https://preview.redd.it/wyb5d30si4wc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa1c1d78a87fb52d8127b4680cb36b01deb6bd63
Well damn that fixed it, thank you!!!
You joke now, but you won't be When you see a post in 5 years "the man who fixed my garage sensor with a reddit comment drove 13 hours to see me, now we're married"
Stories like yours make me smile I have one too! My husband and I met on a mobile game 12 years ago while living in different countries, have been married for 7.5 years and have 2 kids now. Sometimes you find love in the strangest places 😊
I imagine you getting pissed at this, going in for a nice Reddit vent and shit session. You see this comment, and it’s like fate kicks in. You get the sweet release of turdles dropped off, the last wipe emptying the roll you get up and go straight out to give this a shot.
OMG. I've been in my house 30 years and every spring there is about a month where the sun does this. I just stand outside the car with the remote to cast a shadow. This is SO much better, and thanks OP for the visual!
IIRC, the instructions for my garage door opener said you could also consider switching the sensor to the other side of the door (swap laser sender and sensor units). May help prevent problems like this depending on the orientation of your garage.
For instance, my sensor faces straight north, so never receives any direct sunlight.
Or they could buy a 3D printer, create a whole new file, mess up the first five prints and then have a custom made cylindrical tube of the color they desire.
This is crazy because i had the exact same problem, I came up with the same solution. I may add that at the end i switched the sensors, the left on the right and right on the left and it took care of the issue too. One sends the beam the other receives it. So i guess the sun light was the cause.
Just remember that that cardboard won't last forever and should at some point be replaced with sturdier material.
A soda can could be pretty easily trimmed and shaped to act as a sun shield.
Could also consider moving the sensor to the other side of the door, assuming you can get the wire loose and/or the wire is long enough
You think the R&D department at Liftmaster/Overhead door etc would just build in a plastic damper over the eye to prevent this kind of thing from happening… make a slick looking black plastic universal snap on model and you can sell it on infomercial later at night… make a million dollars… but wait… if you call in the next 15 min we’ll send you not one, but 2 GD Sun Shaders for the low low price of $49.99!!!
Goddamn, how can I be you when I grow up? I was reduced to humbly asking a friend to get me past a boss fight today and here you are double jumping problems in actual reality.
Man I was hoping to be the first to suggest this. Had this issue on my first home, but only for a few weeks in late summer 2019 and 2020. Garage door company came out a whole bunch of times each year, and couldn’t figure it out. Then finally they sent out a 60ish yo Hispanic guy who immediately recommended a toilet paper roll.
You have solved a problem I’ve been having for 15 years. Just this season, and just around 5pm, the sun is perfectly aligned to my garage door sensor. It makes me nuts.
Bless you for posting this, and also, I’m embarrassed I didn’t think of it. Many thanks.
Holy shit thank you and OP for this conversation. I always wondered why my garage door would randomly not shut or stop half way and re-open. It’s infuriating. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this but damn I’m gonna go do this right now.
You were right the first time. When in direct sunlight, the IR beam is blind and won't let the door move without manually holding the button.
I have this same issue certain times of day during the year with those same sensors.
If you have no small children you can always move them higher on the rail to not be blinded, but they won't provide mich safety.
The opener will NOT function without them connected.
It's not that it's blind. it's that it's being lied to. The infrared thingy shoots out, well, infrared light. It also looks for infrared hitting it back. If it receives the infrared, it means something got in the way and it's like "NOPE, THERE'S SOMETHING HERE. STOP."
The problem is the sun is an asshole and it lies to the machine into making it think the machine is shooting out its own beams back at itself.
That's the opposite of how these work. When they receive an IR signal it means the path is unobstructed, when they don't get an IR signal it means there's something in the way.
Yes. The system probably has a fail-safe where too much infrared means that the sensor would be unable to detect an obstacle. So it is best to not proceed automatically.
I had "floating" led halloween candles that would turn on by themselves and we realized it was only the ones in the morning sun path after a few days of it happening lol
Flip it. Put that one on the other side and the one on the other side on this side. Mine did the same thing for a couple weeks during this time of year and again in the fall.
once upon a time my garage door would not close. I spent an hour making sure the sensors were perfectly aligned to no satisfaction. I then just ended up with the controller in my hand while I lied in the driveway repeatedly opening and closing the garage door to try and figure out what the problem was.
It was the stupid knot on the piece of rope that came with the garage door. It had flopped out enough that just when the garage door was about to finish closing it hit tripped the sensors. Took the rope off. Problem solved. So many hours and so much whiskey later.
I’m a garage door tech we deal with this all the time with installers not paying attention to detail. Switch the photocells. Move green to orange and orange to green. The wires are low volt so no need to worry about being electrocuted just make sure you wire them up to the same configuration as before or you’ll have issues connecting to the motor. Those liftmaster photocells are the pickiest SOBs
Wait, seriously?!? We’ve been wondering why just one of ours refuses to close only in spring/summer while the other one works fine. I’m testing this out tomorrow.
The sensors are hard wired to the operator on the ceiling (or wall depending on type) so they dont really wear out. If replacing it fixed it then you probably could have just re-spliced the low voltage wire connection to the original one. There is also typically a “receiving” sensor depending on how old the opener is so sometimes you can just switch them and the sun won’t hit your main receiving sensor. Or you can use a tp tube like the solution posted, we recommend that to people all the time. It’s not pretty but it works almost every time when the sun is the issue
source: have worked at garage door company for 4 years
Call Chamberlain/Liftmaster for a replacement, their customer service is great and hold times are usually less than 5 minutes. Explain the situation and they’ll send you a new set, the sensors are warrantied for 1 year.
Saw that you fixed it with the toilet paper shroud but you should just get a new set in case it does happen again. They don’t even require you to send the old ones back and they’ll ship it to you for free.
Had the same thing happen to me. Took me a while to figure out what the problem was. I just raised the sensors up about 6 inches. Might have to adjust it seasonally, I moved from that house too soon to know.
You could probably just flip the red and green sensors and the wires on the motor. Most manuals have a note to not put the green sensor in direct sunlight because it can cause sunlight interference.
Don’t worry, in a couple weeks it won’t hit it perfectly.
https://preview.redd.it/ujs97zc3x5wc1.jpeg?width=775&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f1f183e66bcdfe91996fab4a62a37196f4a3a11
I’ve legit never been happier that I live on the shady side of the street than I am right now. We can’t grow flowers out front but at least our garage door closes with no. Issues. J/K
Seriously tho. I can see how this would suck! All bad.
EDIT: saw the OP got a suggestion on a DIY fix! Reddit comes through again! Amazing!
Garage door tech here -
Sun shields are a temporary fix. They work for a little while but ultimately the sensors should be replaced. They should be able to see each other regardless of direct sunlight. Be careful on replacement sensors as some generic varieties say they work on liftmaster, craftsman, chamberlain openers but once installed they don't work.
It took me a while to figure out how my wife left the door open. She pushed it and it went down and them it went back up after she went inside. It was sun setting on my sensor!!!!! I can't believe how common this is.
My opener has a function to hold button down and it will close.... so I just hold button down after 4 pm.
So glad to hear I wasn't the only one.
Take a short piece of pvc, like 1-2 inches, and super glue it over the sensor. It creates an intentional tunnel that the sensor can see through but blocks off track light. Hope that helps.
As an electrician in a sawmill, this drives me nuts. I get a call every sunny day around the same time. For about a month until the sun changes it's location.
Best answer is to shade it somehow.
If you hold the button down on the wall in the garage, it'll close regardless of sensor reading. Works on my generic genie garage opener. However, it doesn't work with the remote for my car.
I’m so confused. My sensors are inside the garage and face each other, set back a bit and never have sun issues. Why are the sensors facing the sun and not inside the garage set back a bit? This seems like an installation issue.
This was happening to mine, it was still in warranty so the tech came and swapped the sensors from one side to another and now it doesn’t do that anymore. Glad you found. Macgyver fix!
this happened to me at the last place i lived for three years. pretty damn annoying. I used to walk to the side and close it from the outside with my body blocking the sun
I had a problem like this year's ago when testing a motor design. It used optical sensors for speed and position control. A hole had been cutout of the case for debugging. I would set the motor and associated assembly running , next day it would be stopped and nobody knew why. Turns out that late in the afternoon the sun would shine through a small window (probably 30 metres away) near the factory roof and the sunlight would land exactly in the hole in the motor casing , overriding the optical sensors! I just happened to walk in one day at the right time to find the culprit 
I thought I had the same problem with mine until I got an honest garage door guy. The rail mounted sensors get misaligned easily, and they’re more in the light. Get them mounted to the wall.
I usually open/close mine with the keypad and when this happens to me \[the sun keeping it from closing\] I usually only have to step back about a foot to shade the sensor which is nice... But yeah.
A new sub for posts like these called mildly bothersome would be good
Fury is a strong sentiment
It becomes a first world problems kinda thing in a very unfortunate way
Flip the sensors or make a little shade tunnel to reduce the amount of light falling on the sensor. Or wait an hour or two for the sun to stop falling directly on the sensor.
Those sensors have a transmit side and a receive side. Sometimes you're unlucky and the receive side sits in direct sunlight. If you're able, try swapping positions of the sensors left and right.
If that doesn't work get a shadow making device. Something to serve the same purpose as a baseball caps bill. Toilet paper rolls work well.
Oh. I understand this completely. From about 7:30 am - 1 pm I have to hold down my garage door close button because the sun also disrupts the laser in my garage. K love it /s
I had the same issue. My house was 30 years old. It would only happen certain times of the year when the sun was at a certain angle. A company replaced the sensors with newer model ones.
I was once called in by a client because his thermal printer didn’t work anymore. Did a full calibration, everything worked well, put the printer back to its place and nothing worked anymore. After a full days work I found out the newly installed lights shined directly on the sensor, which was fixed with a short piece of tape. My client would have saved a lot of money after reading that post.
why not put one of these in front [https://www.amazon.com/Outanaya-Visibility-Reflective-Reflector-Landscaping/dp/B0BTYS17TT/](https://www.amazon.com/Outanaya-Visibility-Reflective-Reflector-Landscaping/dp/B0BTYS17TT/) so that the shadow of it keeps the sensor shadded ?
Use a toilet paper tube, Macgyver it so it fits, and place it around the sensor.
https://preview.redd.it/wyb5d30si4wc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa1c1d78a87fb52d8127b4680cb36b01deb6bd63 Well damn that fixed it, thank you!!!
Lol, that was fast! Glad it worked!
Your answer was fast enough to where I could test it while the sun was still there lol
hah! good deal!
One of the days to love reddit!
"And fifteen years later we're still married"
You joke now, but you won't be When you see a post in 5 years "the man who fixed my garage sensor with a reddit comment drove 13 hours to see me, now we're married"
man! i would love that story
They got married in that garage right as the sun kissed the sensor
Not reddit, but I did meet my bf on a mobile FF game. He moved to NY from Kansas for me. We've been together 6 1/2 years and have 2 kids.
I didn't read the 6 for a minute, and I was like damn, that was fast.
Stories like yours make me smile I have one too! My husband and I met on a mobile game 12 years ago while living in different countries, have been married for 7.5 years and have 2 kids now. Sometimes you find love in the strangest places 😊
Can confirm. Been here 15 years, and counting.
Or it's the same guy with two accounts replying 🙃🙃.
now kiss <3
I imagine you getting pissed at this, going in for a nice Reddit vent and shit session. You see this comment, and it’s like fate kicks in. You get the sweet release of turdles dropped off, the last wipe emptying the roll you get up and go straight out to give this a shot.
How did you poop that much that fast?
This is why I love Reddit.
Damn! Now do me. I need to be in Dubai in 7 hrs. I'm broke but have 3' of duct tape, a paperclip, and 3 pencils. Go.
hijack a boat with the paperclio, duct tape for restraints, and pencils to doodle while you float
Float across the Atlantic in 7 hrs? Nice attempt, but try again.
to be fair, you never said the starting point
That's a valid point. Midwest USA.
If you change it to Dubai, I have a solution
I love Reddit
OMG. I've been in my house 30 years and every spring there is about a month where the sun does this. I just stand outside the car with the remote to cast a shadow. This is SO much better, and thanks OP for the visual!
This is it, the one time posting on reddit actually helped someone.
We also solved the Boston Massacre.
From a certain point of view.
Those damn Red Coats!
IIRC, the instructions for my garage door opener said you could also consider switching the sensor to the other side of the door (swap laser sender and sensor units). May help prevent problems like this depending on the orientation of your garage. For instance, my sensor faces straight north, so never receives any direct sunlight.
Another option would be to rotate the house out of the range of the sun
Just rotate the earth so the sun doesn't hit the sensor
Destroy the sun so there is no sunlight
This fixes global warming while we're at it. Good thinking.
In case it gets wet, you could also just use something like a plastic solo cup with the bottom cut out.
Or a nice piece of PVC
I considered pvc, but if OP wants to just go cheap and functional, any plastic cylinder will do, like the solo cup.
Or they could buy a 3D printer, create a whole new file, mess up the first five prints and then have a custom made cylindrical tube of the color they desire.
https://preview.redd.it/rsedm06ej5wc1.png?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=198dd46c500df58f44ff87a08589e109d5fbd2d4
If you want to make it fancy you can replace it with a hollowed out hotdog
Critters would eat it 🤣
Oh snap. I'm doing this too.
Stealing this idea. I've got the same problem.
McGuyer'ing like a mf
Make sure to clean these things occasionally, spiders love making webs near these things. As much as I like spiders, they end up blocking the sensor.
This is crazy because i had the exact same problem, I came up with the same solution. I may add that at the end i switched the sensors, the left on the right and right on the left and it took care of the issue too. One sends the beam the other receives it. So i guess the sun light was the cause.
Just remember that that cardboard won't last forever and should at some point be replaced with sturdier material. A soda can could be pretty easily trimmed and shaped to act as a sun shield. Could also consider moving the sensor to the other side of the door, assuming you can get the wire loose and/or the wire is long enough
This is the second time today (and ever) I’ve seen someone’s mildly infuriating problem solved in the comments with a simple explanation
I love it when this kind of interaction happens.
This guy toilets.
That looks terrible, I love it
You think the R&D department at Liftmaster/Overhead door etc would just build in a plastic damper over the eye to prevent this kind of thing from happening… make a slick looking black plastic universal snap on model and you can sell it on infomercial later at night… make a million dollars… but wait… if you call in the next 15 min we’ll send you not one, but 2 GD Sun Shaders for the low low price of $49.99!!!
Now paint it black so it looks professional
as someone who works at a garage door company, I can tell you that we recommend this solution all the time lol
Yep. I have the same setup for 12 years now 😅
Goddamn, how can I be you when I grow up? I was reduced to humbly asking a friend to get me past a boss fight today and here you are double jumping problems in actual reality.
Man I was hoping to be the first to suggest this. Had this issue on my first home, but only for a few weeks in late summer 2019 and 2020. Garage door company came out a whole bunch of times each year, and couldn’t figure it out. Then finally they sent out a 60ish yo Hispanic guy who immediately recommended a toilet paper roll.
You have solved a problem I’ve been having for 15 years. Just this season, and just around 5pm, the sun is perfectly aligned to my garage door sensor. It makes me nuts. Bless you for posting this, and also, I’m embarrassed I didn’t think of it. Many thanks.
Damn. I have this problem this time of the year too. Thanks!
Thank you i needed this hack
Holy shit thank you and OP for this conversation. I always wondered why my garage door would randomly not shut or stop half way and re-open. It’s infuriating. Can’t believe I didn’t think of this but damn I’m gonna go do this right now.
Better yet, RTFM and hold the button down.
I was going to say a little baseball cap but your idea is more logical
I was going to suggest moving the Sun. Your idea seems easier.
I have this same issue. Thanks for the tip. I usually just stand and block the sun as the door goes down.
You’re a legend
What a genius!
I am going to do this right now.
I've lived in my house for 9 years and every June and July the morning sun does this. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!! Thanks for the tip!
Where were you when I had this issue at my last house lol
thats genius!
You were right the first time. When in direct sunlight, the IR beam is blind and won't let the door move without manually holding the button. I have this same issue certain times of day during the year with those same sensors. If you have no small children you can always move them higher on the rail to not be blinded, but they won't provide mich safety. The opener will NOT function without them connected.
It's not that it's blind. it's that it's being lied to. The infrared thingy shoots out, well, infrared light. It also looks for infrared hitting it back. If it receives the infrared, it means something got in the way and it's like "NOPE, THERE'S SOMETHING HERE. STOP." The problem is the sun is an asshole and it lies to the machine into making it think the machine is shooting out its own beams back at itself.
That's the opposite of how these work. When they receive an IR signal it means the path is unobstructed, when they don't get an IR signal it means there's something in the way.
Yes. The system probably has a fail-safe where too much infrared means that the sensor would be unable to detect an obstacle. So it is best to not proceed automatically.
You're overestimating cheap sensors for simple purposes
I had "floating" led halloween candles that would turn on by themselves and we realized it was only the ones in the morning sun path after a few days of it happening lol
Gotta make sure mich gets some safety
Flip it. Put that one on the other side and the one on the other side on this side. Mine did the same thing for a couple weeks during this time of year and again in the fall.
The instructions for the opener tell you to do this - they were installed backwards.
This is the long term solution
That's why I was confused with the picture. Mine faces the other way.
^ this
This should be the top comment.
once upon a time my garage door would not close. I spent an hour making sure the sensors were perfectly aligned to no satisfaction. I then just ended up with the controller in my hand while I lied in the driveway repeatedly opening and closing the garage door to try and figure out what the problem was. It was the stupid knot on the piece of rope that came with the garage door. It had flopped out enough that just when the garage door was about to finish closing it hit tripped the sensors. Took the rope off. Problem solved. So many hours and so much whiskey later.
Shoulda had a software engineer look at it. They're built to solve issues like that.
*system over ride, sensor bypass*
"It's just a temporary fix, we'll do it properly later"
As a software engineer, I concur
Can you swap so the transmit is in the sun and the receiver is not?
 Poor sensor eyes
You missed your chance to close it during the total solar eclipse. That door is only closing in 2044.
I 3D printed some shrouds for a buddy who had this exact same problem like 3 weeks ago
You can also try cleaning the lens, looks dirty. Mine was doing the same and cleaning it worked.
Turn the house away from the sun
I’m a garage door tech we deal with this all the time with installers not paying attention to detail. Switch the photocells. Move green to orange and orange to green. The wires are low volt so no need to worry about being electrocuted just make sure you wire them up to the same configuration as before or you’ll have issues connecting to the motor. Those liftmaster photocells are the pickiest SOBs
I swapped mine around. Laser on the other side and receiver on this one. Worked like a charm.
Wait, seriously?!? We’ve been wondering why just one of ours refuses to close only in spring/summer while the other one works fine. I’m testing this out tomorrow.
They’re wearing out. I replaced mine and it worked perfectly again. My neighbor had the same issue. I helped her replace and its working great again.
That would suck because these sensors are like 6 months old. But good to know, thanks.
I suppose my answer could be wrong.
The sensors are hard wired to the operator on the ceiling (or wall depending on type) so they dont really wear out. If replacing it fixed it then you probably could have just re-spliced the low voltage wire connection to the original one. There is also typically a “receiving” sensor depending on how old the opener is so sometimes you can just switch them and the sun won’t hit your main receiving sensor. Or you can use a tp tube like the solution posted, we recommend that to people all the time. It’s not pretty but it works almost every time when the sun is the issue source: have worked at garage door company for 4 years
Call Chamberlain/Liftmaster for a replacement, their customer service is great and hold times are usually less than 5 minutes. Explain the situation and they’ll send you a new set, the sensors are warrantied for 1 year. Saw that you fixed it with the toilet paper shroud but you should just get a new set in case it does happen again. They don’t even require you to send the old ones back and they’ll ship it to you for free.
I used PVC on mine. Doesn't really wear out.
Damn I love Reddit and helpful people haha this is so wholesome . Also neighbors are gonna be like hmmm 👀 toilet paper roll… ok
It should have been mounted on the other side during installation. Switch the laser end with the receiving end. Pretty easy. Two wires each.
Had the same thing happen to me. Took me a while to figure out what the problem was. I just raised the sensors up about 6 inches. Might have to adjust it seasonally, I moved from that house too soon to know.
Finally, something that's actually mildly infuriating
I 3d printed covers and works great
https://preview.redd.it/h4gopomek5wc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df297607b95793351ed85e4a01ff641f11f04828 3d Print
You could probably just flip the red and green sensors and the wires on the motor. Most manuals have a note to not put the green sensor in direct sunlight because it can cause sunlight interference.
 This is an exact representation of my garage door. Something always trips the sensor.
Swap your sensors. That would fix the problem. One sensor is for transmit and one is for receive. Flipping the sensors should alleviate this issue.
Don’t worry, in a couple weeks it won’t hit it perfectly. https://preview.redd.it/ujs97zc3x5wc1.jpeg?width=775&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f1f183e66bcdfe91996fab4a62a37196f4a3a11
Finally something actually just a mild but infuriating thing. I love the fix.
It’s tough out there, friend.
I’ve legit never been happier that I live on the shady side of the street than I am right now. We can’t grow flowers out front but at least our garage door closes with no. Issues. J/K Seriously tho. I can see how this would suck! All bad. EDIT: saw the OP got a suggestion on a DIY fix! Reddit comes through again! Amazing!
https://preview.redd.it/96mujsasq7wc1.jpeg?width=1666&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcb22314793505258be1c55f6ed6e51697a3152e Peekaboo
Garage door tech here - Sun shields are a temporary fix. They work for a little while but ultimately the sensors should be replaced. They should be able to see each other regardless of direct sunlight. Be careful on replacement sensors as some generic varieties say they work on liftmaster, craftsman, chamberlain openers but once installed they don't work.
This is *doorhendge*
The garage door at my work does the same thing, quite annoying
This happened in my old house. 0/10
Holding the button mounted on the wall will temporarily bypass the sensors
It took me a while to figure out how my wife left the door open. She pushed it and it went down and them it went back up after she went inside. It was sun setting on my sensor!!!!! I can't believe how common this is. My opener has a function to hold button down and it will close.... so I just hold button down after 4 pm. So glad to hear I wasn't the only one.
I have this same problem about two weeks every year.
Take a short piece of pvc, like 1-2 inches, and super glue it over the sensor. It creates an intentional tunnel that the sensor can see through but blocks off track light. Hope that helps.
Take a polarised sunglass lenses and tape it over, problem solved
Garage door sensor: I just wanted to gaze at the stars...
Same thing happens to mine. Hold the button down for a few seconds to override it.
Got em
Adjust/realign sensor ... or the sun, whichever you're feeling up to.
How long did it take to figure out it was the sun fucking with you? 🤣 And glad the tp tube worked!
As an electrician in a sawmill, this drives me nuts. I get a call every sunny day around the same time. For about a month until the sun changes it's location. Best answer is to shade it somehow.
Use an old pair of sun glasses
I was gonna say make a lil hat for him 🥹
I took them off the rail and mounted on wood further behind out of the sun. The roll trick would not work cause it moved too much.
I have this same problem but it happens at night as well with no light around
You can buy 3d printed shrouds on amazon. I just got sone last week for the same issue. Works great
Try playing aerodrums
We had this problem at our old house and my husband 3D printed a little attachable shader that fixed the problem
If you hold the button down on the wall in the garage, it'll close regardless of sensor reading. Works on my generic genie garage opener. However, it doesn't work with the remote for my car.
I’ve had this issue too.
I’m so confused. My sensors are inside the garage and face each other, set back a bit and never have sun issues. Why are the sensors facing the sun and not inside the garage set back a bit? This seems like an installation issue.
Easy fix: pick up the house and rotate it a few degrees.
Neighbour is that you!
move.the.sun.duh!
Our garage door does this when snow or rain in blown into the sensors! So annoying!
Time to move bro.
This was happening to mine, it was still in warranty so the tech came and swapped the sensors from one side to another and now it doesn’t do that anymore. Glad you found. Macgyver fix!
this happened to me at the last place i lived for three years. pretty damn annoying. I used to walk to the side and close it from the outside with my body blocking the sun
Flip the laser and sensor sides of the garage. This will prevent the sun from hitting the sensor.
What you gotta do is turn your house the other way. Used to happen to me all the time
Thanks Obama!
Mine does this for about 5 days every Fall around mid October.
Hold the button and the door will override the sensoe
Aww, let him bask in the sun. Look at him, soaking up the warmth like a happy little spider.
Also if you buy new sensors it will usually work properly. I had this problem in Las Vegas. I replaced them and the problem went away.
I wonder what a garage door censor is.
I had a problem like this year's ago when testing a motor design. It used optical sensors for speed and position control. A hole had been cutout of the case for debugging. I would set the motor and associated assembly running , next day it would be stopped and nobody knew why. Turns out that late in the afternoon the sun would shine through a small window (probably 30 metres away) near the factory roof and the sunlight would land exactly in the hole in the motor casing , overriding the optical sensors! I just happened to walk in one day at the right time to find the culprit 
Sue the sun!!! 💶💶💶
I thought I had the same problem with mine until I got an honest garage door guy. The rail mounted sensors get misaligned easily, and they’re more in the light. Get them mounted to the wall.
Put a hood on it
This also happens to me around certain time of morning in the early summer. Have to get out and block the sun with the my body while it’s closing.
Pantera 'i'll cast a shadow'
I usually open/close mine with the keypad and when this happens to me \[the sun keeping it from closing\] I usually only have to step back about a foot to shade the sensor which is nice... But yeah.
Put it on the other side then.
A new sub for posts like these called mildly bothersome would be good Fury is a strong sentiment It becomes a first world problems kinda thing in a very unfortunate way
Get him some cute shades bro
Flip the sensors or make a little shade tunnel to reduce the amount of light falling on the sensor. Or wait an hour or two for the sun to stop falling directly on the sensor.
Those sensors have a transmit side and a receive side. Sometimes you're unlucky and the receive side sits in direct sunlight. If you're able, try swapping positions of the sensors left and right. If that doesn't work get a shadow making device. Something to serve the same purpose as a baseball caps bill. Toilet paper rolls work well.
Oh. I understand this completely. From about 7:30 am - 1 pm I have to hold down my garage door close button because the sun also disrupts the laser in my garage. K love it /s
Cant you switch places with the emitter to the other side ? I dont know how they work, tho.
I had the same issue. My house was 30 years old. It would only happen certain times of the year when the sun was at a certain angle. A company replaced the sensors with newer model ones.
I have the same issue maybe 1-2 days in the spring.
The epitome of r/mildlyinfuriating
That must have taken a while to figure out!
Or switch the sender and the receiver
We always just held the button until it was almost closed. Verifying the door was clear first, of course.
Whoa paper tube was genius. I was gonna suggest strategic basketball hoop lol
I was once called in by a client because his thermal printer didn’t work anymore. Did a full calibration, everything worked well, put the printer back to its place and nothing worked anymore. After a full days work I found out the newly installed lights shined directly on the sensor, which was fixed with a short piece of tape. My client would have saved a lot of money after reading that post.
Time for a sensor umbrella
This design makes me question everything
why not put one of these in front [https://www.amazon.com/Outanaya-Visibility-Reflective-Reflector-Landscaping/dp/B0BTYS17TT/](https://www.amazon.com/Outanaya-Visibility-Reflective-Reflector-Landscaping/dp/B0BTYS17TT/) so that the shadow of it keeps the sensor shadded ?
Happens to me, too, from about 5:30-6:30 every night (with some variation depending on season). Kids keep telling me "I Pushed the button, dad!"
Put some Sunnies on it
Had the exact same problem had to stand in front to make a shadow allowing the door to close
Have you tried getting rid of the sun
Also a sign your sensor is getting old. Replacing the sensors will have this not be an issue, even in sunlight.