Xiaomi Mi A1 , OnePlus 5T top list of high SAR phones, here is how to find radiation rating for your phone (2024)

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 12, 2019 12:58 IST

The jury is still out on whether phones cause cancer or not, with so far researchers finding no conclusive evidence that smartphones can damage body at cellular level. But smartphones do emit radiation with all their antennas and gadgetry inside them. Now a report says that when it comes to the radiation from smartphones, measured in Specific absorption rate (SAR), Xiaomi and OnePlus phones are usually on the higher side while the Samsung phones are at bottom of the list. The iPhones are somewhere in the middle.

Statista, an online statistics and marketing research portal, has created a list of 16 smartphones that emit the higher amount of radiation. The list is created based on the SAR of the each phone, which by regulation the phone companies must declare for their devices.

Update: Xiaomi has this to say on this report- "All Xiaomi smartphones sold in India comply with the laws for SAR values and are well under the limit. Mi A1 has a SAR value of 1.26 W/kg (head) and 0.17 W/kg (body) in India. Values shared in the said report have been obtained from tests in Germany (where the conditions and standards for SAR testing and values are different from those in India) and thus cannot be compared to SAR values in India. For reference, India has a maximum limit of 1.6 W/kg while in Germany, the limit is 2.0 W/kg."

The Xiaomi Mi A1 with 1.75 W/kg SAR value is found to be emitting the highest amount of radiation followed by the OnePlus 5T which has 1.68 W/kg SAR value. The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 and the OnePlus 6T take the third and fourth spot with 1.58 W/kg and 1.55 W/kg, respectively. The list is dominated by Xiaomi and OnePlus phones with four phones from each brand. The OnePlus 6 is on the 13th spot with SAR value of 1.33 W/kg.

The other devices in the list of smartphones that emit the highest radiation are HTV U12 Lite, Mi Mix 3, Pixel 3 XL, OnePlus 5, iPhone 7, Xperia XZ1 Compact, HTC Desire 12/12+, Pixel 3, iPhone 8, Redmi Note 5 and ZTE Axon 7 mini.

Statista has not clearly explained whether these SAR values are for the head (radiation while the phone is in use when you are holding it near your ear) or for the body, which is radiation while the phone is in your pocket. But a look at specs of the phones included in the list hints that the values are for SAR head.

"While there is no universal guideline for a safe level of phone radiation, the German certification for environmental friendliness Der Blaue Engel (Blue Angel) only certifies phones that have a specific absorption rate of less than 0.60 watts per kilogram. All of the phones featured here come in at more than double this benchmark," writes Martin Armstrong, Data Journalist at Statista.

The firm has separately also published a list of phones that have low SAR value and hence least emit these radiations. This list is topped by Samsung Galaxy Note 8. It has a SAR value of 0.17 that apparently makes it safe for the environment. In fact there are eight phone models from Samsung that have made it to the least. These are: the Galaxy A8, Galaxy S8 Plus, S7 Edge, S9 Plus, Galaxy J6 Plus, Galaxy J4 Plus, and Galaxy S8. The newest launched Galaxy M20 also has a low SAR value of SAR 0.273 W/kg. The other phone brands in this list are Motorola, ZTE, LG, and HTC (U11 Lite only).

When electromagnetic waves are exchanged, some percentage of these waves are absorbed by the tissues around it. The SAR value is the rate at which the body absorbs this lost electromagnetic waves. According to US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), phones with a SAR level of 1.6 W/Kg for body or below are deemed safe. The same measurement is followed in India. In Europe, the government agencies require that the phone should have a SAR value of less than 2W/kg.

How to find SAR for your phone

SAR value of a phone has to be mandatorily declared by the company that has made the phone. So you can easily find the SAR value for your smartphone by looking at the info label pasted on a phone's box. The SAR value is also declared by most smartphone companies in a sticker that they attach to the phone's body. You can see this sticker when you take out the phone for the first time out of the box.

In case you have discarded the box in which your phone came or removed and threw that sticker that was pasted on the phone, you can check out the phone's specification page or manual on the website of the manufacture. There too a phone company lists the phone's SAR value.

Finally, on many phones (but not all) the SAR value of the device can

To check the SAR value of your phone look behind the packaging of your smartphone. You can also dial *#07# to check it. Dialling this code will bring up the regulatory information related to the phone's SAR value on its screen. It is important to note that due to different features in a phone in different countries, and due to different kind of cellular networks used in different countries, the SAR value of the same phone can wildly differ from country to country.