How much radiation your phone actually passes to your body – and how to check it in a minute
Every smartphone sold in Europe has one number almost nobody looks at: SAR. It is in the manual, on the manufacturer's website and in the phone's own settings. And it tells you something more and more people care about – how much radiofrequency energy the body absorbs while the phone is working next to us.
The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) regularly publishes SAR values for hundreds of models. Croatian tech portal Bug.hr recently picked 15 popular phones from that data and compared them. We looked at the numbers – here is what is worth knowing.
What is SAR?
SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) measures how much electromagnetic energy tissue absorbs per unit of time. It is expressed in watts per kilogram (W/kg).
It is measured in a lab, under standardised conditions and at maximum transmit power. It is measured separately:
- at the head – as during a call, with the phone at your ear,
- at the body – as when the phone is in a pocket or bag, a short distance from the body.
In the European Union the limit for the head and trunk is 2.0 W/kg, and 4.0 W/kg for the limbs. Every phone on the market must stay below it.
What do the numbers show?
The differences are bigger than you might expect – from 0.38 to 1.49 W/kg, almost four times. Here are all 15 models in the comparison (head values):
Interestingly, a more expensive phone does not necessarily mean a lower SAR. The lowest values belong to affordable mid-range models, while some of the most expensive phones have some of the higher values.
The same phone can also have very different values at the head and at the body – the Google Pixel 9, for example, has 0.99 at the head but 1.40 at the body. If you carry your phone in your pocket all day, the "body" value matters more to you.
What SAR doesn't tell you
SAR is a lab value measured at maximum power. In everyday use a phone usually transmits at lower power – how strongly depends on the signal, the distance to the base station and how you use it.
So a phone with a lower SAR won't always emit less in real life, and a higher SAR does not by itself mean a device is dangerous. Health authorities say current research does not confirm harm from exposure within the prescribed limits, and research continues.
Still, SAR is useful for comparison – and a good reminder that exposure is not the same for every device or every habit.
How to check your phone's SAR
- On many models, type *#07# as if dialling a number – the SAR values will appear.
- Look in settings under "About phone" → "Legal information" or "Certifications".
- Check the manual or the manufacturer's website.
- Compare models in the German BfS database (bfs.de), which is updated regularly.
Simple habits that reduce exposure
- For longer calls, use the speaker or headphones – distance is your best ally.
- Call when the signal is good. With a weak signal the phone transmits harder.
- When you're not using it, don't keep the phone against your body all the time.
- At night, leave it away from the bed or switch on airplane mode.
- Limit how long children hold a phone to their head – and set them an example.
Where does HSC come in?
People who think about electromagnetic fields in everyday life often look for an extra option alongside good habits. For them there is the HSC protective smart card – a small card placed on a phone, tablet or router, developed from the earlier NESU card.
To be clear: the HSC card does not change a phone's SAR value and does not replace the habits in this article. It is an addition for those who want to do a little more.
Read more about the card, its development and testing on the product page:
HSC 5G, 4G and 3G protective smart card
Finally
Next time you choose a phone, look at SAR alongside the camera, battery and price. It takes a minute – and you'll know a bit more about the device you carry with you every day.
Sources: data from the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), as reported in "15 popular smartphones by radiation level", Bug.hr / Mreža, 1 Nov 2026 (link, in Croatian) and Visual Capitalist. Chart made by ALC. Values are lab measurements intended for comparison.