Garmin question re Bluetooth

[Designbod]

Hi everyone

Just wondered if you Garmin gurus can tell me if it's possible to turn the Bluetooth on and off on a Garmin Forerunner 35 so that it's not constantly emitting EMF? Then only turn it on when wanting to sync?

I currently wear a Fitbit 24/7 but am stopping wearing that as you can't turn off the Bluetooth and I'm not happy about some research I've been reading on the web.

Thanks.

[Sqkr]

I'm not sure about the 35, but you can certainly turn off the Bluetooth on the 235, I think it also uses Bluetooth Smart so is very low power, comparatively. I'm sure you could drop Garmin an email to confirm it continues down through the range. However I suspect it might get a bit stroppy if you ask it to re-pair with devices regularly, mine is a bit pernickety at the best of times. And unless you live in a Faraday cage it's probably rather a drop in the ocean in terms of household/neighbourhood emf..!

[UpTheStanley Graduate10]

Yes you can switch Bluetooth off on a 35 😎

[pinkaardvark Graduate10]

> Settings > Bluetooth > Turn Off

Garmin do a hat you can wear as well to alleviate the issues static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/...

[Hidden in reply to pinkaardvark]

😂😂😂

[pinkaardvark Graduate10 in reply to pinkaardvark]

Sorry that was uncalled for. Hopefully the settings will work, but as said it can then be a bit picky about synching. Though you may be able to synch by cable through your pc. Though the EMF output of a badly shielded USB is going to be higher than the bluetooth.

[Designbod in reply to pinkaardvark]

Thanks for your suggestions pinkaardvark . We actually recently had a scary, and life threatening diagnosis in the family so are therefore just doing some research on anything that might not help the situation. Without doubt we're all bombarded by EMF 24/7 and there's little we can do about phone masts, neighbours' routers etc etc but I was curious about something I wear 24/7 right against my skin, sleep with under my head (on my wrist) and sometimes even tuck down my bra when I want to go out wearing a smarter watch. Hence the original question.

[Lordi Graduate10]

Also shortcut - press bottom left button 5 times which brings up a screen for widgets and bluetooth. Hit start button the toggle bluetooth on/off.

[MarkyD Graduate10]

There is a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt available online. If you go looking for scare stories about RF emissions, you'll find plenty of advice that basically tell you all of the modern world's medical problems are caused by RF emissions. But I think that it is important to get all of this in proportion.

Your Fitbit uses a bluetooth radio, meeting the Bluetooth SIG's "Smart" definition, and it is probably version BLE v4.2. This is intended for low power devices, with short range and low datarate. By definition, this is a very low power radio, and probably +2dBm (that is a tiny amount of power). Of course, you may wear the FR35 all the time, but don't think that the BLE is transmitting all the time. By definition, BLE is only allowed to be active for a tiny fraction of a second at a time, and on top of this, Fitbit will only transmit infrequently to keep the battery life high.

If you are really concerned about the effects of RF emissions on your body, then you need to find and turn off all high power RF transmitters in your environment. If we assume that the highest power RF is the most dangerous, then:

1) I recommend never using a microwave oven (1000 Watt 2.4 GHz transmitter);

2) Don't turn on your cellphone. Your phone has three high-power RF transmitters - a cellular radio (up to 3 Watts), WiFi and BlueTooth which are on/transmitting at a power much higher and more frequently than your FR35;

3) Recycling your cordless home phone (if you have one);

4) Disable WiFi on your home router (you don't need it anymore because of (2)).

I'd be very happy to review some of the material that you've been reading, if you want to share a link.