How to Open a Garage Door Manually When the Power Is Out

When the clouds roll in, and the wind picks up, you know bad weather is coming. Whether you’re in your car heading home through the pouring rain or waiting out the storm from the comfort of your living room, violent wind and weather can be unnerving — especially when the power goes out. In addition to the inconvenience of having no light or cable, you face other problems when the electricity is out — like the inability to open your garage doors.

Since there’s no electricity, a garage door opener without a battery backup won’t work after a power outage. Whether you’ve pulled into your driveway and realize you can’t get into the house or you’re trapped inside with no way to get your car from the garage, when your door won’t open or close, it is a problem. With the wind howling and lightning flashing, you can’t help but wonder — can you manually open a garage door? No matter the weather, we’re here to help you get that door to budge.

How to Open a Garage Door With No Power

If your garage door doesn’t work after a power outage, stay calm. Every modern garage should come with an emergency release kit, a system installed into your garage that allows you to manually open the door from the inside or outside. Next time you find yourself without power, and you need to get out to drive to work or get in during a pounding rainstorm, you can use a few simple steps to pull that garage door open successfully.

How to Open the Garage Door Manually From the Inside

• Unlock the door: Find any locks or latches near the outside of the garage door and make sure they’re open — so they won’t interfere with you manually opening the door.
• Unplug the opener: Disconnect the power cord to the automatic door opener.
• Find the emergency release cord: Locate the emergency release cord, which has a red handle and hangs from the center rail of the garage door track. This red cord attaches to the trolley, which connects the arm of your garage door to this center track. Only use the emergency release handle when the garage door is closed.
• Pull the cord: Pull down on the emergency manual release handle. This cord should disconnect the garage door from the trolley and allow you to move the garage door manually.
• Lift the garage door: You should pull straight from the bottom until the door stops moving, making sure it stays in place before letting go and backing your car out of the garage.
• Close the garage door manually: Once you’ve made it outside, pull the door down by hand to close it again. If your door has a lock bar, manually slide it to lock.

How to Manually Open a Garage Door From the Outside

• Locate the emergency release kit: Centered near the top of your garage door, you should find a small lock. This lock stores an emergency release cable. You’ll also need to have the corresponding key.
• Unlock the emergency release cord: Turn the key and pull out the lock tumbler to reveal a cable. This cord will trigger the release mechanism, which puts your door into manual mode.
• Unlock the garage door: Lower down from the emergency release kit, another lock next to a handle keeps the door itself closed. With your key, unlock the door and turn the handle so that it is vertical.
• Lift the door: Pull the garage door straight up with your hands — and make sure it stays open before driving your car inside the garage.
• Close the door: When you’re inside, pull the garage door down to a closed position.

Safety Tips for Manually Opening Your Garage Door

When you open a garage door by hand, make sure to stay safe.

• Unplug the automatic door opener: Unplugging the garage door opener before you try to manually open or reconnect your garage door will keep you safe. If the power comes back on, the opener might attempt to open the door while it is disengaged, which can make it harder to reconnect.
• Know when to call a technician: If you disengage the trolley and the garage door is difficult to move, you might have a problem with your springs. Your garage door springs are dangerous to work with, so you will need the help of a professional.
• Don’t pull the emergency release when the door is open: If your door is open or ajar, you might be wondering how to close a garage door after a power outage. Never use the emergency release when the door is open, or the weight of the door could come crashing down. It’s best to wait until your power comes back on before trying to close the door or call a garage door technician to help.
• Don’t leave the open door unattended: When the power is out and your garage door has disengaged from the automatic opener, there is nothing in place to keep the door from slamming shut. Even a forceful wind could cause the door to close. Keep the doorway clear and children a safe distance away. Make sure to close the garage door as soon as you can.
• Use the manual lock: Next to your garage door, there should be a metal manual lock. When the power is out, the automatic lock on your garage door is inactive. Slide the manual lock into place to keep your home protected during an outage.
• Watch for issues: If, after you reconnect the door, the door shakes or moves unevenly, something might have gone wrong. In that case, it’s best to contact a professional.

How to Reset a Garage Door After a Power Outage

If your garage door opener stopped working after a power outage, the solution might be as simple as reconnecting your garage door to the opener. If you’ve tried reconnecting and it still doesn’t work, it may be time to call a garage door technician.

How to Reconnect an Opener With an Automatic Trolley:

Most garage door openers have an automatic trolley. If your door has one, the process of reconnecting the garage door with the opener is simple. All you have to do is reset your garage door after the power outage is over.

1. Shut the door: Make sure the garage door is completely shut. There should be no gaps between the door and floor.
2. Plug the opener back in: If you still have the automatic opener unplugged, you’ll need to plug it back in to reconnect it automatically.
3. Activate the remote: If there are two separate buttons to open and close the door, press the button to close it. Doing so should engage the opener and allow it to reconnect on its own.
4. Watch it reconnect: Wait for the reconnection process to complete. The chain should move the trolley into place and connect it to the arm on the garage door.
5. Open and close the door: Once you have the door reconnected, operate the garage door opener once or twice to make sure everything is running smoothly.

How to Reconnect an Opener Without an Automatic Trolley:

If you tried connecting the garage door automatically and it did not work, you might not have an automatic trolley on your garage door opener. In this case, you’ll have to connect the arm of your garage door to the trolley manually. You can also use this method to reconnect the garage door to the opener before the power returns.

1. Shut the door: Just as you would with an automatic trolley, make sure the garage door is completely shut.
2. Engage the emergency release cord: Pull on the emergency release cord toward the garage door. You should see a switch move into place, and hear a click when the switch re-engages.
3. Guide the arm toward the trolley: Manually connect the arm of the garage door with the trolley of the opener. To do this, raise the door one to two feet until you hear it click into place.
4. Test the opener: After you’ve reconnected the garage door, plug the opener back in and make sure it’s working correctly. Open the door using the remote, watching for jerky movement and listening for any buckling. Then, close the door again.

How to Avoid Needing to Open a Garage Door Manually

When you have a garage door that won’t open or is not working after a power outage, you might wonder if there’s anything you can do to keep it running even without electricity. It’s always a good idea to know how to manually open your garage door in case of a power outage. Still, you can avoid the panic and the hassle by installing an automatic garage door opener with a backup battery feature.

With a backup battery, your garage door will open even when the power is out — and your keypad, opener and safety sensors will operate, as well. When you’re looking for an expert garage door installer to install an automatic garage door opener for your home in Kitsap, Kitsap Garage Door is here for your convenience and peace of mind. Contact us with all your garage door repair needs today.