At SYB, we take our product claims very seriously, and we want our customers like you to know that.
That’s why, on this page, you will find test results on our products from laboratories around the world. Just like you do on many sites that sell EMF protection products.
But, there’s more to it than that. So if you’re really interested in knowing that our products work the way we say they do, I would ask you to please read on.
I know it’s long. And if you’d like, you can just skip to the bottom to see our testing videos and lab test results.
But if you really want to know that your SYB product works, please consider taking the time to read this.
What is EMF Testing?
There are many types of EMF tests, actually. It depends on what you want to test.
For instance, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) requires testing of certain wireless products to ensure the product doesn’t interfere with other wireless devices. That’s one kind of EMF testing.
When it comes to EMF testing for companies like SYB that sell EMF protection products, the tests we use are called ‘EMF attenuation’ tests.
Attenuation essentially means blocking.
So an attenuation test tells us how much EMF radiation something like our SYB Phone Pouch will ‘attenuate’, or block.
And these tests are important to consumers. Because EMF is a complex subject. And a lot of people do not know how to test EMF shielding for themselves.
So naturally consumers like you are going to rely on tests like these.
But, what an ‘EMF test’ means might be different than what you think it means. So, let’s dive in and learn a little more about EMF attenuation tests.
What Do EMF Attenuation Tests Actually Tell Us?
Attenuation tests do, in fact, tell us how much EMF was blocked by a product.
But that is very far from the whole story.
Because really, attenuation data tells us how much EMF was blocked, under very specific circumstances.
And that’s a really important clarification.
Take a product claim like “tests shows we block 99% of EMF radiation.”
When we see that, our minds interpret that to mean “blocks 99% of all EMF radiation;” and then our minds add “in all circumstances” to the end of the phrase, without even realizing it – completely subconsciously.
So even though the original claim was:
“tests show we block 99% of EMF radiation”
we read it as:
“tests show we block 99% of all EMF radiation, in all circumstances.”
When in fact, the original claim would be more properly stated as:
“tests show we can block up to 99% of EMF radiation, in a very specific set of circumstances.”
Which is really very different.
What Does “Specific Circumstances” Mean?
“Specific circumstances” means that however much EMF was shielded in the test, is specific to the situation in which the product was tested.
Conditions like:
- What was the EMF source?
- Where was the EMF protection product placed in relation to the source?
- What tool was used to measure the EMF levels?
- Where was that EMF measurement tool placed?
- What frequencies were measured?
- What is the background level of EMF radiation present during the test? And was it accounted for in the test?
These are just some of the aspects of a test that make the test unique, and lead to whatever results are generated.
Change any one of those factors, and the test results can vary — sometimes, quite significantly.
The way a product is tested in a lab could have little relationship — or no relationship at all — to how you would use the product in real life.
In fact, I will go so far as to say that lab testing almost never tells you how EMF shielding will work, for you, in your real life.
The testing environment is too artificial, too unrelated to how you will actually use the product.
And that’s why I spend the time to show you how you can test for yourself, to see how effective EMF shielding products are, in the specific circumstances that you use them— in your real world scenarios.
Those are the only test results that matter for you and your health.
But before we get there, I want to discuss a few more reasons why attenuation test results can be so misleading.
Tests Can Be Very Misleading
I once designed a shielding product for SYB.
And the lab tests showed that it product blocked 99% of EMF radiation. That’s really good, right?
Then, I tested it in real life scenarios, outside of a lab.
And it turned out that the product shielded very little EMF — maybe 20% in most real life scenarios.
Why the difference?
Because in real life the product was used in a very different way than it was tested in the lab.
So, we do not sell that product.
But we could sell it.
And we could truthfully say that “lab tests show it blocks up to 99% of EMF radiation”.
And that would make you want to buy it.
And unless you tested for yourself, you’d never know the shielding wasn’t working right.
I share this story to demonstrate just how misleading lab test data can be.
