Tailwind Garage Door Opener is perfect for Google Home

Sometimes smart home tech results in the thought, “Why does anyone need this?” But in other cases, the benefits are abundantly clear, even if they aren’t always fully realized. Garage door openers are one of those pieces of smart home gear that fit into the latter, and over the past few weeks, the Tailwind system I’ve been using alongside Google Home has not only hit my expectations but has also gone above and beyond.

Tailwind Garage Door Opener: How it works and how it sets up

Garage door openers are usually a set-it-and-forget-it part of your home, and we often go years and years, or even decades and decades, without the need to replace them. Tailwind takes a somewhat similar approach to its hardware.

Setting up the Tailwind iQ3 involves plugging a couple of wires into your existing opener and then installing a sensor near the door itself. The app and a couple of videos from Tailwind do a better job of explaining this process than I could here, but the short version is that you’ll install a hefty metal sensor onto the door and/or the metal rails, then run a wire to the actual motor that opens the door. In my garage, without taking the time to fully clean up all the excess wire, this took about 30 minutes in total. The most complicated part for me was just to get the sensor properly mounted. After that, it’s a painless process.

Once the hardware is installed, pairing in the app also felt quick and easy. You’ll make a Tailwind account, name your door(s), and then you can get to the smart bits. Notably, the core system supports up to three doors, and the added cost for getting extra doors up and running is very minimal – you’re basically just paying for an extra sensor and some added wiring.

In the Tailwind app, you can open and close the door with just a tap. The UI of the app feels a bit dated, but functionally, it works well, and the app is pretty easy to navigate – there are useful features, like sharing access to your door, seeing door history, and more.

That said, I almost never found myself using Tailwind’s actual app.

Google Home doesn’t have enough good garage door openers

This might be the best

Rather than using the manufacturer app, I immediately set up support for Google Home. Unlike some other garage door openers, Tailwind natively supports both the Google Home app and Google Assistant. This means I can not only ask a Nest speaker or the Assistant on my phone to open the door, but I can also open and close it from the Home app. This does require a PIN code for opening, but it’s still incredibly convenient for getting the door open when I’m outside. My house doesn’t have an outdoor remote for the garage (a good security move, I feel), so having a smart opener I can easily use from any device is a real lifesaver.

Tailwind’s integration with Google Home is quick and simple too. Just link your account, assign the door to a room, and you’re good to go. As mentioned, you’ll be able to use the app controls or Assistant, and they both work very quickly. I noticed no delay using the Assistant/Home versus Tailwind’s own app.

Google Home has been building out better support for garage door openers in recent months but, really, there aren’t that many options to use it. Chamberlain has ignored the Home app for years and even killed its Google Assistant integration recently. Nexx, another option I used previously, was pricier, had a less reliable door sensor and was backed by a company that ignored major security problems until a spotlight was shone on the matter. There are other options out there, yes, but Tailwind is the most robust I’ve seen.

Tailwind’s best feature is also its most fickle

The real standout feature of Tailwind might just be its ability to automatically open and close your garage door when you drive up or away. This is handled through the Tailwind app and requires no additional hardware when paired with an Android phone. The app will ask users to perform a location-based setup process as well as pointing to the Bluetooth connection that is your car, and it uses that information to automatically open and close the door as you come home or leave.

This is a feature that’s a little hit or miss for me. I found that auto-close was never responsive enough for me to trust it, so I stuck to manually closing the door (or using the app to close it if I forgot). Auto-open, though, quickly became invaluable to me. The feature worked roughly 90% of the time and usually managed to accurately open the door as I started backing into my short driveway. The settings even sync across devices, so you don’t need to set this up if you switch devices.

Tailwind tells me that auto-close is getting upgraded to close more quickly soon.

But, it doesn’t come without a catch. I noticed a battery hit to my Pixel 7 Pro after turning this on because the Tailwind app needs constant location access in the background to work. Arguably, that’s not super worth it. And on iPhone, you actually need a separate accessory to make this work at all. Notably, though, Tailwind tells me that battery drain shouldn’t factor in here, and I didn’t notice any drain when switching operation over to the Pixel Fold, so it might be just a bug on my previous device.

Despite that, though, it’s hard to complain here. This is a really useful feature that adds a lot of convenience, and the trade-offs are not all that major. Even if you don’t use this feature, it’s nice to have in your arsenal.

This is a no-brainer for most homeowners

After a few weeks of use, Tailwind has solidified a single conclusion for me. On the whole, this is a product that’s a no-brainer for basically any homeowner, and easily the best garage door opener I’ve tried with Google Home thus far.

Setup is a little cumbersome, but it’s a one-and-done situation. App support and smart home integration are very well done, and the added features from Tailwind are excellent. And, best of all, it comes without any added subscription fees or needed accessories and has a company behind it that really seems to care about the product. Just recently, Tailwind debuted an Android Auto app, something no one else has done.

In a world where one of the biggest names in garage doors, Chamberlain, is actively throwing away the core of a smart home device, Tailwind is a really clear and solid alternative, and I can’t recommend it enough. Tailwind iQ3 is available solely from the company’s own online store for $80.

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