- Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station with WiFi Remote Monitoring and Alerts

OK, I've had it set up for only a couple days now but this is obviously a very high quality product at a great price for what is provided. It includes a full color indoor monitoring screen and multiple methods for internet access (without any additional fees) which make it both extremely functional and very high value. I am new to Personal Weather Stations, but I just can't see how any other station could be any better, even regardless of cost. The indoor display and the web interface are exceptional. I'm a software developer (and natural born critic) myself, but I couldn't find anything to complain about the software and was impressed with the functionality. I especially like the very detailed historical charts of every measure which it shown on the website version. It doesn't seem that the indoor display can show historical charts so you need to go to web browser version to access these, but given how great the display is otherwise, this is a minor quibble. A few points: - The model number is kind of screwy as this "2000" version is superior to versions greater than 2000 - You need to get a pole to mount this on and have something to mount the pole to. I paid up for the Ambient Weather pole, but it's just a pole with mounting brackets, you could get cheaper from local hardware store. I mounted to a fence post - so far weather underground will not let me add this to their system, but it seems to clearly a weather underground issue, not the fault of the PWS (I get through all steps but before the final one, weatherunderground.com hangs). Apparently weatherunderground.com was bought by Weather.com and then by IBM and service/functionality is crashing Update - I bought the Ambient Wireless PM25 Air Quality Sensor to add to my dashboard of information. It required that I update the firmware on the display panel but after that it automatically detected the new sensor and displayed and started storing the information.

We like to know how much it rained or how cold it got for the care of our landscape and other plants. I had a high end Davis Pro II for many years, but now retired and no room for the big one. This one is small, easy to put up, cost a lot less and had a better display. We like the colorful display as it tells the temperature and has the high and low also indicated. The rain display tells how much it rained today, the storm (if it rains every day for awhile), every week, month and for the year. It's colorful and the display can be shut off if it's too bright at night. I already had an account with Weather Underground and was easily able to add this weather station to my count. It gave me a station ID (KTXGEORG813) and a password. Then I downloaded the software from the App store (Apple in my case, but there is an Android one). The software connected to the station easily. I then put the Wunderground information into the app (as above) and placed the display where it stays connected to the station outside and the internet inside. There are a lot of variables, but if you play with it and get everything firmly and connected stably, the station sends information to the display for you to see whenever and upload automatically to Wunderground. The cool thing is there is also a personal weather station app at the app stores (PWS) and I can put it on my phone and see weather conditions at my station and any other station in the world! Free! I did have to find a J-pole to find that one spot where I could put the station to get the rainfall and a reasonable wind and temperature. Its been up for about a month now, but was fairly easy to get working, not so easy to climb to the roof top, mount my pole and stay safe.

I have only had this weather system for several days, but here are first impressions of my WS-2000. 1) A shocker! I received a 78- page hard copy manual. Love it. Easy to read. Accurate descriptions and very helpful. 2) I have a laboratory thermometer and have checked both indoor and outdoor temps at various times and conditions. Very accurate. Consistently "spot on" or within a degree or less. 3) I had to replace my Davis Vue system after almost 8 years, but did not want to pay the current high price ($600+-). I first tried an AcuRite 5-in1 weather station last month, but the outdoor temp was typically 6-9 degrees too high when the sun was out. Poor design. I also had a bad experience with customer service, so I looked elsewhere. Stay away. 4) The WS-2000 in-house display offers a great deal of information, much more than the AcuRite system. It was also relatively easy to set up: an 8 on a1-10 scale. 5) The WS-2000 cost twice the AcuRite 5 in 1, about $300, but I definitely got added value that made the price worthwhile. I hope things continue to go smoothly. If not, I will update. Update: I forgot to mention the reason I gave "ease of setup" an 8 instead of a 10. It was VERY difficult to insert the black rain collector section into the base unit. Customer service just said you have to push "very hard" to get the tabs into the slots on the base of the unit. I pushed very hard, but fear breaking something. So, I used my utility knife to shave a very thin slice off each of the three plastic tabs. A firm push then succeeded in inserting the rain collector into the base.

