The busy day drained your energy so much that you wanted to head straight to your home. And when you reach the driveway, you notice a disaster: the garage door button fails to work. What now? Maybe it’s a power disruption or something else. Thankfully, knowing how to open garage door manually can save your day. And here’s how you do it.
Going Old-School: How to Open Garage Door Manually
With modern garage doors having release cords, manual opening of garage doors is possible without any power.
From the Inside Out: Getting Your Garage Door Open
- Start unlocking your garage door by opening the latches or locks on the outside.
- Get the safety mode on by disconnecting the power cord of the door opener.
- Now, find the emergency release cord with a red handle hanging from the door track’s center rail. Use this handle only when the door remains closed.
- Start disconnecting the door from the trolley by pulling that emergency release handle. That’s how your garage door goes to manual mode.
- Gripping the door’s bottom, start lifting it up straight until the movement stops. Be sure of its firm position before you release it and drive your car out of the garage.
- As you come outside, close the door by pulling it down.
Get Back In: Opening Your Garage Door from the Outside
- You will see a small lock closer to the garage door’s top end. This lock will have the emergency release cable and its corresponding key.
- The cable becomes visible after inserting the key and removing the lock tumbler. The emergency release cord puts it in manual mode.
- Locate one more lock beside the handle, keeping the door closed. This lock stays beneath the emergency release kit.
- Now, unlock the door using the key and turn its handle vertically.
- Use your hands to lift the door. Be sure it stays open before taking your car inside the garage.
- Pull the door down from the inside to close it.
Stay Safe When Going Manual with Your Garage Door
Before you begin with the door’s manual operation, you must disconnect the power cord of your garage door opener. That’s how you can ensure safety when operating the door.
Closing Thoughts: Opening Your Garage Without Power
After knowing how to open garage door manually, feel free to contact a technician for garage door repair or replacement. And that would make it ready for a hassle-free operation.

