Wi-Fi and Weather

Wi-Fi and Weather

Some months back, I bought a BT-Wi Fi Extender N300, to improve the coverage in a room added to our house, many years back., effectively outside the original main structure.

The N300 covers the 2.4 GHz Band only.

Generally, this has worked well, occasionally losing the main Wi-Fi signal about once per week but nothing to complain about.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, 19th & 20th July 2016, the N300 Extender lost contact with the main 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi circuit frequently, at least around a dozen times that I am directly aware of.

Neither the main 2.4 GHz Circuit nor the main 5 GHz Circuit showed any problems over the same period.

Tuesday was hot (for FIFE) and apparently humid, the Peak Temperature being 26.1 C, around 13:30 GMT.

Wednesday initially was dreich and deteriorating. There was about 8 mm rain by 09:40 GMT, then it improved. Later there was extensive Lightning; but that did not appear to cause any problems to any of my equipment.

The N300 has worked fine before those two days; and since then.


I wonder if anyone else has noted anything similar.

Humidity is water in the air and this attenuates 2.4GHz signals so if very high it may cause issues.

I've had trouble a couple of times when there's low cloud (so effectively foggy) and a strong wind - my TV loses touch with the HH5. Either one condition doesn't seem to be a problem.

I have this problem before where one time the wind was way too strong and it knocked my satellite of my house and had no "good" tv channel's for a few days... Still dont like Emerdale... lol

All this points to, is that the N300 is too far from the main router. It must be at the edge of reception, where changes in weather conditions are able to knock it offline entirely.

The extender should be placed in an area which already has a good reception from the main router, but also reaches the not-spot.

If the booster was picking up a strong enough reception, these conditions should not take it offline.

Overall advice, move the booster somewhere which has a better reception to the main router.

I had tried it in some other locations - but it's present location prove to be the best, achieved without hacking woodwork etc.

There is one other location which may be better; but it would involve moving it into a loft - unseen; and also organising proper mains supplies etc.

We have visitors at present, so I will leave any further experimenting to a later date.


It is also in part why I used NetSpot to map the three WiFi circuits' strengths throughout the habitable areas of the house and garden, the likely user spots and at extremities such as the remote corners of the garden, garden seat etc.

About 3 x 20 locations in total.

Edited by deleted (Wed 27-Jul-16 19:31:35)