Background & update notes
Weatherlink for Windows (WLfW) was traditionally the main software intended for use with the Weatherlink loggers. A CD containing the WLfW program used to be included in every logger pack and for many years WLfW was the standard way of processing and storing data from the Weatherlink loggers. Indeed, many of the troubleshooting notes below cover issues that might arise with the WLfW program. But in recent years the situation has started to change in several respects:
- The WLfW CD is no longer included by default with new loggers. Instead, the WLfW software is now available by free download from the Davis weatherlink.com website, as described in the WLfW download topic below.
- To be clear, the WLfW remains available as a free download (as described above) and there is no suggestion that this will change. However, further development of WLfW has effectively ceased, although further minor revisions may be issued to deal with eg any future compatibility issues that might arise. As a result, WLfW is now stuck with its rather old-fashioned user interface, although one shouldn’t be fooled by this – WLfW remains a powerful and reliable tool for storing and presenting your weather data provided you look past the cosmetics of its rather dated interface.
- A number of other software programs are now available such as Cumulus, Weather Display and many others that are fully compatible with all the Davis Weatherlink loggers (with the exception of the Weatherlink Live device). These programs all have their pros and cons – in general they offer a better user interface than WLfW and/or offer additional features, but are not always as complete as WLfW. Some programs such as CumulusMX are able to run well on non-Windows computers and allow simple, low-power computers such as a Raspberry Pi to act as a dedicated weather PC able to run 24/7 and running website uploads automatically.
- The range of loggers has extended considerably from when the Davis serial and USB Weatherlink loggers were the only options. There are now network-enabled loggers such as WeatherlinkIP and the Weatherlink Live device as well as 3rd party compatible loggers such as the WiFi Logger and Meteobridge that offer features like WiFi connectivity, built-in computing power & Internet uploads that go well beyond those available from the Davis loggers. All loggers (except Weatherlink Live) remain fully compatible with Weatherlink for Windows, with the non-Davis loggers all tending to connect as network loggers (ie emulating WeatherlinkIP) rather than as serial or USB devices.
As a result of all these changes and advances, the logger and software landscape is significantly more complicated than previously (though complicated only in the sense of a much greater choice of options – the individual logging devices and associated software are still relatively straightforward once past an initial period of familiarisation.) The troubleshooting notes below are still rooted in the traditional Davis serial/USB/WeatherlinkIP loggers used with the Weatherlink for Windows program, but some additional notes are also provided where it’s possible to do so easily.
Latest Weatherlink for Windows version
The latest version of WLfW is v6.0.5. Previous to this, v6.0.3 was the standard version for several years. The only significant change in v6.0.5 is a rewording of the User name caption in the Web Download settings to indicate that the logger DID should now be used in place of the user name. If you do not use the Web Download option then this change is no consequence and there is little need to consider updating.
If you have an older version than v6.0.3 then it is well worth considering an update to v6.0.5.
Windows compatibility
Weatherlink for Windows is compatible with all recent Windows versions up to and including Windows 10.
Weatherlink for Windows: Full and Update versions
WLfW is made available by Davis in two versions: Full and Update. New installations must use the Full version. This topic is discussed further in the ‘Basic checks’ section of the New Installations topic.
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Tony Barlow wrote: Aug 2, 2023
My Davis Vantage Vue has a bug that from time-to-time data is lost when downloading data from the console to my Windows 10 PC. A whole months worth of data just disappears . This has happened 3 times. Davis tech support has no answers. No more Davis for me!!