Your magnetic smartphone holder could be disrupting your reception

A mobile phone attachment that uses a magnet – most commonly found in a car – may make it harder to receive phone calls, according to a major technical inspection association. 

The magnetic field generated by the magnet that is stuck to the phone may interfere with the mobile network, according to Ralf Diekmann, who works for Germany's Tuev association in the Rhineland. 

For drivers who want to be extra sure they can receive calls, he recommends instead using non-magnetic brackets that you can mechanically clip the mobile into. 

A magnet does not affect other aspects of a mobile phone, such as the battery or the software. But it could damage bank cards or other cards containing a chip, such as the increasingly popular public transport cards, when the mobile is carried in a pocket. 

"These cards could certainly be damaged by coming into contact with a magnet," Diekmann says. — dpa