How The Weather Affects Your Internet Connectivity?

weather effect on Internet

Suffering from poor WiFi speeds? Your weather may be the one to blame, the rain and snow tend to slow down your internet connectivity. Almost all of us know how irritating it is to work with slow internet connectivity. On a rainy day when you can’t go outside and there’s nothing else to do, imagine being stuck with a slow internet connection. There are days where you try to stream movies and your internet service connection seems to be slowed down by the weather. Is the snow freezing circuits? Does the weather actually affect your internet speeds? If you’re concerned that poor weather is negatively affecting your internet, then you need to read this blog before picking up your phone and complaining about a mouthful about your internet service. 

Why Is My Internet So Slow In Poor Weather?

At one moment in our lives, all of us have thought that it may seem like bad weather and slow internet are a cause and effect pair. There is evidence from communities that use public WiFi that suggests that rainy days have a certain degree of impact on signal strength. While rainfall can create interference in very much the same way that it limits the visibility for human eyes. Weakened signals due to the distance from the router are the primary culprit for low signal strength and slow internet speed. 

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To simplify, slow internet and bad weather is a case of correlation, not the cause for slow internet. Here’s what’s really happens during those snowstorms and thunder-ridden night that allegedly cause slow internet connections. 

High Internet Traffic to Blame for Slow Internet

Instead of the weather itself, poor internet service on a bad weather day is probably due to high traffic volume. During bad weather (let’s say rains) more people are stuck in their homes and they are more likely to be online, trying to entertain themselves by surfing, streaming, or playing. So if you’re experiencing slow internet connectivity in your area during rains, then slow connectivity is because a lot of people are online, sharing a network with your internet provider. 

Temperature Has Little Effect on Internet Speed

Copper and fiber optic cables aren’t affected by cold, but extremely low temperatures can definitely cause ground heaves, which may damage or tear underground internet wires. Physical damage to WiFi wires and an overflow of users are far away causes of weather-related WiFi problems. On other hand, high temperatures can cause your internet equipment (router/modems) to overheat. Even if you aren’t a very tech-friendly person, its common sense to know that it’s difficult to cool an overheated device. If your router/modem is heated then WiFi functions may work a bit slower than usual.

Large Storms Can Cause Physical Damage To Internet Infrastructure

Stronger weather conditions like thunderstorms or ordinary storms can cause greater physical damage to your internet systems. It’s not uncommon when a tree can fall onto power lines, strong winds or debris can knock over satellite dishes (how to clean your satellite dish), and floodwaters can get into electrical systems. However, if your internet service slows down or completely shuts down during a large storm, you’ll know the reason why. 

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What to do If Weather Affects My Internet Service?

If you believe that your internet service is working slowly or it has shut off completely, don’t worry about it. There are a few things you can do to get things up and running. Here are dos and don’ts to help you get your internet running again. 

DoDon’t
Try resetting your router and/or modem, or unplug then and wait for a moment before plugging them back in.Don’t try to fix it by yourself. Let a technician handle the technological stuff.
Move a bit closer to your router. Simply, decreasing the distance between your devices and your router can help in fixing a bad internet connection.Don’t go outside until the weather has gone back to normal. If you see any broken power lines, debris in your satellite dish or other technical problems, then you need to contact a technician. Be sure to contact your electric company as well as your internet service provider.
Check other devices if they can connect to your internet service. If your computer is connecting but your phone isn’t connecting then the problem could be with your smartphone. Restart your device once and see if it can connect to internet. If it doesn’t then you need to show your device to a technician.

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