# Temperature, &/or doors affecting Routers?



## Pearl B

Does temperature affect the performance of routers?

I have my cable converter box & wireless router in 
a spare bedromm that doesnt get heated with the rest of the house.
I dont have whole house heating at this point. I just keep the room
Im in warm.

I have alot of troubles with internet connection at night, or on
cold nights. I also close all the doors to spare rooms Im not using.
One of which is where cable converter & wireless router are.
So Im thinking its either the temperature of the room, or the doors 
being closed, impairing the signal. I really dont want to move them
into any other room.

Any thoughts, suggestions appreciated!
TIA


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## Harry Chickpea

Electronics work BETTER at low temps.

Here is a simple way to increase signal. Dimensions aren't terribly critical.










http://lifehacker.com/5839243/use-an-aluminum-can-as-a-wi+fi-extender

More likely the problems are with your ISP. THose are times when more users are likely to be logged on and watching videos.


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## Pearl B

Thank you Harry Chickpea!!!

I suspect its my ISP too. Of course they keep denying its them, so Im eliminating every other possibility.


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## Rivmage

How much of a temp swing is there between the hottest and coldest parts of the day? Wires in the cabling could be expanding and contradicting because of temp differences. 

I have personally seen a cold room caused enough contradicting of the wire to affect signal. 

Scott


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## westom

Pearl B said:


> Does temperature affect the performance of routers?


Normal temperatures for any electronics include freezing (30 degrees F) and 100 degrees F. The concept called burn in testing gets distorted because some think temperature is hardware harmful. Burn in testing done properly executes diagnostics on hardware at and beyond those temperatures. Any hardware that fails at those temperature extremes is defective (even though it works at 70 degrees F), and will probably fail prematurely.

Same applies to wire contracting in cold. We use cold to find defective connectors, solder joints, and other mechanical defects.

Fixing a problem means first determining which part is defective long before fixing or replacing anything. Break a problem down into parts. Some of those separate parts are your computer, a wire from computer to router. The more complex wireless connection including Wifi card, computer antenna, Wifi router antenna, and Wifi controller inside the router. Also a connection or internal circuits from router to modem. Wire from modem to ISP interface, and (of course) other parts controlled by the ISP.

For example, to only view parts controlled by the ISP, a server (inside the modem) can provide an important number defined in dBs. These signal strength or signal to noise numbers define a connection from modem to their interface (ie DSLAM) electronics. And another connection from their interface to your modem. In every case, hard facts are needed so that others here can provide useful assistance.

More facts are defined by lights on the router, modem, and your computer's interface. These define parts between computer and router, router and modem (if separate devices), and modem to ISP interface. Another important light summarized a much more complex WiFi connection.

Wifi gets complex. So at least one ethernet connection should always exist to first eliminate other suspects and so that viewing the modem's server (and those important numbers) is easier.

Wifi involves other numbers and more complexity. Five bars given the naive only a feeling. Five bars are all but useless to discovering Wifi problems. To solve problems, a WiFi signal strength (not to be confused with a completely different signal from the ISP also measured in dBs) must be reported in dBs. Better computers can provide software that reports the WiFi signal strength or signal to noise ratio. If yours is one designed by business school graduates, then third party software might be necessary. Netstumbler.com provides one good package. But that software only works on some WiFi hardware. Again, WiFi problems should be addressed after all those other 'suspects' have been eliminated (best using an Ethernet connection). 

Moving on to a Wifi antenna - another part of the Wifi analysis. Position an antenna for maximum signal strength. Strongest signal is perpendicular to the antenna. Weakest signal is in a direction the antenna points to. Those Wifi dB numbers help adjust an antenna AND determine what (ie wall, door, furniture) is obstructing that signal.

This should be obvious. Immediate and final solutions means breaking a problem down into parts (ie ISP signal strength, connection from ISP interface to modem, router to computer, ISP signal etc). Then analyzing each part separately by obtaining numbers. Something that appears to work may also be completely defective. Temperature is another tool to find completely defective hardware; not a reason for failure.


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## Harry Chickpea

Temperature (especially heat) IS harmful even within spec. An accelerated life test is generally predicated on overheating and over-voltaging and then massaging a curve back to get a figure dictating the device life at "normal" temps and voltage. The thing is... there is no single normal for all components in most devices. _Lots_ of electronics is run in chilled environments to lengthen the MTBF beyond spec. The 30 degree 100 degree figures are just benchmarks. MIL spec is another set of (better) benchmarks. Failure with heat is the norm. Open circuits due to cold are much more rare and simply have no relationship to the problem described in the O.P.

