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HomeLink Analysis and Troubleshooting

Overview

HomeLink is the brand of universal garage opener system offered on many vehicles. HomeLink technology is identical to all brands and vehicles.  It has a maximum of 3 recording slots in the HomeLink hardware. If you need more slots, the only way is to add an external HomeLink system for another 3 slots. (Mar-2024 update)

HomeLink logo

HomeLink only sends one “toggle” signal to the door opener. It does not know whether the current state is open or closed – it just sends the signal “change door state”.

Compatibility

HomeLink is compatible with most garage openers, gates, and a few other simple devices.  It can handle rolling codes commonly used in most openers made in the last 20+ years and handles a wide range of frequencies from 26 MHz to 868 MHz, depending on the country and module.  In North America, the most common frequency is 433.92 MHz and the Tesla module handles 288 MHz to 434 MHz. Europe commonly uses 868.3 MHz

HomeLink is not supported in all countries. For example, HomeLink is not supported in Australia. Likely it has more to do with frequencies used and/or regulatory approvals needed in a country not supported.

Tesla Enhancements

Tesla has added a few clever enhancements:

  • Built-in step-by-step instructions for setting up HomeLink are shown on the main display.
  • Each of the 3 slots can be labeled with a description, such as “Home”, “Gate”, “Work”, etc.
  • Buttons can be associated with a GPS location – to highlight the correct choice when nearby.
  • Auto-open – A specific slot signal can be automatically sent when you enter a GPS coordinate, such as arriving at your home.
  • Auto-close – A specific slot signal can be automatically sent when you leave a GPS coordinate, such as leaving your home.
Antenna Location

The HomeLink unit is behind the front facia a few inches to the passenger side (LHD cars).  The Tesla on-screen instructions will also describe the location of your vehicle. You’ll need to place your original opener remote near the HomeLink module during the learning process.

Troubleshooting

1. HomeLink has never worked

Replace the battery in the remote with a new one (even if your original remote works). Erase the setting in Tesla and reprogram it. Surprisingly, this often works.

For some openers, you may need a compatibility bridge. From HomeLink: The HomeLink Compatibility Bridge Kit is designed to allow compatibility between a newer Chamberlain, Sears Craftsman, or LiftMaster garage door opener fitted with yellow antenna wire and the HomeLink system in your vehicle. These garage door openers were manufactured in 2011 or later.

Liftmaster 855lm Chamberlain OEM HomeLink Compatibility Bridge

From HomeLink: If your opener does not have a yellow antenna wire or is not one of the brands listed above, please consider purchasing a Universal Receiver to ensure compatibility.

Universal Dual Frequency Radio Conversion Kit for most Door Openers

2. Genie opener doesn’t work

New Genie openers have two modes; the default “Green” mode doesn’t work with HomeLink. To switch to “Red” mode that works with HomeLink, press the learn button on the opener (mounted in the garage) and hold a button for 10 seconds until both red and green lights are lit, then quickly double-tap the button. It should change to red. Proceed with the normal process of teaching the Tesla your remote and have the opener learn the Tesla signal.

3. Sommer Opener doesn’t work

The Sommer Direct Drive (blue buttons on the transmitter) and 310MHz Sommer (TX03-310 on the back of the transmitter) garage door openers are not compatible with HomeLink. Sommer has a fix available (extra cost). Contact Sommer support at 877-766-6607.  The issue is 310 MHz is non-standard whereas 315 Mhz is the industry standard. The fix is a new radio receiver that works at 315 MHz, where HomeLink can also work.

4. Manual activation no longer works

a. If the physical remote that came with the opener works.  In the Tesla, erase the slot and relearn the remote. Don’t forget to have the opener relearn the newly saved HomeLink slot.

b. On some openers, they only have a small number of memory slots to learn remotes and vehicles. If this fills up it may not allow new ones, or old ones are dropped for new ones. Check your opener manual – there may be a way to clear all the slots and have it re-learn your remote and vehicles that have HomeLink.

5. Only work sometimes

If you press the manual open it requires multiple presses to get it to open, but it does open after 3 to 8 presses (with a 5+ seconds pause between presses). The fix is to erase the recorded signal and start over. The rolling code has likely gotten out of sequence with the opener and the slot should be relearned from the remote and saved by the opener.

6. Opener range seems minimal or has reduced since using LED/CFL bulbs

Some bulbs interfere with the opener’s RF signal. Confirm the issue by removing the bulbs from the opener. If it starts working better, try a different bulb manufacturer. Your opener manufacturer may also have a list of bulbs that work with their opener.

7. Works closing the door, but not opening

A metal garage door may be reducing the signal or the opener antenna has an issue. Move the car close to the door and see if it works manually. If so, back up to see how far it still works.  If it only fails to auto-open, you may need to reset the GPS location closer to the door.

