Introducing OpenGarage: an Open-Source WiFi Garage Door Opener

News and Updates

  • We’ve recently found a technical issue with Blynk’s QR code scan feature that makes the Blynk app not work properly on some iOS devices. The symptom is that the app can receive push notifications but the distance value, read count, and LCD widget are not updating. Please check this forum post for solutions. This seems to only affect iOS devices.
  • OpenGarage User Manual (PDF) is available on Github.
  • OpenGarage Firmware 1.0.4 API document is available on Github.
  • Blynk connection issue: recently Blynk updated their cloud server, causing Blynk app to not be able to communicate with OpenGarage. The solution is to update OpenGarage firmware to 1.0.4.
  • Reboot cycle issue: we’ve found a few reports of ‘reboot cycle’ where the controller continuously reboots. This issue has finally been sorted out. The solution is to reflash the firmware using a microUSB cable.

Today I am very excited to introduce you to OpenGarage — an open-source, universal garage door opener built using the ESP8266 WiFi chip and the Blynk app. I’ve wanted to finish this project for a while, as there have been multiple occasions where I left the house in a hurry and forgot to close my garage door, or locked myself out of the house, or had to let a friend or handyman in while I was away. Having a WiFi-based garage door opener (which I can access remotely using my mobile phone) would be super convenient. Recently as I started learning about ESP8266, I found it to be the perfect platform to help me complete this project.

A quick note: this blog post is temporarily the main landing page of opengarage.io. A more professional-looking site is under construction and should be ready soon. Also, the first production run has been ordered, and they should be ready to ship in 2 weeks of time. If you are interested in OpenGarage, you can place your order at rayshobby.net/cart/og.

Here is a video introduction that gives you a quick walk-through:

Here are some head shots of the OpenGarage controller:

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I made the prototype version using a 3D printed case, and the final version using an off-the-shelf case with custom cutouts. Two pictures of the circuit board are shown on the right above. With OpenGarage, I can now check my garage door status wherever I am, open or close the door remotely, and check the record of recent events through the log and history graph. The controller supports a built-in web interface with embedded HTMLs, and remote access through the Blynk app. The built-in interface is used for local access and changing configuration/settings, while the Blynk app is used for remote monitoring and control.

Hardware-wise, it’s really simple. It consists of:

  • an ESP8266 (WROOM-2) WiFi chip;
  • an ultrasonic distance sensor (HC-SR04);
  • a relay (for triggering garage door actions);
  • a pushbutton and indicator LED;
  • a microUSB connector and CH340G USB-serial chip.

Mounting. The controller is typically mounted to the ceiling at the garage, with the distance sensor facing down. When the garage door is closed, it reads the distance to the ground, or the top of your car if you’ve parked in the garage. When the door opens and comes up, the sensor reads the distance to the door, which is a much smaller value. So by checking the distance value, it can tell if the door is open or closed. The distance value can also tell you if your car is parked in the garage or not, which is an additional benefit that can be useful at times.

For roll-up garage doors, the ceiling mount would not work. Instead, you can mount it to the side of the door, with the sensor facing the outside. This way the logic is reversed: if the distance reading is small, it means the door is closed, and vice versa.

Interfacing with Garage Door System. OpenGarage uses a relay to simulate door button clicks. For most garage door systems, you can simply connect the two wires from the OpenGarage controller to where you would normally insert your door button wires into. The only exception is the most recent Security+ 2.0 systems, which come with a yellow learn button and antenna. These openers use secure door button codes, but you can still interface with them through a compatible door button.

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Alternatively, you can take apart an existing garage door remote, solder two wires to the button, and connect these two wires to OpenGarage. This way, the relay clicks simulate pressing the button on the remote. As long as you have a remote that works with your garage door system, this approach would always work.

Web Interface and Blynk App. The controller has a built-in web interface with embedded HTMLs, implemented using JQuery Mobile. It’s used for WiFi setup, local access (directly using IP) and changing configurations/settings. The controller also supports remote access through the Blynk app, which is a cloud-based service that’s really easy to use. Before proceeding, it’s recommended that you install the Blynk app, create an account, log in, and scan the OpenGarage app QR code to replicate the project inside Blynk. Then go to the project settings and copy the authorization token (32-digit hex code). This way, immediately after the setup step, you can use Blynk to access OpenGarage.

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Initial Software Setup. OpenGarage is powered by a microUSB cable. At factory default settings, it boots into Access Point (AP) mode, creating an open WiFi network named OG_xxxxxx (where xxxxxx is the last 6 digits of MAC). Use your phone or a computer to connect to this network, and then open a browser and type in 192.168.4.1 to access the AP homepage. You will see a list of nearby WiFi networks scanned by the controller. Select (or manually type in) the ssid, input the password, and paste the Blynk token (if you don’t have it, just leave it empty). Then click on ‘Connect’. The controller will go into AP+STA mode, attempt to connect to your router, and report back its assigned IP address.

Once connected, it will reboot into STA-only mode. At this point, switch your phone back to your home WiFi, and click the redirect button (or manually type in the assigned IP) to access the device homepage.

LED and Button Functions. The LED serves mainly as an indicator: in AP mode, the LED blinks rapidly; and in station mode, the LED blinks briefly when the controller reads the distance sensor, which is once every few seconds (configurable). The button (connected to GPIO0) has the following functions: a short click triggers a relay click; and a long press triggers a factory reset (see below). The button can also be used to enter bootloading mode: if the button is pressed when the controller is powered on, ESP8266 will enter bootloading mode. This is useful if you want to upload a firmware through USB (instead of using OTA update).

