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[doyennediurnal-blog]

Internet Issues, Baby Monitor Blame.

So, I’m a new parent.  I bring home an amazing bundle of joy.  He’s awesome, awesome at dirtying a diaper, screaming at me, and waking me in the nights.  Finally, he’s asleep.  So, in the hope of some sense of normalcy, I attempt to flip on my TV programming via internet streaming.  But, behold, there is no solace to find here, the internet is DOWN.  What?!  In my one moment of rest, all I have to watch is QVC??  Ok, don’t panic, I say to myself.  I’ll call the internet provider and they’ll get me straightened out.  

No, there really, sometimes, is no rest for the weary.  Not unless you take it into your own hands.  I didn’t take it into my own hands for 5 long internet-less months.  Every night my internet would go down when I put my son to sleep.  WHY???? I would belt pathetically.  Until Google showed me the light... my baby monitor was to blame.

Interference on the same wave lengths can create a war between multiple devises.  In my case, the internet lost.  My baby monitor and my router operate on a 2.4 ghz frequency.  So when the battle royale ensued, my internet went down and my baby monitor flawlessly streamed my lovey, (finally) sleeping baby.  So, if you’re wondering why you have degraded or even non-existent internet when your child goes to sleep at night, check what frequency your baby monitor runs on.

The Solutions

Some routers allow for 2.4 and 5 ghz which would give you a secondary frequency on which to use your internet.  However, the 5 ghz frequency doesn’t travel quite as far.  So if you’re going to be a ways from your router at night, this might not fix the issue.  Plus, the better routers are pricey.  You can always mitigate this issue by using a WIFI Extender like the highly rated   NETGEAR AC750, or something similar.  This will extend your 5 ghz signal further.

I chose an alternate route.  I relocated my 2.4 ghz WIFI from my second story to my first (which was very close to my child’s crib anyway and doing my homework made me realize that there are radiation risks).   There, it was far enough away from the Baby Monitor camera that it no longer encountered excessive interference.   However, this relocation came at a price since I had systems that required a hard-wire on my second floor.  Ruling out running the longest cord in human history, I decided to seek an alternative.

I chose the TP-Link Powerline Adapter.  This bugger plugs right into my router and then into the wall.  The internet then is transferred through the power outlets to the adapter where the router was before (or where ever else you want a hard-wire connection).  I simply plugged in my hard-wire devises and BAM!  Everything now works.

Super Woman?  Super Mom?  More like super-exhausted-new-parent-that-just-wants-to-watch-some-darn-Netflix.  Hello House of Cards...

[doyennediurnal-blog]

Master of My Domain

Not just a place to brain dump, but a place to share my knowledge, research and suggestions, so this place shall be.  From parenting, to cooking, to life-hacks, I vow to share what I have learned so that any reader, may they stumble here, will find some quickly answered questions or helpful tips.  Maybe then they will avoid some of the painstaking research that I have already conducted (although if they’re anything like me, they’ll still spend umpteen more hours confirming or attempting to substantiate anything I’ve said).