Thunderstorms and Network Equipment: Why the Router, Computer Ports and Cameras Stop Working After a Storm, How a Strike Gets into the Network Through Cables and How to Protect Equipment at Home and at the Dacha

In summer and early autumn, strong thunderstorms regularly pass over Tbilisi and its suburbs. The next morning many people see the same picture: the router won't switch on or blinks oddly, the internet is gone, the computer's network port has "disappeared", the yard cameras don't respond — and sometimes the TV connected by cable has died too. A direct lightning strike on a house is rare, but electronics don't need one: a strike nearby is enough to send a surge through the cables that can destroy equipment. Private houses, dachas and anything linked to the outdoors by long cables are especially vulnerable.

How a strike reaches your equipment

• Through the mains. A strike on or near a power line creates a voltage spike that arrives at your sockets and destroys power supplies.
• Through currents induced in long cables. The strike's powerful electromagnetic field induces surges in any long conductor — network cables to outdoor cameras, to a neighbouring building, to the gate. The longer and higher the cable, the stronger the induction.
• Through the provider's cable. Copper lines running along poles and facades are a direct route for a surge to the router. Fibre doesn't conduct electricity, so fibre connections are far more resilient.
• Through antennas and masts. 4G antennas, satellite terminals and wireless bridges on rooftops are in the most exposed spot.

What fails most often

The most vulnerable parts are network ports. A surge arriving through a cable burns out the port on a router, switch, computer, TV or camera. Sometimes the device keeps working over Wi-Fi, but that particular port is "dead". Next come the power supplies of routers and switches, PoE switches feeding outdoor cameras, and the cameras themselves. In severe cases, computer motherboards are damaged when the surge passes through the network card. That's why, after a storm, several devices linked by one cable often turn out to be broken at once.

How to protect your equipment

• Surge protection on network cables. Dedicated devices are fitted on every line coming in from outdoors — to cameras, the gate, a neighbouring building — and divert the surge to earth. Without good earthing they're useless.
• Earthing. A proper earthing system in the house is the foundation of any protection. Many old houses and dachas have none at all.
• Mains protection. Surge protection devices in the consumer unit, plus good-quality surge-protected power strips or a UPS for the router, computer and recorder.
• Fibre instead of copper for links between buildings and the connection to the provider — it doesn't carry the surge.
• Proper outdoor cable routing — in conduit, underground where possible or along earthed structures, not in aerial spans between trees.
• Earthing masts and antennas on the roof.

Should you switch things off in a storm

If the storm is right overhead and there's no protection, unplugging the router and computer from the mains and pulling out the network cable does reduce the risk. But it's inconvenient and not always possible — for example, when you're away and the cameras need to keep running. So for private houses and dachas it makes more sense to install protection once than to run around unplugging things every time.

What to do after a storm

If the internet is gone after a storm, don't rush out to buy a new router. First work out what exactly was hit: the provider's line, a power supply, a router port, the switch or a computer. Sometimes only the power adapter burns out, sometimes a single port, and sometimes the damage is at the provider's end and will be fixed by them. Don't plug expensive equipment into suspect devices "to test them" — a damaged power supply or port can take that out too. Our technician checks the chain step by step and replaces only what's actually damaged.

What our technician does

1. After a storm, checks the line, router, power supplies, switches, computer ports and cameras.
2. Replaces damaged equipment and restores the network and CCTV settings.
3. Assesses which cables come in from outdoors and where surge protection should go.
4. Works with an electrician to check or install earthing and protection in the consumer unit.
5. Selects a UPS and surge protectors and, if needed, moves outdoor runs to fibre.

A real example

At a private house in Tabakhmela, after an August storm the router, the PoE switch, three of the four outdoor cameras and the desktop computer's network port all stopped working. The cameras were mounted on the fence and linked to the house by cable strung through the air between trees, and the house had no earthing. Our technician replaced the switch, router and cameras and connected the computer via a new network card; then, together with an electrician, installed an earthing system, fitted surge protection on every outdoor line, moved the cables into underground conduit and connected the equipment through a UPS. The system has come through the storms since without a single failure.

It's also worth mentioning insurance and warranties. Manufacturers usually don't treat surge damage as a warranty case, and restoring several devices after a single storm can cost more than a full set of protection. So for a private house with cameras, a gate and outdoor runs, the cost of surge protection and earthing pays for itself after the first storm season.

Call a technician

If the internet is gone after a storm, the cameras aren't working, or you want to protect your equipment in advance, we'll come to Tbilisi and the suburbs around the clock. Learn more on our router repair, electrician and network troubleshooting pages.