Pros
-
Easy installation
-
Fast and reliable
-
Affordable
About the MyQ Smart Garage Hub
The MyQ Smart Garage Hub is a simple, standalone WiFi hub that sits in your garage and communicates with your existing garage door opener (and an open/close sensor you stick on the door itself). If you have a wireless garage door opener in your car, the MyQ Hub works the same way—you use the Learn button on the main unit to "teach" the MyQ Hub how to communicate with the opener, allowing you to open the door without a hardwired connection. Only instead of a little button in your car, the MyQ hub gets its signal from your phone, using your home's WiFi connection. It supports Amazon Key for in-garage deliveries, as well as Google Assistant, IFTTT, and a few other smart home platforms.
Here are the MyQ Smart Garage Hub's specs:
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth (for door sensor)
- Compatibility: Works with most garage door brands manufactured after 1993, including those from Chamberlain, LiftMaster, Craftsman, Genie, and others.
- Dimensions: 4.5" x 1.5" x 4.5"
- Warranty: 1-year Accessory Warranty
Best of all, Amazon currently offers a $30 credit after your first in-garage delivery with Amazon Key—which means the Smart Garage Hub pays for itself after one in-garage delivery, provided you live in a supported area. Amazon Key is entirely optional, too, so you can use it once for the credit and then turn it off forever, if you so choose.
What we liked
It's easy to install
Credit: Reviewed / Whitson Gordon
The Smart Garage Hub is easy to install and use.
If you've paired a new garage door remote to your opener before, this will be old hat for you. If you haven't, it's very easy, and the MyQ app will walk you through the process. You'll just need to plug the hub into an outlet, stick the wireless sensor on your garage door, and use your opener's "Learn" button to pair it with the hub. The hub also comes with a bracket and two screws that let you mount it anywhere you want—I mounted mine on the ceiling to keep it out of the way, and so the built-in light would better illuminate the garage.
I didn't have any issues during installation, but if you do, be sure to read the instructions closely—the hub should be fairly close to the opener, and you'll want to ensure you have a strong enough WiFi signal in your garage (if you don't, a mesh WiFi system may be in order). As with all smart home products, your mileage can vary depending on your house's layout and your WiFi strength, but in my testing, setup was incredibly simple.
Its connection is reliable
Credit: Reviewed / Whitson Gordon
Make sure your hub is placed close enough to your router to have reliable WiFi signal.
While some smart home devices can lag or respond inconsistently to commands, the MyQ opener is quick and stable. Opening the app is fast and gives the status of your door instantly, and tapping the action button opens your door right away. (Closing the door does incur a 10-second wait, but this is for safety—the hub will beep repeatedly when a close command has been given). The app is also easy to use, giving you quick access to shared users, a history of open and close actions, and the ability to open or close your door on a schedule.
Notifications were also reliable—I set my opener to notify me if the door is ever left open for more than 10 minutes, and in all my testing, I never encountered a situation where that notification didn't come through. I did experience one or two false positives, with the app telling me my door was open even when it wasn't—but I never had it fail to notify me when the door was open. In one case, the sensor had gotten confused and thought my door was open whenever it was closed, and vice-versa—though this was immediately obvious and I was able to fix it quickly. Unplugging the hub and opening the door was enough to reset its status, and I haven't had the issue in the weeks since. (I've also seen other users recommend shaking the sensor to flip its status without opening the door.)
What we didn't like
Smart home integration could be better
Credit: Reviewed / Whitson Gordon
Disappointingly, the Smart Garage Hub does not work with Alexa.
Controlling your garage from your phone is nice, but the biggest benefit of smart devices is the integration they offer with one another—I can lock my doors when my security system arms, turn on my TV with Alexa, or alter the thermostat before I arrive home. Unfortunately, MyQ's smart home integration is rather lacking—despite being an Amazon Key partner, it doesn't even work with Alexa.
It does offer HomeKit support for Siri, and it works with Google Assistant, but only the Assistant on your phone—not the standalone Google Home speakers. The available voice control features worked well, but I really wish it integrated with Amazon Echo speakers and Google Home, as these are my primary control for all smart home devices. Setup for Google Assistant was a tad confusing as well, since you have to enable it on MyQ's site, open the Assistant app, and go to Explore rather than add a device. Only from that page can you search for MyQ and have it appear.
There are workarounds, as MyQ offers support for IFTTT, allowing you to integrate it further with other products. It also supports some security systems like Ring, Alarm.com, Resideo, and Vivint, plus the EVEConnect on Tesla cars. But given the lack of bigger names—and the fact that some services only let you close the door, not open it—MyQ's smart home integration is definitely missing features we'd like to see.
MyQ used to require a monthly subscription to use these features, but as of 2019 those features are free for a "limited time." (And by "limited time," I assume they mean "we made a bad call and we're backpedaling on this subscription fee," but time will tell.)
Should you buy it?
Yes, it's an essentially free security upgrade to your home.
The MyQ Smart Garage Hub is not as advanced as it could be, but in our testing, it was easy to use and reliable—which are the most important features, and for $30, it's hard to go too wrong. Heck, you get your money back with one Amazon Key in-garage delivery, so it's hard to turn down. In fact, when the Smart Garage Hub goes on sale—like this year's $17 deal on Prime Day—Amazon's literally paying you to try it out, so you don't have much to lose. That is, provided Amazon Key is available in your area.
If all you need is the ability to check the open/close status of your door, you could use a regular door sensor with an existing security system like SimpliSafe, though you'd have to walk downstairs to close the door if you find it was left open. The MyQ Smart Garage Hub may not be incredible, but for the price, it's hard to go wrong for the convenience boost and peace of mind.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Meet the tester
Whitson Gordon
Freelance Writer
Whitson Gordon is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.
Checking our work.
We use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If you’ve found different results in your own research, email us and we’ll compare notes. If it looks substantial, we’ll gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.
Shoot us an email"smart" - Google News
December 31, 2020 at 01:52AM
https://ift.tt/34SPGCc
Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub Review: Monitor the garage from afar - Reviewed
"smart" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P2kUhG
https://ift.tt/3febf3M
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub Review: Monitor the garage from afar - Reviewed"
Post a Comment