If you have a garage for your home, chances are you’ve had this dreadful question fill your mind: Did I remember to close the garage? Whether it’s a lapse thanks to muscle memory, most of us wish there was some magical way to see our garages and save the time and gas needed to turn back home. Now, with the Alcidae’s latest Garager 2 you can have that magic right on your smartphone. All you’d have to do is pull over, check a live feed and if you did happen to forget to close your garage? Select an on-screen function and watch your garage close. Along with this great peace of mind, the Garager 2 smart garage opener houses extra features that make it the ultimate device for any garage.
Features
So, it’s just a camera that gives me a live feed of my garage right? Nope. Alcidae took the next step and integrated both top-notch security and smart-home device functions—all into one compact unit. Before we run down the various features, it must be noted that this device requires at least 2.4GHz network connectivity from your home WiFi network.
Base
From the box, the Garager 2’s base is magnetic. This means you can stick it to the metal rail next to the motor of your garage-door system (so long as it does not interfere with the physical workings). If for whatever reason you are unable to find a safe metal surface to attach your Garager 2, you are provided with alternative options from the box: mounting kit with screws, anchors and an applicable sticker. Just remember, you still need the terminal cables able to reach your garage door’s motor.
LED Status Indicators
Below the camera of the Alcidae’s smart garage device is an LED light that serves as a status indicator. As seen in the user manual, different colored lights and effects indicate different states of the Garager 2:
IR Sensor
With top safety in mind, the Garager 2’s built-in IR sensor fully monitors your garage door so that it only closes when there are no obstructions in the way. So whether you didn’t park your vehicle all the way in or the kids are playing in the garage, the AlcidaeGarager 2 takes away garage-door hazards.
Speakers
In the aforementioned instances of receiving a motion or sound activity alert, you can initiate your app and use two-way audio to address the entity. This can be friendly or not. The Garager 2 comes with two metal-grilled speakers. These speakers pack enough punch to effectively let your presence be known. Again, whether you’re talking to someone you know or issuing a warning to an intruder.
Microphone
Working in conjunction with its fellow motion sensor, the Alcidae Garager 2 houses an embedded microphone that works as a highly sensitive sound detector. The microphone picks up any out-of-the-ordinary sounds in your garage. After that, it will send an activity alert straight to your phone.
Motion Detector
Above the Garager 2’s camera is its motion sensor. Any time there’s movement inside of your garage (besides when you trigger its opening and closing), you’ll be sent an activity-alert notification. From there you can check the live feed to see what the movement could be attributed to.
Video Camera
Being the most important component, the Alcidae Garager 2 comes with a video camera boasts 1080p playback resolution. Not just that, Alcidae has ensured their product’s camera has the security-surveillance essentials of night-vision capability and a wide-view picture. Garager 2 provides you with a crisp picture of your garage and everything in it, day or night.
App Connectivity
So long as your WiFi reaches your garage (shouldn’t be a problem since your router’s 2.4GHz has great range) you get full control of the Alcidae Garager 2 via your smartphone. Also, if you’ve got Google Home or Alexa devices, you can add Garager 2’s functionality and save your fingers a couple taps. All of this product’s app-enabled elements, such as activity notifications, are free to use. If you wish to have your video footage stored in the cloud or the ability to save and share said footage, Alcidae offers a subscription service that you can learn more about at Alcidae’s website.
Installation
The Garager 2’s included user manual does not feature instructions for the technical installation. However, the folks over at Alcidae went ahead and created the following video to provide a thorough step-by-step visual guide.
The same instructions are also provided to you in the free Alcidae app. Following the user manual, you will download the free Alcidae app and sign up for a new account. From there, the app will have you start the process to connect your Garager 2 to your Internet. Follow the steps correctly and you’ll be presented with the main screen that provides you all your essential commands. These include: activating two-way audio, taking a screenshot, enabling recording to the cloud (only if you signed up for the subscription)—and of course, opening and closing your garage.
As a bonus, you can also share access with family members. They just need to download the app on their phone and sign up for their own Alcidae account. After that, you just need to add your family member’s user ID. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code that’s unique to their account’s app.
Final Thoughts
The great thing about the Alcidae Garager 2 is you can make of it what you will. Maybe you just want a garage opener you can control from your phone. Or perhaps you’ll find great use of the live feed of your garage that you can interact with in real time. Thanks to its abundance of helpful features, Garager 2 gives you the flexibility to use it to your exact needs.
