How To Manually Unlock Your Garage Door When The Power Is Out

No wonder that automatic garage doors have provided convenience to their users. With an opener on hand, you won’t have to get in (or out) of your car to open or close your garage door, which is particularly useful during bad weather. However, circumstances like power outage can render your garage door useless and cause a great inconvenience. When this happens, do not panic. When the power is out, this article is about the steps you can take on how to manually unlock your garage door.

How To Manually Unlock Your Garage Door When The Power is Out

Most of the automatic garage doors are equipped with a manual release. This is a system that allows you to manually open your door in case of an emergency or when the power is out. You don’t need to contact a garage door company to solve this problem if you know how to manually open your garage door.

Open Your Garage Door Manually From the Inside

• Find any deadbolts, switches, or locks near the outside of the garage door, make sure to disengage them. This prevents them from interfering with you manually opening the door.
• Once they are unlocked, disconnect the power for the opener or remove the battery of the opener to successfully open the door.
• Then, it is time to locate the emergency release cord. It is a red handle or cord that hangs at the center rail of the garage door track. It is attached to the trolley that joins the arm of the door to the center track. Please note that the emergency release cord should only be used when the garage door is completely closed.
• Pull the emergency release handle in a downward motion. This will disengage the garage door from the trolley and allows you to open the door manually.
• Now, with moderate force, lift the garage door. Pull straight from the bottom until the door goes up and stops moving. Make sure that the door is securely in place before letting it go or backing your car out of the garage.
• Once you have managed to safely get your car out of the garage, close the door. If it has a lock bar, slide lock to prevent accidents.

Open Your Garage Door Manually From the Outside

• Almost all garage doors are built with emergency release mechanisms. To unlock your garage door from the outside, you need to look for a small lock. This is located at the center near the garage door. This mechanism should have a key that corresponds to the lock.
• Then, unlock the emergency release cord by turning the key and pulling out the lock tumbler. A cord is attached to the lock tumbler upon pulling the entire mechanism. Pull the cord, until your door turns into a manual mode.
• Manually, lift up the door straight up and ensure that it stays open before you park your car in.
• When you are inside, close the door completely and lock it.

 

How To Reconnect Your Garage Door Opener After A Power Outage

There are easy steps to reconnecting your garage door after a power outage. Follow the steps below.

1. Once the power is restored, close the garage door completely. There should be no gaps seen between the floor and the door itself.
2. Then, firmly press the garage door opener button. If your door has two separate buttons, one that opens the door and the other that closes it. Press the one that would close the door.
3. Let the opener reconnect on its own and complete the process without interference. The chain should move the trolley into its proper position until it connects with the arm on the garage door.
4. Your garage should now operate appropriately with just a click of the button. To ensure that everything is running smoothly, allow your door to operate at least twice.
5. If your garage has no automatic trolley connected to the garage door arms, you can reconnect the opener manually. Simply pull on the emergency release handle toward the door and manually connect the garage door arm to the trolley of the door opener. Make sure to test the door using the remote.

Contact Overhead Door For Garage Door Repairs and Maintenance

In times of unexpected events, like a power outage, and you are faced with the inconvenience of operating your garage door, it would be a good idea to know how to manually open your garage door. However, if your garage door opener is still not reconnected after doing the steps above, you can seek help from our professionals.

Overhead Door of the Inland Empire is committed to providing excellent work and first-rate services. We have a team of skilled professionals ready to assist you in any garage door-related problems. We also offer a 24-hour emergency service. Call us to schedule your garage door repair today.