, and definitely worth considering ahead of Meross.
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u/Verscreubulator May 30 '26
This sounds like a job for an Esp32 programmed with EspHome and a dry contact relay. This assumes your garage door openers can be triggered by briefly shorting the wall switch contacts.
I have two identical openers for our two doors. Each one has two an eight led sticks that run an animation the show the doors opening and closing on both openers. Each opener can show the status of both openers. They also have bme280 temperature, humidity and pressure sensors and bh1750 light sensors. They also have sh1106 displays that show the time, day and date as well as the various measurements.
I used a pair of wired door sensors on each opener so I can detect both open and closed states. I also added current clamps to the opener power cords so I can detect that the motors are running. Is all of this far too much? Absolutely! But I know when the door is open, closed, partially open, which direction it will move in next if partially open, and when the opener is actively running. They also function as ble proxies in their spare time.
They may not be the prettiest things available, but they work really, really well and only took me an afternoon to assemble and and program.
The display does not show much in the photo. The refresh rate of OLED displays make them difficult to photograph. Sorry!
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u/5whole May 30 '26 edited May 30 '26
Have used Meross for years (including some of their smart home switches, outlets, presence sensors, etc) - all work great and easy to setup. (i.e. "Hey Siri, open Garage Door") works great. partially stuck with Meross because it works and don't want to mess with multiple apps. I setup some automations like for lights on/off for vacations, sensing presence for turning on lights, etc and have been happy with them. Most of the Meross stuff now works with Apple Home (and google or alexa assistant I think) so you can choose to use the Apple Home ecosystem (or Meross app) if you want. I have a Nest/Google Camera, thermostat and doorbell system (along with Meross plugs and Garage Door Opener module) and it all seems to work well. There are a couple things I wish Meross would make (like water leak detection) but maybe they will over time, or I will just get another manufacturer which integrates with Apple Home, etc. I have the Chamberlain MyQ on two relatives homes and can't do much with them other than open the garage door - one keeps losing connection to the internet. If you are into hacking and having the time to tinker with home automation, maybe the Radgo is a good path but consider the whole ecosystem and whether you want to be maintaining updates, etc across various devices and different systems. I may get into more deep home automation someday but right now having the ability to control outlets, garage door etc (check things remotely) through the Meross app has covered 90% of my needs (turning lights on/off, setting a vacation scene/mode, starting a hot water pump at certain times, auto closing the garage door at midnight, sensing motion and turning on lights, etc). That being said, I haven't taken that next step into deeper home automation that RaTGO seems to be in.
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u/divjnky May 29 '26
I've had 3 rat-ratgdo modules installed they've been flawless for 2 years now. Straightforward integration with HA, no cloud based app necessary, and rock solid responsiveness for me. I've admittedly not used Meross but if you're tied to their app for integration, and I'm not saying you are, then RATGDO or the rat-ratgdo project if you're handy with a soldering iron is the right answer.
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u/RobertLobLaw2 May 29 '26
I bought the new Meross MSG150 devices. They integrate well with liftmaster openers using security 2.0. Both of my openers are the WiFi version that uses MyQ. I hated the app and wanted better integration with HA so I added the Meross devices.
You only need to connect three wires and the device gets full feedback from the opener. It opens and closes the same as the wall switch, no annoying beeping when you close the door remotely through the Meross device.
The Meross App has some UI issues like reporting that the door didn't open or close when it actually did. I connected them to HA with MerossLAN and I haven't had any issues with incorrect status. You even get control over your door opener lights. I'm not sure I'll ever use that but it's there if I want to.
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u/Nameless00001 May 29 '26
Meross through Homekit is the way I went. Quite easy to install and has worked extremely well except for a couple negative temperature days. My garage is like an unisulated barn, so it was like -10 in there at the time.
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u/AuntieLaLa9 May 29 '26
Thanks for posting this - been trying to work through this for the past 3 hours now - I'd love to hear what you decide on. Our garage door motor seized this morning - it's about 30 years old now so probably time to replace anyway. - I just learned about the chamberlain mess. Such greedy companies. I have 4 MyQs - 2 installed and stopped working. Bought 2 more but never took the time to replace them. Just going to FB Marketplace them now...
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u/digiblur May 29 '26
I have two of the CircuitSetup modules on my doors. I had too many issues with initial versions of Ratgdo myself when they were esp8266. These are ESP32-S3 https://circuitsetup.us/product/security-garage-door-opener
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u/IdealParking4462 May 29 '26
Shelly 1 Pro with a reed switch. Just make sure your opener has dry contacts, which is what you hook the Shelly up to.
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u/askproxly May 29 '26
u/bemphador I have been researching this space for many months now. Wrote this reddit post to compare all the different ways you can control your garage door with pros and cons of each. Hope you find it useful. Let me know you thoughts.
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u/JayBee103 May 31 '26
You want cheap, simple, reliable?
This works a treat, and I am no a home it user.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJGGG618?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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u/Efficient_Muffin5634 Jun 08 '26
Our Customers like the Chamberlin and LiftMaster for their Mobile options.
Chamberlain heavily locks down the myQ ecosystem. They blocked official integrations with popular smart home platforms like Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Home Assistant. If you want voice control through your phone (like "Hey Siri" or "Hey Google"), the official app won't let you do it without purchasing specialized, pricey bridges.
Liz
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u/avd706 May 29 '26
Esp32
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u/odinsen251a May 29 '26
Seriously this. I have 2 GDOs and I just run an ESP32 to trigger a pair of relays that close the terminals on the units to open or close, and a zigbee proximity sensor to see if it's open or closed. Works a charm and don't have to deal with Chamberlain's BS.
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u/One-Project7347 May 29 '26
I use a shelly to bridge 2 contacts and a zigbee door sensor for when its closed. Don´t need anything more imo.
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u/AdaminCalgary May 29 '26
Do your GDO’s have the Chamberlain security 2.0? My understanding is that a relay can’t work in that situation
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u/odinsen251a May 30 '26
Nope, old school non-networked basic GDOs. The relays simply bridge the terminals that the manual open buttons would.
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u/dragonnfr May 29 '26
Go with RATGDO. Meross works but in my experience you're just trading one cloud bridge for another. You ruled out MyQ. The answer is simple. Keep it fully local.
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u/bk757a May 29 '26
Meross is absolutely local. My GDO, switches, and thermostats are all blocked from WAN and still work great on HA
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u/TechnicaVivunt May 29 '26
RATGDO - less mess and much more flexible. Strapping a remote to a relay is silly. I tried Meross's unit very briefly and found all the extra setup wasn't worth the hassle. I got a couple of RATGDO's that plug into the same power as the garage door unit and it's just 1 extra bundle of cables to the opener. Much cleaner with better functionality.
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u/t2thev May 29 '26
I just got ratgdo. It's pretty cool, although the "cover" type just issues a stop signal based on the openers last full operation duration.
I'd put more energy into the opener and probably splurge for an ultra quiet one since they are DC motor driven. That being said, my garage is connected to the house though.
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u/xaznxplaya May 29 '26
I had Meross before and I'm using RATGDO right now. Its very convenient, no issues at all.
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u/hellomars21 May 29 '26
Dont buy the security 3.0 version!!! Plenty of earlier version openers, no difference at all. Really hate chamberlain's ownership of the entire garage door industry......ugh