Bluetooth Anti-Theft Adapter: Enhance your home security for under $20
- Replies 31
Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G.
Thieves are getting more sophisticated in their methods of gaining access to your property.
Anybody with an automatic roller door is in some ways vulnerable to thieves gaining access by using a number of methods. A quick Google search gives a frightening insight into the various techniques in use today.
It seemed an easy way to prevent access was by simply using a padlock on a bolt-fitting at the outside bottom edge or side of the door.
However, it would be rather inconvenient to use it on a regular basis—I envisaged a very rainy day and the driver wrestling with the padlock just to get his car into the garage—and thieves would easily break in using a bolt cutter.
The other problem with that method is that if the remote control was inadvertently operated while the door was secured with a padlock, the mechanism may not have the safety feature to prevent damage.
This would also be the case if an expensive electronic lock was used for the garage door, using steel solenoid-operated shafts into the channels on either side of the door to prevent operation.
Thieves have also been known to gain entry by sliding a coat hanger up between the top of the door and the outside wall to find the safety latch. Pulling that down releases the mechanism and allows the door to be lifted manually.
To prevent thieves from using a Universal Remote Control or ‘cloning’ one’s own remote to gain entry, the simple fob can be changed for a ‘coded’ device in which the codes change daily. This is a good solution but is not cheap.
I was looking for a less expensive solution.
I realised that if one simply cut the power to the motor, the door could not open. Also, it would be very difficult to lift the door against the action of the gearing in the mechanism. (I tried this!)
On many garage door motors, the power is supplied via a power point on the ceiling of the garage, so simply switching off the power at that point would be feasible. Once again, this method would mean gaining access to the house every time one needed to open the garage door after coming home, and it would be inconvenient to have to move a ladder into position and so on.
I stumbled upon a simple method to turn the power off without having to unplug the power point or climb a ladder after moving the car to do so. It is the Bluetooth-connected smart power adapter. It allows one to turn the power off from a ‘paired’ mobile phone.
These adapters range from around $12 from Amazon to over $30 elsewhere. BIG W sells them for $15, and this is the one that I bought since if there were any problems with installation etc., it would be easy to return.
The item from BIG W is called the Crest Smart Power Adapter, and the instructions include a QR code that can be scanned by an Android or Apple phone. This allows the ‘app’ to be installed on the phone.
Of course, the app can also be downloaded from the Google Play store or the Apple app store.
The item includes comprehensive instructions, but there is a bit of a problem that needs to be mentioned.
In order to ‘pair’ the adapter with the installed app on one’s phone, the adapter has to be plugged into a power point, and the power button on the adapter needs to be pressed. If this adapter is to be installed in the garage ceiling, it would be impractical to try to ‘pair’ it from that location.
However, the adapter can be plugged into any easily accessible power point to set it up, then once it’s ‘paired’, it can be removed from that location and plugged into the garage ceiling power point.
Once ‘paired’, it remains that way.
In operation, once you leave the house and close the garage door using the remote control, the app on the mobile phone can be used to cut the power to the door mechanism.
It’s simple, cheap and easy to install.
Note from the Editor:
A huge thank you to member Alan G. for this informative and widely useful article. I don’t know about you all, but I’m off to buy one right away!
Do you have a preferred way to enhance home security? Will you be trying this? Let us know in the comments below!
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G.
Thieves are getting more sophisticated in their methods of gaining access to your property.
Anybody with an automatic roller door is in some ways vulnerable to thieves gaining access by using a number of methods. A quick Google search gives a frightening insight into the various techniques in use today.
It seemed an easy way to prevent access was by simply using a padlock on a bolt-fitting at the outside bottom edge or side of the door.
However, it would be rather inconvenient to use it on a regular basis—I envisaged a very rainy day and the driver wrestling with the padlock just to get his car into the garage—and thieves would easily break in using a bolt cutter.
The other problem with that method is that if the remote control was inadvertently operated while the door was secured with a padlock, the mechanism may not have the safety feature to prevent damage.
This would also be the case if an expensive electronic lock was used for the garage door, using steel solenoid-operated shafts into the channels on either side of the door to prevent operation.
Is your home safe from thieves? Photo by Jonathan Cooper/Pexels.
Thieves have also been known to gain entry by sliding a coat hanger up between the top of the door and the outside wall to find the safety latch. Pulling that down releases the mechanism and allows the door to be lifted manually.
To prevent thieves from using a Universal Remote Control or ‘cloning’ one’s own remote to gain entry, the simple fob can be changed for a ‘coded’ device in which the codes change daily. This is a good solution but is not cheap.
I was looking for a less expensive solution.
I realised that if one simply cut the power to the motor, the door could not open. Also, it would be very difficult to lift the door against the action of the gearing in the mechanism. (I tried this!)
On many garage door motors, the power is supplied via a power point on the ceiling of the garage, so simply switching off the power at that point would be feasible. Once again, this method would mean gaining access to the house every time one needed to open the garage door after coming home, and it would be inconvenient to have to move a ladder into position and so on.
I stumbled upon a simple method to turn the power off without having to unplug the power point or climb a ladder after moving the car to do so. It is the Bluetooth-connected smart power adapter. It allows one to turn the power off from a ‘paired’ mobile phone.
These adapters range from around $12 from Amazon to over $30 elsewhere. BIG W sells them for $15, and this is the one that I bought since if there were any problems with installation etc., it would be easy to return.
The item from BIG W is called the Crest Smart Power Adapter, and the instructions include a QR code that can be scanned by an Android or Apple phone. This allows the ‘app’ to be installed on the phone.
Of course, the app can also be downloaded from the Google Play store or the Apple app store.
The packaging (left) and product in use (right). Image Credit: SDC/Member Alan G.
The item includes comprehensive instructions, but there is a bit of a problem that needs to be mentioned.
In order to ‘pair’ the adapter with the installed app on one’s phone, the adapter has to be plugged into a power point, and the power button on the adapter needs to be pressed. If this adapter is to be installed in the garage ceiling, it would be impractical to try to ‘pair’ it from that location.
However, the adapter can be plugged into any easily accessible power point to set it up, then once it’s ‘paired’, it can be removed from that location and plugged into the garage ceiling power point.
Once ‘paired’, it remains that way.
In operation, once you leave the house and close the garage door using the remote control, the app on the mobile phone can be used to cut the power to the door mechanism.
It’s simple, cheap and easy to install.
Note from the Editor:
A huge thank you to member Alan G. for this informative and widely useful article. I don’t know about you all, but I’m off to buy one right away!
Do you have a preferred way to enhance home security? Will you be trying this? Let us know in the comments below!
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my shoulders need replacing but they (hospital)won’t do them for another 5 years unless I go private which I can’t afford and 5days ago my doctor told me I have carpal tunnel in both hands, so lifting that garage door is very painful 
needless to say I don’t go out very often
