How to Manually Open Your Garage Door When the Power is Out

Feb 01, 2011

Updated August 29, 2022

Whether it is a brutal snowstorm, hurricane, windstorm, or another disturbance to the electrical grid, it is important to be prepared for power outages in your community. While you may not want to go out, you certainly don’t want to be locked in. Here’s how to open your garage door manually.

How to Open Your Garage Door Manually When The Power Is Out

Look for any locks to ensure they are unlocked and open and will not interfere when you manually open the door.
Ensure your garage door is fully closed. Next, disconnect the garage door opener power cord.
Pull the emergency cord to disconnect the garage door from the garage door opener. The cord usually has a red handle. The cord will hang down from the center rail of the garage door mechanism if you have a trolley garage door opener. On a jackshaft garage door opener, the emergency cord will hang down from the opener itself.
Lift the garage door straight up until the door is fully open. Make sure the door will remain fully open before leaving it unattended.
If the springs are properly balanced, the door will open easily with the lift handles and stay in place. If it is difficult to open, have a professional garage door service technician check the door as soon as possible to avoid further damage or safety risks.
Once you have made it outside, manually pull the garage door down until it reaches the floor.
Lock the door. When the automatic opener is disconnected, the door is not securely shut until you manually slide the lock bar.
Reconnect the opener when the power comes back on. Make sure the door is unlocked when the opener is reconnected. Electrically opening the garage door with the lock bar in place can cause major damage.

How to Avoid Needing to Manually Open Your Garage Door When the Power is Out

One way to avoid the inconvenience of manually opening your garage door when the power is out is to invest in an automatic garage door opener that includes a battery backup feature. That way, when the power goes out, the garage door will still function using the opener, as will the entry keypad and the safety sensors, and the garage door will be locked and secured. Contact your Clopay dealer for details. For more helpful information about garage doors, check out our garage door buying guide.

Garage Door Buying Guide