6 ms·

Just put it in a Faraday cage. Problem solved.

by labster 3y ago

piinbinary 3y ago
I wonder if a microwave is a sufficient Faraday cage to kill cell reception
- nickt 3y ago
  Usually. You can check by putting your phone in and closing the door while looking at the signal strength meter. It should go without saying don’t turn the microwave oven on with your expensive electronics inside. If you get decent reception in the closed oven, you need a new one. Definitely works to kill reception forever if you power up the microwave for a couple of minutes…
  - puzzledobserver 3y ago
    "you need a new one." <-- New microwave, I presume?
  - TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
    You may just need to clean the inside of the door so it closes better. Try that first.
- kurthr 3y ago
  They did quite well for 3G and even 4G which didn't have as many above 2.4GHz , but after 4GLTE, 5G has added a lot of mid-bands between 2.6-6GHz. Those tend to leak more since they have shorter wavelengths than microwaves are built around 2.4GHz. Some of them are only used in a few countries, but n2 & n77 are widely used by ATT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands You gotta take that phone out sometime though to heat up your ramen.
  - zx8080 3y ago
    4GLTE/5G compatible microwave is needed!
andsoitis 3y ago
>> That was a fun night when the dead phone woke up and started dialling 112 repeatedly and there was nothing I could do short of smashing the damn thing with a hammer to stop it. > Just put it in a Faraday cage. Problem solved. Even if I don't have a hammer handy, I could probably find something in the middle of the night to smash the thing. A Faraday cage on the other hand...
- j-bos 3y ago
  Not sure your kitchen situation, but most homes have a microwave. Shouldn't that work?
  - fomine3 3y ago
    There are many frequency bands used by phone, I'm not sure everything is blocked by microwave.
    - bagels 3y ago
      I tested this. My phone does indeed have a network connection in the microwave.
  - peanut-walrus 3y ago
    Tried that. Didn't work.
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    Do I need to turn on the microwave with the phone inside it? This is an honest question because I don't know anything about microwave signals (I could google/research), but my instinct tells me I probably shouldn't turn on the microwave with the phone inside it, though I don't know for sure what will happen (explode?)
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - 3y ago
GeekyBear 3y ago
One of the things I remember from the Snowden reporting is that he had the reporters use a freezer as a Faraday cage for their phones.
- labster 3y ago
  Talk about a cold reception.
- sneak 3y ago
  No, they used it as acoustic insulation for the microphones and optical insulation for the cameras. The signal blocking, if any, is just a bonus, but isn't to be relied upon.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
Or a biscuit tin.

Just put it in a Faraday cage. Problem solved.

piinbinary 3y ago

I wonder if a microwave is a sufficient Faraday cage to kill cell reception

nickt 3y ago
Usually. You can check by putting your phone in and closing the door while looking at the signal strength meter. It should go without saying don’t turn the microwave oven on with your expensive electronics inside. If you get decent reception in the closed oven, you need a new one. Definitely works to kill reception forever if you power up the microwave for a couple of minutes…
- puzzledobserver 3y ago
  "you need a new one." <-- New microwave, I presume?
- TRiG_Ireland 3y ago
  You may just need to clean the inside of the door so it closes better. Try that first.
kurthr 3y ago
They did quite well for 3G and even 4G which didn't have as many above 2.4GHz , but after 4GLTE, 5G has added a lot of mid-bands between 2.6-6GHz. Those tend to leak more since they have shorter wavelengths than microwaves are built around 2.4GHz. Some of them are only used in a few countries, but n2 & n77 are widely used by ATT. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5G_NR_frequency_bands You gotta take that phone out sometime though to heat up your ramen.
- zx8080 3y ago
  4GLTE/5G compatible microwave is needed!

andsoitis 3y ago

>> That was a fun night when the dead phone woke up and started dialling 112 repeatedly and there was nothing I could do short of smashing the damn thing with a hammer to stop it. > Just put it in a Faraday cage. Problem solved. Even if I don't have a hammer handy, I could probably find something in the middle of the night to smash the thing. A Faraday cage on the other hand...

j-bos 3y ago
Not sure your kitchen situation, but most homes have a microwave. Shouldn't that work?
- fomine3 3y ago
  There are many frequency bands used by phone, I'm not sure everything is blocked by microwave.
  - bagels 3y ago
    I tested this. My phone does indeed have a network connection in the microwave.
- peanut-walrus 3y ago
  Tried that. Didn't work.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  Do I need to turn on the microwave with the phone inside it? This is an honest question because I don't know anything about microwave signals (I could google/research), but my instinct tells me I probably shouldn't turn on the microwave with the phone inside it, though I don't know for sure what will happen (explode?)
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - 3y ago

GeekyBear 3y ago

One of the things I remember from the Snowden reporting is that he had the reporters use a freezer as a Faraday cage for their phones.

labster 3y ago
Talk about a cold reception.
sneak 3y ago
No, they used it as acoustic insulation for the microphones and optical insulation for the cameras. The signal blocking, if any, is just a bonus, but isn't to be relied upon.

kwhitefoot 3y ago

Or a biscuit tin.