A warning has been issued by Ofcom, the independent telephony regulator of the UK, saying that Wi-Fi can be affected by Christmas lights. The company has also released an app that can check the status of your Wi-Fi.
This might seem a marketing strategy but there is actually a scientific explanation behind it. Christmas lights, as many other electronic devices such as microwave ovens can, indeed, interfere with the Wi-Fi signal.
The explanation stays behind the electromagnetic spectrum that covers the totality of microwaves, radio waves, radiation and visible light. Therefore, everything around us, from the bulb in out bathroom to the TV, with its remote control, is covered by the electromagnetic spectrum.
Usually the Wi-Fi radio waves are much shorter than those of a FM radio station, for example, making them weaker, as a greater power would be required for them to cover the same distance covered by FM radio waves. Besides that, a Wi-Fi router uses more than 1000 less power to transmit their signal than a radio transmitter.
All these facts make your Wi-Fi vulnerable to interferences – primarily by devices like FM radios, which use strong radio waves and secondarily by small house appliances.
However, something as small and with a power as low as Christmas lights is very unlikely to have noticeable effect on your Wi-Fi signal. But this doesn’t mean it is impossible.
If the lights around your Christmas tree have unshielded wires, radio waves remain unprotected from the electromagnetic effects of these power cables. This means that some interference could be possible.
Yet, in order to have a serious effect, it would take a tremendous volume of lights. So if you want a strong Wi-Fi signal during the holidays, you should quit your plans of having the brightest tree and the most Christmas decorations this year.
In a more serious note, if you really want to make sure that your Wi-Fi is working properly – not only during the holiday season, you should consider downloading Wi-Fi checkers, such as the one issued by Ofcom.
If you don’t like Ofcom, there are other apps available on the market, doing about the same. Maybe you want to look for Wifi Analyser, which has been installed on over 10 million devices, or WiFi Sweet Spots, available on iOS.
Upon checking your Wi-Fi signal, you might find that your internet provider has a much more damaging effect than your microwave or Christmas lights.
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