First and foremost, we really do like this weather station. We purchased it to replace our slowly dying, 20yo, Davis Vantage Pro 2. Everything arrived on time and was well packaged, so there were no issues and no damaged components. Things we like, Great display! Bright and very easy to read. Pretty easy to set up. If you are just setting up the basics, it is literally plug-and-play. A quick unpack, install batteries, mount the sensor array, set up the WiFi, and the basics were up and running quickly. It took a little longer to get the accessories set up, but more on that later (We purchased an extra T&H sensor, a lightning sensor, and a soil moisture probe). The fact that it connects to the web and that all the info is available via an app, so you can monitor conditions even when you are away from home is great (something our old Davis did not do). Things to know. 1: Because it relies on WiFi for part of its functionality, if the signal is poor or if your router goes down, this will not work well or at all. 2:There is no battery backup for the display. 3: You need to locate the sensor array properly, to get accurate information. It needs to be oriented to North (although you can correct that in the calibration screen), set at the correct height relative to the surrounding buildings, etc, and within range of the base (display). That means that you may need to use a ladder or climb on your roof, so make sure that you are prepared and can do that safely. The extra sensors work fine and connect pretty seamlessly but you should know a couple of things. The second T&H sensor was a plug-and-play. The lightning sensor is quite sensitive and you will need to set it according to your conditions. We have an electric fence around our vegetable garden and that confused the sensor. It was easy enough to adjust, but just be aware of the fact that you may need to do that. The soil moisture sensor needs to be calibrated to the soil that it is used in. A pretty simple process, just be aware that you will need to do that to get reliable readings. Also, although it does not mention it in the directions (or I just didn't see it), I'm not sure that it can/should be left out in freezing weather. I plan to bring ours inside, take the battery out, and store it for the winter. Finally, that electric fence that I mentioned before... It interferes with the signal. The sensor loses touch with the base fairly often. Annoying, but not a deal breaker for us. Calibration. Everything is pretty adjustable. My only complaint would be that the process is awkward and a little bit time-consuming (Come on, Ambient Weather, get a touch screen!). Conclusion? I'd buy it again and I would definitely recommend it to a friend, but I'd make sure that they knew about the shortcomings, too. UPDATE January 2024: We have had some repeated issues with the consol losing contact with the sensor array. We have moved the array closer, replaced the batteries, and finally, yesterday reset the array and then went through the very tedious process of forcing the console to look for the array. I will say that AW's customer support was responsive and sent me a video link to show me how to perform the magic with the console the same afternoon that I contacted them. I will also say that there are at least 3 different versions of how to reset the array out there (2 manuals and a video). I had to try all 3 before it worked. Bottom line? We still like the station but I'll withhold the final answer until we see if the array and console stay in touch. Stay tuned.... Feb 2024: so far, so good. The console and the array have been totally fine. Not sure what happened or why, but the procedure to reestablish the connection between them has worked perfectly.

Update, late September 2025: the Ambient Weather WS-2000 has proven to be extremely reliable and accurate. I have a calibrated manual gauge I use to report rainfall totals for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The WS-2000 is typically within 0.01" of the manual gauge, which is surprising based on my experience with other manufacturers. The price point is somehwt higher, but so far has proven to be worth the difference. We live remote from the news stations we watch, so it's nice to have something reliable "locally". Temperature readings are +/- 2 degrees from the local airport, so well within range. I did add a lightning detector given our location. I've set a series of alerts via the web app, for example to tell me when lightning is closer than five miles, or when a wind gust has exceeded 20mph, for example. Very pleased with the performance to date... (Initial review, late January 2025) Ambient Weather is now the third vendor I've used for our personal weather stations. We had an Acurite for over 14 years that our daughter bought us, which finally just wore out in the Texas weather. Reviews for the current Acurite model gave me pause, so I went with a different vendor with higher functionality (supposedly.) I fought with an InsaneLogic for almost a year and finally threw in the towel last month. That digital unit in a year never ONCE matched rainfall totals of those in a calibrated manual gauge, typically off by a large amount. (Note, that new unit was mounted in the same location as the previous Acurite, which might have been off by 0.02" typically.) Granted, the price point on this unit is a pretty good bump. But I'm stunned by the level of precision during the first month's use. I did calibrate the unit's absolute barometric pressure, and my readings are +/- 0.01 inHg of those of the regional airport. Key point: when we initially got the original Acurite, we lived in a metropolitan area, so rainfall totals were a primary focus then. We live in a more remote location now, 90+ miles from any local television station, hence the interest in more location-specific data. There's a dizzying array of add-on sensors available for various functionalities. I may get a lightning sensor, as our location is somewhat remote and it would be nice to know if lightning is within a 25 mile range. I'm not implying this is a one-size-fits-all weather station given the price point. But to this point, I'm extremely pleased with the price to performance ratio. And I will definitely update the review and relay additional information should that change.

