How to Open Your Garage Door When the Power Goes Out

Storms along the Grand Strand knock out power more often than anyone would like. If your car is in the garage when the lights go out, you need to know how to open the door by hand. Here is how to do it safely, and how a battery backup opener can save you the trouble.

Step 1: Make Sure the Door Is Fully Closed

It is safest to use the manual release while the door is closed. If the door is open and a spring is weak or broken, releasing it from the opener could let the door drop fast. If your door is stuck open during an outage, keep people away from it and call for help.

Step 2: Pull the Emergency Release Cord

Look for the cord, usually with a red handle, hanging from the opener rail near the top of the door. Pull it down firmly. This disconnects the door from the opener so it can move freely by hand.

Step 3: Lift the Door Slowly

Grab the door by a handle or the bottom section and lift it straight up. A properly balanced door should feel fairly light and stay put about halfway open. If the door feels extremely heavy, stop. That usually means a spring is broken, and lifting it can cause injury. Read our guide to the signs of a broken garage door spring.

Step 4: Close and Secure the Door

Once your car is out, lower the door gently by hand. If your door has a manual slide lock, use it while the opener is disconnected so the door stays secure.

Step 5: Reconnect the Opener When the Power Returns

On most openers, you reconnect the door by pulling the release cord toward the opener, or simply by running the opener once so the trolley clicks back into place. Then run the door through a full open and close to make sure everything works. If it does not, check our opener troubleshooting tips.

Skip the Hassle With a Battery Backup Opener

A battery backup opener keeps working for a number of cycles after the power goes out, so you can open and close the door with the remote like normal. For homes on the coast, where storms and outages come with the territory, it is one of the most practical upgrades you can make.

We install LiftMaster and Chamberlain openers, including battery backup and smart models you can control from your phone. Learn more about opener installation, or see how a hurricane rated garage door adds protection when a storm hits.

When to Call a Pro

• The door is very heavy or will not stay up
• A cable is loose or the door is crooked
• The opener will not reconnect after the power comes back
• The door is stuck open and you cannot close it

We offer 24/7 emergency service across Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, Conway and the rest of the Grand Strand.