Reset to Factory Default. At any point, you can press and hold the pushbutton for 5 seconds or more until the LED stays on, then release the button to reset the controller back to factory default.

Built-in Web Interface. At the homepage you can check the distance readings, door status, and a read count value which increments every few seconds as the controller reads the distance sensor. The read count is basically a ‘heart beat’ that indicates if the controller is communicating with your browser or not. You can trigger a button click or reboot the controller. These actions are protected by a device key, which is by default opendoor.

Click the Options button to open the ‘Edit Options’ page. Most of these are pretty obvious. The one you may need to tweak is the distance threshold, which the controller uses to tell if a door is open or closed. Basically, measure the distance from the sensor to the door (when it’s fully open), and that to your car, and pick a value in between the two. The settings are all saved in a configuration file in the flash memory, so they won’t get lost when the power is down.

At the homepage, click the Log button to open the log page. There you can see the list of recent events. The homepage also shows the current firmware version. Next to the version number is an ‘Update’ button, which allows you to upload a new firmware through the web interface (thanks to the OTA update feature available to ESP8266).

Blynk App. For remote access, the Blynk app is really easy to use. Once you’ve set a token, OpenGarage will communicate with Blynk’s cloud server and report its status. Like the built-in web interface, the app allows you to check distance readings, door status, and trigger a button click. Additionally, it provides a history graph that visualizes previous events, and push notifications when the door opens or closes (note that Blynk limits push notifications to no more than one per minute).

Resources and Technical Details

I’ve published the hardware design files and firmware code in Github. Those who are interested in the technical details can go to:

to find out all the low-level details. These include the circuit schematic and PCB (in EagleCAD format), 3D model of the enclosure, OpenGarage Arduino library, and instructions to compile the firmware. If you are interested in modifying the 3D printable enclosure, go to tinkercad.com, log in, and search for ‘OpenGarage’ and you should find the 3D model I created there.

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If you want to extend the functionalities of OpenGarage, there are several spare pins which are mapped out on the PCB for adding additional sensors etc.

Overall it has been a very pleasant experience using ESP8266 for this project. It’s inexpensive, powerful, and has active community support. I can’t think of any reason why not to use it for all my future projects 🙂

If you are interested in buying OpenGarage, you can place your order at rayshobby.net/cart/og.

FAQ

Q: How do I update OpenGarage firmware?
A: Compiled firmwares are all released on OpenGarage github. For example, here is the direct link to firmware 1.0.4:
https://github.com/OpenGarage/OpenGarage-Firmware/raw/master/Compiled/og_1.0.4.bin
Before proceeding, note that once a new firmware is uploaded, the log will be erased, so keep a copy of the log if you need.

  • Use the web interface to update firmware (click the ‘Update’ button at the bottom of the homepage or Options page).
  • If the built-in web interface is not responding, do a factory reset (i.e. pressing the button for 5 seconds or more), then follow the setup steps but leave the cloud token empty (to avoid any potential Blynk connection issues). Once firmware is updated, go to the Options page and put in the Blynk token, make sure the Accessibility is set to ‘Direct IP + Cloud’.
  • If neither of the above work, you can use a USB cable to flash a new firmware (see instructions below).

After updating firmware, check the bottom of the homepage and make sure the firmware version is correct.


Q: How do I reflash the firmware using a microUSB cable?
A: In the event that the controller cannot boot correctly (such that you can’t have access to over-the-air update), you can reflash the firmware via a microUSB cable.

Step 1: Driver. Depending on your operating system:

Step 2: Bootloading mode and serial port.
Let the device enter bootloading mode. To do so, get a microUSB cable, plug the smaller end to the device’s USB port, then press and hold the pushbutton while plugging the cable’s other end to your computer. The LED light should stay on constantly, and you should not hear any buzzer sound. If not, unplug the USB cable and redo this step.

Next, the device should appear as a serial port and you need to find out the serial port name:

  • Windows: the serial port name is COM? where ? is a number. You can find out the port name in the notification area, or in Device Manager — Serial Port.
  • Mac OSX: the serial port name is /dev/tty.wchusbserial? where ? is a number. You can find out the port name by running ls /dev/tty.wch* in Terminal (i.e. command line).
  • Linux: the serial port name is /dev/ttyUSB? where ? is a number. Run ls /dev/ttyUSB* in command line to find out.

Step 3: Reflash firmware.

Download the OpenGarage reflash package and unzip it. The package includes esptool, nodemcu firmware, and OpenGarage firmware. Open a Terminal (i.e. command line window), cd to the folder where you unzipped the package. Depending on your operating system, run the following command (assuming the device is in bootloading mode):

  • Windows: esptool.exe -cd ck -cb 230400 -cp COM? -ca 0x00000 -cf nodemcu.bin
    where COM? is the serial port name you found in Step 2 above.
  • Mac OSX: ./esptool_mac -cd ck -cb 230400 -cp /dev/tty.wchusbserial? -ca 0x00000 -cf nodemcu.bin
    where wchusbserial? is the serial port name you found in Step 2 above.
  • Linux: sudo ./esptool_lin32 -cd ck -cb 230400 -cp /dev/ttyUSB? -ca 0x00000 -cf nodemcu.bin
    where ttyUSB? is the serial port name. If you use Linux 64-bit, use sudo ./esptool_lin64 instead.

If you encounter any error, check if the device is in bootloading mode. Repeat Step 2 to enter bootloading mode before flashing.

Finally, once the nodemcu firmware is flashed, re-enter bootloading mode (Step 2) and run the above esptool flashing command again, except replacing nodemcu.bin at the end with og_1.0.4.bin. This completes the firmware reflashing.