Weak signal strength

If the app shows weak signal strength for your network, or the cabinet drops offline and reconnects on its own, the Wi-Fi signal reaching the cabinet is too weak to hold a steady connection. Almost always it is one of two things: the cabinet is too far from the router, or the antenna has worked loose. Work through the two checks below in order and stop as soon as the signal improves.

Check the button on the front of the cabinet. If it is solid green, your cabinet is running and growing normally. A weak signal affects the app, not your plants. Have your router location in mind before you start, and know which network you are connecting to.

The Wi-Fi antenna screws into the underside of the base. If it has loosened, the cabinet will show weak signal for every network, or none at all.

1. Unplug the cabinet

2. Reach underneath the cabinet and find the antenna nut.

3. Confirm it is hand-tight. If it has loosened, screw it back in by hand until snug. Do not use a tool.

Give the cabinet a minute or two to reconnect.

If the cabinet comes back online with a normal signal, you are done.

Wi-Fi weakens with distance and with every wall it passes through. Concrete, brick, tiled walls and appliances weaken it most. The cabinet holds a connection best on the same floor as the router, with no more than a couple of walls between them. If your cabinet is further away than that, or the router sits behind a fridge, a metal cabinet or a media unit, the signal reaching it will be weak even though your phone works fine in the same room.

1. Move the router somewhere more open, higher up and clear of large appliances.

2. Add a mesh node or Wi-Fi extender in the room with the cabinet, then connect the cabinet to it.

If you connect the cabinet to a different network, put the cabinet into pairing mode first.

If the antenna is tight and the cabinet is close to the router but the signal is still weak, email support@vext.fi.