Garage Doors, Doorbells & Sprinklers

The "outside the front door" subset of smart-home: the garage door, the doorbell, and the sprinkler controller. The 2024-26 story is dominated by the MyQ controversy — Chamberlain locked third-party access behind a paid API in late 2023, accelerating the OSS Ratgdo / ESPHome alternative. For the lock + camera side see Smart Locks & Cameras; for the hub above it see Smart Home Hubs; for ESPHome firmware see IoT Firmware Platforms.

Garage door openers — the MyQ saga

In Q4 2023, Chamberlain MyQ killed third-party API access for Home Assistant, Homebridge, IFTTT, and others — pushing users to a paid B2B API. Backlash was severe. The community response: replace the cloud entirely with a $30 ESPHome flash.

• ★ ★ Ratgdo (Rage Against the Garage Door Opener) — free OSS + ~$30 hardware; ESPHome-flashed ESP32 board that reads / sends the proprietary Chamberlain wire protocol over a single physical connection. Plug in, flash, integrate with Home Assistant locally. The 2026 default.
  • https://github.com/PaulWieland/ratgdo
• ★ Meross MSG100 / MSG200 — paid (~$50); Apple Home Key (tap-iPhone-to-open); HomeKit native; cloud-optional. The pre-built / "I don't want to flash anything" pick.
• Tailwind iQ3 — paid (~$120); Wi-Fi controller; works without a subscription.
• Aqara Smart Garage Hub — paid; works with the Aqara hub; Matter-flavored future.
• MyQ (Chamberlain) — paid hardware; previously the default; now the cautionary tale. Works fine if you stay in the official MyQ app and never want HA. Don't pick this for a new HA-aware build.
• LiftMaster Smart Garage Hub — same as MyQ; same caveats.

Doorbells

See Smart Locks & Cameras for the full review. Highlights:

• ★ Reolink Video Doorbell — local RTSP; Frigate-compatible; no monthly required.
• Aqara G4 — HomeKit Secure Video battery doorbell.
• Ring — incumbent; subscription required for cloud recording.
• Nest Doorbell — Google ecosystem.

For the AI / NVR layer (notify only on actual people / packages, not headlights) see Smart Home Camera AI.

Smart sprinklers / irrigation controllers

• ★ Rachio — paid hardware (~$200); HomeKit native; Wi-Fi; weather-aware skip days; great mobile app. The default for "I want it polished and don't mind cloud."
• ★ OpenSprinkler — free OSS firmware + paid hardware (~$130-200); local API; HA integration; weather-aware. The default for self-host / no-cloud.
  • https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OpenSprinkler-Firmware
  • See also IoT Firmware Platforms.
• RainMachine — paid hardware; local API + cloud option; works without internet for core scheduling.
• Spruce — paid; soil-sensor-based; niche.
• Hunter Hydrawise — paid hardware; pro-installer favorite; cloud-leaning.
• Orbit B-Hyve — paid; cheap; cloud-dependent.

Sprinkler integrations to know

• Home Assistant + OpenSprinkler / Rachio — block "auto run" if a person is in the yard (mmWave / presence) or if the weather forecast shows rain in 6 hours.
• Soil moisture sensors (Aqara, Tuya Zigbee, ESPHome DIY) — the "irrigate only when actually dry" feature most controllers don't have built in.

Smart switches / outlets (mention only)

• Covered fully in Smart Home Hubs and IoT Lighting & LEDs. Highlights: Shelly (in-wall, MQTT-native), Inovelli (Z-Wave smart switches with great LED bars), Kasa / TP-Link Tapo (cheap Wi-Fi), Aqara (Zigbee).

License / pricing

• Ratgdo, OpenSprinkler firmware: OSS, free; paid hardware.
• Meross MSG100: paid hardware (~$50); no subscription.
• Rachio: paid hardware; no subscription required for core.
• MyQ: paid hardware; API access requires paid B2B subscription for HA-style integrations.
• Reolink: paid hardware; no subscription required.

Pick this if…

• Default garage opener, OSS, HA-aware: Ratgdo.
• Default garage opener, pre-built, Apple Home Key: Meross MSG100.
• Avoid: new MyQ purchases.
• Default sprinkler, cloud OK, polished: Rachio.
• Default sprinkler, OSS, local-only: OpenSprinkler.
• Default doorbell, self-host: Reolink Video Doorbell + Frigate.
• Default doorbell, HomeKit: Aqara G4.