What is low Wi-Fi Signal Strength?

The quality of your signal strength is determined by your specific router, where it’s located in your home, and external factors. There are several things you can do to improve the quality of the Wi-Fi signal to your thermostat.

If you haven’t already, please check our suggested network settings for optimal Wi-Fi connectivity.

Troubleshooting

• Test the Wi-Fi signal strength at the location of the thermostat. Often, you can download a free Wi-Fi Analyzer app to your phone to see what channel broadcasts the strongest in the area where you’re standing.
• Configure your router to use the strongest channel instead of letting the router choose the channel using an “Auto” setting. You can also manually set the channel width to 20MHz. (For some access points, the 2.4GHz speed will have to be set to 145/150/155 Mbps to turn off 40MHz channel widths.)
• If you have multiple access points in the home, make sure they’re on a lower power setting. Multiple access points in a small area running at full power adds to interference and can degrade Wi-Fi signals.
• Reduce the number of wireless devices on the 2.4GHz band that Sensi operates on. Some of your other wireless devices may be able to use the 5GHz band instead. If your Wi-Fi router supports both bands, it might help to connect more of your wireless devices to the 5GHz band.
• Remove obstructions that may be in between your router/access point and the thermostat that would reduce the signal strength like concrete, metals, plastic, etc.
• Avoid using Sensi near common sources of interference, such as power cables, microwave ovens, fluorescent lights, wireless video cameras, and cordless phones.
• Change the placement of the router so it is positioned closer to the thermostat.
• Add an extender/repeater to your home network.
• Change the placement of the router's antennas so they are projecting in the direction of the thermostat.
• If you have a Sensi thermostat compatible with 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, try switching the network that Sensi is using to the 2.4GHz network instead. 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks have greater range, and may reach the thermostat better.
  • If your network names are the same for both your 5GHz and 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, consider going into your router settings and changing the 5GHz Wi-Fi network name so you can differentiate between them, and make sure the Sensi is connected to the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network.