Brick wall blocking signal?

#1

Brick wall blocking signal?

I can control my Eufy 2K HD wireless doorbell from anywhere in and around my house and then the bell rings in the “Homebase” and the app.
As soon as the doorbell is within approx. 3 cm. of the outside of the brick outer wall the bell no longer rings .
This both at the original hole where the power connection is, and on the other side of the front door.
The access point is located within 3 meters of the front door, I measure 90%.

Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon?
How can I fix this?

Thanks in advance,

René.

Ik kan mijn Eufy 2K HD draadloze deurbel overal in en rond mijn huis bedienen en dan gaat de bel over in de “Homebase” en de app.
Zodra de deurbel binnen ca. 3 cm. aan de buitenzijde van de bakstenen buitenmuur komt gaat de bel niet meer over.
Dit zowel bij het oorspronkelijke gat waar de stroomaansluiting zit, als aan de andere kant van de voordeur.
Het accespoint bevindt zich binnen 3 meter van de voordeur, ik meet 90 %.

Is iemand bekend met dit fenomeen ?
Hoe kan ik dit verhelpen ?

Bij voorbaat dank,

René.

#2

Sounds like the brick wall is interfering with the signal

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#3

It’s not so much brick but any metal, which is higher in certain rocks hence certain bricks. But also any metal such as wires and pipes.

You should seek to maximise distance from metal (wires, metal pipes) and minimise distance and thickness. A door frame is often metal (newer homes) so doorbells have a basic issue in some properties.

A cheap way to fine tune is place a WiFi router at one end and use a free WiFi analysis app on your phone and move each end around. Increasing distance from wires, some bricks will have less metal and the angle to pass through least brick all add to improve signal.

Immediately at the door is often a metal - the door frame itself - so this is challenging for doorbell particularly. So moving it around to be further from the door may help.

Also reduce congestion on 2.4Ghz, change router to separate 2.4 and 5Ghz on separate SSID and then move as much as possible devices to 5Ghz SSID. Then there’s less competition on 2.4Ghz. More modern devices support 5Ghz, to each device used in the home and forget the 2.4Ghz and connect to the 5Ghz SSID, that removes much of your immediate interference.

I mention this has to be done at both ends, the router and the device. Each transmits and receives. It’s transmission causes induction in the nearby metal which then re-emits the signal and so produces a jamming effect. Reception is blocked by absorbtion. Re-emit is from wires of the order of magnitude of the the wavelength, which for 2.4Ghz means 12cm, so anything from half wavelength 6cm upwards is a re-emit source and will jam your transmit. Absorbtion is anything with a resonance with 2.4Ghz which includes for example water (how microwave ovens work).

So look at all of this at both ends of the problem, router and device.

The router usually has to be in a specific spot due to the cable. In this post the router is already very close, so look for metal near the router causing a jamming effect. Look around the router’s vicinity and see if its near any wires which are pointed parallel to the direction of transmission, e.g. if router and doorbell are at the same height so a line between then is horizontal, then look for any vertical metal such as wires embedded in walls and maximise your distance from them.

Finally, the two antennaes have to be pointing the same. They usually are, the antennaes of routers usually vertical to go further horizontally. (seeks teardown of doorbell for antennae orientation)…

Is this T8210?

image

I observe 3 things:

  • the antennae is short, the optimal is 6cm this is less, so inherently it’s making its job harder for itself.
  • it’s orientation makes it really want the router to be the same height and perpendicular, so the flat surface is square to the router. So any side to side or up / down alignment will worsen it.
  • the width of the antennae should be able to around narrow absorption locally.

You’d do the same analysis of the router.

My best guess is it’s the door frame being metal and move FURTHER from it would do the trick, combined with moving all the devices to 5Ghz so 2.4Ghz is ringfences for the doorbell, will combined do the trick as a wall is the same thickness so can’t be altered.

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#4

It is always helpful to check the WIFI-channels used by the neighborhood.
I take a look here from time to time, best for us (stand alone house) is 13.
(The others use 1,2,3 by default)
I can imagine what is going on in an apartment house with many flats.:grinning:

#5

Hello everyone,

Thanks for your responses.

The problem must be the bricks.

  • The bricks are fired with yellow clay and have red discolourations. (rust formation to obtain that color?).

  • On the inside of the wall is a meter cupboard with, among other things, pipes from the central heating. Even if I keep the bell between those pipes, it works.

  • If I hold the bell to the metal door jamb, it works.

  • I removed the house number plate and all other metal objects nearby.

