AirPods – Don’t Do It!

The most disruptive device under our roof? My teenage son’s AirPods.

Even when they’re off and sitting in their charging case, they still emit high levels of radiation — at least by Building Biology standards, and my own. To keep background radiation levels low enough in the workshop for prepping and calibrating EMF meters, the AirPods have to be stored in a metal container. That space must stay under 0.5 µW/m², and these things exceed that limit even when “OFF” and at a distance.

AirPods vs 5GHz Wi-Fi

Upstairs from the workshop bench, 10 meters away, is a low-output 5GHz Wi-Fi router in the living room. It measures under 0.5 µW/m²^^ — totally manageable. (Measured on the Mito Meter & SS Pro2 RF Meter.)

But the AirPods — in their case, OFF, sitting right next to the same Wi-Fi router — register 3 µW/m² at the workshop bench. That’s six times higher than the 5GHz router at the same distance… and the AirPods are “OFF.”

So even when people switch their phones to Flight Mode (with all radios deactivated) and think all their wireless signals are off as they head to bed, if their AirPods are nearby — especially on a bedside table — they’re still being exposed to microwave radiation pulses around the clock reaching up to 600µW/m².

For sleeping areas, Building Biology recommends staying below 0.1 µW/m². That’s not easy in today’s microwave-saturated world. Yet many people unknowingly sleep with these radiating devices close to their heads.

Building Biology Recommended Limits  — For Sleeping Areas

⚠️ Russian Roulette

Take these AirPods out of their case and place them in your ears, and now you’re playing microwave Russian roulette in the near-field — absorbing thousands of microWatts. In the ears it’s not just the magnetic field that's the concern — it’s the accumulative biological impact of the signaling.

Fortunately, my son now uses his corded over-ear headphones most of the time — ever since he saw and heard the AirPods in action with the Mito Meter's RF Modes.

Those who know better, do better. This day and age, no parent should be without a reliable 3-in-1 screening meter.

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EMF Protection

There’s widespread misinformation online about EMF protection, with many false claims circulating. If products truly existed that could effectively shield users from electromagnetic radiation, there would be no need for safety standards, testing protocols, or EMF meters in the first place.

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Notes

Microwatts per Square Meter - µW/m² ; This is a unit of power density, used to measure how much electromagnetic energy is present over a given area used in RF (radiofrequency) exposure assessments. 1 µW/m² = one-millionth of a watt per square meter. 1,000 µW = 1 milliwatt (mW). Near Field; The near field is the region closest to a source of electromagnetic radiation — where electric and magnetic fields behave differently than in the "far field" and don’t yet form a conventional radio wave. It's especially important when evaluating EMF exposure close to devices like AirPods & phones. Power levels in the near field don’t fall off with distance in the same way as far-field electromagnetic waves.

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