Keep calm and use your Maglus!

So here I am: magnets again! I know we’ve talked about those little magic items before, how they are everywhere around us, but today we’re going to focus on one main aspect: That these 2 tiny magnets inside your Maglus are not dangerous for your iPad and phone and, most importantly, for your health.

We decided to write a blog post about it to make sure you, our dear customers, enjoy using your Maglus anytime, anywhere. We know that some of you may be concerned about the idea that the magnets in your Maglus could damage tablets, phones or medical devices, and so we made the effort of collecting some useful information to make sure you and your tablet can sleep well at night.

1. Where do you get your magnets from and what do they look like?

The magnets found inside the Maglus Stylus are made from rare earth neodymium which we acquire from a reputable manufacturer in Taiwan. They are shaped like little cylinders and have a diameter of a mere 7mm and are 8mm long (pretty small, huh?).

2. Could my Maglus damage/erase the date from my device(s) (iPad, phone, hard disk..etc)?

The first thing you need to know is that the magnets inside the Maglus are much, much smaller compared to the big and stronger magnets inside the iPad and magnetic Smart Cover.

On top of this, they are also much more powerful than what’s in our Maglus (iPad+ Smartcover have 30 or more magnets inside their bodies!!) So, brutally speaking, if anything is going to wipe memory from an iPad, it would be the iPad itself.

Apple have of course taken measures to prevent this from happening; iPads use Solid State Drives (SSD). SSD drives are built so that they will not be affected by a magnetic field in their environment.

Furthermore, the whole magnets-damaging-hard-drives-story is a bit of a myth – Yes, you can wipe a hard drive solely with the power of magnets, but it takes a very powerful magnetic field (pretty much nothing that can be found in a normal household would be strong enough) and a bit of perseverance.

Remember that scene in Season 5 of Breaking Bad where Jesse had the brilliant idea of using a giant magnet to wipe the memory of a confiscated laptop? If you do, then I’m sure you remember they used a pretty big magnet (ca. 1 m in diameter, the kind you’d use in a junk yard to move big vehicles around) and a very high current running through it – high enough to eventually tilt the truck and let it smash against the wall of the police station.

God, I love this scene:

To sum up: it is completely safe to use Maglus near your media store devices.

3. Are the magnets inside Maglus safe for a pacemaker? The product came with a warning NOT to use it with it.

Good point! Yes we do put a disclaimer card (that white and green paper) into the box with your Maglus in which we talk about potential hazards concerning the magnets and also their effect on pacemakers, defibrillators or external and internal medical devices. We are legally obliged to enclose this information, as is the case for all items that contain neodymium magnets.

The magnets inside the Maglus Stylus do not pose a risk to people with a pacemaker or defibrillator if they are kept at what is called “a safe distance”. And by that, we mean: do not wipe your Maglus – or, worse even, your iPad – over your chest repeatedly, as this could create a magnetic field that could be strong enough to interfere with your medical device. Please. Just don’t.

4. Which is the safe distance to keep my Maglus from my devices and/or pacemakers?

The Health Industry Manufacturers Association recommends that a minimum separation of 15 cm (6 inches) be maintained between a hand-held wireless phone and a pacemaker to avoid potential interference with the pacemaker. Persons with pacemakers should always keep their iPad more than 15 cm (6 inches) from the pacemaker when the wireless device is turned on.
As far as you keep them at a safe distance, all is fine. Those who have or may be a candidate for implantable defibrillators should talk to their doctor about precautions if they use a tablet on a daily/regular basis. If you need more info on the danger that magnets could pose to your (medical) device, we would recommend to always check with the manufacturer of the device itself.

More info about the safe distance to keep magnets can be found at this link:

http://www.supermagnete.de/eng/faq/What-is-the-safe-distance-that-I-need-to-keep-to-my-devices#recommended-safe-distances-neodymium-magnets

If you have questions or want to share your experience, please email me at francesca AT maglusstylus DOT com.