Gate remote and motor security
Gate remotes checked, cleared and upgraded, with gate motors locked away and alarmed, so nobody else can open your gate.
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It is 2:10am. Someone reaches through the palisade, lifts the cover off your gate motor and presses one button. A few minutes later, their remote opens your gate as well as yours does.
In 2025 it happened at a complex in Radiokop, on camera, and the same people came back for the cars. But most ways through a gate are cruder than that, and cheaper to stop.
What is gate remote and motor security?
Gate remote and motor security means making sure only your remotes can open your gate. It covers rolling code remotes, which change their signal every time they're pressed so a copied signal won't work. It also covers a locked cage and anti-tamper locks on the motor, a gate alarm and a log of every opening.
We check how easily someone could get through your gate without your say-so, then close the gaps. Rolling code remotes, a locked cage and anti-tamper locks on the motor, a gate alarm the moment someone touches it, and a log of every opening. Every job starts with a visit and a written quotation.
How gates get opened without your remote
There are four common ways, and only one of them needs any skill.
- Copying an old remote: some remotes send the same code every time, and a cheap gadget can record it in seconds
- Adding their own remote: anyone who can reach the motor can press the learn button and teach it a new remote
- Jamming the signal: a small radio drowns out your remote as you drive off, so the gate never closes
- Remotes nobody gave back: the old tenant, the builder, the handbag stolen at the mall
The remote security check
On the visit we find out which receiver and remotes you have. We check whether the remotes send a new code every press, or the same one every time.
Then we delete every remote nobody can account for. You get a written list of the remotes still opening your gate. The next time one goes missing, you know which one to take off.
Most households have at least one remote they can't explain. Clearing it is the cheapest security upgrade we offer.
Remotes changing their code every press
An older fixed-code remote sends the same code every time you press it. Record it once, and you have a copy for good.
A code-hopping remote, also called rolling code, sends a new code with every press. A recording of yesterday's press opens nothing today. The best remotes add encryption on top, so the code is far harder to work out.
If your remotes are the old kind, we replace them, and the receiver with them when it needs to change. No remote is impossible to copy. A code-hopping remote makes it hard enough for most criminals to move on to the next gate.
Gate automation →Lock the motor away
A gate motor sits at the edge of your property, often within arm's reach of the street. Its cover lifts off. Under it is the button teaching the motor a new remote, and the release letting anyone slide the gate open by hand.
An anti-theft cage closes over the motor and locks with a strong padlock, and anti-tamper locks keep the cover shut. Anti-lift brackets stop the gate being lifted off its track. Our workshop makes steel gates and burglar bars, so a cage is made to fit your motor.
Thieves take whole motors too. In 2025, security companies reported gate motors stolen across Johannesburg and Pretoria, reached through the palisade and carried away. A locked cage stops that as well.
Know the moment it is touched
A cage slows someone down. An alarm tells you they tried.
A gate alarm watches the motor and raises the warning the moment someone tampers with it. It can link to an app on your phone, an SMS, your house alarm or your armed response, whichever suits your site. You hear about it at 2:10am, not at breakfast.
Alarm systems →A log of every opening
A remote opens the gate and leaves no trace. You find out about a copied remote when something goes missing.
With smart technology on the motor, every remote press is recorded. You can look back and see which remote opened the gate, and when. A press at 3am from a remote belonging to a tenant who left in March stands out at once.
Your phone as the remote
Every remote is one more thing to lose. With a smart gate motor, your phone opens the gate through an app, locked with your PIN or fingerprint.
You can share access with family, staff or a guest, and take it back the same afternoon. The app also shows the battery and the power supply, and warns you when something is wrong.
Centurion makes smart gate motors working with its own app. We set up the motor, the app and the people who may use it.
Signal jamming: the two-second check
A jammer is a small radio drowning out your remote. You press the button, drive off, and the gate stays open behind you. At shopping centres, the same trick stops cars from locking.
The defence costs nothing. Wait until the gate has closed before you drive away, and check the car has locked before you walk off.
For complexes and estates
A complex collects remotes. Tenants move out and keep them. After ten years, nobody knows how many still open the gate.
We start with a register: every remote, who holds it and which unit it belongs to. Leavers come off the receiver the day they go.
For bigger sites, keypads, tags, fingerprint readers and number plate cameras give each person their own way in, and a record of when they used it.
Access control →What affects the cost
Some of this costs little. Clearing old remotes is part of every service.
The rest depends on your gate, your motor and how many people need a way in. We walk you through each part on the visit, and the quotation is written down before anything is ordered.
