To work and allow you to browse and watch your favorite movies on Netflix, the Wifi makes use of radio waves which are none other than electromagnetic radiation. Many users are concerned about the radio waves emitted by the home WiFi and they wonder if it is necessary to use EMF shields or specific protections for the router table to “protect” from electromagnetic waves. Is all this really necessary? Well, in this article we will try to answer this age-old question that “afflicts” many users who habitually use WiFi in their homes.
Blocking WiFi radio waves means blocking WiFi itself!
THE EMF protection devices for wireless routers on the market promise loudly to block the “radiation” emitted by wireless modems and routers. There is only one problem: the wording “WiFi radiation” is nothing more than a different way of indicating WiFi radio waves. This particular type of wave is certainly not new: AM and FM radios also use them, as well as walkie-talkies, cordless phones, wireless baby monitors, and many other technologies that we have lived with for decades.
As WiFi uses radio waves only (which, as stated, are a type of electromagnetic radiation), blocking “radiation” simply means block the WiFi itself. If you’ve spotted router protection that promises to “Block 85% of WiFi radiation”, well, this is just another way of saying that – after installing the shield – your wireless router will work at 15% efficiency. Do you think it might be worth it?
WiFi is not dangerous!
The radio waves emitted by WiFi are not dangerous for your health. Dangerous radiations are ionizing ones such as, for example, x-rays WiFi is considered “Non-ionizing radiation”, such as AM and FM radio. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence to support the danger of radio waves emitted by WiFi, just as there is no evidence that the radio waves used by walkie-talkies are harmful to our health.
How does the EMF protection device work?
Here it is: what you see in the picture is an EMF protection device. As you may have guessed, they are just one more Faraday cage to be placed around the router. The Faraday cage is a container made of electrically conductive material capable of blocking electromagnetic fields. This is why it is called an “EMF shield”: it works as a shield against electromagnetic fields (EMF).
Obviously, such protection placed around the router or modem does nothing but interfere with the WiFi signal, drastically weakening it or blocking it completely. Why should we want to use it? Well, if WiFi were really dangerous, such a device could be valuable! But, as we have already pointed out, WiFi is not dangerous: that’s why it doesn’t really make sense!
EMF protective devices are unfortunately widely advertised online, including on Amazon. You are obviously free to buy it and try it but in our opinion these products are just a waste of money.
WiFi only emits radio waves
WiFi only emits radio waves which, in turn, are a type of non-ionizing radiation and, therefore, not dangerous. A wireless router uses electromagnetic frequencies (also known as “radio waves” or “WiFi radiation”) to communicate with your devices and provide them with access to the Internet. This is all a wireless router can do.
Use a WiFi router e place it in a Faraday cage it’s like setting up a radio transmission tower and then locking it in a cage that prevents people from receiving its signal. It makes no sense!
EMF protection makes your internet connection worse
Just take a look at the reviews on Amazon to see how many users have left a single star on these devices. The reason? Users complain that the shield made their WiFi worse. The signal now only arrives in the room where the router is located when, without the Faraday cage, the WiFi was able to reach every room of their home. The reason is clear and it is connected to the functioning of the Faraday cage! A “shield” works inhibiting the WiFi signal. Of course, the radiation stays in the cage, which means the Wi-Fi signal is weaker.
Some router protections promise powerful WiFi! Could it be true?
Just take a look at the multiple products available for purchase to find that some router protections promise not to interfere with your WiFi. Ultimately, they assure you of a reduction in radiation while guaranteeing you a strong signal.
But how can this be possible? Well, probably the manufacturer is lying, and, once installed, the “shield” will undoubtedly worsen the wi-fi signal. However, if particular router protection doesn’t interfere with the signal at all, it means it’s not working at all! If the device does not affect the wireless signal, then it is not blocking the radio waves emitted by the router or it’s blocking them less. That’s all. There is no other explanation: WiFi emits radio waves (aka radiation) and blocking them is equivalent to interfering with the signal: if you could block 100% of the radiation, you would make your network device 100% useless.
Try a wired router
Despite our assurances and the absence of scientific evidence, you are still seriously concerned that WiFi can harm your health? Well, then we recommend that you ditch the Wi-Fi router in favor of a wired router which will allow you to connect – with an Ethernet cable – all your devices. This way, you will root out the use of this standard and prevent the router from emitting any “Wi-Fi radiation”. On this point, we also recommend that you read our guide Wifi or Ethernet? Which is better to use on the PC? Which is the fastest?
In any case, however, even if you got rid of your wi-fi router, you would still be exposed to other forms of radio waves. For example, neighbors’ WiFi signals, cell phone signals, Bluetooth device communications, FM radio, AM radio, walkie-talkie signals, cordless phones, wireless baby monitors… All these devices inevitably produce radio waves!