See the next section “Opener Antenna Fixes” too.

See the prior section on LED/CFL opening range reduction.

8. Opener Antenna Fixes for limited-range issues

Most openers (but not all) have an 18-inch wire antenna. It should be positioned straight down. In rare cases, someone has cut off the antenna, not realizing what it is, greatly reducing the sensitivity. Some newer units no longer have this visible antenna.

If you have a metal garage door, you might try to add a wire to the antenna so that it reaches above the door. Avoid routing the wire near metal or power lines. Thanks go to Pnajar for this fix.

9. Works opening the door but not reliably auto-closing the door

Is there any chance you stopped the vehicle before the close signal was sent? As a safety measure, if you stop your car while backing out, but before the close-door signal is sent, the auto-close is terminated and you’ll have to manually tap the HomeLink button to close the door.

Technical

This is a recent HomeLink Module used in both the Model S and Model X. Gentex makes it, and other than the label looks identical to the ones used in various Audi, Porsche, and VW models.

module

It only uses three wires – two for 12v power, and one connected to the low-speed LIN data bus 2. Here’s an inside view:

Inside module

The FCC ID is NZLJCIBUSHL4.  The output transmitter power is specified as 47.5 uW. This FCC ID was registered in 2014, so older cars may use a slightly different design.

Additional details on the connections and data are available here: HomeLink Explorer at GitHub

19 comments

Mendo 13-Feb-2021 - 12:33 pm

On my home link one gate no longer works. At first, it would open and sometimes not. Then it would open via skip/manual. Now it doesn’t open at all. Do I need to delete and re add the link for the gate? Or is there maybe another issue? Thank! (My garage and another gate links works without any issues)

Moderator 14-Feb-2021 - 11:16 am

First I’d check the gate antenna if it has one. Often it is just a 1-foot long wire, and some people cut it off or fold it away. That makes reception a lot poorer. If there is no antenna or no problem with the antenna, yes, I’d try delete and pair again. It could be a rolling security code that got out of sync, although most gate openers are not that sophisticated.

JDillon 1-Feb-2021 - 10:35 am

Have three Direct Drive (Sommer) openers in our new house. Was able to get my (new to me) 2016+ Model S90D pairs with the remote. (Removed the LED bulb to get the car to pair with the remote.) The headlights blink and the next menu goes to pairing with the opener. Hit the learn button and then the icon on my screen, shows it is transmitting. Did this multiple times but the door does not respond. Not sure I buy into the line that these openers do not work with Homelink because the Homelink units in my wife’s 2019 Accord Hybrid and my 2006 BMW 300 both work just fine with these door openers…. Any suggestioins to try would be appreciated.

Moderator 1-Feb-2021 - 11:43 am

I notice from the Sommer manual, you only have 10 seconds after pressing learn to capture the new code. If only one person is doing this, I doubt it’s enough time to get back to the car. You may need two people. One in the car and one ready to push the learn button at the right time, and in the car, go to the transmitting step.

JDillon 4-Feb-2021 - 1:16 pm

Saw that as well. So my wife would hit the learn button and then I would hit the transmit button in the car but nothing happened. Homelink Tech support said I needed to change the mode… I tried to change the Mode but had not removed the LED bulb in the opener so it did not pair. So will go back and try this again. Will let you know results.

NOTE: Sommer evo+/Pearl 922MHz, Sommer 310MHz (TX03-310 on the back of the transmitter), and Direct Drive 310MHz (blue buttons on the transmitter) require use of the “D-Mode” for HomeLink programming. Currently, in Model S and Model X vehicles, this mode (labeled as “Default Receiver”) can be found under the “Change Transmit Mode” option in the HomeLink Settings screen. Switching to this mode, then following the on-screen instructions, should enable you to program your evo+/Pearl 922MHz, Sommer 310MHz, and Direct Drive 310MHz garage door openers.

JDillon 10-Feb-2021 - 1:37 pm

Update – I changed the transmit mode of the Homelink transmitter to the “D-Mode” per Sommer’s Troubleshooting guide (had to wait about a min for the change to be accepted) and the garage door now works ! Did not even have to use the “Learn Mode” on the opener. Tried to add the auto open, close, and fold mirror options but the car would only open the door and fold the mirrors upon arrival. Distance setting did not seem to matter, but it had to be less than 30′ to work regardless of the distance setting. Mirrors folded nearing the garage door and down the street upon exit. Auto Close function did not work but manually using the icon did. Regardless, I will take this as a win for the team !

Moderator 10-Feb-2021 - 1:58 pm

Great to hear and thanks for sharing!

Carlosriosness 11-Nov-2020 - 8:53 pm

I have a newer liftmaster with a yellow antenna cord. I have a 2018 model 3 with homelink.

