The WaveWall Blog
Is Phone Radiation Higher When the Battery is Low?
You might have heard that there is a link between phone radiation and the level of your phone’s battery. As our phones run out of battery, they tend to change their functions to stay alive for longer. In that sense, it’d really make no sense if your phone produced even more radiation. However, because efforts may be redirected to your phone’s antennae in order to maintain a strong signal, there is some logic to this.
So, does the phone’s charge affect the radiation? We’re going to find out is phone radiation higher when the battery is low.
Table of Contents
What Can Affect Phone Radiation?
There are lots of factors that affect the level of phone radiation. But is the battery one of them?
Phone radiation is the electromagnetic field that the phone uses to communicate with your mobile phone network. It also produces a small amount of EMF itself, as all electrical devices do. But the difference between a phone and other electrical appliances is that the phone uses much larger amounts of radiation to stay in touch with the network – constantly. The more your phone is trying to connect to the network, the more radiation it pumps out. Sometimes, you may even feel your phone heat up in your hand if you’re trying to make a call in an area with poor signal. This is evidence of your phone routing all available power to the antennae. It is really going all out to try and locate the network and connect you.
Even when you aren’t actively using your phone it is always checking in with the network ready to receive calls or messages, using data in the background and more. Airplane mode can help with this but it’s no good if you still want to receive calls and messages.
So because radiation is essentially how the phone connects to the network, it is a big factor in the amount of radiation your phone gives off. When network coverage is low and there is a poor signal the phone works much harder to connect, putting out much higher amounts of radiation. Low signal has one of the biggest effects on phone radiation.
Each make and model of phone is designed and manufactured differently so each will have a different amount of radiation it emits. Manufacturers have limits they must adhere to, called the Specific Absorption Rating, or SAR, which is what cell phone radiation is measured in. These are set by governments and the phones must be tested against them. There is an upper limit but different phones will have different amounts of SAR, with some being lower than others.
You can check your phone’s SAR in the manufacturer handbook that came with your phone, and sometimes on their website.
Is Phone Radiation Higher when the Battery is Low?
Radiation is higher when there is low signal, but what about low battery?
There’s little evidence that phone radiation is higher when the battery is low – but then there is little evidence about mobile phone radiation in general. It wouldn’t really make sense for phone radiation to increase with low battery. When the battery depletes, your phone will simply do what it needs to do to stay powered on for that little bit longer. Most phones enter ‘low battery’ or ‘power saver’ modes to try and compensate. If anything, radiation could be reduced when phone batteries deplete as your phone’s screen dims, etc, but this would be negligible.
The thing is, when a phone tries to get a signal, it will do so with the greatest efficiency possible. So, if a signal is readily available, e.g. you’re in a major city, then your phone’s antennae won’t need to work so hard. Then, if you enter a subway or ride the tube, your phone will sense its signal deplete and try and ramp up its efforts to recapture it. This will vastly increase phone radiation.
This process would be the same regardless of whether your phone is fully charged or very low on charge. It is always working for a signal, no matter where you are, provided airplane mode isn’t turned on.
The Effects of Mobile Phone Radiation
A huge study that said mobile phone radiation was “cooking sperm” found a big link between using a mobile phone while it is charging and higher radiation. The conclusion was that people – especially men – should not use their phones while they are on charge.
Another reason for people thinking there is that as high radiation drains your phone battery quicker, leading to a low battery and high radiation, the two – low battery and high radiation – are viewed together. This is because the more radiation a phone puts out the harder it is working, so the faster it drains the battery.
So a low battery isn’t necessarily a cause of high phone radiation. But there are lots of things you can do to reduce radiation when using your phone.
- Use airplane mode or switch off your phone when you don’t need to use it.
- Try to keep a good signal – especially when making calls or using your phone.
- Check the SAR of your phone and of new phones when you are shopping around.
- Never use your phone when it is charging.
- Try an anti-radiation mobile phone case like WaveWall Flip and WaveWall Universal to cut mobile phone radiation by 85%.
Phone radiation is on the rise and our phones are getting bigger and more powerful. Their batteries may last for so long that the phone can afford to go full-pelt in its efforts to get a signal for long periods of time. Bigger batteries, more power and greater exposure is a melting pot of risks when it comes to phone radiation. The evidence is clear and present and it’s time to take control today to reduce your exposure to harmful radiation for good. It’s pretty easy after all, and the costs are not high compared to the risks of a lifetime of exposure to radiation!
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Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash