Genie Garage Door Wall Button Compatibility Explained

Purchasing a new wall button for your Genie garage door opener is confusing. Ever since The Genie Company started going after builder business, their product lineup has become difficult to navigate. We are garage door professionals and many times find ourselves scratching our heads when it comes to dealing with Genie and Overhead Door garage door openers. I could only imagine how a homeowner feels. Replacing your Genie wall button is a perfect example of confusion overload.

I tried chatting with Genie support to get more clarification on their Series II and Series III wall buttons because of issues we were having on a recent service call. I did find out some information, but it was nothing more than what is listed on their website. In this article, we will try to explain the differences between their wall buttons, so you can find the correct replacement part for your opener.

First: The Genie and Overhead Door Similarities

Genie and Overhead Door garage door openers manufactured recently are all made by The Genie Company. Most of the information discussed in this article regarding Genie parts will overlap with Overhead Door branded openers. The Genie brand is sold by independent garage door companies, while the Overhead Door brand of openers is sold exclusively through Overhead Door Franchise dealers. It’s important to understand that distinction before moving forward.

Do You Have The Series II or Series III Wall Button?

It’s simple, the most current Series II deluxe wall button has white buttons and the Series III deluxe wall button has black buttons.

The reason the Series II and Series III is so confusing with Genie garage door openers is because they started with Series II, then went to Series III, and now they are back to Series II. In our chat with Genie support online, we were unable to find out a good answer for this. It leads us to believe the reasoning for this was due to the issues Genie was having with recalled units.

Many circuit boards had to be changed out in Genie garage door openers due to a recall put forward that posed a fire risk. Genie would ship the replacement board with the newer style Series II wall button that has white buttons. When the circuit board was upgraded to the newer style, the wall button would have to be replaced as well for everything to operate properly. It seems the recall is what started the confusion and what prompted Genie to go back to Series II.

Original Series II Deluxe Wall Button

Older Series II Genie deluxe wall button. This unit is no longer manufactured, but sometimes can still be found online.
Older Series II Genie deluxe wall button. This unit is no longer manufactured, but sometimes can still be found online.

This is the original Series II deluxe wall button that was most commonly found on all Genie and Overhead Door garage door openers for years. It went by the model# GPWC-BX or the SKU#’s 34299R.S and more recently 37351R. It features a sliding lock switch on top that is hard to see, a light button, and the open/close button to activate the automatic opener. This older style of wall button is no longer manufactured and has been replaced by the more recent Genie Series II wall button that goes by SKU# 39165R.

Genie White Button Series II Deluxe Wall Button

Newer style Series II Genie deluxe wall button SKU# 39165R with white buttons.
Newer style Series II Genie deluxe wall button SKU# 39165R with white buttons.

This is the latest Genie wall button that features white buttons. It is compatible with all current units that have a LEARN and PRGM button. This wall button will replace all older wall buttons except the Series III wall button with black buttons, which we will discuss later in this article. The chart below shows the discontinued wall buttons this unit replaces.

This newer style Series II Genie wall button is SKU# 39165R or Model# GBWCSL2-BX. I want to reiterate how important it is to notice this wall button features white buttons. The reason is, this wall button is incompatible with Genie openers that use the black button Series III wall button. We go into further detail later in this article.

Discontinued Wall Buttons it Replaces

Screenshot credit: The Genie Company website
Screenshot credit: The Genie Company website

The Genie 39165R Series II wall button replaces the discontinued Series II wall consoles and wall buttons GBWC2-BX, GPWC-BX, GWC-2, GPWC-2WLB featured in the chart above.

Genie Black Button Series III Deluxe Wall Button

Black button Series III Genie wall button SKU# 37222R is meant to only replace another Series III wall console of the exact same design and coloring.
Black button Series III Genie wall button SKU# 37222R is meant to only replace another Series III wall console of the exact same design and coloring.

If you have the Genie wall button model# GBWX-BX featured above with black buttons, the only wall button you can replace it with is the identical wall button with the same design and coloring. Certain models of Genie and Overhead Door garage door openers only have circuit boards compatible with this particular wall button, which is SKU# 37222R. The newer style Series II wall button with white buttons will not work on your garage door opener.

The black button Series III wall button is only compatible with Models 3022, 3024, 3042, 4022, 4024, 4042, 3062, 3064, 4062, & 4064 that have a serial number lower than the number 122494110518. The circuit board inside the garage door opener must start with the “37470R” prefix. This black button Series III wall console is only to be used to directly replace another Series III wall button of the same design and coloring.

Genie GWC-2 Deluxe Wall Button

Genie GWC-2 deluxe wall button. Also known as SKU# 35661R
Genie GWC-2 deluxe wall button. Also known as SKU# 35661R

The Genie GWC-2 deluxe wall button also known as SKU# 35661R is compatible with Series II openers. This wall button was more often packaged with store bought DIY Genie openers purchased at your local home store. It is no longer manufactured and now has been replaced by the Series II white button wall button with the SKU# 39165R.

What About Genie Doorbell Push Buttons?

Some Genie and Overhead Door garage door openers featured doorbell style wall buttons to open and close the garage door. Most had a red backlight that made the button visible in a dark garage. Here are the differences between the two different doorbell push buttons they currently offer.

Black Doorbell Push Button

Genie makes two doorbell style wall buttons. The black push button and the tan colored universal push button. The black push button SKU# 29599S.S works with all Series II garage door openers. What his means is it can replace any wall button except the Genie black button deluxe wall button with SKU# 37222R.

Tan Universal Doorbell Push Button

The tan colored universal push button SKU# 37644R is compatible with most pre-2011 Genie garage door openers, current Genie Series II garage door openers and most major garage door opener brands. It will not work with the Genie Series III and LiftMaster/Chamberlain/Craftsman yellow button 2.0 garage door openers.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article wasn’t as confusing as the Genie wall button debacle. If you have the black button Genie wall button SKU# 37222R, it can only be replaced by another black button Genie wall button with the same SKU number. If you have one of the other types of Genie or Overhead Door wall buttons featured in the chart earlier in the article, the current version will work as a replacement. The white button Genie deluxe wall button with SKU# 39165R or the Genie black doorbell style button with SKU# 29599S.S will be compatible. It’s that simple.

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