When you think about keeping your home safe, you probably focus on your front door and windows, and for good reason. But there’s another entry point that many homeowners overlook entirely: the garage door.
Are garages easy to break into? Unfortunately, yes. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, approximately 9% of home break-ins happen through the garage. Burglars know that garage doors are often the weakest point of a home’s perimeter — and they use specific techniques to exploit them.
The good news is that securing a garage door doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Read on for 10 practical, proven tips to make your garage door significantly harder to breach.
How Do Burglars Break Into Garages?
Before we get into how to secure your garage door, it helps to understand how thieves actually get in. The three most common methods are:
The coat hanger trick. Most older garage doors have an emergency release cord hanging from the ceiling track. A burglar can slide a wire coat hanger through the top of the garage door, hook the cord, and pull it, releasing the door in seconds, even without power or a remote.
Stolen or cloned openers. A garage door opener left in an unlocked car is an open invitation. Some tech-savvy thieves can also intercept older rolling-code remotes. Once they have access to your opener’s signal, they can enter at will.
Simply walking in. Many homeowners leave service doors unlocked or leave the main garage door open for extended periods. This requires no skill, just opportunity.
Understanding these vulnerabilities is the first step to closing them. Here’s how.
10 Tips to Secure Your Garage Door
Tip 1: Add Garage Security Devices to Your Security System
The most effective way to secure a garage door is to integrate it into a whole-home security system. A standalone padlock does nothing if no one knows the door has been opened.
At minimum, your garage security setup should include a door/window sensor on every entry point, a motion sensor inside the garage, and ideally an outdoor security camera with a clear view of the driveway and garage door. A smart garage door controller takes this a step further. It lets you open, close, and monitor your garage door remotely from your phone, and sends alerts any time the door opens unexpectedly.
CPI Security’s Smart Garage Door Controller and Floodlight Camera Pro integrate directly with your existing home security system, giving you real-time visibility into one of your home’s most vulnerable entry points.
Tip 2: Install Motion-Activated Lights Near the Garage
Darkness is a burglar’s best tool. Poorly lit driveways and garage areas make it easy for someone to work undetected, whether they’re checking for unlocked doors or attempting to fish the emergency release.
Motion-activated floodlights eliminate that cover. When positioned correctly — angled to cover the full width of your garage door, any side service doors, and the driveway approach — they immediately spotlight anyone approaching your home after dark. Most would-be burglars move on quickly when they’re exposed by a bright light.
Place lights at a height of around 9 to 10 feet for the widest coverage angle, and test them regularly to confirm the motion trigger zone is properly calibrated.
Tip 3: Remove Landscaping That Could Provide Cover
Tall shrubs, dense hedges, and low-hanging trees near your garage give burglars a place to work out of sight of neighbors and passersby. This is especially true for side service doors, which are often less visible from the street.
Walk around your home and look at it the way a burglar would. Identify any landscaping that blocks sightlines to doors or windows. Trim hedges to below window height, remove overgrown shrubs from doorway areas, and consider replacing dense plantings near entry points with lower ground cover or open space.
Good visibility is one of the most cost-effective security upgrades you can make — it costs nothing but a little time and a pair of pruning shears.
Tip 4: Keep Your Garage Door Closed When Not in Use
This sounds obvious, but it’s one of the most commonly violated security habits. Leaving your garage door open for extended periods — while doing yard work, unloading groceries, or just because the weather is nice — gives anyone passing by a clear view of what’s inside and easy access to your home.
A thief doesn’t need to break in if you’ve left the door open. They can walk in, grab a bike, tool, or bag, and be gone before you notice.
If you find yourself frequently forgetting to close the garage, a smart garage door controller solves this automatically. You can set it to auto-close after a defined period of time, and receive a push notification if the door is left open longer than expected. It’s a simple habit fix with real security impact.
Tip 5: Add Privacy to Garage Windows and Doors
Windows in a garage door or on the side walls are a double-edged feature: they let in natural light, but they also let outsiders see in. A burglar who can see your car isn’t in the garage knows no one is home. One who can see expensive tools, bikes, or equipment has an incentive to break in.
The simplest fix is frosted or translucent window film. It blocks the view from outside while still allowing diffused light through. It’s inexpensive, easy to apply yourself, and requires no permanent modification to the door or window.
For side windows and service door windows, interior curtains or blinds work just as well.
Tip 6: Don’t Leave Your Garage Door Opener in Your Car
Your garage door opener is essentially a key to your home. If your car is broken into — or even left unlocked overnight in the driveway — a thief who grabs your opener now has unrestricted access to your garage and potentially your home’s interior.
Never leave a clip-style opener on your visor or in a visible location in the car. Instead, use a keychain remote that stays on your person with your house keys. If your vehicle is ever broken into, treat a stolen garage remote the same way you’d treat a stolen house key: change the code on your opener immediately.
If your garage door opener uses an older fixed-code system, this is also a good time to consider upgrading to a rolling-code model, which generates a new access code each time it’s used and is far harder to clone.
Tip 7: Secure the Emergency Release and Maintain Your Garage Door
The emergency release cord is the most commonly exploited vulnerability on a standard garage door. Using a wire coat hanger slipped through the top gap of the door, a burglar can hook the cord and pull it in under 10 seconds, disengaging the door from the automatic opener and allowing it to be lifted by hand.
The most straightforward fix is a zip tie. Thread it through the emergency release lever so it can’t be pulled by a wire from outside. In a real power outage, you can cut the zip tie easily and use the release as intended. Replace it after.
