WeatherLink & connectivity fault finder

This usually just means the WeatherLink Live has gone to sleep. During setup it turns its light off if you don't connect it to the app within a few minutes.

It can also happen if the unit has lost its mains power. The WeatherLink Live needs AC power to run and can't be set up or run on batteries alone.

• Touch the touchpad on the front to wake it up.
• If the light still doesn't come on, check the AC adapter is plugged in at both ends and the socket is switched on.
• Once it's awake, the light flashes while it waits for the app and goes solid when it's connected to the internet.

The WeatherLink Live doesn't store data itself. If it loses mains power and has no batteries in, it can't pass on any readings until the power comes back, so a power cut can leave a gap.

With four AA backup batteries fitted, it carries on receiving data from the sensor suite on battery power during a power cut. Davis quotes a battery backup life of 5 days.

If you use a USB or serial data logger instead, the computer has to be switched on with the WeatherLink software running for data to upload to WeatherLink.com.

• Check whether the gaps line up with a power cut or with the router being switched off.
• Fit four AA batteries in the compartment on the bottom of the WeatherLink Live so it has backup power.
• With a data logger, check the computer was on and the WeatherLink software was running during the missing period.

On Wi-Fi, the most common cause is a mistyped Wi-Fi password.

The WeatherLink Live uses 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. It won't connect to a 5 GHz network.

If you're using the Ethernet cable, a loose plug or a faulty router port can stop it connecting.

• Run the setup in the WeatherLink app again and re-enter your Wi-Fi password carefully.
• Check your router is broadcasting a 2.4 GHz network and connect the WeatherLink Live to that.
• If your Wi-Fi is patchy where the unit sits, try the Ethernet cable supplied in the box, plugged straight into your router.
• On Ethernet, reseat the cable and try a different socket on the router. You should see green and amber lights on the socket once it has connected.

This is the archive rate, which is how often a record is permanently saved to your WeatherLink.com history. It doesn't affect how often current conditions update.

The WeatherLink Live's default archive rate is 15 minutes. You can change it to 30, 60 or 120 minutes for free. A 5 minute rate needs a WeatherLink Pro upgrade and a 1 minute rate needs Pro+.

• To pick 30, 60 or 120 minutes, open the WeatherLink app, tap the Account icon, choose your WeatherLink Live, then Configure Stations, Edit and Archive Rate.
• For 1 or 5 minutes, buy a Pro or Pro+ upgrade, apply it to your WeatherLink Live under Device Tier on WeatherLink.com, then choose the new rate under Tools, Device Configuration.

This applies to the USB and serial data loggers that plug into the console. It's often a communication setting in the software, such as the wrong port type or a baud rate that doesn't match the console.

Less often, the USB driver may not have installed properly, or the console or logger may have a fault.

• A good starting point is the console's own check. Put the console in Setup Mode by holding DONE and pressing the down arrow, then remove all power and restore it with the logger still fitted.
• Listen for the beeps. A Vantage Vue should give four and a Vantage Pro2 three. If you hear fewer, get in touch.
• If the beeps are right, check the Communications Port settings in the software and click Test. The baud rate should be 19200 in both the software and the console.
• Close the software, unplug and refit the logger, then open the software again.
• For a USB logger, check Windows Device Manager. USBXpress Device should appear under Universal Serial Bus Controllers, or Silicon Labs USB to UART Bridge under Ports if the logger is set up to act as a COM port.
• Remove all power from the console before you take the logger out or put it back in, as doing this with the power on can damage the logger or console.

The Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue only send records the computer hasn't already had. The software asks for the first record after the last one in its Browse window, so if that's out of step it can report there's nothing new.

• Create a new station in the software and download into it. As the new station has no records, WeatherLink will download everything the logger has stored.
• Wait a few minutes and try downloading again in your usual station.
• If that doesn't help, you can clear the archive memory. Be aware this loses any data that hasn't been downloaded yet, although your calibration numbers and alarm settings stay.
• If it still won't download, remove and restore all power to the console, wait a few minutes and try again.

Optional sensors have to be switched on in the software before their data will display. If a sensor is fitted but hasn't been enabled, it simply won't appear.

• In the WeatherLink software, open Station Configuration in the Setup menu and tick the sensors that are fitted to your station.

If the WeatherLink Live is online but no weather appears, it's often a mismatch between the transmitter ID on the sensor suite and the ID set in the WeatherLink app. They need to be the same.

It can also happen if the wrong station type was picked during setup, for example Vantage Vue instead of Vantage Pro2.

• Check the transmitter ID on your sensor suite. Davis sets them to ID 1 at the factory, so it will usually be 1 unless someone has changed it.
• In the WeatherLink app, check the station is set to the same ID.
• Check the station type in the app. If you have a Vantage Pro2 Plus, choose Vantage Pro2.
• If the console is also showing dashes, the problem is more likely to be with the sensor suite itself. The Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue sections above cover that.

WeatherLink shows dashes rather than a number when a sensor didn't record anything or recorded bad data. That can happen if a sensor was disconnected, radio interference blocked the signal, or a sensor wasn't working properly.

Missing wind direction is a little different. Direction isn't recorded when there's no wind speed at the moment it's sampled, so calm spells can leave dashes even when everything is fine.

• Check the same reading on the console. If the console shows a proper value, the problem is likely to be between the console and the software.
• If the console also shows dashes, the sensor suite is the more likely cause. The Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue sections above cover that.
• For wind direction, look at whether the dashes line up with calm periods.
• You can correct individual entries with the record editor in the software.