MyQ smart garage door controller owners The Chamberlain Group has shut off what it calls “unauthorized usage” of its MyQ ecosystem through third-party apps, effectively breaking smart home integrations of users who were using third-party smart home control platforms to control their garage door.
In a blog post published late last month and updated this week, Chief Technology Officer Dan Phillps writes that the decision was made so the company can continue to provide “the best possible experience” for the product’s more than 10 million users. The company also notes that the move will help protect “authorized partners” and those integrations.
In an updated to the post, the company says unauthorized app integrations, which the company says includes only 0.2% of MyQ users, previously accounted for more than half of the traffic to and from the MyQ system. This periodically created a “substantial DDOS event that consumed high quantities of resources,” the company says.
Approved smart home integrations remain in place, and the company’s website lists Vivint, Alarm.com, Resideo, Ring, Walmart+ inHome and IFTTT.
The Verge notes that the move will impact users who relied on open-source home automation platforms such as Homebridge and Home Assistant. The company does however note that while the myQ Home Bridge was discontinued in 2022, the product is still supported and the IFTTT integration is another option.
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As noted by The Verge, the company’s move comes a year after Chamberlain Group discontinued its official Apple HomeKit integration and a few months after it ended support for Google Assistant.
This essentially forces homeowners to control their garage with the MyQ app or those of their authorized partners, writes Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant, in a blog. Home Assistant is removing the MyQ integration in its Dec. 6 release, and its urging users to look into other garage door solutions.
Chamberlain Group owns popular garage door openers Liftmaster and Craftsman, so finding an alternative door opener or buying a third-party controller device may be the only option.
The Verge lists several, including the Tailwind iQ3 Pro smart garage controller, the Meross Smart Garage Door Opener Remote Control, iSmart garage door controllers, and the Ratgdo Wi-Fi control board that allows users to control the Chamberlain openers locally and integrate it with Home Assistant via local API.
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