Amazon Echo Radiation: Is Alexa Safe? (Tested With EMF Meter)

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Smart home and virtual assistant devices like the Amazon Echo are everywhere now. It seems like almost every home I visit has at least one, and a lot of families have them in multiple rooms.

I’m not going to question the convenience of these devices, instead, I want to look at the radiation they emit, and whether or not that radiation is dangerous.

Amazon Echo (sometimes just referred to as Alexa) and other devices like the Google Home and Apple HomePod allow you to wirelessly control devices in your home using just your voice. On top of that, they tell you the weather, answer questions, play your favorite songs and so much more.

So, let’s answer the question you came here for.

Does the Amazon Echo emit EMF radiation? Yes, the Amazon Echo and other smart assistant devices like the Google Home and Apple HomePod emit radiation. Their wireless connectivity causes them to emit RF radiation whenever they are sending or receiving data. In addition, the electrical components inside cause them to emit small amounts of electrical field and magnetic field radiation.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you want to understand exactly why this matters and what you can do about it. So let’s dig into this a bit more.

How Does The Amazon Echo (Alexa) Emit Radiation?

Electromagnetic field, or EMF Radiation, is the type of radiation we’re talking about here, and it consists of three types:

Magnetic Field
Electric Field
Radio Frequency

Magnetic and electric field are both emitted from electronics and charged wiring, but usually in small amounts depending on the product. For example, your laptop when operating will emit a fairly large amount of magnetic radiation, however, your sound machine will only emit a very small amount.

When it comes to the Amazon Echo, the magnetic and electric field radiation is quite small, and unless the device is right next to your body, is not likely to be an issue.

When it comes to Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod, and similar devices, the real concern is the radiofrequency radiation (sometimes referred to as microwave radiation). This is the same type of radiation that your cell-phone emits and countless studies have examined the long-term health effects of.

Smart assistant devices like Amazon Echo emit RF radiation because they need to communicate wirelessly. They connect to your WiFi network, communicate with Bluetooth devices, and are constantly listening for their wake word. All of this wireless activity generates RF radiation.

The thing that makes devices like the Echo a bit different from your cell phone is that they’re always on. Your phone, you can put in another room or turn on airplane mode.

But most people leave their Echo plugged in and listening 24/7. That means it’s constantly emitting at least some level of RF radiation, even when you’re not actively using it.

How Much Radiation Does an Amazon Echo Actually Emit?

I think this is one of the most important questions, and it’s one that a lot of articles on this topic skip over. So let me share what I’ve found from testing these devices.

When I’ve measured an Amazon Echo with an EMF meter, the RF readings vary quite a bit depending on what the device is doing. In standby mode (just sitting there listening for the wake word), the readings are relatively low.

But the moment you give it a command, stream music, or it does any kind of data transfer, the RF radiation spikes significantly.

At about 3 feet away, I typically see readings in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mW/m² during standby. But during active use, like streaming music or making a call, those numbers can jump up to 5-10 mW/m² or even higher at close range.

Right next to the device, within a few inches, the readings can be quite high during active data transfer.

For comparison, many building biologists recommend keeping RF exposure below 1 mW/m² in sleeping areas. So if you’ve got an Echo on your nightstand, that’s something worth thinking about.

If you want to measure the radiation from your own Echo, I’d recommend checking out my guide to the best EMF meters and detectors. It really is eye-opening to see the numbers for yourself.

Why Is Radiation From Amazon Echo (Alexa) Dangerous?

Now it’s time to get to why this is actually an issue, starting with protective regulations.

You see, in most countries, like the United States, devices that emit radiofrequency radiation are subject to protective regulations. For cell-phones, this is something called specific absorption rate, or SAR. SAR is the amount of radiation a person absorbs from a cell-phone and is limited to 1.6 w/Kg.

That means you cannot sell a cell-phone in the US that gives off more radiation than that. If you’re curious, you can actually check the SAR value of your own phone.

Now, many people myself included believe that is not an adequate limit, and it should be much less, but I won’t go into that in this article.

The takeaway is, even the government recognizes that too much RF radiation is dangerous for the body, and sets limits.

Now, when it comes to smart home assistants like the Amazon Echo or any others, they are compliance tested with a separation of 8 inches between your body and the device. The issue is that many of these devices are used much closer than 8 inches from the body.

Kids hold them, people put them on nightstands right next to their heads, and some people even carry portable versions around.

If you look at the Google Home manual, it actually says the device should be kept at least 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) from your body. That should tell you something.

As Dr. Devra Davis, executive director of the Environmental Health Trust puts it, the concern is that “manufacturers do not test these virtual assistants close to the body. If cell phones are exceeding radiation limits, then what about all of these other devices?”

I’ve also written quite a bit about cell phone radiation protection, and if you’re concerned about that topic, you might want to check out my list of the lowest radiation cell phones as well.

Is RF Radiation Harmful?

I’ve covered RF radiation health effects extensively in other articles, so I’ll keep this section focused. But I do want to give you the key points.

Radio Frequency, or RF, radiation emitted from devices like the Amazon Echo, has been linked to harmful health effects. What we’re learning is that the danger is cumulative, meaning that it is more important to make small changes that reduce your continuous exposure.

Some of the research worth knowing about:

The Bioinitiative Report examined thousands of studies and concluded that existing safety standards for RF radiation are inadequate to protect public health.

The Interphone Study, a massive international effort, found associations between long-term cell phone use and certain types of brain tumors. And the California Department of Public Health actually issued warnings and public advice about reducing exposure to RF radiation from cell phones.

