How to Program an ATA Garage Door Remote (PTX-4, PTX-5 and PTX-6)

ATA, short for Automatic Technology Australia and now part of the B&D Group, is behind a lot of the openers in Australian garages: the EasyRoller on residential roller doors, sectional and tilt openers, and the Dave commercial operators. Its remotes have gone through several generations, from the PTX-4 through two versions of the PTX-5 to the current PTX-6, and each generation speaks a slightly different language to the opener. Get the family right and the coding itself takes a couple of minutes.

Find your code family first

Turn the remote over and read its label, then read the label on the motor head. ATA handsets generally fall into three code families. The older PTX-4 uses SecuraCode, a rolling-code system. The first PTX-5 (often marked v1) moved to TrioCode, and the later PTX-5v2 and the PTX-6 use TrioCode128, which adds a longer code. ATA's wireless keypads and wall transmitters belong to the same families, though a keypad has extra steps of its own for setting a PIN.

The opener's label or manual says which family it accepts. Some accept more than one; many accept exactly one, and a remote from the wrong family never registers. If the label has faded, the age of the opener is a rough clue, since SecuraCode belongs to the earlier units. Our general remote programming guide explains rolling codes in plain terms if they are new to you.

Coding an ATA remote at the motor head

Most ATA openers have a small button marked CODE with a status LED beside it, often under or behind the light lens. The pattern below is the common one. Whether you hold CODE or give it a single press, and exactly how the LED behaves, differs between versions, so check the instruction sheet on the motor cover if yours reacts differently.

1. Press the CODE button on the opener (hold it if your version asks you to). The code LED lights or starts flashing, which means the opener is listening.
2. Press the chosen remote button once and release it. The LED changes to show the opener has heard a code.
3. Press the same remote button a second time. This confirming press is the step most people skip, and without it the code is not stored.
4. Release CODE if you were holding it. The LED goes out or returns to normal.
5. Step down, stand clear and press the button. If the door does not run, start again with slower, more deliberate presses.

If your opener has a small display and navigation buttons rather than a single LED, coding is an option in its menu and the screen prompts you through the same press-twice idea. The manual names the menu entry for your model.

Adding a remote from the ground with a working one

ATA remotes can usually put the opener into coding mode from the floor, using a handset that is already stored. The working remote sends a special signal, the opener opens its memory for a few seconds, and the new remote's code goes in. The opener still does the learning, so stand within range of the motor head, not out on the street. The button pair that starts this differs between the PTX-4, PTX-5 and PTX-6, so take it from the leaflet that came with the remote rather than guessing.

1. Stand within a few metres of the opener with both remotes in hand.
2. On the working remote, hold the button pair named in its leaflet until its LED flashes, then release.
3. Press the working remote's door button. The opener is now in coding mode.
4. Within a few seconds, press the chosen button on the new remote, release, and press it once more.
5. Wait a moment, then test the new remote with the door clear.

Wiping lost remotes and resetting an ATA opener

On most CODE-button ATA openers you cannot pick out one remote to delete. You clear the whole memory and code back the ones you still hold. Do it when a remote is lost or stolen, when you move into a house with no idea how many remotes were handed around, or when the memory is full and new codes are refused. The wipe is a long hold on CODE, until the LED changes again to show the memory is empty. Display models keep deletion in the menu, and some let you remove a single remote.

A reset means different things depending on the fault. If the door ignores everything, wall button included, switch the power point off for a minute and back on. That restarts the control board and keeps the stored remotes. A factory reset, on openers that offer one, goes further and can clear the travel limits as well, so the door must be taught its open and closed positions again. Our guide to resetting an opener and its remotes sets out the order to try things in.

Are all 433 MHz remotes the same?

No. The frequency on the packet is only the carrier, and nearly every Australian garage remote uses the 433 MHz band. Compatibility is decided by the encoding riding on that carrier. SecuraCode, TrioCode and TrioCode128 are different schemes, and an opener that understands one ignores the others. So when you replace a PTX-4, ask whether the new remote is SecuraCode, not whether it is 433 MHz. Aftermarket ATA-compatible remotes exist for each family and many work well, but the packaging must name the system, and one sold for a PTX-5v1 will not necessarily suit a TrioCode128 opener.

When the remote still won't code

1. The remote's own LED. Dim or absent means the battery; fresh batteries are the cheapest fix there is.
2. A family mismatch, as above. Recheck both labels before anything else.
3. A full memory, which shows up as an opener that accepts nothing new until it is wiped.
4. The opener's receiver. If a remote that used to work now only reaches a metre or two, and a new battery changes nothing, suspect the receiver or its aerial wire. The wider symptoms are on our remote not working troubleshooting page.

If you are in Perth and the remote still refuses after all of that, we repair and service ATA garage door motors across across all of Perth, from Yanchep to Mandurah, check the receiver while we are there, and code replacement handsets matched to the opener's family through our remote replacement service. There is no call-out fee, and the price is agreed with you before any work starts. Most remote jobs are finished the same day.

ATA (Automatic Technology) lists its openers and handsets on its Australian site, and WA Consumer Protection explains your rights if a new ATA remote arrives faulty.