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Faraday bags for schools: the Generation Faraday range

The short version: Generation Faraday is Mission Darkness’s phone-management range for schools. A correctly sealed bag uses two layers of TitanRF fabric to attenuate cellular (including 5G), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, RFID and NFC (manufacturer-stated, up to 40 GHz), so a network call or notification should not get through. It does not switch the phone off, erase what is already on it, or replace exceptions, parent contact through the office, or an emergency plan. Aus Security Products supplies the range in Australia on a volume quote for schools and education venues. Signal-blocking models attenuate wireless signals; they do not make any health or safety claims.

Table of contents

  1. The policy is settled. The storage is not
  2. What Generation Faraday is
  3. Locked is not the same as silenced
  4. How a Faraday bag works in a school
  5. The range, by the job
  6. What to decide before you quote
  7. How Australian schools order
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. Sources

The policy is settled. The storage is not

Australian government schools already restrict student phones. Victoria requires phones to be switched off and stored securely during the day, with parents contacting children through the school office in an emergency. New South Wales lists lockable pouches, lockers, phones off in bags, or hand-in to staff. Queensland uses “off and away for the day”, with smartwatch notifications off. Education Ministers agreed bans or restrictions would apply in all public schools from Term 1 2024. Independent and Catholic schools often follow the same idea with their own wording.

The remaining work is operational. Who holds the phone. Where it sits between 9am and 3pm. Who can open it. What happens for diabetes management, translation, or a genuine emergency. That is a principal and business-manager problem, not a product slogan.

A NSW principals’ survey, cited by the Federal Education Minister and summarised on Victoria’s parent page, reported that 87 per cent of students were less distracted and 81 per cent had seen improved learning. Those are principals describing their schools. They are not a randomised trial.

The published research is mixed. A 2024 review of 22 studies called the evidence for bans weak and inconclusive, and none of those studies were Australian. A later South Australian study found high self-reported compliance, but at one month the ban and no-ban groups did not differ much on problematic phone use, engagement or belonging.

So: the rule exists. The bag does not “prove” the rule works. What it can do is make a storage model you can run every day, without a queue at the office and without assuming every student remembered airplane mode.

The logistics of lockable versus signal-blocking pouches are in our schools buyer’s guide. This article is the Generation Faraday kit that sits under that choice.

What Generation Faraday is

Generation Faraday is a Mission Darkness line from MOS Equipment, built for schools, testing rooms and venues. It uses the same TitanRF shielding family as the forensic bags. Aus Security Products is an authorised Australian reseller. There is no single web price for the school bags. A 90-bag trial and a whole-school Max-Lock rollout are different orders, quoted to the school. Bags are typically supplied for educational institutions in bulk (often 100+).

It is four jobs, not a wall of similar SKUs:

  1. A personal Faraday bag the student carries.
  2. A shielded box or cabinet if phones are handed in and you want the radios quiet.
  3. Organisers that hold devices but do not block radio on their own.
  4. The unlock kit, which only matters if you choose Max-Lock.

Locked is not the same as silenced

This is the distinction that wrecks a quote if you skip it. NSW allows lockable pouches or lockers or bags. Those are not the same product.

Magnetic lock-only pouch (Yondr is the usual comparison)

What it does: Locks the phone away. The student usually keeps it.

What it does not: Yondr states its pouches do not block cell signal or the internet. The phone can still ring, buzz and be tracked unless it is switched off.

Generation Faraday bag, sealed

What it does: Holds the phone and attenuates the radios while the double-roll is closed. Network-delivered calls and notifications should not get through.

What it does not: Stop a local alarm or timer. Open itself in a medical emergency. Max-Lock needs a key or dock, so that has to be written into the procedure.

Office drawer, bag in bag, or unshielded locker

What it does: Physical custody, if staff actually collect and return devices.

What it does not: Stop a phone buzzing in the pile, or scale cleanly past a few hundred students without a queue.

Victoria’s parent guidance is explicit: in an emergency, parents contact the school office, not the student’s pocket. That is worth saying in the parent letter, whatever pouch you buy.

How a Faraday bag works in a school

A Faraday bag is a pouch with a conductive lining. Close it properly and radio has a much harder time getting in or out. Generation Faraday bags use two internal layers of TitanRF fabric. The maker lists attenuation of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular including 5G, GPS, RFID and NFC up to 40 GHz, and points to IEEE 299-2006 and MIL-STD-188-125 tests on that fabric. We do not publish a school-bag dB figure here because the Generation Faraday school product pages do not state one.

