Automate Your Garage

We’re happy to announce that we’re about to include a new addition to the Doors & Locks section of the SmartThings Dashboard that will make it easier than ever to monitor and control your garage door. The functionality will be added to the iOS app today, and to the new Android app experience that a closed group of beta testers are currently using.

Gain peace of mind by knowing that your garage door is closed and secure, receive immediate alerts if it opens unexpectedly, and rest assured knowing that you can open and close it with the push of a button from anywhere.

Inside the Doors & Locks section, you’ll now notice that when adding a new door, there’s a prompt that allows you to define the type of door you’re adding–either a “Garage Door” or a “Conventional Door”:

If you select “Garage Door,” you’ll be presented with a series of common use cases and actions that are specific for a garage:

As with the Home & Family, Lights & Switches, and Damage & Danger sections of the Dashboard, you can monitor and control your garage by choosing already-connected devices, or choose to pair new devices. Depending on what you wish to do, there are two main devices that you’ll need to monitor and control your garage:

• A SmartSense Multi sensor (to monitor whether the door is open or closed)

• A relay switch (to open or close the door)

If the action you’re configuring requires you to set up a SmartSense Multi sensor in your garage, you’ll see a few helpful screens showing you tips for how to mount the Multi:

  
(Note: You only need to install the larger half of the Multi to monitor your garage, as it contains the accelerometer.)

After you’ve installed your SmartSense Multi, you’ll see the open/close status of the garage door in the Doors & Locks section of your Dashboard. And if you’ve installed a relay, you’ll see an icon representing it within the Doors & Locks section that you can easily tap to open and close it.

And that’s it: You’ve just breathed life into your garage and made it smart!

* – There is a minimal amount of wiring involved in order to hook up a relay switch. Here’s our maker in residence, Danny, to talk a little bit about installing a relay: