The garage door is one of the most common entry points for residential break-ins — and one of the most overlooked when it comes to home security. Most homeowners focus on front door locks and window latches, but the garage door often gets less attention despite being one of the largest openings in the home.
The good news: the most common vulnerabilities are fixable, and modern garage door openers and hardware have closed most of them. Here’s what to know.
Why Garage Doors Get Targeted
A garage door has a few properties that make it appealing to someone looking for a quick entry.
It’s large and typically not visible from the street once the vehicle is in. A break-in through the garage can go unnoticed. Many garages connect directly to the house through an interior door — often without a deadbolt. Once inside the garage, an intruder may have easier access to the home than through the front door. And older openers have a known vulnerability that can be exploited in seconds.
The Emergency Release Cord — and the Easy Fix
Every automatic garage door opener has an emergency release cord — the red handle that lets you disengage the door from the opener manually. It’s there for safety, and it needs to be there. But it also creates a known vulnerability.
Burglars can exploit it using a technique called “fishing” — pushing the top section of the garage door slightly inward to create a small gap, then inserting a wire (a coat hanger works) to hook the release lever. The door can be opened in under ten seconds.
The fix costs nothing: thread a zip tie through the hole in the release lever. This doesn’t prevent manual operation in an emergency — you can still pull the cord from inside — but it stops the lever from being hooked from outside. It’s a two-minute job that eliminates one of the most common ways garage doors get compromised.
Rolling Code Technology
If your garage door opener is more than 10–15 years old, it may use a fixed code. Fixed-code openers transmit the same signal every time you press the remote. That signal can be captured using inexpensive equipment and replayed later to open your door.
Modern openers use rolling code technology, which generates a new code every time the remote is used. The code cycles through millions of possible combinations — a captured code is useless after a single use. If your opener doesn’t use rolling code technology (sometimes labelled Intellicode or Security+), upgrading to a current opener addresses this completely.
If you’re not sure what technology your opener uses, the documentation that came with it will specify — or contact Midcan Door for an assessment.
Smart Opener Features Worth Having
Current smart garage door openers add a layer of security that wasn’t available even a few years ago:
Real-time notifications. Your phone gets an alert whenever the door opens or closes. If you’re not expecting anyone, you know immediately.
Auto-close timers. Program the door to close automatically if it’s been open for more than a set period — useful if you forget, or want peace of mind when you’re away.
Remote monitoring and control. Check whether the door is open from anywhere and close it remotely. No more driving back to check.
Access logs. Smart openers record when the door opened and closed — useful if you share a home with others or want to confirm when someone arrived.
Physical Security Upgrades Worth Considering
Beyond the opener technology, a few physical upgrades strengthen security:
Security cameras. A visible camera covering the driveway approach is a deterrent. Research consistently shows cameras reduce break-in risk significantly, and models connected to your phone let you see and record activity remotely.
Exterior keypad. Eliminates carrying a remote and lets you grant temporary access to others without sharing a physical device.
Track lock. A simple padlock through a hole in the door track (when the door is closed) prevents the door from being lifted from the outside — an inexpensive mechanical backup.
The Interior Door — Don’t Overlook It
The door between your garage and your home is often treated as an interior door rather than a security door. In many homes it’s a hollow-core door with a basic latch but no deadbolt.
If your garage is attached, treat that door as a full exterior door. A solid core door, a proper deadbolt, and a reinforced strike plate make a meaningful difference — even if someone does get into the garage, they face a real barrier before entering the home.
When to Upgrade Your Garage Door Opener
If your opener is more than 10–15 years old and doesn’t use rolling code technology, replacing it is the single most effective security upgrade you can make. Current openers are also quieter, more reliable, and compatible with smart home systems.
If you’re building new, replacing a door, or planning a renovation that touches the garage, consider the door itself as well — a well-fitted, structurally sound overhead door is harder to manipulate than an older door with worn panels, hardware, or weather sealing gaps.
Midcan Door supplies and installs residential and commercial overhead garage doors across Manitoba. Whether you need a new opener, a replacement door, or an honest assessment of your current system, we’re here to help.
Book a service call or consultation online — we’ll walk through what you have now and what makes sense to update for better security and reliability.