You can’t just rely on it; you can’t just assume it’s true; and you can’t just assume the results will apply to you and how you would use the product.
That’s why you need to test for yourself.
Because, as any scientist will tell you, you can design a scientific experiment to demonstrate anything.
In fact, this is precisely how the wireless industry is able to generate so many scientific studies showing that EMF has no impact on human health. It’s not because they’re lying, or practicing faulty science.
It’s because they design these studies from the ground up to show specific results, even if those results do not apply to real life. They design a specific scenario to show specific results. Even if those results do not really apply in the real world.
And they can also manipulate how the results are presented in their findings, as was the case with the 2012 MTHR study.
Which brings us to FCC Certified Lab testing.
What is FCC Certified Testing?
Now, you may have noticed that some EMF protection companies display test results, saying that the tests were conducted at an FCC certified laboratory.
So what does this mean?
It means that the FCC (or Federal Communications Commission) has certified that laboratory is suitable for testing products for FCC compliance.
The lab has to use specific devices and processes suitable to approve products that the FCC regulates. (If you’re interested in the details, you can check the FCC qualifications for testing laboratories.)
Here’s the thing: the FCC does not regulate EMF protection products!
The FCC barely even cares about the harmful effects of EMF radiation (unless the product has so much radiation that it burns you; the so-called ‘thermal effect’ of EMF is quite literally the only aspect of human health that the FCC cares about).
So, if you’re releasing a new WiFi router, and need to prove to the FCC that it doesn’t interfere with other wireless devices, then having tests done at an FCC certified lab matters.
But that’s it!
If you’re looking to test anything else, the fact that a test was done at an FCC certified lab is completely irrelevant.
So, saying that your EMF protection product was tested at an FCC certified laboratory, would be like the NFL bragging that “the Super Bowl was refereed by the absolute best Major League Baseball umpires!”
It makes no sense!
They might be the best baseball umpires in the world, but the Super Bowl needs football refs! Not baseball umpires!
In fact, I’ve contacted several of these FCC certified labs, and many of them do not even know how to test EMF shielding products.
Because it’s not what they’re used to doing.
Because it’s not their business.
But, because there are no governmental or international bodies that regulate EMF protection products, other companies use “FCC Certified Labs” as a stand-in authority for marketing purposes, in a way that lulls customers into a false sense of security.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Just because an EMF protection company says their products were tested at an FCC certified laboratory doesn’t mean their tests are bad, and it doesn’t necessarily mean their products don’t work the way they claim.
What I am saying is that the fact that an EMF shielding test was performed at an FCC certified laboratory is completely irrelevant. Such tests are not inherently more reliable or trustworthy. They’re just not.
What matters is testing for the real world circumstances in which you will use EMF shielding products. If you want to have confidence that an EMF shielding product actually works, you have to test for yourself.
Why Test For Yourself?
Because, as I’ve said, EMF protection products are unregulated.
And many companies out there blatantly lie about how well their products work, or intentionally mislead with their testing data.
And even those that are telling you the truth with their test results, it just doesn’t mean that’s how the product will work for you, in real life, given how you will use the product.
And that’s why I encourage my customers to learn how to test EMF shielding for themselves.
A few weeks ago, I saw a customer review of one of my products on Amazon. This customer complained that we send our customers instructions on how to test our SYB products for themselves.
“Why don’t you just post the test results instead of telling us how to test for ourselves?” this reviewer asked.
(Actually, we do post test results. But there isn’t a convenient or practical way to do so on Amazon, so maybe this customer didn’t see the data on our website.)
But, more to the point, the reason I invest the effort to teach my customers how to verify that my products work the way that I claim, is precisely for all the reasons I’ve been saying.
Testing for yourself is the only way to know if an EMF shielding product works the way it claims to, under the specific circumstances that you are using it.
Period. End of story.
The companies that actively try to dissuade you from testing for yourself are doing you no favors.
