Can anyone explain why my wifi/internet connection is not consistent in a bathroom?

[Davidstevan]

I like to watch and listen to YouTube videos on an iPad whilst in an en-suite bathroom (a room which is fully tiled).
I have a SkyQ mini box in the associated bedroom which sits on a chest of drawers less than 3 metres away. I think that works as a Wi-Fi hot spot and is the nearest device for connection purposes. That mini box is connected to the main SkyQ box by ethernet cable. The main SkyQ box is connected by ethernet cable to the Sky broadband hub (I had serious issues getting SkyQ TV to work on this SkyQ mini box using only Wi-Fi!)
Issue is the very intermittent connection to the internet from my iPad when it's in the ensuite. It can be fine for 10 mins and then will just drop out for 2 minutes or more (YouTube will display a message "not connected to the internet" or the Wi-Fi icon will disappear or show only 2 bars) before reconnecting. It will then repeat. My iPhone will be similarly impacted although it will switch to 5G when the Wi-Fi connection falls over.
I use an app called Net Analyser and I can use this to speed test. The download speeds are all over the place. It'll max at 40mbps for a few seconds and then dive to 5mbps for a while and show 0mbps when it disconnects completely.
Sky say that the broadband/Wi-Fi signal can be impacted by tiles in a bathroom which might have a grain of truth to it, but what I'm struggling to understand is the inconsistency in speed I'm seeing. Plus the fact the SkyQ mini box/ so called hot spot is virtually on the other side of a wooden door! One minute it's ok the next it's not.
Thoughts anyone?

[TimmyBGood]

@Davidstevan 

If you don't observe the same phenomenon elsewhere (for example at an equal distance in the opposite direction) then it's reasonable to suspect the environment: I would observe that metallic glaze, foil laminate foam insulation, water, some forms of heating and 'noisy' electrical appliances such as power showers and extractor fans don't play nicely with WiFi.

[Davidstevan]

Thanks @TimmyBGood .

It's the variability in speed/strength of signal I don't understand.  If, for example, my speed tester showed 3Mbps all the time or even zero connection in that one room then fair enough but I do get speeds of up to 30Mbps for the majority of the time so why not all the time?  I'm pretty certain the use of SkyQ mini boxes creates a mesh system (for whatever benefit that is supposed to provide).

Coincidentally my daughter installed Vodafone broadband into her new home last week with the router located on the ground floor.  It is a larger house than mine and has two fully tiled bathrooms on the first floor.  I tested her connections in both these bathrooms and both produced a solid 30 Mbps connection throughout each test run. Obviously it's not a like for like comparison (different layout and construction) but it's left me all the more frustrated and confused!

[Chrisee]

@Davidstevan variable wifi speeds can be caused by interference the source of which can be hard to pin down. A wifi analyzer app will shoe you if a neighbour's network is on the same or adjacent channel if the signal us strong enough it will cause issues with your signal. The main band to check when you are further from the hub is the 2.4GHz band which can only fit 3 or at most 4 networks before interference becomes an issue. You can manually find the best channel or try playing wack-a-mole by trying ch1,5,12,3 or 9 in turn.

However in your case I would suspect some other source of interference which apps on your phone wont see. This can be caused by dimmer switches or fluorescent lights which are common causes but others can be pumps, microwaves etc etc Don't discount wireless speakers etc. Hpefully you get the ldea finding the source is difficult but any source is likely to be in your home but could be next door. 

Wifi is great when it works as Sky's marketing makes out but an absolute pain when it doesn't. Good hunting.

[jamesn123]

@Davidstevan 

Have you tried switching off the hotspot on your Sky Q mini box to see if it then still has the same behaviour

[Davidstevan · Accepted solution]

Thanks to everyone who made a suggestion.

I decided to relocate the Sky Hub router to my hallway so that it was very central to every room in my house.  5 metres of Ethernet cable and a drill later and I've ended up with the main SkyQ box connected by ethernet to 2 of my mini boxes and have forgone the ethernet connections of one mini and the main SkyQ box to the router.  The Wi-Fi broadband connection to the en suite bathroom is now fine!  As Kirsty and Phill say - "location, location, location"!