Wi-Fi radio waves and health
Updated 19 February 2025
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Wi-Fi is the most popular technology used in wireless local area networks (WLANs). These are networks of devices and computers where communication occurs through radio waves instead of connecting cables.
Radio waves and Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi users can access and share data, applications, internet access or other network resources in the same way as with wired systems.
Wi-Fi devices must be equipped with antennas that transmit and receive radio waves in order to allow wireless connections. The devices operate in radio frequency (RF) bands near 2.4, 5 and 6 gigahertz (GHz).
People using Wi-Fi technology, or close to Wi-Fi devices, are exposed to the radio signals they emit and some of the transmitted energy in the signals is absorbed in their bodies. This guidance sets out the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) position regarding such exposure.
Wi-Fi and health
UKHSA provides advice on standards for protection from exposure to radio waves, including those associated with Wi-Fi enabled devices. Central to this advice is that exposures should comply with the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
There is no consistent evidence that exposure to radio signals from Wi-Fi devices adversely affects the health of the general population. The signals are very low power, typically 0.1 watt (100 milliwatts), in both the user device and the router (access point). Also, the frequencies used in Wi-Fi are broadly the same as those from other RF applications such as FM radio and mobile phones.
The Health Protection Agency (now UKHSA) carried out a systematic programme of research into wireless networks and their use in schools, including measurements of exposures from networks. This study supported UKHSA’s view that exposures from Wi-Fi devices are small in relation to the ICNIRP guidelines.
The study also showed that time-averaged output power of Wi-Fi devices are generally lower than that of mobile phones. It demonstrated that exposure from Wi-Fi devices is also likely to be lower than from mobile phones (when they are used for voice calls) because their antennas tend to be further away from the body during normal use.
The results of the UKHSA’s Wi-Fi study were provided to the Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation and taken into account in its 2012 comprehensive review of the scientific evidence.
UKHSA sees no reason why Wi-Fi should not continue to be used, including in the education sector, and that no additional action is necessary communally or individually to reduce exposure further.