How to Align Garage Door Sensors

Last Updated: March 24, 2023 Approved

Garage door sensors protect your family, possessions and pets by not allowing the heavy garage door to close if there is anything in the glide path. They do this by using an electric eye sensor that crosses the doorway. If the sensor doesn't receive the beam emitted by its opposite number, the door won't close. This seems like a clever device until the components come out of alignment -- meaning the door won't close at all. Fortunately, it's not difficult to realign the sensors and put things back into working order

Steps

1
Turn off the power to your sensors by tripping the fuse for your garage. You'll find this in your home's breaker box.^{[1]
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- You won't actually be working with the electrical wiring, but it's always best to be safe when working with electricity.
- It doesn't hurt to check the wiring first to ensure that your garage door sensors are receiving power.
2
Loosen the screws that mount each of your garage door sensors. Don't take them all the way out. Just loosen them enough so that the mounting brackets can slide up and down, but won't do so unless you intentionally move them.^{[2]
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3
Slide each garage door sensor downward so it is as low as possible without unscrewing the mounting brackets.^{[3]
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4
Tie a string to one sensor so that, if pulled across the garage doorway, it will run across the center of the sensor.^{[4]
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5
Run the string across the garage doorway and tie to the opposite sensor. Position the knot so the string runs across the center of that sensor, too.^{[5]
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6
Lay a level so the bottom runs along the string. Check that the line of the string is level.
- If the line of the string isn't level, adjust 1 or both garage door sensors by sliding the mounting bracket upward. Continue until the sensors are once again level.
7
Tighten the screws to secure the garage door sensors in their new position.
8
Confirm that the string is level before finishing. The sensors may have come out of alignment when you tightened the screws.^{[6]
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9
Finish by removing the string and turning the power to your garage back on.

Community Q&A

Question

One sensor is green and the other yellow. Why is that?

Community Answer

The "orange/red" eye is putting out the infrared beam to the "green" receiving eye. If the green is not lit or blinking, it needs to be adjusted until it is a steady ON green or the door will not operate.
Question

I have a wall-mounted controller to open and close my garage door. When I push the close button on the controller, I have to hold it down until the garage door is completely closed. What can I adjust or fix to make the garage door close with just a push of the button?

Community Answer

It sounds like your sensors are out of alignment. You are bypassing the safety by holding the button down. Check to see if the light on each sensor is on and then realign from there.
Question

How high off of the ground should the garage door sensors be located?

Community Answer

They should be 6-9" off the floor, and make sure they're equal. There should be an LED indicator light on the top or back of each unit that lights up when the sensors are parallel and aligned. You may have to adjust the sensor brackets up and down or side to side to achieve this.