I wanted to take a moment to address a significant development that affects many of us in our smart home endeavors: the impending removal of the MyQ integration from Home Assistant.
As some of you might be aware, the MyQ integration, which enables control of Chamberlain and Liftmaster garage door openers, has been under siege, for lack of a better term. For months, we’ve battled with the instability of this integration—a direct result of Chamberlain Group’s concerted efforts to block third-party access.
The final straw came with a statement from Chamberlain Group’s CTO, Dan Phillips, outlining a clear intent to continue blocking third-party integrations like ours. Consequently, we’ve been forced to acknowledge a hard truth: with the release of Home Assistant 2023.12 on December 6, 2023, MyQ will no longer be a supported integration.
Home Assistant blog post on the matter: https://tinyurl.com/myqremoval
Many users, myself included, have relied on MyQ for its convenience and integration into our broader smart home systems. However, the values of Home Assistant have always been clear—openness, user autonomy, and the free exchange of data within the confines of our own networks. Chamberlain Group’s direction stands in opposition to these principles.
One such promising alternative is ratgdo—a local, ESPHome-based solution compatible with MyQ systems. It’s a beacon of hope for those of us searching for a workaround that respects our ownership rights and integrates with our Home Assistant setup. I have ordered my ratgdo device and am eagerly anticipating its arrival. Once I have it in hand and installed, I’ll be sure to update you all on the experience, setup, and how it fares as a MyQ replacement.
This might be a challenging time for our community, but it is also a testament to our resilience and commitment to maintaining an open and user-centric smart home ecosystem. We may be in for a bit of a transition period, but I am confident that with solutions like ratgdo and others that will undoubtedly emerge, we’ll come out on the other side stronger and more connected than before.
Let’s use this as an opportunity to remind ourselves of the importance of supporting products and ecosystems that promote user freedom. Vote with your wallets, spread the word, and stay tuned for my update on the ratgdo experience.
Until then, keep automating and innovating.