- How many remotes you need, and whether the receiver must change too
- The size of the motor, which decides the size of the cage
- Anti-lift brackets and padlocks
- A tamper sensor or GSM alert, and the link to your alarm
- Upgrading to a smart motor with app control
- For complexes: the number of units and how many ways in
Related services
Gates
Custom driveway, yard and pedestrian gates designed and made in our own factory, with high-end finishes, wrought iron and laser-cut detail. Bring us your idea, and we'll build a gate nobody else on your street has.
Driveway gates
Sliding and swing gates in Clearview, slats, mesh or ornate iron, measured twice and made to close tight.
Gate automation
Gate automation specified for gates ranging from small residential to large-scale industrial, installed and serviced by our own team.
We offer service level agreements and finance for your gate remote and motor security. Each one is a service contract with 24-hour support at night and on weekends.
Planning your security from the start? Read our home and business security guide, covering gates, access control, cameras, alarms and fencing.
Frequently asked questions
Can my gate remote be copied?
An old fixed-code remote can be copied in seconds, because it sends the same code every time you press it. Anyone nearby with a cheap recording gadget can capture the signal and replay it later. A rolling code remote, also called code-hopping, sends a new code with each press. A recording of the last press opens nothing later, so copying is much harder. No remote is impossible to copy, and most break-ins through gates don't use copied remotes at all. Criminals more often reach through the palisade, lift the motor cover and add their own remote at the receiver. So we also lock the motor in a cage with anti-tamper locks, add a gate alarm and clear old remotes from the receiver. Together, these close the easy ways in.
How do I know which kind of remote I have?
It's hard to tell from the outside, because fixed-code and rolling code remotes often look alike. Some older fixed-code remotes have a row of small switches inside the case, used to set the code, but many newer-looking remotes are still fixed code. The make and model printed on the remote or the receiver is the most reliable guide. If your gate motor and remotes are more than about ten years old, there's a fair chance they're fixed code. The receiver in the motor counts as much as the remote, because it decides which codes it accepts. On the site visit, we check your remotes and receiver and tell you which kind you have. If they're fixed code, we quote for upgrading the receiver and remotes to rolling code.
Can a lost or stolen remote be blocked?
Yes. Every gate remote is stored on the receiver in the motor, and any one of them can be deleted. A lost or stolen remote stops working the moment it comes off the receiver, while the rest keep working. To remove the right one, you need to know which remote is which. A written list of your remotes, and who has each one, makes this easy. Many receivers can show how many remotes are stored, and the number is often higher than people expect. If you're not sure which remote is missing, the safest step is to clear the receiver and re-add only the remotes you can find. We do this on a service visit, or as a call-out if a remote was stolen with your keys or car.
Does my motor need a cage if it is behind a wall?
If someone can reach the motor through the palisade, over a low wall or from the pavement, yes. Under the cover of most gate motors is the button for adding a new remote. Anyone who can lift the cover can add their own remote in seconds and come back later to open your gate. They can also release the motor and push the gate open, or steal the motor and its battery. A locked steel cage with anti-tamper locks keeps hands off the motor and stops it being stolen. If the motor is truly out of reach behind a solid wall, a cage may not be needed. A gate alarm adds a second layer, warning you when someone tampers with the motor. We check how easily your motor can be reached on the site visit.
Can criminals jam my gate?
Yes. A jammer is a small device drowning out your remote's signal, so when you press the button to close the gate, the motor doesn't hear it. You drive off thinking the gate has closed, and it stays open behind you. Some criminals use the same trick on car remotes, so your car doesn't lock. The defence is free: wait until the gate has fully closed before you drive away, and check your car has locked by pulling the door handle. Make it a habit for everyone in the house. A gate alarm adds another layer, sending an alert to your phone if the gate is left open or someone tampers with the motor. A log of every opening shows when the gate opened and closed, so you can check later.
Can my phone replace my gate remote?
Yes, with a smart gate motor or a smart module added to your existing motor. An app opens the gate from your phone, protected by your PIN, fingerprint or face, so a lost phone doesn't open the gate for a stranger. You can give access to family, staff or a contractor, limit it to certain days or hours, and take it back at any time. Many apps also keep a log of every opening, showing who opened the gate and when. This makes it easy to spot an opening you didn't expect. Some people keep remotes for the car and use the app as a backup. On the site visit, we check whether your motor can be upgraded and what it would cost, and list it on the written quotation.
Where we work
Our teams work from our Kya Sands workshop, for homes, estates and businesses in Randburg, Fourways, Sandton, Midrand, Waterfall, Centurion, Roodepoort, Krugersdorp, Bedfordview, Edenvale and the West Rand. See all the areas we serve.
Talk to us about your home and business security needs
You shouldn't have to sit at the bottom of your own driveway, wondering whether the gate will close. With Paul's Gates you won't. Send us a message or chat on WhatsApp, and we will come and look.