How do I share garage door access with family or a contractor?

Match the method to the person

• Family and housemates: app access under their own account. Revocable, logged, no shared secret.
• Contractors and one-off visits: a keypad code you change afterward — adding a keypad.
• Regular helpers such as a dog walker: either, depending on whether they are comfortable with an app.
• Deliveries: a purpose-built flow rather than handing out credentials — in-garage delivery.

Why app access is the cleanest

Each person has their own credential, so revoking one does not affect anyone else. Activity is attributed rather than anonymous, which is the value of a door history log. And nothing physical changes hands, so there is nothing to lose or copy.

The catch is that it requires the other person to install an app and hold an account, and that some platforms limit how many users can be shared with, or put guest access behind a subscription tier — worth checking against subscription fees.

Keypad codes done properly

Use a code you are willing to discard. Not the house number, not a birthday, and not the same code you use anywhere else. Give it out, then change it when the work is finished — most keypads make that a one-minute operation, and the habit is what makes keypad sharing safe rather than risky.

Some openers support temporary codes with an expiry, which is better still if yours does. If the keypad has been behaving oddly, check the basics first, per why a keypad works intermittently.

Cleaning up access you have lost track of

Most households eventually cannot account for every remote and code — a previous owner, a former tenant, an old contractor. The reliable reset is to erase everything paired to the opener and re-add only what you have in hand, per erasing all remotes, then change the keypad code and audit app users, per removing previous owner access.

Do it after buying a house, after a tenant leaves, and after any vehicle break-in where a remote may have been taken, per a stolen remote. Our OKC technicians can do the reset and add a keypad on one visit — free estimates.