Nest Thermostat can't connect to heatlink

[Alpacamama]

Hi, I'm hoping I can get some help to get this resolved as I'm a bit stumped! I have a boiler in an outdoor utility room building that heats the main house on the other side of this building and also a small barn which is on the other side. Both the barn and house are approx 10m away from utility room building. 

I have two heatlinks installed in the utility room building 1m away from the boiler. One heatlink is for the main house and the other for the barn.

The WIFI in the main house also reaches the utility room building. The heatlink for the main house has no problems connecting to the Nest 2nd gen thermostat which is in the main house (so two exterior walls between the two). 

The heatlink however for the barn in the utility building is not able to connect to the nest 2nd generation thermostat in the barn - there are two exterior walls between the two. If I put the thermostat in the utility room building then it connects no problem to the heatlink. So I know everything works fine and I can control via the app. However the thermostat needs to be in the barn, the actual building to be heated.

Is the issue here that the barn is on a different WIFI to the WIFI that covers the utility building where the boiler and heatlink is? So when I connect the thermostat when in the barn I use the barns WIFI. If so what are my options to resolve this? 

Many thanks in advance for any help... 

Helen 

[Frustratedddd]

This sounds very confusing, can you confirm the following.

How many displays do you have - 1 or 2?

Do you just have the one wifi connection?

[Alpacamama]

I have two displays, one thermostat in the main house and one in the barn. I have two WIFI connections. One WIFI covers the main house and the utility building which houses the boiler. The other WIFI covers the barn. Both heatlink are in the utility building. 

[Frustratedddd]

Thanks for clearing that up. For easy of understanding you have in fact 2 house setups.

The simple answer here is if the system is working correctly when you move the Heat Link and display together, it's communication between your display and Heat Link, not the wifi.

This can be proved by the wifi connection to the display in the barn. When you setup the barn thermostat in the desired location, [ie the barn itself] did the wifi say connected? Should that be yes, then the wifi is fine. I think your problem is the distance/obstructions/metal work/DECT phones etc., between the barn display and it's  Heat Link. I also assume you have a wireless connection, not a wired connection?

[Alpacamama]

Thank you for your help with this, it's much appreciated.

So yes when I connect the thermostat in the barn to the WIFI in the barn it says connected. But it can't then find the heatlink. It's wireless. 

If I move the thermostat to the utility building where the heatlink is, the thermostat connects to the other WIFI and can then find the heatlink. 

Between the barn and the building where the heatlink is will be two exterior walls of solid stone including mix of granite. It's the same setup though for the main house which the thermostat has to get through two exterior granite walls to connect and that is fine.

What are the options? Do I need to move the heatlink or wire the thermostat in? 

[Frustratedddd]

I’m not convinced it’s the walls, but who knows. This is certainly just a connection from display to heat link, not WiFi. Anything can create issues with signals between the two, and you would be surprised some of the items. I mentioned DECT phones, but even microwave ovens, kitchen white goods, anything can be a problem. 

Hard wiring would certainly solve the problem, but if the other stat works in a similar environment, you must have something other than walls blocking the signal.  Have you tried doing something simple, by moving the thermostat in the same room? I would also try moving the stat away from the Heat Link a little at a time until the signal is lost. That might narrow any objects down blocking the signal.