The WaveWall Blog
Do EMF stickers work?
It’s an established fact that mobile phones emit harmful EMF radiation. It’s great that this is finally getting the coverage it deserves. Not too long ago, 250 scientists from around the world signed a joint petition advocating for greater awareness over mobile phone radiation. Since then, lawsuits have been filed against Apple and Samsung for their botch radiation measurements. The industry is being forced to look inwards at how phones may be contributing to a future public health issue and the WHO has finally formally installed mobile phone radiation as a ‘possible cause of cancer’.
It certainly seems like coverage of EMF is moving in the right direction. With the new rollout with 5G, the radiation agenda has picked up even more pace. However, in the wake of newfound coverage, people have begun to spread incorrect information about EMF and how to prevent it. One such fallacy is using charms or stickers to protect you from phone radiation.
Here, we will answer the question; do cell phone radiation stickers work to shield you from mobile phone radiation?
What are Radiation Stickers?
Radiation stickers are small attachable stickers that you can place on your phone, sometimes on the phone itself and sometimes over the earpiece. The basic idea is that they attract and absorb radiation emitted by the phone. These have been around for decades, but recently, they’ve become much more popular as manufacturers jump on the bandwagon and market them as the magic bullet for mobile phone radiation. There are many different types of radiation stickers available and some are much more expensive than others. Many are marketed to reduce radiation by some 99%.
Radiation stickers typically contain metals that are designed to deflect and/or absorb radiowaves. It is true that metals do act as a conductor of radiation, but the question is, where do they conduct the radiation to?
Do Cell Phone Radiation Stickers Work?
There are few scientific studies on whether radiation stickers work or not. All existing studies are united in their answer to the question ‘do cell phone radiation stickers work?’
The answer is no.
The Federal Trade Commission in America said that most EMF or radiation stickers were scams. The Chicago Tribune, the publication that launched a lawsuit over EMF measurements to Apple and Samsung also published an article strongly doubting the effectiveness of radiation stickers. One study in 2003 found EMF/radiation stickers to have no reducing effect on phone radiation. In fact, they found that they could actually increase the radiation emitted by phone as it compensated by boosting its signal output.
The Study
The scientific study that found EMF stickers to be totally ineffective was commissioned by Corporate EME Research Laboratory and Motorola Florida Research laboratories. With the mention of ‘Motorola’, you may think there could be a conflict of interest here, but ultimately, radiation stickers do not threaten the mobile phone industry. The study used the same methods used by laboratories to test mobile phone radiation using SAR measurements. SAR stands for ‘specific absorption rate’. You can read up more about SAR specifically on the WaveWall blog here.
SAR measurements are conducted by taking a phone and placing it next to various phantom bodyparts, e.g. a model designed like a human head. Radiation detection instruments are then used to measure how much radiation travels from the device into the body part. SAR measures how much radiation is actually absorbed by human tissues. After all, this is when radiation actually becomes dangerous – when it is absorbed.
The study used 9 different cell phone radiation shields, attached them to the phone in the instructed manner and then tested SAR, comparing it to a control group of the same phones without the stickers. 5 of these stickers claimed to absorb 99% of phone radiation. The other 4 stickers claimed to actually emit their own ‘safe’ radiation that cancelled out the ‘bad’ radiation.
All of the stickers failed to have any statistical effect on reducing SAR levels.
Is There Any Other Evidence?
There is scant evidence on the effectiveness of EMF stickers and manufacturers have not commissioned any convincing studies of their own to prove that they work. Indeed, manufacturing a radiation sticker and claiming it works is remarkably easy. They’re also likely very cheap to produce. Back in 2011, the Federal Trade Commission fined two manufacturers of EMF stickers, saying that there was ‘no evidence’ that they worked and that manufacturer claims were fabricated.
If EMF stickers worked then they would be everywhere by now. They would probably even be incorporated into phone cases or shipped with the phones in some way. There is no reason why phone manufacturers would ignore them if they were indeed the magic bullet for absorbing phone radiation. At the end of the day, manufacturers have to be seen to make some effort in the fight again mobile phone radiation and if they could reasonably endorse EMF stickers then there’s no reason to think they wouldn’t.
What Does the Community Think?
The only other information on EMF stickers comes from within the internet community on sites such as Quora and Reddit. Users have been sharing their opinions and the general consensus is that there is no conceivable way why EMF stickers would work.
Why Don’t They Work?
So, the low down is that EMF stickers don’t work. There really is no point in wasting your money on them. But why don’t they work?
A) EMF stickers do not cover the entire phone
EMF stickers are usually pretty small and attach only to one part of a phone. The trouble is, the entire phone emits radiation. A sticker attached on one part of the phone would be ineffective at absorbing radiation even if the technology itself did actually work. You need something to cover the entirety of one side of a phone, the side that is closest to the body. This ensures that radiation does not pass from the entire surface of the phone into the body through that side.
B) Phones compensate by boosting their signal
Depending on where the sticker is placed, your phone signal may drop as a result of the sticker. This simply means your phone will ramp up its efforts to find a signal. Studies have already shown that phones are at their most dangerous when they’re struggling to find signal or reception. This is why EMF stickers have been found to increase the radiation outputs of phones. When your phone increases its signal locating capacities, excess radiation is dispersed over the entire phone and the sticker cannot compensate for this.
C) The material does not absorb radiation
It is unlikely that the material used in most EMF stickers absorbs anything at all, apart from possibly a tiny amount of heat. Most stickers are not manufactured using materials that are proven to be effective at absorbing or dispersing radiation at all.
Mobile phone radiation can’t be stopped by stickers, charms or anything of the sort. Nevertheless, they unfortunately remain a popular choice. This leaves people vulnerable to electromagnetic fields and frequencies, and mobile phone radiation, even though they think they are protected.
What About Anti-Radiation Charms?
Anti-radiation charms attach to key rings or can be worn as necklaces or other jewellery. You may have already heard of the anti-5G USB stick that was recently retailing for some £300+. Once taken apart, it was promptly outed as a normal USB stick – a complete scam!
Unfortunately, though the sentiment or idea of jewellery, charms and other devices protecting us from radiation is quite nice, they just don’t work. The thought that radiation somehow just travels into a charm or pendant to be absorbed and disappear forever is absurd.
It’s a shame because cell phone radiation protection is important and also pretty straightforward.
Luckily, there is a real, scientifically backed and proven, way to protect yourself from cell phone radiation.
The Real Alternative to Cell Phone Radiation Stickers
So, cell phone radiation stickers don’t work – what does? Anti-radiation phone cases do work.
Anti-radiation cases are completely different to EMF stickers.
A) They cover the whole phone
Anti-radiation cases cover the whole phone. This means that radiation is dispersed across the case. Different phone components may produce different levels of radiation and it’s important for them all to be covered.
B) They shouldn’t interfere with signal
The primary idea of anti-radiation cases is to protect you from radiation whilst the phone is in your pocket. However, when phones are held to your head, dispersing radiation across the case is more effective for keeping mobile phone signal in-tact.
C) The material actually works
Phone cases by WaveWall use high-quality independently tested and verified material that block 87% of mobile phone radiation. WaveWall cases work by using metallic threads woven into the fabric of the case. This is a form of Faraday cage, which was invented by Michael Faraday in 1836. It’s a well known scientific principle and used in lots of different technology. The metallic threads or bars block electromagnetic fields.
But the phone can still be used as normal because the Faraday sleeve only covers one side of the phone. The other is free to receive calls, texts and data as normal. But the side against the body blocks the mobile phone radiation from going any further.
Try the WaveWall Universal – a great phone case that also protects you from mobile phone radiation.
WaveWall Universal
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