8 Steps to Program a Chamberlain Garage Door Opener

If you’ve invested in a Chamberlain garage door opener, you need to know how to program it.

Overcome that hurdle, and you can open your garage door whenever you need to, at the push of a button. Never again worry about disturbing a sleeping child or juggling shopping bags to faff about with the garage door!

But if you’re feeling daunted, you’ve come to the right place! We’re going to take you through how to program a Chamberlain garage door opener. And we’ll take it one step at a time, so it’s easy as pie.

Tools for Chamberlain garage door opener programming

The good news is that the only equipment you’ll need here is a ladder and a paperclip. If your door opener doesn’t already have a lightbulb inside, you’ll need one of those too.

How to program a Chamberlain garage door opener

Step 1: Check that your remote control is compatible with your door opener

It’s important to remember that Chamberlain remote controls will work only with garage door openers made after 1993. And your garage door will also need photoelectric sensors.

If you’re not sure whether your door has those sensors, take a look at your door tracks. If they’re there, they’ll be positioned at or near the bottom of the tracks. If your door opener uses a dip switch instead, a Chamberlain remote control won’t work.

Now check that your model of door opener will work with your remote control. To do this, you need to know the color of the “learn” button inside your door opener.

Mount your ladder and remove the cover from the opener. The learn button is inside, usually on either the back or side panel, near where the antenna hangs down.

Different models of openers will have learn buttons in different colors. Your remote control manual should tell you what color button is compatible. If you’re still not sure, visit https://support.chamberlaingroup.com/s/ and check out the compatibility chart.

If your remote control is compatible with your garage door opener, you’re ready to move to step 2.

Pro tip: You may be able to save yourself a trip up the ladder by looking for the wire antenna. This hangs down from the side of your door opener. If it’s yellow or purple, the learn button will be the same color. If the antenna is a different color, though, you’ll need to get out that ladder.

Step 2: Decide how to program your opener

The details for programming your door opener will vary slightly depending on what model you have. If you’re lucky, you may find there’s a video for your model online. This handy YouTube video tells you how to program either the 953EV or 956EV remote controls.

But if there’s no video for your opener, don’t worry! It just means you may need to check the manual for help with some steps, like finding the program button.

You’ll have different options, depending on the components of your system. The first option is to use the learn button on the door opener itself. Alternatively, if you have a door control with a learn button, you can use that. And if you have a smart control panel, you can use that instead.

Whatever set-up you have, start by closing the garage door and checking there’s a lightbulb in your garage door opener. If there isn’t, install one. The lightbulb will flash to indicate that the programming is complete.

Step 3: Get the remote control panel ready for programming

Now find the programming button on your remote control. This usually looks like a small silver button inside a hole. It will be in a different position, depending on the model you have.

In some cases, the programming button is on the side of the remote control. In others, as with the model 956EV, it’s on the back, and you’ll need to remove a vizor to find it.

When you’ve found the button, press and hold it. You need to keep it pressed until the LED on the front of the remote control lights up.

Pro tip: The program button is designed to be tricky to press so that you don’t reprogram your door opener by accident. Make pressing it easier by using a paperclip. Unwind the end so that you have a long, straight piece of wire. Now use the end of the wire to press the button until the light comes on.

Step 4: Program your chosen button on the remote control

With most remote controls, you’ll have a choice of buttons to use to operate your door opener. Choose the one you want to use. Now press it the number of times indicated by the color of the learn button.

If the button is yellow, you’ll need to press the button only once. If it’s purple, you’ll need to press it twice. For openers with a red or orange learn button, press it three times. And for a green learn button, press four times.

Next, press and release any other button on the remote control.

If you have a control panel, move on to step 5. If you don’t, move on to step 6.

Step 5: If you have a control panel, use it to program your door opener

If you have a control panel, you can use this to program your door opener. It means you won’t have to climb up to the learn button on the door opener.

There are several types of control panel: multi-function, motion-detecting, smart panels with LCD screens, and doorbell-style with a single button. The process for programming each kind is different, so make sure you follow the correct instructions for your model.

If your door control panel has a learn button, press and release it twice.

If your control panel has an LCD screen, you’ll have a few more steps to go through.

Start by pressing the menu button. Now scroll down until the “program” option is highlighted. Use the sideways arrow key to select it. Now scroll down until the “remote” option is highlighted, and press the sideways arrow to select it.

If your control panel looks like a doorbell, press and hold the light button on the side. With the light button pressed, press the button on the front. The light should blink once and then stay on.

Now move quickly onto step 7.

Step 6: If you don’t have a control panel, use the learn button inside your door opener

If you don’t have a control panel in your set-up, you’ll need to get up that ladder. You’ll be using the learn button inside the door opener to program it. (You can also choose to use this instead of the control panel, if you prefer.)

Look for the learn button inside the opener. Remember that this is usually on the side or back wall of the door opener, near the wire antenna.

When you’ve found it, quickly press and release the learn button. The LED next to the button will come on.

Make sure you press and release quickly, and don’t press and hold the button! Holding it down will clear the door opener’s memory. That means that no remote controls that have already been programmed will work, and you’ll have to start again.

Now move quickly onto step 7.

Step 7: Complete the process

This step needs to be completed within 30 seconds of pressing the learn button or programming the control panel.

On your remote control, press and hold the button you selected to control the door opener. The lightbulb inside the door opener and the LED next to the learn button will flash. The door opener will also click twice.

Step 8: Check it’s worked

Make sure that you’ve cleared any obstructions from the area your garage door will open into. Now check that your programming has worked as intended.

Just press the button you’ve programmed on your remote control. Your door should open.

Extra tips

You may find that in time you need to erase the programming for your garage door opener. If you’ve lost your remote control, for example, you’ll need to add a new one.

Unplugging your door opener, even for a long period of time, won’t be enough to do this. This means you can unplug your door opener if you’re going on vacation. You won’t need to reprogram it when you return.

If you want to erase an existing program, you can use the learn button in your door opener. Or if you have a control panel with a learn button, you can use that instead.

In either case, simply press and hold the learn button until the LED goes out. That will take about six seconds. All the codes that were programmed into the door opener will now be erased. Just repeat the steps above to program the new ones.

Ready to go?

That brings us to the end of our guide to how to program a Chamberlain garage door opener. We hope you’re now feeling confident about tackling this project. Take your time at the beginning to identify the right steps for your set-up, and it’s a very easy job. And you won’t need any expensive tools.

If you’ve got a Chamberlain garage door opener, we’d love to hear about your experience. Did you find it easy to program? And have you needed to reprogram it? Please comment and let us know!