I already have a radio beacon, but settlers aren't coming. Do I have to bring them from other settlements? For human settlers, do I also have to equip them with hazmat suits so they don't suffer radiation as they swim to the island? I don't have a lot of hazmat suits to spare. So I would have to equip one settler with one, wait till he or she arrives the island, unequip it, and redo it for another settler? Going through this painful process must be the price to pay for living on a paradise island which in real life would have cost millions.

Settlers will come, although finding them once they arrive can be a problem as they wander around the entire island. I've never given any settler anti radiation gear.......I believe settlers are pretty much immortal unless the player kills them, for instance in 150+ hours I've lost a single supply guy and seen a single settler die (killed by a forged flamer).

Thanks. it does seem the more remote a location is, the more slowly settlers come. It has happened to some of my remote settlements too. In less remote areas, settlers may come within seconds after a radio beacon is set up.

One thing I do is attract settlers in another settlement that gets a high attraction rate, go to that settlement, find the new settlers, and RELOCATE them to where I want them to be (the island in your instance)

I say buy a boat or build a bridge. I can't imagine how the "normals" could get there except to swim or convince someone with a vertibird to fly them. Maybe it should just be a ghoul place? Too bad you can't make Supes settlers. Of course that might cause some problems as well.

Its a shame there isn't a weird guy in boat running a ferry service to the island and the floating abandoned settlements that are in the area.

No offence but have you seen the little text at the right left corner of the game's cover? Remember, this is the same company who's known for using myriad of cheap solutions in their game, so don't worry for a second.

I'd suggest setting up Recruitment Radios to geographically advantageous settlements. Currently I have 8 + 1 places on my own but only 2 has such radios and it's totally enough to supply the rest with inhabitants.

Especially that there's a bug associated with that, often the recruitment signal is still being aired (and thus new settlers coming) even if you switched it off already. Also, make sure to have extra beds and resources.

See my first sentence for all these questions. Companions and Settlers are not affected by Radiation and they don't "swim" to your island but simply being spawned their. Don't try to find a logical explanation, it just works.

One thing to do is go to one of your settlements on the mainland and activate the radio beacon so settlers start arriving en-masse. Once the settlement is over-populated get into build mode, point at a settler, choose Move from the menu and relocate to Spectacle Island. Repeat until the settlement population is back down to normal.

I can say for certain that Provisioners do not just spawn on the Island, I've watched mine and his Brahmin rise from the deeps several times.

Anyhow, as others have said, the easiest way to fill a settlement is to use other settlements as recruiting centers, then simply move the overflow wherever you need them.

Oh, Bethesda did an extremely poor job when it comes to AI's path-finding and water surfaces. Just send a Provisioner from Oberland Station to Greygarden if you'd like to be horrified. For extra effect, take into account the railroad bridge too ...

Isn't there something you can add to the radio to make the signal stronger? Maybe this will help by covering a larger area.

I believe it's hangmans alley I get more settlers than I can fit. So I send them out to fill other settlements

That's weird Hangman's Alley for me has always struggled for numbers, still not in double digits and I sent most of the population there.......plenty of food, water, power and defence but always limited numbers of new settlers.

Haha. I had around 16 at one time in that small area. I began building up to provide places to sleep and relax.

I love to put a signal at Abernathy's and, a day later go from 3 to 12! Of course they're always getting attacked, but they're a good source of meat to send out to Sunshine. At least there, all I need to do is move corpses and make furniture.

At the end of my first playthrough I had 22 or so settlements all full except Spectacle. Never got over 5. Tried switching the beacon on and off a couple times then just gave up figuring it was bugged.

I don't think it's bugged.

The settlement beacon has limited range.

The island is a long way from the mainland so whose going to hear it?

Recreational fishers out in their boats, perhaps?

I had trouble getting settlers at Spectacle as well; sent a few there but now it's populating by itself. 19 settlers last night. They may spawn there if you send them from another settlement but that takes time: eg I sent the Vault Tec Rep there from Sanctuary and he took something like 2 game days to appear.

Hehe, I checked Hangman's Alley last week after ignoring it for a while and there were 33 settlers there. (The Pip Boy was correct, for once.) Turned off the beacon, sent some away (probably to Spectacle) and now it's a static 27.