For better long term health, it would seem important to give the body a break from constant 24/7 exposure to BLE (bluetooth low energy), no matter how low the radiation is. Unfortunately, technologies like my Steel HR Sport are meant to expose my body to this stressor day in and day out, night in and night out. Why don't companies like Withings recognize this and offer users a way to turn off the BLE transmission emanating from the watch? I Simply refuse to sleep with the watch for this reason (sleep is a time to regenerate and not to keep stressing the body with unnatural EMF radiation. Not sleeping with the watch negates a large portion of the intended functionality of the product, namely sleep tracking.
Fortunately I use the OURA ring for sleep tracking and this company recognizes the importance of the user control over their EMF radiation exposure. The OURA has an "airplane mode" which switches on and off the BLE transmission at the users discretion. Unfortunately, due to its tiny battery capacity, OURA does not provide HR monitoring during the day which is why I use the Steel HR Sport.
Please, Withings, show your genuine interest in health and offer your customer base the option of limiting the EMF radiation of your products. This gives the body a break from these frequencies when its needed most - during recovery at night. Maybe it could even be done with a firmware update??
Please don't quote all kinds of health studies and regulatory agencies showing the safety of 24/7 BLE exposure. None of these references can substitute for the long term consequences of these signals - something we have to wait decades to obtain, and which will be elusive to isolate amongst so many other exposures humans receive these days. One less EMF signal at night certainly can only benefit health.
Thanks for listening
Steve Labo
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I'm sorry but I find it amusing that an intelligent adult who MUST have researched his device BEFORE purchasing it, THEN decides to complain about it AFTERWARDS! If you were concerned about Bluetooth low energy RADIATION , why did you buy a Bluetooth enabled device in the first place?
As it happens, if you disable ALL notifications to your watch, if you never manually track an activity and if you turn off Bluetooth on your phone, I think you will have reduced the risks from LOW energy radiation! You WILL have lost almost all the useful features of the device though!
The only other alternative is to wrap your entire body in baking foil (ensuring that the shiny side is outermost of course!
Then, if you have any spare, you can cover all your walls, floors and ceilings just in case your neighbours have ble devices too!
Sorry about the sarcasm but the moral of the story is RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY!
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Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I appreciate the feedback. In all fairness, I did research the device - how could I not have? I bought it because of its HR functionality while bicycle riding. And why? Because I go on tours and I don't want the long term EMF exposure of my Polar HR strap next to the heart for 8-10 hours at a time. Hence the idea of using the wrist HR pickup. If you were to read the title of my post, it says "Feature Request - Bluetooth Control." This means my post was intended as a "Feature Request" and not a complaint. But whatever you want it call it is fine. You seem like a very nice guy regardless and I wish you lots of great workouts. I'll continue to guard my EMF exposures. All the best.
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Or, the other alternatives are
1) Use your Withings Steel hr Sport as a rather expensive garage doorstop.
2) Donate it to someone you hate and wish cancer upon
3) Buy a 24 hour candle to tell the time
I was gonna suggest using a sundial to tell the time but then remembered that the sun emits more radiation than EVERY SINGLE DEVICE THAT HAS EVER EXISTED ON THE PLANET!!!
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I actually like the device and even bought a second one as a gift for someone. I believe you are just trying to pick a fight. But the more intense and absurd the feeble provocation becomes, the more I love you. You obviously have some kind of issue and seem in dire need someone's derogatory response. I just wish Withings would follow other manufacturers - like Oura - and enable the bluetooth function to be user controlled. Enough said. I look forward to your next compliments. Expect no further replies from me. Have a nice weekend. BTW, in your pursuit of health, you may want to consider the dminder app: http://dminder.ontometrics.com Better yet, untether your sedentary body from the screen and get out and move yourself - its Saturday after all!
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I also would like Bluetooth control, but for a different reason. My workplace does not want any radio signals at all, and has banned smartwatches. The ability to [temporarily] turn my Steel HR into "just a watch" (or a perhaps a watch with an internal step counter) would be extremely useful, so I don't have to leave it in my car or in a cage near the facility entrance.
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I agree, this feature ist very important. Especially for everyone who is turning off the phone at night and not needing to be connected all day long. The synchronization works fine when needed later but I need control over the setting. Also due to work environment restrictions. Thank you!
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Hey Withings Team
Airplane Mode to disable Bluetooth should be a standard Feature.
I would really like to set a time slot eg from 11PM till 7AM where the watch will switch to airplane mode, this should be possible to set in the HealthMate App.And on the watch just like to disable the alarm a new point to switch into airplane mode or disable it.
PLEASE LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS, i will really appreciate.
Can you tell us your roadmap?
Thanks and best regards
A
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