Now, these studies focus mainly on cell phones, but the type of radiation is the same. The RF radiation coming from your Echo is the same kind coming from your phone, your WiFi router, your smart meter, and every other wireless device in your home. They all add up.

That’s really the key point I want to make here. It’s not that a single Amazon Echo is going to cause you harm by itself. It’s that every wireless device you add to your home increases your overall RF exposure, and that cumulative exposure is what the research suggests we should be concerned about.

If you want to learn more, head over to the Knowledge section of EMF Academy.

5 Simple Ways To Protect Against Amazon Echo Radiation

I’ve talked about ways to reduce your exposure to EMF radiation in many articles on EMF Academy, so I’m going to limit the scope here to just ways to reduce your exposure to devices like the Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod and other smart devices.

1. Distance Is Your Friend

There is a reason that we talked in this article so much about the distance at which regulatory tests were done and the distance from the devices that manufacturers suggest.

The truth is that distance is your absolute best friend when it comes to any type of EMF radiation.

This is due to the inverse square law of physics that I reference all the time. Essentially what this law tells us, is that as we double our distance from a source of radiation, in this case, an Amazon Echo or similar device, we quarter our exposure to the radiation from that device.

So, just by moving your Echo from your nightstand to across the room, you can dramatically reduce your exposure.

Personally, I keep any smart devices at least 6-8 feet away from where I spend the most time, especially where I sleep.

At the very least, try to keep the device at least 3 feet away from you at all times, but more is always better. And please, whatever you do, don’t let your kids hold or play with these devices. Their bodies absorb radiation at a much higher rate than adults.

2. Reduce WiFi Radiation

This is actually one of my favorite tips because it helps with so much more than just the Amazon Echo. Your WiFi router is one of the biggest sources of RF radiation in your home, and your Echo relies on it constantly.

I’ve written a whole article on how to block WiFi radiation that I’d really encourage you to check out, but here are the basics:

Turn Off WiFi At Night – This is probably the single easiest thing you can do. When your WiFi router is off, your Echo can’t communicate wirelessly, which means its RF emissions drop significantly.

I turn my WiFi off at night and it’s ridiculously easy to set up on a timer. Seriously, it takes about 5 minutes. Plus, RF radiation actually inhibits your body’s ability to get good sleep, so turning your WiFi off at night is a double win.

Get A WiFi Router Guard – This is a super simple product that will go a long way at protecting you, and it pairs up really well with smart-home devices like the Amazon Echo.

Essentially, it’s a small Faraday cage that you place your router inside. It will reduce the radiation emitted by around 90% without affecting the speeds much. It does reduce the range of the router a little bit, but this isn’t an issue for most homes.

If you want to learn more about them you can check out my article on WiFi router guards.

3. Use Ethernet When Possible

This one might surprise people, but you can actually reduce the wireless traffic in your home significantly by hardwiring some of your devices. Your computer, TV, and gaming consoles can all be connected via ethernet cable instead of WiFi.

Now, you can’t exactly plug an ethernet cable into a standard Amazon Echo. But by reducing the number of devices competing for your WiFi network, you reduce the overall RF environment in your home. I’ve got a full guide on installing hard-wired internet if you want to learn how to set this up.

4. Disable Features You Don’t Use

Most people don’t realize how many features on their Echo are constantly running in the background. Bluetooth, for example, is always scanning if you haven’t turned it off. Drop-in calling is another feature that keeps the device in a more active communication state.

Take a few minutes to go through your Alexa app settings and turn off anything you don’t actively use. Every wireless feature you disable is one less source of RF radiation. I went through mine a while back and was surprised at how many things were enabled that I never even knew about.

5. Get An EMF Meter

You may think this isn’t specifically relevant to smart assistant devices, but hear me out.

I recommend getting an EMF meter in so many of my articles, and I think it’s for a good reason. For example, let’s say that you don’t believe me or any other experts on the topic, and you don’t think your Amazon Echo emits RF radiation.

Well, pick up a quality EMF meter, turn it to the RF reading, and test it for yourself. You’ll instantly know how much radiation your Echo is emitting, and you can see in real time how the readings change as you move it further away or turn off certain features.

My favorite meter right now is the GQ EMF-390. It reads all three types of EMF radiation and the data logging features are really useful for tracking your exposure over time.

But there are many good options on the market. Just be sure you get one that reads RF radiation specifically. Check out my full guide on EMF meters to see all the options.

Once you have a meter, I’d also recommend taking readings around your whole home. You might find high EMF readings in places you never expected. And if you want to go further with protection, check out my article on EMF protection products that actually work.

Final Thoughts

I wanted to take a minute and give some final thoughts on this topic. First, whenever I set out to write an article, I always research the topic extremely thoroughly and try to include the thoughts and experiences of other experts.

What this tends to do I think is making the topic bigger than it might be for the average consumer because let’s face it, you don’t likely care that much about FCC regulations, SAR limits, studies, or expert testimony (if you do, welcome to the club).

Instead, you probably just want to know if something is safe for you or your family.

So, I’ll just say that I don’t think an Amazon Echo or Google Home is “dangerous.” However, I do think it adds to the overall RF pollution in your home, and if there are simple steps you can take to reduce your exposure, I think those are worth doing.

I think do your best to keep it out of your kid’s literal hands, keep it away from your living spaces, and you’re probably just fine.

If you have any questions about this article, or about EMF radiation in general, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I always try to do my best to respond to any questions.