For several years now, part of the scientific world has been questioning the dangers posed by the electromagnetic waves generated by smartphones. Despite the potential risks to human health, few people know precisely the specific absorption rate (SAR) of their smartphone. The application presented today allows to measure in real time the signal strength received by your phone..
What is DAS?
SAR is the unit of measurement used to measure the amount of energy emitted by electromagnetic waves and absorbed by the human body when using a mobile phone. However, knowledge on the impact of electromagnetic waves on health remains weak and needs to be deepened.
Consumer associations also regularly denounce the absence of a health study on the harmfulness of waves. Meanwhile, the authorities have imposed limits on manufacturers of electromagnetic radiation. In Europe, the SAR limit for smartphones (head and trunk) has been set at 2W / Kg..
Each manufacturer has an obligation to provide customers with the SAR of their devices. These are values measured in the laboratory representing the maximum electromagnetic wave power delivered by the telephone. The data varies in particular according to several parameters such as for example the distance between you and the relay antenna.
View the signal strength received and transmitted by your smartphone
The National Frequency Agency has just launched a new free ad-free application capable of providing you with the SAR of your phone in one click. The selected measure represents the SAR at the level of the head and the trunk. 
In addition to this function, the Openbarres app offers the route tool. With it, you can assess the signal strength of your operator in real time. Very useful for carrying out a diagnostic on the state of the network..
- Download the Openbarres app from the Play Store
- During the first launch, you will be asked to grant different authorizations to the application (telephony and geolocation)
- The data collected by the application is transmitted to AFNR anonymously. This information will be used to enrich the database of the National Frequency Agency
- The main screen displays the signal strength in dBM (Decibels per MilliWatt) as well as its geographic position on the map
- Click on the More button to start recording your route
- Select one of the options offered (end recording manually or set a recording duration)
You can then view the entire route on the map with the various signal strength readings (every 30 seconds). The red and black color indicates that the signal received by your smartphone is weak or even zero. The green color indicates your operator offers you the best possible coverage. Here is a tool to display the speed of its mobile connection. 
The Openbarres app is very useful when traveling or on vacation to identify areas where the mobile connection leaves something to be desired. Note that the application stores all the routes in the smartphone's memory in order to consult them later for comparison.
We just regret the absence of a tool capable of giving in real time the radiations emitted by the smartphone. The SAR displayed on the application comes from data provided by the manufacturer of your phone. The measurement remains the same whether one is near or far from the relay antenna.
