How to Open Your Garage Door Safely During a Power Outage

When the power goes out, a garage door opener stops working, and the door stays wherever it was. If your car is inside, you need a way to get the door open by hand. Every home garage door opener has one, and it takes about a minute once you know how.

The key is doing it safely. The steps are simple, but there are a couple of things that matter a lot.

Before you pull anything

• Make sure the door is fully closed. Pulling the release with the door open or partly open can be dangerous. If a spring is weak or broken, the door can fall quickly once it is disconnected.
• Look at the springs. If you can see them, check for a gap in the coil. A broken spring means the door will feel extremely heavy. Don't try to lift it.
• Clear the area. Move kids, pets and anything on the floor out of the way.
• Have light. Use a flashlight or a phone light so you can see what you are doing.

Step by step: opening the door by hand

1. Find the manual release. It is usually a red cord with a handle hanging from the opener rail, near the door.
2. Pull the cord down and back. On most openers you pull the handle down and toward the back of the garage, away from the door. You may hear a click as the door disconnects.
3. Lift from the handle. Use the handle on the inside of the door, or the lowest section if there is no handle. Keep your fingers away from the gaps between the sections, since those close as the door moves and can pinch hard.
4. Lift slowly and evenly. A properly balanced door should lift with steady effort and move smoothly. Raise it all the way until it is fully open.
5. Make sure it stays up. A balanced door should stay open on its own. If it starts to drift down, don't walk under it. Lower it carefully and have it checked.

If the door feels very heavy, jerks, or one side rises faster than the other, stop and lower it gently. Those can be signs of a broken spring or a cable problem. Our list of spring warning signs explains what to look for.

Keep the house secure

While the door is disconnected from the opener, the opener's locking effect is gone. The door can often be lifted from outside. After you pull the car out, close the door by hand and use the slide lock on the inside of the door if it has one. If you leave, lock the door into the house as well.

Some garages have an outside release, a small keyed lock on the door that lets you pull the release from outside when there is no other way in. If you don't have one and your garage has no side entrance, it is worth asking a professional about.

Reconnecting when the power comes back

Opener models differ, so check your manual. On many openers you reconnect in one of two ways:

• Unlock the door first. If you used the slide lock, open it before you reconnect or run the opener. Running the opener against a locked door can damage the door or the opener.
• Pull the release cord again toward the door, then press the wall button. The opener carriage runs along the rail and clicks back onto the door.
• Or, with the door closed, run the opener once and let the carriage move until it catches the door.

After you reconnect, run the door through a full cycle. Then test the safety sensors and the auto-reverse, since a power surge can sometimes affect settings. Our garage door safety guide explains both tests. If the door won't close properly afterward, why a garage door won't close covers the usual causes.

Getting ready for the next outage

• Check for a battery backup. Some openers have a battery backup that runs the door for a limited number of cycles without power. Test it once in a while, and replace the battery when the manual says to.
• Practice once. Try the manual release on a calm day, with the door closed, so you are not learning in the dark.
• Show everyone. Make sure every adult in the house knows where the release is and when not to use it.
• Keep a flashlight in the garage. Somewhere easy to find by feel.
• Watch your generator. Never run a generator inside the garage, even with the door open. It produces carbon monoxide, which can build up quickly and get into the house.

When to call a professional

Call for help if the door won't lift, feels very heavy, comes off its tracks, or won't stay up. Don't try to lift a door with a broken spring, and don't try to fix springs, cables or bottom brackets yourself. They are under high tension. A yearly tune-up is a good time to check that the door is balanced and the release works the way it should. Here is what a tune-up actually checks.