Merlin branded Garage Door Openers & Remote Controls have been around for over 40 years now & remain one of New Zealand's most enduring & popular brands. Part of the large Chamberlain group which is made up of such brands as Merlin, Chamberlain, Motorlift, Homentry, Liftmaster you can be sure they are on top of the latest advancements in security to keep one of the main points of entry into your house (your Garage Door) safe & secure from unwanted access.
Advances in technology through the years mean the method in which to programme your Merlin Remote has changed & evolved so the best way forward is to figure out what era of Merlin Remote you have...
The Beginning - Dipswitches (earliest technology 1980's to mid 1990's)
Merlin's earliest remote's shown below operated on 303MHz or 339MHz & had a set of either 8 or 12 tiny dipswitches inside the back which was how you programmed them to operate your Merlin Garage Door Opener. Some even incorporated a small side switch that could be either up or down. Due to the obscure combination of frequencies with number of dipswitches (which varied according to the button colour of your Merlin remote) there is no longer a direct genuine Merlin replacement or an off the shelf compatible/aftermarket remote available for these & most companies will recommend updating to a brand new Garage Door Opener Motor.
Remote Warehouse understands this can be expensive & frustrating especially when your Merlin Garage Door Opener itself is still performing well. So we are pleased to say there are a couple of solutions we have up our sleeve to help you:
- If you still have an original Merlin Remote we can create a new modern Smooth Operator Remote for you that matches your old remote's settings (shown below)
- If you no longer have a remote we can provide a new add on receiver kit with 2x modern 433MHz remotes that attaches to your old opener.
Click Here to find out more about our options.
Merlin Blue - Legacy Range Dipswitches (1996 - 2001)
The next generation of remotes from Merlin standardised a set frequency (40MHz) & set of 12 dipswitches. The good news Merlin still supports this era with the Genuine M802 blue button Sun Visor style remote still in production today & available to purchase Here (All other styles in this range have been discontinued).
Programming is very simple & a matter of removing the battery cover or back cover from your old remote & your new remote to expose the set of 12 tiny dipswitches in each. Simply match the pattern the dipswitches in your old remote are arranged in (up or down) on your new remote & it will work instantly. If you don't have any old original remotes remaining you can find the same set of 8 tiny dipswitches on the outside of your Garage Door Opener's motor & simply match that pattern onto your new remote. Super simple!!
Merlin Green - Legacy Range Rolling Code (2001 - 2007)
The end of dipswitches & beginning of rolling code technology. Merlin's very popular legacy green range shown below is still supported by Merlin with the Genuine M842 2 button key ring style remote still available for purchase Here (all other styles in this range have been discontinued).
Programming any of the below remotes became a bit more advanced but a lot less involved - no fiddly opening up remotes & setting tiny switches. Instead programming was done via a 'LEARN' button found on the Garage Door Opener's motor. The 'LEARN' button can be found hidden underneath a Green strip on your Garage Door Opener's motor (Hint: sometimes you will need to remove the white light cover on your Garage Door Opener to find the Green Strip that hides the 'LEARN' Button). Once you've found the 'LEARN' button press it once for 1-2 seconds & release, then on your remote press the button you wish to programme for 1 second, release & then press it again for 1 second to confirm & that is it your Remote is programmed.
Merlin Security+ Technology
All remotes from this era are easily identified by having a Merlin+ logo on the front. Be careful not to confuse this range with the very similar but later Merlin+ 2.0 range as they are not compatible with each other (remotes will have Merlin+ 2.0 written on the front). The entire Security+ range from Merlin has been recently discontinued & replaced with the latest dual technology Merlin Premium+ Range. You can shop Here to easily find your old original Merlin remote & discover its latest upgraded version for purchase.
Programming the Security+ range of remotes is done via the 'LEARN' button on your Garage Door Opener's control panel. On some Merlin Door Opener's the control panel will be hidden underneath the motor's light cover. The 'LEARN' button will be marked 'LEARN' or 'LRN' & is usually a square Orange or Purple coloured button. Simply take the your Merlin remote & hold down the button you wish to programme & at the same time press & release the 'LEARN' button on your Garage Door Opener's control panel, then release the button you have been holding down on your remote. Programming complete!
Merlin Security+ 2.0 Technology
All remotes from the Merlin Security+ 2.0 range are identified by having Merlin+ 2.0 on the front. They are not compatible with the previous & very similar Merlin Security+ Range which are distinguished from each other by having either Merlin+ or Merlin+ 2.0 printed on the front of the remote. This entire range is also in the process of being phased out by Merlin & replaced with the latest Merlin Premium+ Range which combines the technology from both Security+ & Security+ 2.0 ranges. You can shop Here for the remaining stock we have of the Security+ 2.0 Range & also the latest updated options to replace your discontinued Security+ 2.0 remotes.
Programming the Security+ 2.0 range of remotes is done via the 'LEARN' button on your Garage Door Opener's control panel. On some Merlin Door Opener's the control panel will be hidden underneath the motor's light cover. The 'LEARN' button will be marked 'LEARN' or 'LRN' & is usually a square Orange or Purple coloured button. Simply take the your Merlin remote & hold down the button you wish to programme & at the same time press & release the 'LEARN' button on your Garage Door Opener's control panel, then release the button you have been holding down on your remote. Easy peasy!
Today - Merlin Premium+ Technology
Merlin’s latest Premium+ technology combines both the previous Security+ & Security+ 2.0 Technologies onto one remote. So the entire range (shown below) is backwards compatible with both previous Merlin Security+ & Security+ 2.0 ranges. This is great for those that have 2 or more garage doors or a garage door & gate that are each currently operated by Merlin motors/receivers but from differing Merlin eras that until now had 2 different remotes to operate them (Security+ & Security+ 2.0 eras only) You can learn more & shop Here for the latest Merlin Premium+ range.
The programming method with these is fairly straight forward & just the same as the 2 previous generations where you will need to find the 'LEARN' button on your Garage Door Opener's motor & follow the same method of holding down the remote button & pressing & releasing the 'LEARN' button. The only difference on these latest Merlin Remotes is because they are dual technology you may need to perform a simple procedure on the remote first to switch it between the two programming modes (Security+ or Security+ 2.0). By default new remotes arrive in Security+ 2.0 mode. By holding down the left & right buttons of the remote until the Remote's LED stays on you switch it over to the older Security+ mode. Once you have set the remote to the correct era to match your Merlin Garage Door Opener you can proceed to programme it into your Garage Door Opener's motor.