That’s why I wrote our free ebook “ How to Know That Your SYB Product Really Works”. And that’s why I send a copy of this ebook to each customer following their purchase.
(And, as far as I know, SYB is the only EMF protection company that encourages customers to test our product claims for themselves and sends them instructions on how to do so.)
And, more broadly, that’s why I invest so much time and energy into helping our customers with testing.
When any customer emails me asking about how to test, or asks why their tests didn’t show the results they were expecting, I take the time to personally dig in to the matter. I ask them questions about their test. I ask them to record a video of the test, so I can see what’s happening. Sometimes, I’ll even go and buy the same EMF meter they are using so that I can test for myself.
Because EMF testing can be a little complicated. There are a lot of things that can influence the results. And so many of the meters use different units, and work differently, and have different settings.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as using a thermometer.
But it can be done. You can do it for yourself!
And if EMF is an issue that matters to you, you should do it for yourself.
Now, maybe one day SYB will grow so large that I can’t personally spend the time to do this with each customer.
But for now, I consider it an important part of my job.
Because I want my customers to have the knowledge and skills to navigate the complex world of EMF protection products with confidence.
And I want my customers to know that I’m being truthful with them. Truthful about EMF science, and truthful about our product claims.
I want my customers to be able to know for themselves that SYB really stands behind its product claims.
Most of the time, the customer is able to verify our product claims in their own tests.
But not always.
Sometimes— given how the customer is using the product, or given the specific wireless device they are trying to shield— our shielding effectiveness isn’t quite as good as we claim.
And when that happens, I acknowledge it, and work to find a solution to satisfy my customer — because (contrary to what others may have you believe) there is no EMF shielding product that is 100% effective against all EMF in all scenarios. There just isn’t. The world of technology is too complicated for that.
So don’t just take my word (or the word of other EMF protection companies).
See for yourself so that you can know for sure.
EMF Testing Videos
Now, I understand that a lot of people do not (yet) have EMF their own meters to test for themselves.
That’s why I’ve posted videos for our products showing how to test them with multiple different popular EMF meters.
These videos show real tests, with real (and commonly owned) EMF meters, in a way that you can understand what the test results actually show you.
You can see the scenarios we’re actually testing. You can see the levels we are measuring. You can see what the test actually means.
And, if you choose to get a meter, you can replicate our test for yourself!
Or you can test a different scenario that maybe I didn’t think of – a scenario that applies to you, and how you use my products.
Because — and I’ll say it just one more time — testing for yourself is the only way you can know for sure that your EMF protection is working.
If you’ve read this far, then I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say. I really appreciate it. If you have any questions, please just email me, and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Sincerely,
Lab Test Results
Now, having gone through all of that introduction, and now that you hopefully have a better context to understand what EMF attenuation test results are (and are not), you can review the lab test data for my products.
Please see the tables, below, for the detailed attenuation values from the tests, presented in decibels (dB) and, in some cases, percentages as well.
A decibel is a unit of measurement, often associated with audio volume, but that is also used to measure EMF attenuation, or shielding. A decibel is a ratio between two values: in this case, the power of the EM radiation before it hits the shield, and after. You may read more about what a decibel is here.
However, precisely because decibels are a relatively obscure and confusing unit of measurement for consumers, we have also posted the percentage of radiation that is attenuated, or shielded. Shielding effectiveness is commonly measured in both decibels, and percentages. The percentage value is quite simply that: the percentage of the wireless radiation that our products deflected during these tests.
Please note the actual amount of shielding provided by our products depends on the specific frequency of the wireless radiation you are trying to block. As well, these tests were performed at different laboratories around the world at different times, so the way that the data is presented can vary.
The SYB Phone Pouch is made with a very powerful shielding fabric that provides excellent near-field and far-field RF shielding effectiveness of 65-80 dB tested over 30MHz to 1GHz. In addition, due to the unique characteristics of the fabric, it also provides electric and magnetic field shielding.
