5G Protection Explained: What Actually Reduces 5G at Home
"5G protection" covers a lot of products, and only some of them do anything measurable. The useful ones reduce the radio signal reaching a room or a person, and you can check that with a meter. The rest — stickers, pendants, chips — produce no difference a meter can detect. This guide explains which frequencies UK 5G actually uses, what materials reduce them, and how to measure the result yourself.
What frequencies does 5G use in the UK?
"5G" isn't a single frequency. It's a network standard that runs across several bands, and the band matters because different frequencies behave very differently around buildings.
| Band | Approximate frequency | How it behaves |
|---|---|---|
| Low band | Around 700MHz | Travels far and passes through walls well |
| Mid band | Around 3.4–3.8GHz | The main UK 5G band; shorter range, weaker through walls |
| Millimetre wave (mmWave) | Around 26GHz and above | Very short range; barely passes through walls or glass |
Most of the 5G you encounter in the UK today runs in the mid band, around 3.5GHz. Millimetre wave has been licensed for high-density locations but is far less widespread. Ofcom publishes the current picture if you want to check your area.
Why do sub-6GHz and mmWave need different answers?
Because building materials already treat them very differently.
Mid-band 5G at 3.5GHz passes through windows and walls reasonably well, weakening as it goes. If it reaches your home from an outside mast, it's usually coming through the window facing that mast.
Millimetre wave is the opposite. It's absorbed so readily by walls, glass, and even foliage that very little of it gets indoors from outside. That's why networks need so many small cells to use it. If your concern is mmWave from outside, the building itself is doing most of the work already.
In practice, this means indoor 5G shielding is mostly about the mid band, and mostly about windows and the wall facing the mast.
What materials reduce 5G, and by how much?
Shielding is measured in decibels (dB) at a stated frequency. Every 10dB is a tenfold reduction, so 20dB blocks 99% and 30dB blocks 99.9%. When comparing products, check that the manufacturer gives a dB figure at or near 3.5GHz. A figure measured only at 1GHz tells you little about 5G.
- Shielding paint — carbon-based paint for walls and ceilings. The right tool when the signal is coming through a specific wall. It has to be earthed, which is a job for an electrician.
- Shielding fabric — woven with fine metal threads. Used as curtains or a window lining, which matters because the window is often where mid-band 5G gets in.
- Bed canopies — shielding fabric enclosing the bed. Treats the one space where you spend the longest continuous time, without treating the whole room.
You can compare the options across our wall protection range. Check each product page for its tested attenuation figures and the frequencies they apply to.
Does window film make a measurable difference?
It depends entirely on the film. Metallised films, and low-emissivity (low-E) coated glass found in many newer double-glazed units, do reduce radio signal, sometimes substantially. Plain tints and decorative films do very little.
If you're considering film, ask for a tested dB figure at around 3.5GHz. Without one, you have no way of knowing whether it's a shielding product or just a tint.
It's worth knowing that if your home already has low-E glazing, your windows may be attenuating more than you'd expect. A meter reading by the window will tell you.
What does shielding paint achieve at 3.5GHz?
Properly applied, carbon shielding paints can give high attenuation across a wide frequency range, including the mid band. Performance depends on the number of coats, full coverage with no gaps, and correct earthing.
The weak point is almost never the paint. It's the gaps: windows, doors, sockets and ceilings you didn't treat. Signal takes the path of least resistance, so a perfectly painted wall next to an untreated window achieves far less than the paint's rating suggests. Measure before you paint so you know which surfaces actually matter.
How do you measure 5G in your own home?
- Check your meter's frequency range. To see mid-band 5G, your RF meter needs to cover at least 3.8GHz. Many consumer meters top out around 8GHz, which covers the mid band comfortably but not mmWave. mmWave needs a specialist meter.
- Measure outside first. Take readings facing each direction to find which way the strongest signal is coming from.
- Measure at each window on that side of the house, then in the rooms behind them.
- Separate 5G from everything else. Your router, phones and neighbours' Wi-Fi all show up too. Switch off your own equipment first so you're measuring what's coming from outside.
- Measure again after any change, in the same spots, to confirm it did what it claimed.
Our RF meters, including the Safe and Sound Pro II, come with calibration certificates. A meter is the one purchase in this category that tells you the truth about every other one.
What won't work, whatever the listing says?
- Stickers, chips and "harmonising" diodes. No measurable attenuation. A meter shows the same reading with and without them.
- Pendants and wearable crystals. Same result. They don't block or absorb radio signal in any way a meter can detect.
- Anything sold without a dB figure at a stated frequency. If it hasn't been tested, you can't know whether it works, and the seller doesn't either.
- Shielding one surface and ignoring the window. Signal goes around shielding as easily as through it.
Frequently asked questions
What frequency is 5G in the UK?
Most UK 5G runs in the mid band around 3.4–3.8GHz, with some low-band coverage around 700MHz. Millimetre wave at 26GHz and above has been licensed for high-density areas but is much less widespread.
Can you block 5G in your home?
You can reduce it measurably with shielding paint, fabric or a bed canopy, usually starting with the window or wall facing the nearest mast. Blocking it completely means blocking your own mobile signal too, since phones use the same frequencies.
Does 5G get through walls?
Mid-band 5G passes through walls and windows, weakening as it goes. Millimetre wave barely passes through at all, which is why it needs so many small cells outdoors.
Do 5G protection stickers work?
No. They produce no measurable difference on an RF meter. If a product can't give you a tested dB figure at a stated frequency, treat it with caution.
Will shielding affect my phone and Wi-Fi?
Yes. Your phone uses the same frequencies you're shielding, so mobile reception in a shielded room will usually be weaker. Wi-Fi from a router inside the room isn't blocked by shielding on the outside walls.
This article describes 5G frequencies and the measurable performance of shielding materials. It does not make health claims. UK and international health bodies do not consider harm to be established at exposure levels below international guidelines. Reducing exposure is a personal choice.