A garage door keypad can be a great way to conveniently open your door from the outside. Permanently affixed near the garage, it can never get lost like a garage door opener remote might. It is also nice for granting a house sitter or guest a temporary code, which is usually quite simple to set up. If your numeric keypad is over ten years old, however; it might not be that secure.

Security Risks With Old Technology

Older keypads may have universal open codes that can be found online. Thieves can inspect your keypad and come back later with a manufacturer reset code that’ll let them in.

Old keypads can also easily be hacked by external devices, making it simple for thieves to gain access to your garage. This is also true with wireless garage door remotes. When garage remotes were first invented, they could open anyone’s garage. It wasn’t uncommon to accidentally open your neighbor’s garage while closing your own!

New Technology Worth the Upgrade

If your keypad or wireless garage door opener system is older than 2011, it may be time to replace it. Newer technologies have since been developed that make it much more difficult for thieves to hack openers. Some are even triggered by fingerprint, instead of numeric code. This biometric-based keyless technology can be programmed to learn up to 10 individual fingerprints.

If you’ve yet to upgrade your keypad, there are a few things you can do to increase security. You should change the code often, so that it’s not evident which buttons are regularly pressed. Clean the keypad regularly so that all the numbers look the same. Keep your code private, and be sure to lock the door between your house and garage, as no system is 100 percent foolproof.