Could high temperatures affect broadband reliability?

We’re halfway through summer, though you’d have been forgiven for assuming spring was still here.

Last month’s wet and miserable weather inspired the name ‘Junuary’, with the main culprit – the jet stream – still squatting malevolently over the UK.

Nonetheless, the prospect of warmer weather can’t be ruled out, even if soaring temperatures look less likely with autumn only a few weeks away.

If we do experience an Indian summer (or a summer at all), there is a slim possibility of electrical systems failing due to high temperatures.

But could broadband reliability be impacted by a late-summer heatwave?

A warm welcome

Domestic hardware like broadband routers are typically manufactured to work in temperatures as high as 40 degrees centigrade.

We’re never going to experience heatwaves that intense in this country, but indoor temperatures may be artificially inflated by other factors.

A device left in direct sunlight in a south-facing room could have its operating temperature magnified by the sun.

Other factors theoretically capable of preventing electronic devices remaining cool include dust or fluff accumulating in air vents, surrounding objects, or the failure of internal fans.

A hot day in a south-facing room might therefore cause a router buried beneath a pile of magazines to overheat.

Were this to happen, symptoms could include a reduction in connection speeds, unexpected shutdowns or dropped connections with web-enabled devices.

To server and protect

While broadband routers are subject to the vagaries of domestic homes, the servers that pipe internet content to our devices are stored in temperature-controlled warehouses.

Sporting backup power supplies and round-the-clock on-site supervision, data centres are immune to the weather.

Similarly, the fibre optic cables and overground telephone lines carrying data from servers to our homes are engineered to endure temperatures far beyond those experienced in the UK.

There is a small risk pavement exchanges may cease to work if they’re exposed to too much sunshine, causing localised shutdowns which the ISP would need to respond to.

The issue might be as basic as heat getting trapped inside these metal cabinets, which would normally dissipate as soon as their front panels are opened.

Again, the temporary failure of specific hardware might not knock the internet out entirely, but it could temporarily reduce broadband speeds.

Keep your cool

So far, we’ve established that wider network issues are extremely rare – though unusual reasons for broadband outages do occasionally arise.

Other domestic devices like laptops and smart TVs usually have effective internal ventilation, so broadband reliability ultimately hinges on your ISP-supplied or third-party router remaining cool.

Achieve this by avoiding bad router positioning – keeping it out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources like Agas or fires.

If it feels hot to the touch, a USB-powered fan will boost airflow to help regulate its temperature.

Try to position the router on a metal, timber or fabric surface. Materials containing a high thermal mass, such as tiles or concrete, absorb heat with potentially harmful consequences.

Ensure the router’s vents aren’t blocked by a hard surface, which might restrict airflow in and out.

If indoor temperatures are spiking, consider periodically restarting your router to reduce the load on its circuitry, though avoid multiple reboots if possible.

Technically minded readers could even disable non-essential services like WiFi if key devices are hardwired into the router – only attempt this if you know what you’re doing, though…