I locked myself out of my detached garage. The remote to open it no longer works.
It’s a really old garage and the opener is from 1999.
Trying to lift it obviously doesnt work. There’s an emergency release you can activate with a key, but the keyhole is crammed full of old hard metallic paint that I can’t get out.
Anything else I can do? Or do I have do smash the thing down?
Yes. You can reach in between the top of the door and the wall with a bent wire, and use it to grab the pull cord that releases the door.
It is difficult to describe, but there are plenty of videos out there showing this method. It is surprisingly easy on some doors once you get the technique right.
For those stumbling upon this comment, there are easy ways to protect your garage door from being opened this way - you can fit a guard near the pull cord to prevent it from being hooked.
I cut the handle off the rope so people can’t do this. Hopefully OP isn’t as paranoid as I am!