The Chamberlain B5330 is a smart garage opener that lets you open and close the door using your phone, a remote fob, or a touch-screen keypad. Moreover, it has a built-in camera with motion detection and face recognition, letting you see who opened the door and monitor what's happening inside. At $309, it's a bit more expensive than a non-smart model, and you have to subscribe to a MyQ video storage plan to access recorded video and unlock several features. But it's a very solid performer that's worth the premium if you want to keep an eye on the inside of your garage.

Design and Features: Lots of Options

Powered by a 1-horsepower belt-driven DC motor, the B5330 opener measures 7.2 by 8.2 by 16.2 inches and weighs just over 11 pounds. It has a black enclosure with white light lens covers on either end. Below the front cover, you'll find a camera that captures 1080p video with a 130-degree field of view. On the left side, there's a control panel with four wiring terminals for connecting the opener to the wall controller and the safety sensors. Here you’ll also find programming buttons, including Adjustment, Down/Up, and Learn, along with a Wi-Fi status LED that blinks blue during pairing and shines solid when the opener is connected. Behind the right panel is a compartment for the backup battery (included), which provides up to 10 open-and-close cycles in the event of a power outage.

In addition to the backup battery, the B5330 comes with two 60W LED bulbs that provide up to 1,000 lumens (combined), as well as two preprogrammed car remotes, a wall controller, drive rails, security sensors, assorted mounting hardware and pulleys, wiring, and a user guide. You don’t get a keypad with this opener, but you can purchase a compatible wireless pad ($44.99) or a wireless video model ($79.99). For this review, Chamberlain sent the video keypad, which features a 1080p camera, 12 illuminated buttons (0 to 9, two-way talk, door open/close), and offers motion detection and motion alerts. As with the B5330's integrated camera, the keypad camera will record video and store it in the cloud, but you’ll need a subscription to view video from either source and to unlock other features.

The MyQ mobile app (available for Android and iOS) offers free 24/7 live streaming and motion alerts, and you get a 30-day free trial of the MyQ Ultra plan (typically $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year). The Ultra plan gives you access to 30 days of recorded video, face recognition, smart object detection, AI video search, and detection zones for all of your MyQ cameras. After the trial, you’ll need an active subscription. As a less expensive option, there's a $7.99-per-month/$79.99-per-year Essential tier, which includes 14 days of rolling video storage, along with everything from the Ultra plan except AI video search, for a single camera. MyQ also offers a $24.99-per-year Basic plan offering 7 days of video storage and motion notifications, without the extra features of the more expensive tiers.

The B5330 is HomeLink compatible, so you can use in-car controls to open and close your garage door. It works with Ring devices, supports other third-party smart home gear via IFTTT applets, and can interact with other MyQ products, such as cameras and LED lights. Note, though, that it doesn't work with the Alexa, Google, or HomeKit smart home automation platforms.

(Credit: Chamberlain)

The B5330 appears on the MyQ app home screen, where you’ll see a video panel for the opener camera and another for the keypad camera. Here, there's also a button that opens and closes the garage door. Alongside that, you'll see the opener's name, its current status (opened or closed), and how long it's been that way. If you scroll down, you’ll see thumbnails of recent video recordings, which you can tap to view, download, share, or delete. Next to each thumbnail is the date, time, and type of the event (motion, PIN access, open, or close).

To view a live stream from either camera, tap the play arrow on its video panel (then optionally turn your phone sideways to enter full-screen mode). The B5330 camera section has buttons for opening and closing the door, taking a snapshot, muting the speaker, and accessing the settings screen. Within settings, you can assign PINs (up to 16) to family members and create Quick Pass PINs for guests, with start and end dates and times. Other settings allow you to enable event recordings and configure notifications for each event type (animal, close, open, package, person, or vehicle). Here, you can also manage remote and keypad settings, configure motion sensitivity and face detection, set up automations to have the door close at a specific time of day, put the lights on a timer, and run diagnostics.

Installation and Performance: Easy to Use, But You'll Probably Want Professional Installation

If you feel ambitious and have the tools and the time, you can install the B5330 yourself using the Bilt app, which provides detailed video-based instructions. However, as with every garage door opener, the installation requires precise measurements, working on a ladder, and installing guide rails, pulleys, and sensors. And the opener itself has to be mounted to the ceiling. So, I had the opener professionally installed. The process took close to two hours, but it likely would have cost me the better part of an afternoon.

When the technician finished up, it was time to connect the opener to my network. I already had the MyQ app installed, so I tapped the plus icon in the upper-right corner of the Device Management screen, selected Garage Door Opener, tapped On the Ceiling installation, and confirmed that my opener has a camera. On the next screen, I selected my wall control and followed the instructions to press the Learn button on the controller. After a few seconds, the app identified the opener—so I clicked it, entered my Wi-Fi credentials to connect the B5330 to my Wi-Fi network, and gave it a name.

To pair the video keypad, I tapped Add New Device in the Device Management menu, then Accessory, and selected video keypad. Next, I selected the B5330 as my opener, powered on the keypad, and confirmed that the LED was flashing blue. After a few seconds, the app recognized the keypad, so I entered my Wi-Fi credentials, created a four-digit PIN, and attached the bracket to my garage door frame. Finally, I attached the keypad to the bracket to complete the installation.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

The B5330 worked wonderfully in testing. The motor was a bit quieter than the HD950WF opener, and the up-and-down motion was very smooth. The opener instantly responded to app, keypad, and remote commands to raise and lower the door, and the safety sensors always did their job, halting downward motion and raising the door whenever an obstruction was detected.

Although the camera maxes out at 1080p, it still delivered sharp video in testing and was more than adequate for monitoring the inside of my garage. Colors were bright, and low-light video relied on illumination from the LEDs to provide a crystal-clear image. Thankfully, the LEDs always turned on when the door opened, when motion was detected, and when I used the app’s live view functionality.

The video keypad buttons were well illuminated, and the camera never failed to capture motion or record video when someone used the device to open the garage door. Face recognition worked as intended, and two-way talk came through loud and clear. What's more, I had no trouble using the opener with my 2015 Mustang HomeLink controls.