Why does my garage door remote work but the keypad does not?

The fact that the remote works rules out the opener's receiver, logic board, and power supply. Those components are fine. The problem lives in the keypad, its battery, its code link, or its physical wiring to the radio inside. This is good news: keypad problems are the most affordable and easiest garage door repairs to fix. Most of the time you will need nothing more than a new battery and two minutes.

Replace the keypad battery right now

A weak or dead battery is behind the large majority of keypad failures. The keypad sits outside, exposed to Colorado temperature swings. Batteries lose voltage fast in deep cold and drain slowly in summer heat. A keypad that worked fine in October may go silent by January. Because the remote usually stays warmer inside a car or a pocket, it outlasts the keypad battery by months, which is exactly the pattern you are seeing.

Pop open the keypad cover and find the battery compartment. Most residential keypads use a 9V battery. Some use a pair of AA cells. Replace it with a fresh one, close the cover, and test. If the keypad lights up and responds normally, a dead battery was the entire problem.

Battery tip for Colorado: use a lithium battery in the keypad rather than alkaline if your winters are cold. Lithium holds its voltage better below freezing, which matters for a device mounted on a north-facing wall in the Denver metro where nighttime lows can drop below zero.

Keypad symptom	Most likely cause	First fix
No lights, no response	Dead battery	Replace battery
Lights up but door does not move	Lost code link or wrong PIN	Re-link with learn button
Works sometimes, fails in cold	Weak battery or cold performance	Replace with lithium battery
Buttons press but nothing happens	Keypad lost its code	Re-program PIN on opener
Keypad responds but remote does not	Problem reversed: check remote	Replace remote battery, re-learn remote

Verify the PIN and re-link the keypad

If a new battery does not fix it, the keypad may have lost its code link to the opener. This happens after a power outage wipes the opener's memory, after someone presses the learn button accidentally, or after a battery dies and the keypad resets internally on some models.

You cannot tell from outside the keypad whether the link is intact, but the re-link procedure takes under two minutes. Walk to the motor head and press the learn button. A small LED lights and starts a window of about 30 seconds. Within that window, go to the keypad, type your PIN, and press the send or enter key. The opener will click or its light will blink to confirm it learned the keypad.

If you are not sure whether the PIN itself is still set on the keypad, you may need to set a new one first. On most LiftMaster and Chamberlain keypads, flip up the cover, enter the current or a new PIN using the button sequence in the manual, then re-link. On Genie units, the PROG key starts the programming sequence.

Check the keypad's physical connections

A wireless keypad has a self-contained radio transmitter inside, so there are no external wires to check. But a wired keypad, which is an older style that connects directly to the motor head with a two-wire cable, can fail if the wires come loose or are cut. If your keypad has a wire running from it into the wall or up to the ceiling, inspect the connection at both ends.

Tug gently on the wires at the terminal screws on the motor head. A wire that pulls out was seated poorly. Strip a half-inch, re-seat it, and tighten the screw. Look along the wire run for a staple or bracket that cut through the insulation. A bare wire touching a metal surface creates a short that kills the keypad while leaving the remote on a different circuit working fine.

Also confirm the keypad is not in lock mode. Some wall consoles have a lock button that disables only the keypad and remotes but lets the wall button work. If the wall console shows a lock icon or a locked padlock indicator, press and hold the lock button for a couple of seconds to clear it.

When the keypad itself has failed

After a new battery, a fresh code link, and a wiring check, if the keypad still does not respond, the unit itself may have failed. Outdoor keypads crack from UV exposure and freeze-thaw cycling. Cracked plastic lets moisture into the electronics, corroding the circuit board inside. A keypad that is more than eight to ten years old, or one with visibly cracked housing, is a reasonable candidate for replacement.

Replacement keypads are sold by opener brand and are usually universal-compatible within a manufacturer's family. LiftMaster and Chamberlain keypads cross-program with each other. A new keypad is typically $30 to $60 and takes about ten minutes to mount and program. Make sure the replacement is rated for outdoor use and is Security+ 2.0 compatible if your opener uses rolling codes, which all post-1996 openers do.

G Brothers programs and replaces keypads across the Denver metro and Front Range, with free estimates, same-day service on most repairs, and 24/7 emergency coverage. Licensed and insured for every job.

Maintain the keypad to prevent future failures

A little attention once a year keeps a keypad working for a decade or more. Start with the battery: replace it every year whether or not a low-battery warning has appeared. A fresh battery before winter is especially smart on the Front Range, where outdoor keypads face night-time lows below freezing. Alkaline batteries lose voltage at low temperatures. Lithium batteries hold their charge better and are a worthwhile upgrade for any keypad mounted on an exterior wall.

Clean the keypad face with a dry cloth once or twice a year. Road grit and dried mud from Colorado winters can work into the button gaps and cause keys to stick or fail to spring back. A stiff key that does not fully press can either fail to send the code or send it twice, causing the door to open and immediately close. Do not use water or cleaning sprays, which can seep into the housing.

After any weather event that soaks the keypad, such as a hailstorm or a sprinkler that runs too close, let it dry completely before testing. If water got inside, a short rest with the battery removed speeds the drying. A keypad that is already cracked should be replaced before the next rain season, since a crack channels water directly to the circuit board.

Change your keypad PIN twice a year as part of your general door maintenance routine. It takes two minutes and ensures the code stays private. If you gave the code to a contractor, a real estate agent during a showing, or a moving company, reset it as soon as they are done. A stale code shared with too many people is the most common keypad security gap. Spring and fall are natural reminders, since those are also the right times to lubricate the door hardware and run the auto-reverse test.