  • I am bound to a specific place to supply the bell with power.

    Hole%20in%20the%20wall
    Hole in the wall.jpg1980×3540 1.8 MB

  • Moving the router, within the possibilities, does not give a better result.

  • The use of stainless steel screws for mounting does not seem to give a better result.

  • I printed a thickening so that the bell is further from the wall, but that doesn’t seem to improve either.

  • It is busy on channel 1, but the strongest signals are from my router (yellow: “Ziggo” and pink: “paardebloem”).

  • Within 50 cm. the signal remains stable with a variation of at most 2 dB.

I can remember from many years ago that there was a solution for cars to extend the antenna of the radio out through the glass without contact.
Does anyone have experience with that ?

Otherwise I have to buy another house.

Regards,

René.

Hallo allemaal,

Dank voor jullie reacties.

Het probleem moeten de bakstenen zijn.

  • De bakstenen zijn gebakken met gele klei en er zitten rode verkleuringen in. ( roestvorming om die kleur te verkrijgen ?).
  • Aan de binnenzijde van de muur is een meterkast mat o.a. leidingen van de centrale verwarming. Zelfs als ik de bel tussen die leidingen houdt doet hij het.
  • Als ik de bel tegen de metalen deurstijl houdt doet hij het.
  • Ik heb het huisnummerplaatje en alle andere metalen objecten in de buurt verwijderd.
  • Om de bel van stroom te voozien ben ik gebonden aan een specifieke plaats.
  • De router verplaatsen, binnen de mogelijkheden, geeft geen beter resultaat.
  • Het gebruik van RVS schroeven voor de montage lijkt geen beter resultaat te geven.
  • Ik heb een verdikking geprint, zodat de bel verder van de muur zit, maar dat lijkt ook geen verbetering te geven.
  • Het is druk op kanaal 1, maar de sterkste signalen zijn wel van mijn router ( geel: Ziggo en rose: paardebloem ).
  • Binnen 50 cm. blijft het signaal stabiel met een variatie van hooguit 2 dB.

Ik kan me van vele jaren geleden herinneren dat er voor auto’s een oplossing was om de antenne van de radio door het glas contactloos naar buiten te verlengen.
Heeft iemand daar ervaring mee ?

Anders rest mij alleen nog het kopen van een ander huis.

Groeten,

René.

#6

You’re probably going to have to either:

  • Give up on Eufy, return ASAP to get full refund. This is the most probable. The length of the antennae in the design seems a design flaw unless its a dipole (the wire looks a monopole so the antennae is too small)
  • under support, warranty, get replacement, it’s possible your unit may be dud (e.g. solder on the antennae wire isn’t too brilliant) - this is possible but if the design is bad, won’t fix this.
  • use a “wave guide”. As mentioned above, metal wires absorb and then re-emit a signal. The wiring inside is producing a jamming signal. If the wire is not earthed (not connected to anything) it will re-emit stronger than it absorbs and so kind of “boost” the signal - it doesn’t in normal situations like house wiring as the energy goes to ground. Find piece of good quality metal ideally 12cm long and move it around the doorbell angled vertically. If that doesn’t work then feed the wire through hole in the bricks, point it down inside the wall and up outside. The chance of this working is nearly nil. I mention it for exhausting ideas. The replacement simply give up are more likely successful.
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#7

I’d check for a different brand with better/stronger signal

#8

ref. option 3: that is the solution for your car radio in tunnels. Tried it and yes: did not work. So option 1 is the solution.
Thanks,

René.

#9

If you really like the product apart from this issue, then it is possible you have a dud unit (e.g. bad solder on antennae) so initiate a replacement process.

It is also possible the replacement won’t work if it is a design issue. It is also possible no wireless doorbell will work with those bricks as it’s just bad luck with all the wires inside and the bricks together with a low power and small antenna collectively defeat everything. The hole would feed a wire.

The easiest in total effort is to go down the replacement route, if the replacement fails then give up on the product and try something different, ideally a different design with an external wire connection.

#10

The item has been returned. Awaiting refund.

Thanks,

René.

#11

Good to know.

What you going to try next? Wired or different wireless product? It is certainly possible to design a better antennae within (different brand) and/or external antennae you feed through the hole, but wired would be even more reliable.

On a closer inspection it is a dipole so the length is about right for the wavelength

image

But it is utterly reliant on not a specific blocking at that spot immediately behind, so certainly a different design is possible which would work in challenging situations.

#12

I’m tired of it now, maybe in a few months