Chamberlain 1 HP Belt Drive Opener (B5330) Review: Quiet, Reliable, And Smart

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.

A series of screenshots from the Chamberlain B5330 garage door opener companion app

(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.