Everyone has a phone. The smart phone has become an important part of our lives. For some people, they’re almost another body part. We use them to communicate, to take photos and videos, to find directions, and to even start our cars. It’s no wonder we want to keep them protected. A Faraday bag for your phone is the perfect solution for blocking all outside radio waves from getting in or out of your phone. It is also helpful to protect your phone from other more serious threats, such as skimming, stalking, and even an EMP or a solar flare.
What is a Faraday Bag for a Phone?
A Faraday cage bag is a simple pouch that blocks RFID signals from getting in or out. The idea behind these bags is that the material itself – usually a combination of copper and nickel – will block the electromagnetic fields created by your credit cards, smartphones and other electronics that could otherwise be stolen in a “skimming” attack, or otherwise accessed or damaged through other electronic means.
Skimming Attacks
A skimming attack is when someone steals information from your phone, electronic device, or card. You can protect your credit card information by using Faraday bags for your cards and phones.
Faraday bags are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. There are bags for phones, credit cards, passports, and other items. When you place a device in a faraday bag, it blocks the electromagnetic radiation (which includes radio frequencies). This prevents the signals to be read.
Most cards are RFID-enabled these days. Your card will have a tiny symbol on it that looks like an antennae with waves coming off of it. It will probably be on the back of the card. Any card with this symbol is an RFID card and needs protection. Faraday bags block the radio frequencies that allow thieves to steal data from your cards.
Other than water damage, skimming attacks are probably the most likely threat of danger you’ll have to your electronics. Luckily, our bag recommendations below protect from both, and more.
Prevent Your Phone From Being Tracked
You should generally use a faraday bag for your phone or other electronic device if you want to keep it from being tracked.
A faraday bag is a metal-lined enclosure that will block all electronic signals, whether they are cellular signals, GPS signals or Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connections. When you place a phone in a faraday bag, it will be unable to make or receive calls, exchange data with cell towers, access the Internet through Wi-Fi or connect to any other device via Bluetooth.
In short, when your phone is inside a faraday bag, it won’t be able to perform any of the functions that make it so useful. A thief who steals your phone wouldn’t be able to use it because the phone would be in its own little bubble. If you lost your phone and someone found it, you would have a hard time tracking your own phone down using the device’s location services until they take it out of the bag. If you use an app like Find My iPhone that relies on a connection between your iPhone and Apple’s iCloud servers, you would also lose your ability to track the lost device through that service because of the bag’s blocking properties.
Protect Your Phone from a Solar Flare
Solar flares are large explosions in the sun’s atmosphere that can affect satellites, communications and power systems on Earth.
Solar flares are caused by a build-up of magnetic energy in the sun’s atmosphere. That energy is released when the magnetic field suddenly changes and reconnects, accelerating charged particles to near the speed of light. The top of the sun’s atmosphere (the corona) heats up to tens of millions of degrees and expands outwards, sometimes into space.
Long story short, it sends out an electromagnetic pulse that shuts down electronics, but a faraday device is able to protect your device. For more information on solar flares, check out our article on how to prepare for a solar flare disaster.
EMPs
An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that can destroy electronic equipment and interfere with electrical devices. The radiation is most often the result of a nuclear explosion, which can destroy electronics in the surrounding area.
An EMP attack is an intentional release of energy into the atmosphere, while solar flares are naturally occurring EMPs.
Choosing a Faraday Bag for Your Phone
A Faraday Backpack will be able to hold multiple electronics, and even larger iPad, like the iPad Pro. We’re a big fan of the Barrier Bag. It’s a water resistant faraday backpack that was built with the idea of being a backpack and a faraday bag. That might sound obvious, but what I mean is that there are many “backpacks” that just have a couple of straps sewed onto a cheap bag. The Barrier Bag is a well made good backpack, that also is a faraday bag.
Barrier Bag 20 Liter Faraday Backpack
The Mission Darkness Molle Waterproof Faraday Pouch is our favorite small option from our Waterproof Faraday Cage Bag List. Mission Darkness produces some high quality gear. We’re really impressed and pleased with their Molle waterproof faraday pouch. This pouch is extremely versatile and well built. The Molle system makes it really nice for being able to strap onto a bug out bag, or any other backpack in case you need to get out of dodge. It probably has the best Amazon reviews of any option on this list. This is our go to bag for small electronic protection.
Mission Darkness Molle Waterproof Faraday Pouch
A less expensive option is the Faraday Defense multibag kit. These bags are advertised as being military grade. What we really like about them though is the ability to nest one inside the other, that way you have a few layers of defense against a solar flare. Or you can have multiple bags to store multiple devices.
Faraday Defense 15pc Faraday Bag Kit
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A common misconception is that a Faraday cage provides full blockage or attenuation; however it cannot guarantee such protection from either external or internal sources. It can reduce the coupling of signals between the two sides of the shield but cannot guarantee complete isolation. A Faraday cage’s operation depends on the fact that an external static electrical field causes the electric charges within the cage’s conducting material to be distributed so as to cancel the field’s effect in the cage’s interior. This phenomenon is used, for example, to protect electronic equipment from lightning strikes and electrostatic discharges. By containing the electrical charge within its outer walls, it prevents damage to sensitive electronic devices caused by exposure to such conditions. For more information, check out our article on simple faraday cages.