This review is for the WS-2000. Amazon seems to mix the reviews for WS-2000 and WS-2902 but they are different models. I wanted the WS-2000 because I like the console and the additional information it shows much better. This was replacing a very old broken weather station from a different manufacturer, so I already had a place to install it. The last station was wired, and I was worried about the wireless connection from opposite sides of a house, but the WS-2000 wireless is working well. Many reviews complaining about the instructions, assembly, and setup had me worried, but I really had no trouble at all. The first two pages of the instructions provided a 'quick start' summary, and more details were available on later pages. Most of the very large manual pertain to software configuration, settings, and calibration. The actual assembly and installation were clear enough and quite straightforward. Other than figuring out how to angle in the 'filter spring' in the rain sensor, assembly was fast and obvious. Regarding software setup, configuring wireless was really no more awkward than typing in passwords on cable box using arrows and buttons. Clunky, but doable. I had it configured and running in just a few minutes and had it online on AWN and Weather Underground soon after. The only calibration I've fussed with is getting relative barometric pressure calibrated to a nearby air field. That was straight forward. So far, I am very happy with this. The next test is to see how well it holds up.

I had this sitting in my 'save for later' basket for several months before ordering it. The cost factor was my biggest concern as we are living on a fixed income. I have had two other weather stations before this, both Acurite and they did an acceptable job and provided accurate weather data. For some reason my Acurite app quite working about 18 months ago and no amount of uninstalling and reinstalling would make it work. Now I have the Ambient system and there really is no comparison. The instrument cluster is attractive and accurate offering seven sensors in all. The display is bright and easy to read to a point. While the display is easily readable from just about any angle, some of the data fields are tiny. The Ambient humidity sensors seem to be much more accurate than my previous station., it would often default to 99% if was raining at all, Ambient seems to show some variation in humidity during a rainy period.. My previous weather station had an algorithm that would tune itself to correct barometric pressure, this one does not. Instead it offers an adjustment in the software menus. Just find metar for your nearest airport, preferably when the pressure is steady. One other minor complaint is that there is no battery backup. Not really a big deal, as long as all the settings and labels don't disappear with the power. What is really the biggest plus is the ability to have remote sensors. I have purchased several and have them in basement, barn, wellhouse, and tractor shed. Some are just for fun, but the one in the wellhouse is more critical, The final plus is the Ambient.net website. All of your data is there to be displayed in widgets or in graph mode. The time frame for the graphs is selectable for a day, series of days, month, etc. The sensor also connects easily to Weather Underground if you wish to do so. I have only had it installed for two weeks or so and it has worked well and accurately, agreeing on the most important parameters with my older Acurite station ,which actually speaks well for both.

