Buy Homelink or wait for Wi-Fi?

[HockeyRooster]

Hi there. We’ve had our new to us 2020 M3 for a week and I went to program my garage door opener to realize the 2020s don’t have homelink. My opener is newer and has Wi-Fi. Elon tweeted a year ago that Wi-Fi enablement was coming.
My question to the forum is do I hold out and wish for Elon to get the Wi-Fi enabled or just spend the $400 (I’m in Canada) and get homelink?

 

[jjrandorin]

either buy homelink, or use the opener you already have if you dont want to buy it, would be my recommendation. Waiting for tesla to implement something should be reserved for stuff you dont really care about.

 

[HockeyRooster]

So no reason to hope Wi-Fi materializes I guess

thanks

 

[techlogik]

Don’t have an opener which support MyQ like chamberlain where you can just use the phone app to open or close your garage door?

 

[sroy]

Don’t have an opener which support MyQ like chamberlain where you can just use the phone app to open or close your garage door?

That sounds significantly worst than the old skool button.

 

[jjrandorin]

That sounds significantly worst than the old skool button.

It is, in my opinion (and I have said opener with MyQ integration, and their app, so I can open my garage from there). I really like the homelink integration and its worth $300 to me, but I didnt have to pay extra for it. Well I guess I did, because when I bought the car in 2018 it was more expensive than they are now, even adjusting for tax rebates.

If one doesnt want to pay for that, I get that, but tesla took it out because they were paying a license fee for each car, and plenty of people dont use it (cost cutting). By the time you calculate that their charge includes having to install it after the car is delivered, they cant be making any real money on it.

As far as the MyQ integration, the only real use for that, that is convenient anyway, is when you have a rental car, or had someone pick you up or something and want to get in your garage. Its like carrying around a garage door clicker, but one that you have to open an app to access.

Even if someone is the type to drive with their phone on a holder stuck to their windshield (which I personally really hate the look of, but plenty of people dont care), you still would have to get home, stop in the driveway, open the app and wait for it to open, then push the onscreen button. Doesnt sound like much but thats waay slower than simply pushing the clicker button that is probably clipped to the visor.

Some other people have setup some stuff with their own garage door openers and automation I think, but none of it is as easy as either spending $300 (or $325 if thats what it is now) or using the clicker.

 

[HockeyRooster]

Don’t have an opener which support MyQ like chamberlain where you can just use the phone app to open or close your garage door?

I have the app but it’s painful to use. I’d rather just use the clicker so I think that’s what I’ll do for now. I like the idea of hiding and attaching it with velro or double sided tape.

 

[woof]

iPhone users should be able to use Siri with the MyQ app, so using voice is easier than opening the app for sure. I suspect Android has similar.

 

[Gizmo35]

I love the homelink in this car. I paid the $300 and im happy with it. Never liked the visor remotes but i think that would be the easier and more convenient choice rather than an app.

 

[hudsoncat]

iPhone users should be able to use Siri with the MyQ app, so using voice is easier than opening the app for sure. I suspect Android has similar.

I do this! Pull on to my street, call "Hey Siri! Open garage" and it would be open by the time I pulled in.

I also set up a short cut widget that I can navigate pretty easily if Siri doesn't work for some reason. It's much better/faster than going into the MyQ app.

 

[sroy]

I do this! Pull on to my street, call "Hey Siri! Open garage" and it would be open by the time I pulled in.

I also set up a short cut widget that I can navigate pretty easily if Siri doesn't work for some reason. It's much better/faster than going into the MyQ app.

That's sounds much better than the mobile app thing.

 

[Twiglett]

I do this! Pull on to my street, call "Hey Siri! Open garage" and it would be open by the time I pulled in.

I also set up a short cut widget that I can navigate pretty easily if Siri doesn't work for some reason. It's much better/faster than going into the MyQ app.

You could do that but its painful compared to letting the car open and close automatically as you arrive or leave - so much simpler
Thats the point of have homelink in the car

 

[sroy]

You could do that but its painful compared to letting the car open and close automatically as you arrive or leave - so much simpler
Thats the point of have homelink in the car

The question is "for me, is that 325$ simpler?"

 

[Twiglett]

The question is "for me, is that 325$ simpler?"

heck yes

 

[hudsoncat]

heck yes

It wasn't for me. I had the MyQ already. I might still get homelink one day. But for now, this is reasonably simple and it works. I also came from a car that didn't have homelink. So likely I just don't know what I am missing. ha!

 

[focher]

I went with Tailwind, even though my Model 3 also has Homelink. I do have the auto close and open enabled on the car but the Tailwind can provide the same functionality with the “pucks” you can buy and stick in the car. The main reason I added the Tailwind is that it gives the ability to know the true state of the door - open or closed - and you can set it so it always makes sure the door is closed during time windows etc. I have two kids who only know how to open, but not close, the garage door so that’s a useful feature for me.

 

[HockeyRooster]

You could do that but its painful compared to letting the car open and close automatically as you arrive or leave - so much simpler
Thats the point of have homelink in the car

I wasn’t sure about this so could you please confirm-if I have homelink, will the garage door open when I get close to my house and close when I leave the area?

 

[focher]

I wasn’t sure about this so could you please confirm-if I have homelink, will the garage door open when I get close to my house and close when I leave the area?

Homelink doesn't know if the door is open or closed. What the Homelink integration in the Tesla does is sense distance from your house, and it sends the open/close command when it detects you're approaching or leaving the house.

The problem is that, if the garage is already open when you are approaching home, the open/close command will be sent but the garage door is now being closed when you want it open. And vice versa when leaving the house. It's not a huge problem, but that's how it works.

 

[Twiglett]

I wasn’t sure about this so could you please confirm-if I have homelink, will the garage door open when I get close to my house and close when I leave the area?

as @focher mentioned, Homelink has no status capability, but the car pops up a little button on the screen, so as you're rolling down the driveway and can see the already open garage door you can hit the provided "Skip" button.
I use that and a Meross wifi door sensor that will alert me if the door has been left open so I can close it remotely if required. That was $40 on Amazon.
But for general departure/arrival etc I just let the car do it for me, no button presses needed.
The car Homelink will also work with multiple addresses and community gate openers which is nice if you happen to need it.

 

[HockeyRooster]

Focher, twiglett - thank you for the replies! Makes sense that the car can’t tell if the door is open or closed. I know I would use the homelink if the car had it. Not sure it’s worth $400 for me right now.
cheers on the great discussion TMC!