If your garage door is opening and closing randomly or if it refuses to respond to your remote control garage door opener, it may be receiving radio interference. Here's how to figure out if radio interference is behind your garage door's issues and a look at what you can do to stop it.

1. Check the LED light on the garage door opener.

In most cases, your garage door opener features a small LED light. When you push the buttons on your remote control, this light typically flashes, and then, the opener closes or opens as requested. Look at your light and make sure it responds to your remote control.

Then, wait a few moments and watch the light. If is is turning on or off even when not prompted by your remote, it is likely getting radio interference from another device nearby or in your home.

2. Find new wireless devices.

If your garage door opener has just started exhibiting this problem, the culprit may be a new electronic device. Survey your home for new items such as wi-fi enabled thermostats, wireless doorbells, or plug-in transformers for security systems or automatic sprinklers. Even LED holiday lights can create radio frequencies that disrupt your garage door opener.

If you have found a new device, move it. If it's located near your garage door opener, move it as far away as possible, and that should stop the interference. If it isn't possible to move the wireless device, disable it and see if that solves your interference problems.

3. Invest in a garage door opener with more than one channel.

If you have devices interfering with your garage door opener and it isn't possible to move them, you need to consider investing in a new garage door opener. Instead of buying a garage door opener with just one channel, make sure you buy one with multiple frequencies.

These openers automatically scan for interference, and they operate on the channel that has the very least interference. This will also help if you cannot locate the source of the interference—for example, if it is coming from the neighbour's house or from a cellphone tower, this approach can help. 

4. Make a shielding case.

If you like, you can attempt to keep unwanted radio waves away from your garage door opener by making a shielding case.

A shielding case can be a simple metal enclosure that you slip around your garage door opener. The point of this is that is stops radio waves from hitting your garage door opener from the back or sides. However, as you use a metal box that is open at the front, the radio waves from your remote can easily hit the opener head on to open or close your garage door.

For more solutions to radio frequency issues with your garage door opener, contact a garage door specialist.