Beyond the emergency release, regular maintenance matters too. Check that all seals around the door frame are tight with no gaps, inspect the tracks for alignment, and test the auto-reverse feature periodically. A door that doesn’t close fully or seal properly is easier to pry or force.
If you’re leaving town for several days, consider unplugging the automatic opener entirely or threading a padlock through one of the track holes above the rollers to prevent the door from being raised even if the opener is triggered.
Tip 8: Secure the Service Door and Interior Door
The service door — the side entry door into the garage — is often the weakest door on the entire property. Many are hollow-core, use basic knob locks, and have short screws in the strike plate that pull out easily under force.
Every door into and out of your garage should be treated like an exterior door:
- Install a deadbolt in addition to the knob lock
- Replace the strike plate with a heavy-duty reinforced plate
- Use 3-inch screws into the door frame stud, not just the trim
- If the door is hollow-core, consider replacing it with a solid-core or steel exterior door
The door between your garage and the living area of your home deserves the same attention. If a burglar gets into your garage, that interior door is all that stands between them and your home. A properly installed deadbolt and solid door frame can turn that into a real barrier.
Tip 9: Be Smart About What You Store in the Garage
High-value items in plain sight inside a garage are a direct invitation for break-ins. Expensive bikes, power tools, sporting equipment, and electronics are all common targets.
Where possible, move high-value items into the house or a locked storage area. For larger items that need to stay in the garage, use lockable wall cabinets or a heavy-duty storage locker. Anchor storage units to the wall or floor so they can’t be easily carried out.
Also consider what’s visible from the street or driveway when the door is open briefly. Even a momentary view of a row of expensive tools can put your home on a burglar’s radar.
Tip 10: Build a Relationship With Your Neighbors
Community awareness is one of the most underrated elements of home security. Neighbors who know each other — who know which cars belong in which driveways and what normal activity looks like on the street — are significantly more effective at deterring and catching burglars than any single security device.
Take the time to introduce yourself to the neighbors on either side and across the street. Exchange phone numbers so you can text quickly if something looks off. Arrange for a trusted neighbor to collect mail, packages, and newspapers when you’re traveling, so your absence isn’t obvious.
Many neighborhoods also use apps like Nextdoor or local Facebook groups to share real-time alerts about suspicious activity. Joining these communities keeps you informed and makes your entire street a harder target — not just your home.
How to Secure a Garage Door From the Inside
If you want to secure a garage door from the inside specifically, the most effective methods are:
Zip tie the emergency release cord as described in Tip 7. This prevents the most common method of forced entry without affecting normal operation.
Add a slide lock or slide bolt to the inside of the door track. A simple metal bolt threaded through a hole drilled in the track prevents the door from being raised even if the opener is triggered. This is especially useful when you’re away for an extended period or when the garage is attached to the home.
Unplug the opener when away for multiple days. No power means no remote access, even if someone has cloned your signal.
How to Secure a Garage Door From the Outside
Securing a garage door from the outside focuses on preventing physical and electronic intrusion:
Install a garage door lock cylinder — a keyed lock built into the door itself, separate from the automatic opener. This gives you a manual backup and adds a layer of visible deterrence.
Use a deadbolt on the service door with reinforced hardware as described in Tip 8.
Upgrade to a rolling-code opener if your current system is more than 10–15 years old. Modern systems generate a new encrypted code with every press of the remote, making signal interception essentially impossible.
Position a security camera with a direct sightline to the driveway and garage door. Visible cameras are among the most effective deterrents — studies consistently show that clearly visible surveillance significantly reduces the likelihood of a burglar targeting a property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are garages easy to break into?
Yes, standard garage doors can be relatively easy to breach if they haven’t been secured beyond the basic automatic opener. The most common vulnerability is the emergency release cord, which can be manipulated from outside the door using a wire. Other common entry points include unlocked service doors, stolen openers, and simply leaving the main door open. The tips above address each of these vulnerabilities directly.
How do I secure my garage door from the inside?
The most effective inside methods are zip-tying the emergency release cord to prevent it from being pulled from outside, adding a slide bolt through the door track to prevent the door from being raised, and unplugging the automatic opener when the garage will be unoccupied for an extended period.
How do I secure my garage door from the outside?
From the outside, focus on installing a keyed cylinder lock in the door itself, upgrading to a rolling-code opener, securing the service door with a deadbolt and reinforced strike plate, and positioning a visible security camera covering the driveway approach.
What is the zip tie trick for garage doors?
The zip tie trick involves threading a zip tie through the hole in the emergency release lever so that it can’t be pulled by a wire coat hanger inserted from outside the door. In a power outage or emergency, you can cut the zip tie and use the release normally. It’s a free, two-minute security fix that closes one of the most common garage door vulnerabilities.
Are automatic or electric garage doors secure?
Modern automatic garage doors with rolling-code technology are significantly more secure than older fixed-code systems. However, the door itself is only as secure as the weakest link — the emergency release cord, the service door, and the interior entry door all need to be addressed separately. A smart garage door controller adds real-time monitoring and remote access, which substantially improves overall security.
How secure are garage doors compared to front doors?
Standard garage doors are generally less secure than properly reinforced front doors. They have wider tolerances around the frame, a mechanical release that can be exploited, and are often made of thinner materials. However, with the steps outlined above — emergency release protection, a security system integration, motion lights, and proper door maintenance — a garage door can be made a very difficult target.
For a whole-home security solution that includes professional garage door monitoring, contact CPI Security to learn about our smart home security packages.