Over the many years, we have heard stories of how dangerous Magnets are to electronics; therefore, one must always be careful of the magnets kept around the devices. Still, despite that, we have to wonder if magnets are truly a bane to computers. Are we looking at a myth here, or is this a legit problem?
Magnets can damage your computer devices, but this is a rare occurrence. In fact, to damage a computer with a magnet, a person has to deliberately accomplish the task in most situations, and that’s because the majority of magnets in our vicinity are pretty weak.
Yes, the magnets on your refrigerator, phone mounts, magnets in tablet cases, etc., do not possess the power to destroy your computer devices. They are just strong enough to do the job designed for them, and that’s it.
Outside of those weak magnets, we have extremely powerful neodymium magnets and electromagnets capable of damaging electronic products. Sometimes, they can even cause data loss, and no one wants that.
However, getting your hands on one of these magnets will take some doing because they are primarily available in the industrial, scientific, and medical fields. Nonetheless, even if you bring your smartphone, for example, close to these magnets when operating, it is highly unlikely your phone will be damaged.
Can magnets damage your computer?
If your computer is housing a traditional hard drive, then putting it in very close proximity to a powerful magnet could indeed cause damage to the drive. A solid-state drive is probably more likely to survive such an encounter because these drives do not contain a magnetic drive or magnetized data, so consider investing in one of those if you haven’t already.
OK, so for damages to happen to your computer, you’d have to manually stick a neodymium magnet to the device’s hard drive. That’s the only way we can think of right now, hence why we believe only an intentional move could cause the destruction of your computer where magnets are concerned.
Can smartphones be damaged by magnets?
We know what magnets can do to computers, but what about smartphones? After all, these devices are computers in their own right.
The issue here is that smartphones do not have traditional hard drives. The storage format is similar to that of a solid-state drive; therefore, it would be difficult for magnets to cause problems even if you tried.
Not to mention, smartphones have magnets inside of them, to begin with. For example, the camera lens and the image stabilization technology rely on the use of magnets in most cases. However, if a powerful magnet is placed next to your phone it can temporarily disable the sensors, and in extreme cases, the sensors can experience permanent damage.
As it stands, then, the best thing to do when it comes down to magnets and computers is to keep your electronic devices away from industrial magnets because they are dangerous. Most folks will never in their lifetime come across these types of magnets, but for those who work around them, please take our words seriously.
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Is it OK to put magnets on your computer?
While a typical magnet won’t cause major problems for your computer, it could trigger data loss if attached directly. Hence we cannot recommend adding magnets to your computer even if the threat is extremely low.
Can you damage a phone with magnets?
In the majority of situations, it is not possible to damage your smartphone with magnets. However, it is possible to temporarily shut down certain sensors within the phone.
Read: Hard Drive Failure, Recovery, Repair, Causes, Prevention, Maintenance
How strong does a magnet have to be to damage a computer?
A magnet would have to be extremely strong, for example, the ability should be able to have a pull force of around 450 pounds. Such a force is extremely dangerous, which is why these types of magnets are usually found in specific industries.
