Garage Door Opener Not Working? Five-Minute Triage

Opener calls are the ones we most often solve on the phone, because half of them end at one of these six checks. Run them in order:

1. The remote works but the wall button doesn’t (or vice versa)

That splits the problem instantly. Wall button works, remote doesn’t: remote battery (a CR2032 coin cell in most), then re-pair the remote using the Learn button on the motor unit. Remote works, wall button doesn’t: loose wire at the button - two low-voltage screws, safe to snug.

2. Nothing responds at all

Check the ceiling outlet - plug a work light into it. Garages trip GFCIs in damp weather, and half the county’s garage outlets chain off one. Reset any GFCI (the outlet with the little buttons), then the breaker.

3. The opener light blinks and the door won’t close

That blink is a diagnostic code, and the usual translation is “safety sensors can’t see each other.” The two small eyes near the floor of each track need steady lights on both. Realign by loosening the wingnut and nudging until steady; clear cobwebs; block low sun if a lens faces west. The door will close while you hold the wall button down even with bad sensors - that’s the confirmation, not a fix.

4. It’s in vacation mode and nobody knew

Wall consoles with a LOCK button disable every remote when pressed - a classic after houseguests or new tenants. Hold LOCK a few seconds to clear. (Landlords: this is the most common “broken opener” report in student rentals, and it’s free.)

5. The motor hums or runs, the door doesn’t move

Look up: is the trolley (the shuttle on the rail) actually moving? Moving trolley + still door = the release cord was pulled; re-engage it with the door down. Still trolley + humming motor = stripped drive gear or a failed capacitor - real repairs, but modest ones ($100-$250 territory).

6. The door feels heavy when you lift it by hand

Pull the red cord and lift. If the door is dead weight, the opener was never the problem - the spring is. Stop here and see spring repair, because a new opener won’t fix a broken counterbalance and forcing it will kill the new opener too.

Past the checklist?

Then it’s likely the logic board, the travel limits, or an opener old enough to owe nothing. Call and tell us the model on the motor unit and what the lights do - we’ll tell you whether it’s a repair, a replacement, and what each normally costs, in writing before anything happens.

Sounds like your situation? The service page has ranges and what a visit involves: Opener repair & installation.