- Broadband provider Virgin Media has issued advice for UK users of its hub
- The company warns against placing a router in direct sunlight
- This could cause the router to overheat and perform badly – or ‘grind to a halt’ even – and there are other placement issues to consider, too
You might not have ever thought much about the positioning of your Wi-Fi router, but it’s important – particularly as summer is knocking on the door, and some countries are experiencing their first taste of a heatwave.
The Independent reports that prompted by the unusually warm April temperatures in the UK, broadband provider Virgin Media has delivered a warning that it really isn’t a good idea to have your router placed in direct sunlight when the weather gets hot. (Or at any time for that matter).
Virgin Media issued a statement to say: “Although we test our [broadband] hubs carefully at a range of temperatures, they are better off out of bright sunlight, just like your phone or laptop. If the hub gets too hot, it could slow down your connection or even grind to a halt altogether.”
This underlines the point that your router is just like any other piece of hardware – it warms up when used, and has vents and needs to stay cool. Put the device in strong sunlight in a baking hot room, and the results may not be pretty, as Virgin Media suggests.
In a similar vein, the statement advises that you shouldn’t stick your router in a cupboard, where again, it might get overly warm due to a lack of ventilation in the heat. Not to mention the fact that placing it in an enclosed space is interfering with the Wi-Fi signal anyway.
Other placement advice to avoid interference with the Wi-Fi includes: “Keep the Hub at least 1m away from cordless phones or baby monitors, and as far as possible from big obstructions like cupboards and fish tanks.”
Analysis: Tricks to make your router quick (or at least a bit quicker)
Isn’t this all rather alarmist? No, in a word, if your router does get too hot, performance is indeed likely to be impaired. (And it’s not beyond consideration that damage could be caused, too, in cases of extreme heat conditions – something we’re getting more used to seeing these days).
Granted, this isn’t the first time Virgin Media has run this advisory, and in fact the company seems to trot this out on a yearly basis (ahead of summer in the UK). But it’s the first time I’ve seen it, and the advice given is good, plus more broadly, we should all think a bit more about the placement of our router.
Don’t put it in the sun, for sure, or in a cupboard, or in your TV cabinet, for all the heat-related reasons given above. Similarly, don’t shove the router under your desk – try to have it up reasonably high, not near the floor, and with as few obstructions as possible around the device. Any obstacles near the router will only diminish the Wi-Fi signal, just as sure as overheating will.
If you’re in the mood for improving your Wi-Fi in general, you might want to peruse our full guide on how to boost your Wi-Fi signal strength, which includes advice on positioning, as well as technical tweaks you can apply (such as changing Wi-Fi channels). It might be worth considering a Wi-Fi extender in some scenarios, too (such as getting a better signal in your garden for the summer, perhaps).
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