FWIW, burn-in (not burn-in testing) is something we used to do to get electronics into a stable state, back when tubes had to heat up their cathodes, the mercury had to get up to temp, and other components had to normalize. Until certain circuits were at temp, there could be frequency drift and other problems.

Running an ethernet cable direct from modem to a single computer to eliminate spurious issues in an ISP connection is basic tech call logic tree. No need to go on for paragraphs about it.

I'll still bet a donut and coffee that the issue lies with the ISP throttling or improperly handling high-use bandwidth. I used to see it on Hughesnet when they were too cheap to add a bird, and I've even seen it back in dial-up days.


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## Pearl B

Thank you Everyone!

I went to sleep early last night & had the computer off.

The temps range from 95% to about 32% at night. Its in one of the rooms I don't heat.
I put in a new router. Mostly the one I had was likely over 12 years old. What started all this was a new wireless security cam wouldn't go wireless. It was the old router, & the cam works now.

Everything is running better since I hooked up the new router. My laptop is fairly new. 
The wires are alright now. 

I too suspect its the ISP when it does get slow. Its normally pretty fast. Things don't just go bad unless you've done something to alter one of the components. It will go from working great to not so much, then right itself.

Im starting to think the old router was responsible for the bulk of my problems.

Thank you again!


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## Harry Chickpea

What was brand and model of the old router? Looks like I owe a coffee and donut.


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## Pearl B

It was a Linksys Wireless G 2.4 Ghz Broadband Router, 54Mbps.

I replaced with a Linksys Wi-Fi N300 E1200.


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## Pearl B

I think my Isp was partially down the night I got fed up & put the new router in.
It does that when the weather starts turning to winter, &/or rains heavily.
The current people bought out the local cable tv outfit that used to do just cable tv. 
The current owners are upgrading the system best they can, the service still takes a dive when the weather gets bad.


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## Pearl B

Like tonight its working fine with all the doors closed. The temps are up to, its around 45%. The nights I was having problems the temps were at freezing. The isp is running good too. I can tell the way my youtube vids/amazon movies run.

I had a pet bird that chewed up the power chord wire on the old router too. I forgot about that. I had taped it up in about 6 places with electricians tape. Before I put the new router in I just swaped power cords & it made no difference, I still couldn't get any pages to load, &/or the internet signal was completely out at times.


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## westom

Pearl B said:


> The current owners are upgrading the system best they can, the service still takes a dive when the weather gets bad.


Described were simple numbers (in dBs) read from the modem's server. Reading numbers (even when ISP service is good) means a defect would be obvious and therefore fixable by the tech. Without those numbers, your conclusions remain only speculation. With numbers, then the ISP's serviceman has an actual problem to fix and a good reason to know where to look.

Is your ISP slower due to too many customers on one node? Numbers would even imply or eliminate that possibility. No numbers means your complaint is easily ignored. No numbers means they can ignore it knowing customers will blame that failure on the weather. Weather only affects service when a hardware defect exists. Does it? Nobody (not even a tech) knows without numbers.

Newer procedures to connect a security camera would work on a new router but not on an older one. If using the original connection procedure, then that camera would probably connect to all routers. Also the new modem electronically adjusts its antenna that was improperly (manually) adjusted on the old modem. Both describe a new router that only cured symptoms.

Apparently your modem and router are separate?


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## Pearl B

Yes they are separate. The isp modem only displays lights & not numbers. Customer all on at the same time/overload isn't usually a problem. For whatever reason the system gets wonky in adverse weather.

Whatever did it the system seems to be running alright.


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## westom

Pearl B said:


> Yes they are separate. The isp modem only displays lights & not numbers.


 ISP problems have no relationship to a router. Potential modem problems have no relationship to weak WiFi signals or a security camera that did not connect.

Due to bad manual placement of its antenna, Wifi signals can be too weak when the door is closed. New modem solved that problem by doing electronically what was not being done manually. IOW new router only cured symptoms.

Apparently camera would now connect because the wrong connection procedure was being used. The conventional connection method was required for older routers. Again, new router only cured a symptom.

Bad ISP during weather implies defective hardware - that is still defective even when weather is good. Numbers are not displayed on a modem where lights are displayed. Lights provide important facts. dB numbers provide other relevant facts, are found in the modem's server, and are read on your computer's screen. I never said any numbers are displayed on the modem or router.

Apparently you have / had multiple and completely separate problems. New hardware cured a WiFi symptoms. And did nothing to solve a completely different and suspect ISP problem.


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