How to Bypass a Bad Garage Door Opener Sensor

Locate the malfunctioning garage door's emergency release rope. This rope is red and hangs from the garage door assembly. Pull down on the rope. This will de-motorize the garage door and release the door from its normal functioning, allowing manual adjustments that bypass the electronic door opener and any corresponding sensors.

Move over to the garage door and find its inner handle. Grab this handle and pull up to move the door gradually up and open. The door is de-motorized so there will be no resistance.

Pull down on the door's inner handle when you need to shut the door. "Walk" the door down slowly and gradually, keeping in mind that pulling too hard on the de-motorized door can cause it to slam shut, resulting in possible damage.

Pull the emergency release rope at a 45-degree angle in order to re-engage the garage door's motor. Try to use the electronic door opener. The use of the emergency rope may have fixed the sensor problem entirely. If the electronic door opener does not work and the problem persists, pull down on the release rope in order to bypass the sensors once more for manual door opening until professional repairs can be made.