Decided after years of using local weather stations on Weather Underground that I wanted to join the ranks and run a station of my own. After looking through all the stations they recommend on their site I can eventually settled on Ambient Weather as the best midrange option. Their stations weren't quite as cheap as some of the other options but those cheaper options also seemed to come with some pretty mixed reviews. On the other hand there were other options that were far more expensive to the point it seemed impractical and out of reach for your average consumer. I had first settled on the WS-2902C as the option to go with as that was what was on Weather Undergrounds site. However, while looking at Ambient Weathers own site to get more details I came across the WS-2000 which, while more expensive, seemed to be a better option with a better more in-depth display and future expansion for more sensors, including a lightning detector which was something I was interested in eventually getting. As near as I can tell the actual sensor array is the same for both the WS-2902C and WS-2000, it seems the main difference is in the capabilities of the screen/system that is in the house. With the WS-2902C it's a LCD basic display that shows the weather stations data while the WS-2000 has a TFT display that displays more information and allows for the connection of multiple other sensors such as 8 other temp/humidity sensors, water leak detectors, soil meters, and lightning detectors. Basically it seems the WS-2902C is a fine option if the weather stations data is all you want to see, but if you want increased expansion capabilities and, in my opinion, a better display of the data then the WS-2000 is the way to go. Setup was easy and the most difficult part was finding something to mount it on. At first I picked up a 1" segmented pole designed for bird feeders but I determined this was not stable enough once setup. My eventual setup was an 8' long 1-5/8" chain-link fence post with a no-cement fence post anchor. I buried it through the anchor 2' in to the ground and it is very stable. If you end up getting the station, or have a similar one, this is a very effective and cost-efficient mounting method (about $25 total). Setting up the station from there was quite simple. Most of it comes assembled and you merely have to attach the cups to the anemometer, the windvane to the wind direction sensor, and put the cup rim on top of the rain gauge. From there you just attach the mounting brackets and secure it to the pole. Add the two AA batteries (use lithium if you're in a place that gets cold, the system uses a solar panel on top when it's able) and you're set from there. The rest from there just involves loading up the screen and configuring your location, wifi information, and connections to ambientweather.net and wunderground.com if you wish to use those services. It took less than 24 hours for Weather Underground to start displaying the station on their site. I have been impressed with the data that is presented and how it is presented on the screen. The screen layout provides a great layout for all the systems data in a good and easy to understand layout. On top of that it also maintains historical data and has an SD card port you can use to export the data if you wish to archive it or load it in to another system. So far the it has been very responsive and has been very accurate as I've compared its readings to nearby stations as well as thermometers and hygrometers. In fact, it was immediately apparent it was more accurate than my old basic weather station which I left up for a time after putting in the new one. I am definitely happy with this purchase overall. There were a few elements of the setup screens and navigation on the screen that were not very intuitive but overall these issues were very minor and not enough to warrant dropping any stars. Yes, Ambient Weathers options are a bit more costly than say an Acurite or LaCrosse system but these definitely seem like better stations than those. Sure, it might not be at the level of a Davis or RainWise but those stations run a minimum of $500. If you want the best mid-range option for a personal weather station I personally feel that this is the best option at present.

Works well as stated. Excellent product for price point

Wirklich tolle Wetterstation die sämtliche Stückchen spielt. Es ist alles wie angegeben da, sämtliches notwendiges Equipment inkl. Schraubenzieher und Schraubenschlüssel zur Montage. Ein Mast oder eine vergleichbare mastähnliche Halterung muss jedoch extra besorgt werden. Die Anleitung ist gut verständlich, macht man alles lt. Anleitung, ist die Wetterstation rasch korrekt in Betrieb zu bringen. Das Display ist in der Bedienung zwar etwas altbacken und rudimentär, verbindet man die Wetterstation allerdings mit dem Internet und der App sieht das ganze schon viel schöner aus. Eine Einbindung in Smart-Home Umgebungen wie bspw. Home Assistant ist dann sehr einfach umzusetzen. Die Wetterstation liefert zahlreiche Sensoren mit Daten die für verschiedenste Automatisierungen oder Anzeigen genutzt werden können. Neben der Herstellereigenen Webplattform/App können auch alternative Webplattformen genutzt werden um die eigenen Wetterdaten zu veröffentlichen (alles optional), vor allem natürlich kann auch die breit genutzte Plattform wunderground. Vorsicht beim Nachkauf von Sensoren, es gibt je nach Kontinent unterschiedliche Varianten mit unterschiedlichen Funkfrequenzen. In Europa haben die Sensoren üblicherweise die Frequenz 868Mhz, also beim Nachkauf unbedingt sicherstellen das man Sensoren mit der entsprechenden Frequenz kauft, da andere wie bspw. mit der in Amerika üblichen Frequenz nicht kompatibel sind. Zusätzliche Sensoren sind einfach zu integrieren, entweder sie werden automatisch erkannt, oder können über die ID hinzugefügt werden.

Impressed by quality and ease of setup. Highly recommended.

Good quality. Easy to use. App is nice for local Temps

Werkt perfekt en nauwkeurig. Zeker een aanrader, let wel, als je extra sensoren aankoopt op hun website in the US, zoals ik deed, die werken op een andere frekwentie (910 MHZ) dan dit basis-station (868 MHZ) dat je in Europa aankoopt, spijtig. De bliksem-melder die ik besteld heb in de US is NIET bruikbaar in Europa. Verder uitstekend spul.