Published on: March 4, 2019
You grab your cup of coffee and head out the door to the garage, swiping through your early morning emails as you fumble with your keys and head to your car. You slide into the front seat, absentmindedly place your phone on the passenger seat, and turn the key in the ignition. Just before you back out of the garage, you happen to glance up at your bike hanging from the hook on the front wall…or at least where your bike used to be hanging. Now you begin hurriedly glancing around your garage and notice several more missing items – your chainsaw, the lawnmower, and worst of all, your motorcycle are all gone. Your heart sinks. You have been burglarized. As you sit in the car with your forehead on the cold, hard steering wheel, several questions run through your head. How did they get in? And how did you not know they were there? Were you in danger? Then you notice the window is missing from the 3rd car that you never drive. The thieves got the garage door opener remote from your visor. You now wish that you had installed the Aladdin Connect® Add-on Kit for your garage door opener so that you would have known exactly when your garage door opened. You also wouldn’t had to leave a garage door opener remote in your car since your smartphone is your garage door opener remote….Maybe this could have all been avoided.
Putting Out the Welcome Mat
Most homeowners who have their homes or garages broken into say, “I never thought it would happen to me.” They assume that because they live in a nice neighborhood, it’s okay to leave their windows open or garage door unlocked. Unfortunately, crime lurks everywhere, and regardless of how nice your neighborhood is, you should always be taking the security of your home and your possessions seriously. Your average criminal is not going to make an elaborate entry plan inspired by the Ocean’s 11 franchise. Instead they will take the path of least resistance. Most burglars enter through the easiest access – an open window, unlocked door, or even an open garage door.
Sometimes, in more pre-planned scenarios, it is possible for burglars to drill a hole in your garage door and pull the emergency release cord with a small wire or similar object. These scenarios take a lot of pre-planning on the burglar’s part but are effective at bypassing some garage door opener systems. If you invest in an Aladdin Connect Add-on Kit for your garage door opener, however, you can thwart would-be burglars because the system will alert you if the door is opened, manually or with the opener.
Protection Against Hackers
The Aladdin Connect Add-on Kit uses your already secure home network to provide information to, from, and about your garage door opener. Aladdin Connect is compatible with both iOS and Android devices, providing remote access control with easy installation and setup. You can monitor the door position (open or closed) and any change to the position whether it's done through the Aladdin Connect app or manually. Learn more about the Aladdin Connect Add-on Kit and its benefits here.
Some homeowners are worried that their remotes or the receiver on their garage door opener motorheads could get hacked and allow thieves to access their garage via a stolen access code or a new remote. Genie uses Intellicode® Security for all of its openers with remotes. Intellicode is a type of security or encryption that creates a new access code every time you push the remote control button. This prevents hackers from being able to steal the access code and enter your garage. Genie openers also require new remotes to be physically programmed for the opener. The process requires pushing a button on the motorhead. In other words, there is no way a thief would have enough access to you garage door opener to program a remote without you knowing.
4 Best Ways to Prevent Break-Ins in Your Garage
- Vigilance – Thieves are everywhere, and they are just waiting for you to absentmindedly make a mistake that lets them in. At nighttime, make sure to always close all garage and home windows that have easy access from ground level. Lock all auxiliary doors and ensure the garage door is down before you go to bed. Make it a nightly routine to ensure all access areas are secured prior to going to sleep.
- Automate Your Systems – As humans, we err at times. Using automated systems like the Genie Aladdin Connect system can help ensure that your garage door is safely closed each night at a time you specify. Monitor the app on your phone, and receive alerts if the garage door opens or does not close all the way.
- Implement Vacation Lock Features – If you are going away for a long weekend or an extended stay, you may not want to leave your garage door opener set on its normal function. Genie garage door openers come equipped with a feature called “Vacation Lock,” which allows you to disengage your remote(s) while you are away. Simply move the Vacation Lock switch on your wall console to the locked position, ensuring full security for your belongings while you are away. Once you return, you can access the garage by a man door or an Emergency Release Kit if one is installed, and then return the Vacation Lock switch to the original position.
- Secure the Remote Emergency Cord Access – Some homeowners install Emergency Release Kits that allow them to reach their emergency cord from outside of the garage in case of a power outage or a forgotten remote. Ensure the Emergency Release is securely locked at all times. Do not hide the key under a rock or similar location, as many burglars know this trick and will search nearby for a key to access your door.
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2 comments
Agree with prior comment that genie should have included the ability to disable access via feature addition or app capabilities. This would be similar to the lockout feature on some of the older models. This is a safety issue Genie. Please do something about it and soon.
I’d like to see an addition to the ‘rules’ setup in the Aladdin app. Users can already command the door to open or close at specific times. How about a command that disables access via a remote during certain time periods. It would work the same as the manual wall switch but would disable the receiver.
The purpose? Most modern cars have a built in opener that can be programmed to the Genie (or other brand) opener. If that vehicle is parked in a driveway and is broken into at night, a simple button press gives a thief full access to the garage and, perhaps, to an entire home. Locking out the wireless remote adds an extra layer of security.