Can Humidity Affect a Wi-Fi Signal?

A weak Wi-FI signal can disrupt your ability to check email, log into social networking sites and surf the Web on your wireless devices, such as laptops, tablet computers and Wi-Fi enabled phones. A variety of factors affect your ability to receive Wi-Fi access, since the signals are often affected by weather and other obstacles. Even humidity has an effect on the strength of your Wi-Fi by congesting the air and making it harder for the signal to get through.

Humidity can have an affect ion the strength of your wireless signal, but not so drastic that you fail to receive a signal at all. Instead, the moisture in the air simply makes it more difficult for the signal to send efficiently, which could result in a slower, more sluggish connection speed. Since Wi-Fi is typically a short-range signal, your wireless should not be drastically affected by humidity in the way a long -range signal would. If you're having trouble connecting or don't have connectivity at all, it's likely something more than humidity causing the problem.

Humidity isn't the only culprit when it comes to poor Wi-Fi connectivity. More severe weather, such as thunderstorms, high winds and rain are more likely to affect your signal, especially if your Wi-Fi receiver is in an outdoor location. Anytime the air makes it difficult to send a signal, your access could be affected, which is why it's sometimes difficult to find a WI-Fi connection during heavy rainstorms.

One common mistake is assuming that a weather issue, such as humidity, is the culprit for poor connectivity when it's really the result of power issues. Power is often lost during extreme weather, which in turn effectively shuts down your WI-Fi connection until the power is restored. That's why it's dangerous to rely on WI-Fi for all of your communication needs alone.

If you live in a humid climate and your Wi-Fi seems sluggish, you could try to increase your connectivity by positioning your modem and routers in central locations. Ensure that both are housed inside and use a dehumidifier to help keep the air dry. It may also help to experiment with wireless channels, to see if you receive a stronger signal that is less likely to be derailed by poor weather conditions. Use wireless-enabled devices inside your climate-controlled home to avoid the necessity of sending a signal outside and into inclement weather.