How do I map baby monitor dead spots in the kitchen and back reception?

Why do the kitchen and back reception drop first?

In a two-up two-down those two rooms sit at the far end of the brick path, behind the stairs, and they are full of metal. BT lists electrical equipment and large metal items — TVs, PCs, modems/routers, microwaves — and says to keep them at least one metre from either unit. Angelcare UK calls metal the main offender and names microwaves, Wi-Fi routers, speakers, games consoles and phones.

A generic 'walk every room' test blurs this. The useful map names the sink, the fridge, the microwave, the metal run of units, the sofa, the far corner and the patio doors.

How do I map those two rooms?

Camera stays in the front bedroom. Parent unit in your hand, not on the worktop next to the kettle for the whole test — you need each spot.

1. 1
   Kitchen doorway Baseline as you enter from the hall. If this already beeps, the room map is a fail-at-the-door result.
2. 2
   Sink Stand where you wash up, parent unit at hand height. Ten seconds.
3. 3
   Fridge Stand beside the fridge door, then take one metre away (BT's gap). Two results: on the metal, and off it.
4. 4
   Microwave One test with it off, one while it runs, parent unit still a metre off. Angelcare and BT both name microwaves.
5. 5
   Metal run of units Walk the length of a steel-fronted run. Note any strip that dies.
6. 6
   Back reception — sofa, far corner, patio doors Three stops. Patio glazing and a TV in this room are extra tickets on BT's and Angelcare's lists.

Placement changes only. Do not slide the cot, and do not park the camera on a kitchen windowsill to 'get through' — Angelcare flags metal strips in some frames.

Which kitchen objects are the named blockers?

Where should I stand the parent unit in the kitchen?

Stand where the log stayed usable: often the doorway or the sink, not the strip between the fridge and the microwave. If you need to cook, keep the parent unit on the hall side of the metal run, a metre from the microwave, at hand height. That is a placement habit, not a verdict on the house.

In the back reception, the far corner by patio doors is the usual last stop. If only the sofa holds, treat the far corner as a dead spot and sit where the link stayed up.

What is a dead-spot map not?

It is a sketch of where this pair of units linked today. It is not an all-clear for the product, and it is not a safer-sleep plan. Which? still walks three rooms plus outdoors as a lab method; your map is the two named rooms at the back of a terrace.

Does a kitchen map change safer-sleep rules?

No. The Lullaby Trust wants a clear cot, baby on their back, same room for six months, and says a monitor never replaces supervision. Keep cables out of reach. A stronger kitchen signal is not a reason to leave a baby alone longer.

In shortIn short: name the sink, fridge, microwave, metal units, sofa, far corner and patio doors. Move the parent unit a metre off metal. Do not move the cot.