Router/thermostat interference?

[Tim+]

My mother recently bought an iPad. In order to let her go on line it in the front room of her house I moved her router into the hall.

Since the move, the wifi connection to any device seems to disappear every 5 minutes or so for about a minute. This didn't happen before I moved the router.

I noticed today that she has a wireless thermostat also installed nearby in the hall (only about 4' away). It's labelled "British Gas RC Plus".

is it possible that the thermostat is causing the problem? The loss of signal even happens when the CH/HW is off but I guess the thermostat might still be "chirping" to the boiler regularly.

I should add that she lives in a tennement flat and there are quite a lot of other wi-fi networks around. I have tried changing the channel once but this made no obvious difference.

Tim

[Paul D Smith]

Can you whip the battery out of the thermostat and see if that helps?

Also, can you borrow a PC with WiFi and see what channels are in use around you? Try to be 3 channels different with yours.

Also, some routers have an "if you see interference, automatically change channel" feature and this can give the same symptoms. I rely on a manual check and lock down my channel otherwise SWMBO complains when US radio (she's a yank) drops out during her favourite streamed radio show.

Paul DS.

[The Natural Philosopher]

+1 to all of this. Rf stats use the same band as wifi.

[Tim+]

Thanks. I'll try pulling the battery next time I'm up. A longer term solution might be to just replace the stat with a ordinary bi-metal stat. My mother neither wants nor needs a digital stat, wireless or otherwise.

She like a big dial that she can twist and see what it's set to.

What's the easiest (preferably free) software to use to scan for other wi-fi network channels in use? What's the optimum channel separation?

Tim

[Owain]

Get an old one on ebay and stick it to the wall. Don't connect it to anything ;-)

[Tim+]

Nah. She uses it to turn the heating on and off when she feels like it. Even timers are a bit too much for her. ;-)

Tim

[The Other Mike]

Do they? All the ones I've seen have used 432 - 434 or 868MHz

Wifi can also be blocked by a microwave oven (non leaky, fully functional)

[Man at B&Q]

MBQ

[Brian Gaff]

Some of the more modern room stat thingies do use the same band as I believe some systems allow you to control the thing from the network. Blimey, I dread the day when the fact that the toaster has popped up flashes a message on the screen!

Brian

[The Natural Philosopher]

Been done already

Brian

>

[Woody]

If you have an Android smartphone there are several free apps that you can download that will turn your phone into a wi-fi sensor and show their signal strengths and SSIDs on the screen.

That might give you some pointers.

[Jim]

When I read that statement, I checked my own (Honeywell) and the spec says 868MHz. If the OP's is a Drayton (as I read in a search result), it will operate on 433MHz. Neither should interfere with Wi-Fi at 2.4GHz.

After complaints from a user in my own Mum's house, I took my laptop to the seat outside the front door and found 17 networks - this in a low density area with a lot of elderly neighbours. If you let your signal level drop, it's likely to be swamped by low-level noise from other users, especially in a tenement where routers may be only a few metres apart.

[Graham J]

[snip]

Fundamentally wireless technology is doomed, simply because everybody wants it. Domestic powerline networking might well go the same way.

The solution is to use cat5 cable.

Pity about all those people who bought hand-held devices lacking an RJ45 connector ...!

[The Natural Philosopher]

3rd harmonic is close at 3x868 Mhz or 2.604Ghz and ths of 433 is close as well.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I cant even get wifi from this office here to the kitchen about 6m line of sight - if there was a line of sight,..too much foil backed plasterboard in the way..

Ne[hew has been and gibe and parked his car near the oil tank. Bang went the fuel gauge signal as well,.