MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad review

The simple keyboard has long been a popular staple for easier access to your garage door. But with the new MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad, a mash-up of video doorbell and smart lock, you can finally upgrade that basic, punch-in security code. Using a built-in 1080p video camera, a motion sensor and two-way audio, the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad keeps an eye on your garage door and lets you see and hear who’s nearby your property.

Plus, the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad also allowed easy garage door access to guests, pet sitters and family members. I’ve been using the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad ($99) for a few weeks, and while I wish it offered local video storage, it’s an affordable way to add an additional layer of security and convenience to your home.

Here’s what you need to know about the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad to see if it’s right for your garage door.

MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad

Amazon

A mash-up of a video doorbell and garage opener, the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad uses a built-in 1080p video camera, a motion sensor and two-way audio. This not only lets you see who's rocking up to your garage via a free app, but it also gives easy access to friends, families and even pet sitters.

What we liked about it

See and manage who’s coming and going

The MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad is a combination video camera, smart garage door opener and smart door lock all in one. You can create up to 16 different permanent or temporary PINs, such as the ones used on a smart door lock, so everyone from the pet sitter to the kids to the weekend house guest has their own code. You can also add push notifications to the app (iOS and Android) on your phone to alert you when your kids get home from school (no more worrying about lost keys) or if the pet sitter has (really) been there to walk the dog.

A call button on the device allows a delivery person or that unexpected someone to place a call to you in-app, and using the camera and the two-way audio speaker, you can then chat with them. If it’s someone you know and trust, you can give them a code to open the garage door. You can’t, however, remotely open the door from your app unless you have a MyQ Smart Garage Door opener. More on that later.

Intuitive, customizable app

The full-featured app is simple to use and offers customization options for motion detection, person detection and motion sensitivity. For instance, if you live on a busy street and the camera picks up a lot of action, you can lower the motion sensitivity in the app. I’ve got mine set to alert me when it detects an actual person in my driveway, and I can see video and hear the sound of landscapers blowing leaves.

I especially appreciate the app’s history, allowing me to see who has accessed the garage door. That means I can tell things like whether my dog walker came on time or if a friend dropped off a package I was expecting. And though I no longer have school-aged children, I can imagine that this would have been great to make sure my kids got home when I was at work. With the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad, you can choose to get a notification or easily view the video of your child using the keypad.

Timed entry to your home

In addition to the obvious feature of seeing who is accessing the garage door, I also like the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad’s ability to create multiple access codes, both temporary or permanent. For instance, this would be ideal for an Airbnb or other rental vacation home. Like standard smart door locks, this will let you simply set up a PIN and set that code for a specified amount of time. When guests leave your home, the code will no longer work. It’s also great for friends and family so you can allow them access to your home without planting that key under the doormat (come on, we know you still do that).

Simple install and easy-to-use design

The MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad, which boasts large, round numeric buttons, is an attractive upgrade from a traditional keypad. And its white plastic casing, contrasted with the black area around the video camera, provides a sleek, modern design — always nice if you are sticking something outside your home.

Thankfully, when it came to installation, It could not have been easier. Since I already had screw holes holding my existing keypad in place, all I needed was a Philips head screwdriver to replace the screws and install the keypad. It comes with an angled 20-degree wedge mount to hold the keypad in place as well as the two screws. Of course, if you need to drill holes to mount it, you’d need to do some extra work.

The wedge mount gives you a little more viewing angle than a flat mount, so I’m able to see a few feet inside my garage as well as my driveway and onto my neighbor’s property. There’s an optional adjustable 100-degree swivel mount ($30) if you want a fuller view of your driveway.

Be sure to check your brand of garage door opener before installing; the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad is compatible only with Chamberlain, LiftMaster, AccessMaster or Craftsman garage door openers built after 1993.

What we didn’t like about it

Needs a paid subscription plan

Like many smart home products, you can view live video and get smartphone alerts from the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad, but to fully take advantage of all that it can do, you need to pay for yet another subscription. There is no local storage — it’s all cloud-based — so to access recorded videos, you need to continue the paid MyQ Video Storage Plan subscription plan when the 30-day free trial runs out.

It’s $3.99 per month, or $40 per year, for one device if you want to see seven days’ worth of smart detection recordings, preview videos in your notifications and download and share the recorded videos. While these all add to the convenience of having a smart garage keypad, it’s annoying to have to pay an extra fee to get most benefits. Of course, other smart devices like Ring video doorbells and Arlo outdoor cameras also use this business model, so it’s nothing new, but it would be nice if these costs were included.

Slight video recording delay

The unit takes a few seconds to “wake up” and start recording when it detects motion, and while most of my recorded videos are fine, there are a few where I only see my car backing out of the driveway; I can’t see myself walking to and getting into my car. It doesn’t happen often, but since this is about security, ChamberIain suggested increasing the sensitivity of the motion recording to see if it helps the delay — which it has not. I’m still working with them on this, but I think it may be an inherent issue, not a setting that can be fixed.

No remote door control

As mentioned earlier, while you can see and talk to whoever is at your garage door, the only way to open and close it is for the guest to punch in a PIN on the keypad. To really reap the benefits of this type of keypad, pair it with the Chamberlain Smart Garage Control sensor — which, for under $30, will offer that remote access to your garage door over Wi-Fi.

Strong Wi-Fi is required

Before you purchase a MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad, make sure your home’s Wi-Fi signal reaches out to the garage. MyQ says your router should be within 50 feet of the garage. I have an Eero mesh Wi-Fi router, so I know my signal reaches the front of the house, but I also ran a speed test on my phone to make sure it would work. If you need to get more signal strength out to your garage, take a look at adding a Wi-Fi extender.

Bottom line

Anyone who has frequent guests or visitors or wants to keep track of kids coming and going will appreciate the convenience and features of the MyQ Smart Garage Video Keypad. It’s easy to install and set up, it offers an extra layer of security at your most used door and it lets you keep track of who’s coming in and out with custom PINs.

It is often on sale, so even with the subscription plan, the keypad is generally an affordable smart security camera. And if you decide to splurge for the $22 MyQ Wi-Fi sensor as well, you’re getting all the features of a video doorbell, smart lock and smart garage door opener for under $100.

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