I start the pairing process, and I press the remote at the front of the Tesla. The lights flash and says it’s complete. It says to test it and hit continue. But the Tesla is never able to open or close the garage.

I’ve seen videos where after the Tesla gets the signal from the remote, the next screen tells you to hit pair on the motor itself then go back to the Tesla to “pair” the rolling code. But my Tesla never shows that option.

I also tried mode D which does tell me to use the learn button on the door motor, but that doesn’t work either.

Am I missing something?

Moderator 12-Nov-2020 - 10:00 am

It should work. Any chance you installed LED lights in the opener? Some cause signal interference in strange ways so that some things work and other things don’t.

Franck 23-Sep-2018 - 6:25 pm

Hi,

I am having trouble setting up homelink with my home garage. Basically when I hold down the button remote, my garage starts going up and down for about one second then stops (as opposed to just pressing the button without holding it down). When I program it into the Tesla Homelink, it does the same thing, i.e. it opens the garage for about one second then stops.

Does anyone have any advice on this? My garage uses a Linear LD050.

thanks!

franck-

milleron 2-Jun-2018 - 2:32 pm

If I set my HomeLink for any distance greater than 30 ft., it starts to open the door, but after rising 6″, it stops. I then have to come to a complete stop, manually activate HomeLink to close it, then manually activate it to raise it.
If set to 30 ft or less, it works properly, but, then I have to come to a complete stop to wait for the door to rise.
Clearly, the door gets the signal outside of the 30-foot range, but why does it malfunction?
The opener’s own remote works from any distance up to 70 feet.
I’ve tried extending the antenna with 16g wire all the way to the front of the garage, but it makes no difference at all.

Moderator 3-Jun-2018 - 9:17 am

That’s really strange. If you turn off auto-open/close does the manual opening/closing work fine from various distances? If not, I suspect the Homelink recording of your door has two “presses” per activation. Not really sure if that is possible, but I’d start by erasing the homelink entry in your car and re-record your opener. I don’t think the antenna extension is necessary, but I doubt it hurts anything either.

RickyB 6-Jan-2022 - 3:47 pm

I have a 2021 M3. Installed homelink by Tesla. When in ‘auto’ mode it causes my garage door opener to lose its memory of door positions. In ‘auto’ this happens frequently. So, I started using it in manual and it’s much better. I suspect one of two things is happening.
1. Home link is sending multiple “presses” or 2. Their is a frequency emitted from the M3 that is conflicting with the opener.

Any insights or suggestions?

Moderator 6-Jan-2022 - 4:45 pm

Homelink (on all cars) has no clue about if a door is open or closed. It just sends out a signal “change state”, and the door state changes. Far from ideal when you’d really like it to send a specific command like open or close. Still, this normally works fairly well so long as you are the sole user of the toggle. So there is no “memory” of door positions. For example, if the car is aways from the house, and someone in the house opens the garage door with the hardwired button, then you come home, Homelink sends a signal, and the door closes (instead of staying open). Now there can be other things that cause unpredictable operations in auto. Perhaps when the car is coming home, it is at a marginal distance where it sometimes triggers the door and sometimes not. I don’t think Homelink can “record” two presses. If this occurs, I’d expect when you drive up the door to start to open, and then close. I don’t think this is what you are encountering. For me, I use the auto-open only when coming home. I manually press the hardwired house button before I get into the car. This has been quite reliable.

LighteningRod 27-Apr-2018 - 7:06 pm

I had a defective HomeLink module replaced and notice the maximum distance setting was increased from 70 feet to 100 feet.

Mchevrier 29-Nov-2017 - 8:02 pm

Hi,
I live in a condo and I do not need to close the garage door when I leave, the garage door system does it automatically. (MS85D December 2015)
Before the last update everything was “ok”, not fine just ok. Comming in, it would sense when I was getting close to the door and would trigger. Often triggered too early, I had to come in maybe a little fast for it to open the door. Many manual interventions were necessary. When I was getting out from the garage it was ok. It would sense that I was getting close the exit and sent the signal.

Now comes the update (or should I call it a downgrade)

I was happy to see that the new version offered the distance feature. With it, it works a little better when coming in, but when I am going out it does not even show the green icon nor does it send a signal. I have to do it manualy, and then it works, from quite a distance should I add.

Reading all the complaints about it, I guess that all I have to do is wait for the next firmware version. Unless someone found a workaround.
Thankx,
Michel

Moderator 30-Nov-2017 - 12:35 pm

Yep, I think it was fixed in .46? You didn’t state what version you’re running on. Some owners have had improvement with a reboot too, so it’s worth a try.

Mchevrier 24-Feb-2018 - 4:12 pm

I am running 2018.6.1 641efac and I did multiple reboot with no change.

Moderator 24-Feb-2018 - 4:26 pm

What is the problem you’re having?

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