Can Magnets damage Phones? This has been a worrisome question among phone users. Magnets are bad for all things electrical.

Concept of Magnets

According to ‘geeklore’ (like folklore but more intriguing) from the days of the first personal computer. 

But, you say, we’ve come a long way since the days of the trusty floppy disk and the clumsy CRT monitor; surely this can’t be the case? 

Magnets can’t possibly harm my iPhone, right? The short answer is that if the magnet is large and powerful enough, it can damage your gadget, and not only by dropping it on it!

In this essay, I’ll look at the materials that make up your smartphone and what would happen if you placed it near a magnet. When mobile phones were the size of cereal boxes and PC monitors had back-ends the size of a Ford Escort. These monstrosities were extremely susceptible to magnetic interference. 

When a magnet is placed near a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Screen, it produces a rainbow of psychedelic colors. This is because a CRT display creates a picture by shooting a tightly focused beam of electrons that are deflected by magnetic fields. 

As a result, a foreign magnetic field will interfere with the magnetic field that was necessary to form the image in the first place. On the other hand, Modern smartphones feature LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panels, which are often resistant to magnets.

Check out Can Android Phones get Viruses?

STORAGE

In the world of technology, there are many distinct types of storage devices.  A hard disk drive in your computer will employ a powerful neodymium magnet to swing the read/write head, allowing you to access, read, and write data. 

As a result, hard disk drives are not sensitive to ordinary magnets, but they can be corrupted by extremely powerful magnets. The storage chip in newer cell phones, such as the iPhone, has a ‘flash’ style drive that can’t be erased by a magnet because it doesn’t contain any magnetic components, hooray!

DIGITAL COMPASS

Just like a traditional compass, the digital compass in a smartphone  like the iPhone functions like a magnetic-needle compass. It’s accuracy can be influenced by a strong external magnetic field. 

Your phone should display an alert if your compass is affected. More  information on how to fix it can be found on the Apple support site for iPhone users.

LOCATION SERVICES

A clever GPS system embedded into your smartphone calculates your location. GPS is immune to magnetic interference since it relies on satellite signals rather than geomagnetic forces.

MAGNETOMETER

Your smartphone’s magnetometer allows it to detect the strength and direction of magnetic fields.

It’s compatible with the digital compass, but it’s also used by a variety of other apps. 

This device could be vulnerable to extremely strong magnetic fields.

SPEAKER

Your smartphone’s speaker, like any other speaker, is powered by magnets and hence will not be impacted by an external magnetic field.

In conclusion, unless your smartphone is exposed to a very strong magnet for an extended period of time. Else, the only component that is likely to be damaged is the phone’s digital compass. As a result, the magnets that your phone is likely to come into touch with during normal use. This is like those in magnetic covers or cradles, or those on your purse or handbag, will not cause any problems.

Kindly contact us via our contact page for more information on, Can Magnets damage Phones?. Check out questions and answers on,   do magnets affects smartphones?. Also, Mobile Technology for Telephony Devices.