These scammy 5G router cages have Michael Faraday rolling into his grave

While products that promise to protect you from radiation are far from new, now so-called Faraday router cages that claim to block radiation from the damaging electromagnetic field (and 5G signal too) are proliferating on Amazon.

In a tweet yesterday, user @AnsgarTOdinson posted some screenshots from Amazon of “Faraday Defense Router Shield // Wi-Fi Guard, Wi-Fi Router Cover, EMF Guard, Superior Shielding Performance, Blocks up to 95% EMF RF Waves, Quality Build , Made in the USA. ” Screenshots of user reviews are included, where shoppers were dismayed to find that the cage actually borked their Wi-Fi signals.

A quick search for “Faraday router shields 5G” on Amazon, unfortunately, yields 159 results. While most claim to block somewhere between 90 to 95 percent of normal ole EMF radiation, a handful of products also claim to block 5G by allowing you to use Wi-Fi as well. Sure, some of these lists are hilarious. Many include photoshopped bows because, you know, it’s the season. Others have incredibly specific product titles that clearly tell a beef story between a scam brand and another imitation company trying to rock on their turf. But in all cases, these glorified mesh trash cans are priced between $ 70 and $ 200.

If you are not familiar with a Faraday cage, it is a metal cage that transforms electrostatic charges or types of EMF and distributes it through the cage itself, thus shielding the interior. This same principle is why buildings sometimes mess with Wi-Fi or cellular signals. In everyday life, the car, microwave oven, and MRI machines also act as Faraday cages. TL; DR: Faraday cages are meant to help people, not to be used as fake marketing to cash in on unfounded conspiracy theories.

Some fear that 5G may affect health due to the high frequency millimeter wave signals that make up part of 5G networks. But there is no evidence that 5G is dangerous to health. The New York Times reported that your skin is an adequate barrier against high frequency radio waves, including 5G. But even if 5G were dangerous – which, again, there is no evidence – these products are stupid because 5G cell phone does not come from the Wi-Fi router. Also, any router shield that comes out whatever the signal is not a true Faraday cage.

While I’m not a psychic, I’m pretty sure Michael Faraday, the scientist after whom Faraday’s cages are named, didn’t intend to abuse his invention in this way. Tech reporters and besieged 5G experts from around the world are sitting with their heads between their knees, pinching the bridge of their nose.

“Many people seem to think their home router is issuing 4G or 5G,” Sascha Segan, chief mobile analyst at PC Magazine, told Gizmodo. “They’re wrong. Home Wi-Fi routers typically don’t emit cellular signals. Maybe they’re confused about the naming of 5 GHz Wi-Fi? Anyway, if people want to put trash cans on their routers to make them useless, um, less energy for them. “

“This appears to be a convergence of technical ignorance and conspiracy theories,” said Avi Greengart, president and chief analyst at Techsponential. “5GHz Wi-Fi is not the same as cellular 5G. Putting a router in a Faraday cage, assuming it is an effective Faraday cage, prevents the router from working properly. It doesn’t protect you from anything and, too. if it did, it would be much more effective to disable the bands in the router settings or just unplug it.

“It’s a box for blocking Wi-Fi,” Segan said. “It will work in exact proportion to how bad your Wi-Fi gets. There is no magic wave” EMF “to block other than the Wi-Fi you’re trying to use. If you’re worried about wireless signals, grab a switch and use Ethernet “.

“As for these devices, they prey on people who are afraid of wireless communications and the radiation they emit,” Anshel Sag, senior analyst for 5G at Moor Insights & Strategy, told Gizmodo in an email. “I’ve followed the industry that leverages people’s fear of 5G, and most of these products either don’t work at all or work very well and make wireless communications useless. In both scenarios, the consumer is not well informed about the technology and comes exploited based on his fears. I would not advise anyone to buy any of these devices, ever. “

Gizmodo reached out to Smart Meter Guard, which sells at least three of these devices on Amazon and their website, to explain why they chose to market their product this way. We also contacted Amazon to ask why such fraudulent products were allowed on its site. In any case, Gizmodo did not receive an immediate response.

This isn’t the first time shady companies have used bogus anti-5G products to make a profit. A particularly striking example is the anti-5G USB stick, which claimed to emit a holographic bubble that protected users from the 5G bugbear. It was, of course, mercilessly debunked into a teardown as nothing more than a $ 300 ($ 403) sticker. However, these types of scam products abound on Amazon. Not only can you find 5G underpants, you can also find 5G doubts maternity bands to “protect” your unborn baby and EMF protection charms that claim to be programmed with “30+ homeopathic frequencies”.

Ultimately, this is a buyer’s attention case. However, Amazon should be ashamed that by allowing these modern snake oil sellers on its platform, they also profit directly from junk science. Sure, it would be a herculean effort to sift through the millions of billions of listings on Amazon and eliminate every single bogus item. But at least, for the sake of the sanity of an entire industry, get rid of the fake Wi-Fi trash cans. Only then will the spirit of Michael Faraday be able to rest in peace.

We reached out to Amazon for comment. The company said it is reviewing the lists.