Guidelines for safer cell phone use

Thousands of scientific studies show radiation from mobile phones have biological effects. Meanwhile, the health authorities refuse to take it seriously.

What prudent measures to take, and still have the convenience of your mobile phone?

Keywords:     mobile phone, cell phone, radiation protection

Keep it short

Minimize your use of any wireless phone (mobile phone / cordless phone).

Use a landline with a corded phone for long calls.

Use texting (SMS) instead of talking.

At night

Keep cell phone away from all people and pets while sleeping.

Place a metal plate or screen between you and any phone.

Fully power the phone down, if you can.

Places not to use a cell phone

Do not use a cell phone inside any metal structure, as the phone will radiate more strongly to penetrate the metal. Also, the metal will reflect much radiation back at you.

Do not use the phone inside a car, bus, train, elevator or metal building.

Avoid using phone in places with poor reception, such as basements or rural areas. The phone will have to radiate more strongly to reach a tower.

Distance helps

Any extra distance between you and your phone helps to lower the radiation dose.

The speaker phone option is better than holding the phone to your ear.

Even better is using a wired headset and then placing the phone on a table during the call. Do not use a wireless headset.

Better yet is plugging in an external antenna and placing it well away from you. Combine it with a hands-free headset for further reduction in radiation exposure.

Where to keep the phone

The phone still radiates when not actively used. It is just less.

When not in use, keep the phone in a purse or backpack. Or use a special phone holder that clips onto the belt, especially those with built-in shielding.

If you sit at a desk, place the phone further away. Perhaps place it in a tray or open box of steel, so it can still receive incoming calls but the steel limits the radiation going in your direction.

Use airplane mode

Set the phone to airplane mode when the wireless connection is not needed. You can still access files stored on the phone, including music and pictures. Some apps should still work, such as camera, voice recorder, calculator, clock, etc.

Make sure the phone is programmed to also turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when in airplane mode. Many are not, by default.

You can download messages, then switch to airplane mode while responding to them.

When you leave airplane mode, there will be a lot of radiation for a minute or so while the phone catches up. This is especially if you have many active apps. Consider placing the phone on a table away from you while it catches up.

Be aware that if you fully turn off a phone, it will talk to the tower when it is turned on again. This happens even when the phone is in airplane mode!

Turn off apps

Some apps receive regular updates all the time, which means more radiation. Turn as many off as possible.

You may be able to replace some apps with separate devices, such as cameras and voice recorder. These devices radiate a lot less.

If an app is necessary, see if you can program it to retrieve data less often. Surely, you can live with your e-mail being checked every fifteen minutes, or less frequently.

Children

Children are more vulnerable to microwave radiation and should not use a wireless device unless absolutely necessary.

Consider giving them a basic phone for emergency use. If they are always around friends, they could borrow one if really needed.

Talk to your child about why wireless gadgets are unhealthy, even though all their buddies use them all the time. Expect to eventually lose this discussion as your child gets older, but any delay may help prevent future neurological problems.

Pregnant, implants, etc.

Women who are pregnant, or people with electronic implants (insulin pumps, pacemakers, etc.) are particularly vulnerable and should take as many precautions as possible.

When buying a phone

Look for a model with a low radiation level (SAR value). Be aware the number is not exact.

Choose a phone with connectors for external antenna and wired headset.

Consider a basic phone instead of a smartphone. They radiate less, and are less tempting.

Look for a phone that has a network port so it can use wired internet services where available. This option is quite rare, unfortunately.

Note

All phones radiate whenever they are on. They radiate a lot less when all transmitters are off, but still radiate some.

You can verify whether a phone is fully off by holding a simple AM radio next to it. (Set the dial to where no station can be heard.) The static is radiation from the phone.

Cell phones cannot turn themselves on if they are fully turned off. Some spyware makes it look as if the phone is off, but it really isn’t. You can check using an AM radio.

If a phone is fully off, it cannot be located using GPS or other measures. It has to be on for that to work.

Beware of scams

There are a great many pendants, stickers and devices advertised that promise to protect you against wireless radiation. They seem so enticing and easy to use, with no inconvenience, and a manageable price.

Some claim to be patented, but that is meaningless. There are plenty of patents on perpetual motion machines too.

A cell phone cannot work if it cannot send out its signals.

There is no way to “modify” the radiation to make it harmless. Even if you could, then the phone would not work.

There are no easy solutions, other than turning off the source of radiation.

More information

More articles about low-radiation lifestyles on www.eiwellspring.org

2023