My cell phone periodically interferes with my electrical stuff

[MrScorpio]

Beeps and boops coming through my clock radio and TV, even my iMac and wife's PC. It even sends lines through my CRT.

I guess that it's triangulating with the nearest cell towers.

But is it doing something more?

Like SPYING on me?

[HopeHoops]

1. Get your hand off of the remote control. And don't touch those Cheetos.

I can't BELIEVE you are watching that crap! Oh wait, I blew my cover.

[timeforpeace]

18. They will try to recruit you first. If you resist, then they spy on you.

[TheWraith]

2. That's just it communicating with the nearest tower.

It needs to talk to the tower every so often to say that it's still there and ready to receive calls. If you receive a call while near one of those other things, you'll hear it "talking" continuously.

[Liberal In Texas]

3. RF (radio frequency) emitted by the phone.

Your cell phone is periodically transmitting to the nearest cell tower to see if you have messages, email, etc. The RF is picked up by nearby electronics and most anything with a speaker will pick up the RF as an annoying noise.

I'm a professional videographer and one of the first things I have to do before a session starts is to have anyone wearing a microphone turn off their phones and PDA's. Blackberrys are really bad offenders.

Are they tracking you? Well, they probably could if they wanted to as there have been stories where people trapped in cars after an accident who didn't know where they were were located by identifying the nearest cell tower.

(Wow, I got to answer a Mr. Scorpio question!)

[Lasher]

4. You have nothing to fear.

All is well.

[blogslut]

5. Here's what I don't get

My laptop connects wirelessly to the Internets via the router on my DSL modem. When I use my cellphone, I have no trouble with my laptop connection. However, when I use my cordless landline, my laptop's wireless connection fails.

[MrScorpio]

6. Check the freqs on both your celly and model and make sure that they aren't the same

That would be my first consideration


Both of mine are at 2.4GHz


Yours might be too

[blogslut]

8. How do I check the frequency, Kenneth?

On my cordless phone, I mean.

[POAS]

9. Actually I think they mentioned wireless from the laptop

(wifi) which I am sure is caused by interference from a 2.4 Ghz handset phone.

[POAS]

7. It's the RF from the handset

We have the same problem with the 2.4 Ghz wireless security cameras we installed (one only) becuase the RF is wither too close to the frequency used by the WIFI or it is a harmonic frequency.

A new wireless phone is another frequency should fix your problem.

[blogslut]

10. Oh wait

I get it. :blush:

[Canuckistanian]

12. You should get a 5.8GHz Cordless phone

There are SO many devices that use 2.4Ghz - WiFi, Bluetooth, Cordless phones, Gameboxes, etc. Interference is almost predictable. And cordless phones are fairly powerful, so they'll interefere with the other theings.

Solution? Get a 5.8Ghz cordless. It's usually clearly marked on the box.

[cactusfractal]

13. DEFINITELY 2.4GHz interference... BUT...

All due respect to Canuck, but 5.8 is on the way out. Waaaaay out. Get a DECT 6.0 phone if you must have a landline. That band is intended to operate without interfering with other devices... You'll also find far more products to choose from....

[POAS]

16. Right u r!

Our DECT6.0 4 phone system never interrupts the wifi.

[MADem]

14. Do you have DSL filters on ALL of your telephones?

And NO filter on your modem/router? That can cause it, if you don't have the problem with the frequency that Mister Scorpio mentioned.

[blogslut]

17. I have all the DSL filters plugged in

The frequency deal is probably the culprit.

No big thing really. Mostly just an annoyance. I'll buy a cordless with a different frequency eventually. :)

[Blue Diadem]

15. We had to upgrade on our cordless landline. check into DECT 6.0

Cordless landline phones run on 2.4 and 5.8 IIRC. We'd had 2.4, then went to 5.8 but it still interferred with our wireless. At the time we switched to DECT 6.0(it actually runs on 1.9 frequency), a couple years ago, there was only one phone we could find and that was the panasonic brand. We've been happy with them. Our problem wasn't just when we used the previous phones, we were unable to stay connected for any length of time just having the phones in the house.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Enhanced_Cordless_Telecommunications

[Edweird]

11. It's electromagnetic interference. It happens.

Even the sun gets in the action (sun spots).

When I was a kid I grew up near I-40 in Memphis. You could hear truckers with modded CB's through your stereo or tv. Same general principle.

[mudplanet]

19. Theoretically, your cell phone shouldn't be causing any

of the interference you're describing (and theoretically can't - it doesn't have enough wattage) but if it is you should replace it immediately because it's defective.

I don't know how you've correlated the actions of your cell phone with the interference on your clock radio, computer etc, but I'll take your word for it.

Most likely it's not your cell phone, but something else, such as a cell phone transceiver stationed on your bldg or nearby, or some other electrical device in your bldg. Very likely, there is a HAM radio transmitter in your neighborhood (unlikely because these amateur operators are very sensitive to regulations), or some other public or private transceiver operating outside of it's licensed wavelength/power.

If you start receiving the weather report on the fillings in your teeth you're in trouble.

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. The cell phones with internet stuff do that like crazy. Even your car radio