Garage door openers and their remotes now come in more variety than ever. The remote controls can be basic, controlled by radio frequencies – or smart, controlled by WiFi.
Garage door openers can typically pair with 5 and 20 remotes per opener. If you need more openers, the Liftmaster Elite can pair with up to 40. If you still need more, consider a WiFi garage door opener, you can share your password with as many people that need access.
This article will review the number of remotes you can program with five popular brands of garage door openers.
Comparison Between Brands & Models
Besides the LiftMasters, the number of remote controls you can use with garage door openers hovers around 5-15. Here are how many remote controls you can pair with these brands.
| Craftsman | Genie | Chamberlain | Overhead Door | LiftMaster Elite | LM Premium | LM Contractor | |
| Max # of remotes | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 40 | 24 | 12 |
As you can see, LiftMaster can pair with far more remotes than the average brand, especially their Elite model.
Of course, quality comes with a cost, so you can expect to pay around $300 and $525 for a LiftMaster garage door opener compared to the average range of $120 to $288 for other brands.
Can I Program Multiple Doors to One Remote?
Yes, you can. Many manufacturers offer remotes with multiple buttons so you can use them on multiple doors.
The downside of those types, or non-universal remotes, is that they only work on their brand, so they’re useless on different openers. But remember, it’s 2022!
Rise of Technology
Garage door remotes have grown from the traditional gray rectangle with two buttons clipped to your car’s sun visor.
They’ve become so advanced that you can place a sensor in your car to automatically open the garage door when you drive close or use them to schedule garages to open and close every day.
People love universal garage door remotes because they work on many brands of openers, and they can open up to around four different garage doors or gate receivers (depending on the brand).
Remember that these universal remotes don’t work with every brand on the market. Check the manufacturer’s label to ensure it matches your garage door opener before buying.
For example, the Universal Overhead Door Opener is only compatible with these brands–
- Overhead Door™ Brand
- Genie®
- Chamberlain®
- Craftsman®
- Ryobi®
- Guardian®
- Liftmaster®
- Linear®
- FAAC®
- Xtreme Brand®
- Wayne Dalton®
- Marantec®
Smart universal remotes can connect to WiFi and any smart garage door opener brand it supports, so you can’t go wrong with any universal remote as long as you check the product label.
Best of all, your smartphone can now be your garage door remote. The app attached to the opener can usually pair up to around eight devices to control it.
Your smartphone can go far beyond simply opening and closing garage doors, also including these features–
- Voice control
- Temperature monitoring
- Shared access
- Auto opening and closing
- Scheduled openings and closings
- Video surveillance, and
- Geofencing
WiFi-enabled openers are excellent options if you’re considering a new garage door opener and remote.
Closing Doors
If you need a new garage remote, you’ll choose between universal or non-universal models.
Non-universal remotes only work with openers of the same brand, and they usually come with the opener and are easy to program.
People love universal garage door remotes because they work with most brands, of course, but also because they’re capable of working with multiple opener brands at once, are cheap, and are easy to program.
If you have a popular garage opener brand, a universal remote is an excellent option because it’ll work with almost any other brand you use in the future. You won’t need to change remotes every time.
Otherwise, any remote will work well as long as you check the label or with a professional to choose the best one for your garage doors.