Kalamazoo company’s signal-blocking bags offer solution for phones in schools - mlive.com

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- There’s a new solution to keeping students off phones -- and a company in Michigan makes them.

Faraday Defense, headquartered in Oshtemo Township, makes “Faraday bags,” a fabric bag to store small small devices. The bags have metal fibers that block electromagnetic signals. So when a phone is inside the bag, it can’t connect to WiFi or get cell reception.

“There’s some psychological aspect to it,” said Jared Scholten, director of sales at Faraday Defense. “When you put your phone away and you know that it’s not gonna go off, you just don’t think about it.”

Faraday Defense in Oshtemo, MI manufactures devices and enclosures to block electromagnetic signals.Aya Miller

Faraday Defense isn’t the only company that makes Faraday bags. The technology is named after Michael Faraday, a scientist who studied electromagnetism in the 1800s, said Faraday Defense founder Jason DeVries.

Northview High School in Grand Rapids is among the schools that uses Faraday bags, although theirs were manufactured by a different company.

DeVries, a lifelong Kalamazoo County resident, founded Faraday Defense in 2014. The initial intention was to create devices and enclosures to block EMP signals, which are electromagnetic pulses, he said. Over time, their mission shifted toward making shielding applications.

At high enough levels, electromagnetic pulses can damage electronic systems like power grids, cars and cellphones.

The company started with a phone-sized bag made out of an aluminum foil-like material, DeVries said.

Now the company offers products as small as a keychain to monitor electrical signals for $70 or as large as custom, fully sealed rooms.

A new solution for schools

Clark County Schools in Nevada is among the districts using Faraday Defense to keep students off cellphones, Scholten said.

The district started using the bags this school year to “ensure that students and educators are in a safe, non-disruptive space,” according to the district website.

The school district uses the Faraday NX3, a phone-sized bag sealed with Velcro. The bag costs $20 on the Faraday Defense website.

When a student tries to undo the Velcro and access their phone, it creates a noisy distraction the teacher will notice, Scholten said. In case of emergency, the student only needs to open the bag to access their phone.

Bags can also be customized with different colors, like the high-visibility yellows and oranges of safety clothing, allowing teachers to more easily see if a student tries to move their bag.

“Every child in that school district has a bag, and they’re ecstatic with the results,” Scholten said. “They’ve cut down their cyberbullying tremendously and their test scores are up.”

Beyond bags

Faraday Defense also works with government agencies who use Faraday cages, which are larger enclosures to block hackers from accessing sensitive information.

When a phone or computer is used inside a Faraday cage, hackers can’t access the information on the device because all outside signals are blocked.

Faraday Defense in Oshtemo, MI manufactures devices and enclosures to block electromagnetic signals.Aya Miller

“Police take electronics as evidence, and then they need to shield that device from being externally wiped,” DeVries said. “They use a Faraday bag and room to create a chain of custody where the device can’t be wiped by a criminal.”

The company manufactures hard and soft enclosures. Hard enclosures are made with metal and the soft enclosures are made with fabric.

The soft enclosures look like a stand-up tent with a vent on the inside to allow airflow. When the tent is sealed, the devices inside can’t receive electrical signals.

An 8-cubic-foot soft enclosure costs almost $9,000 on the Faraday Defense website.

The large, safe-like hard enclosures have double-layered metal walls and an airtight sealed door.

Custom enclosures can also be manufactured with screens inside, ventilation, a cooling system and fire suppression system, according to the company website.

The company will soon be expanding into office space at DeVries’ alma mater, Western Michigan University. DeVries purchased a 4.45 acre plot of land for $350,000 in WMU’s business technology and research park in 2022 near WMU’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

After moving into the new location, Faraday plans to hire 15 to 18 more employees in the next two years, Scholten said.

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