The seal is the rest of the product. These bags double-roll, then finish with a magnetic strip, hook-and-loop, or a lock. Leave the roll half done and you have an open bag. Same check as any Faraday pouch: put a phone in, close it, call it. If it rings, it failed. Do that on a sample of issued bags each term, not once at unboxing.

Limits, in the same breath:

  • It attenuates radio. It does not power the phone down.
  • An alarm or timer on the device can still sound. Silence it before it goes in.
  • It does not wipe photos, notes or offline apps. An exam still needs physical custody, not just a sealed pouch.
  • It is not a health product. There is no RF-exposure claim here.

The range, by the job

The full collection is on the store. Below is how schools actually use the pieces. Lifespan figures below follow the manufacturer’s school comparison table used on our buyer’s guide (not the longer “4+ years” marketing line on some Max pages).

A bag the student carries

Each of these takes a smartphone and a smartwatch, including cases. Pro and Max bags have an RFID tag and a serial number, so you can issue one per student and know which is which.

The Pro Velcro (SKU GFSB-PRO) is water-resistant ballistic nylon with a hook-and-loop double-roll. Manufacturer-stated life is about one school year. The noise when it opens is useful if staff want an audible cue. The Pro Magnetic (SKU GFSB-PRO-M) is the same shell with a magnetic seal. Manufacturer-stated life is about one to two school years.

The Max (SKU GFSB-MAX) is the waterproof TPU version without a dedicated lock. Manufacturer-stated life is about two to four school years. That is the durable daily bag if students are allowed to open it themselves at 3pm. Max-Lock (SKU GFSB-MAX-LOCK) adds a magnetic clasp that only opens on a key or dock — same durability band. Confirm in the quote how many docks and keys you actually get (the Max-Lock page states three unlocking mechanisms per classroom as a typical kit). Max-Lock Custom Colors is the same lockable bag in a school colour or print. “Colors” is the product name.

A one-year-level trial is the usual way to find breakage rates and whether magnetic or hook-and-loop survives your cohort before you commit the whole school.

Phones handed in, and you want the radios quiet

The Shielded Box (SKU GFSA-SB) is a lockable hard case with 36 numbered, felt-lined slots. It suits a class or an exam room that wants custody and attenuation. Treat it like a bag: test it now and then, and keep it away from access points or routers for best results (care note on the product page).

The Phone Drop Box is the rolling cabinet. Two drawers hold 72 phones, four drawers hold 144, 36 slots each, programmable lock, one drawer at a time.

Custody only, no signal blocking

These organise phones. They do not attenuate radio unless you add a Faraday bag or an optional cover. Useful where the policy is physical storage and airplane mode, or where bags already do the shielding.

The Phone Storage Box is aluminium, 36 numbered slots, combo lock. ClassKeeper is a rolling cart for up to eight of those boxes, 288 devices, made on request.

The Phone Hotel hangs on a wall or door with 35 compartments for issued bags (current product page). The hotel is not a Faraday cage. The bag in the slot is. The Event Phone Management Locker is modular lockable compartments for a venue, exam overflow or a one-off. Shielding is optional. Also made on request.

Opening Max-Lock bags

If you choose Max-Lock, order the unlock kit in the same quote. The Unlocking Key is a magnetic key on a lanyard. The Unlock Dock is a fixed station at a gate or office. There is a handheld dock, a podium for two or four docks on locking casters, and a tamper-proof cover if the dock should not be free-for-all.

What to decide before you quote

Start from the policy, not the brochure.

  • Do students keep a sealed phone, or is it handed in?
  • Who may open it during the day: the student, or only staff?
  • How many rooms, gates and exam spaces need a release point?
  • How are medical, translation and learning exceptions recorded?
  • Who is the parent’s contact in an emergency (the office, not the pocket)?
  • Who owns a damaged or missing bag?
  • Will you trial one year level for a term before a whole-school order?

Write that as a one-page sequence: silence, seal, late arrivals, exceptions, 3pm release, and a periodic call-the-phone test. That page tells you capacity better than the enrolment number alone.

How Australian schools order

Email sales@aussecurityproducts.com.au, call (02) 9261 1099, or browse the Generation Faraday collection. Useful in the first note: campus, headcount, keep versus hand-in, student-open versus staff-lock, number of rooms and gates, any branding, and the start date.

We quote on volume. Lead times, custom colours and whether the app or extra docks are in the price should be confirmed in that quote, not assumed from a product page.

Frequently asked questions

Do the bags block all signals?

They are built to attenuate Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular including 5G, GPS, RFID and NFC when the double-roll is closed and the bag is in good condition. That is not the same as switching the phone off, and a poor seal will fail a call test.

Can parents still reach a student?

Not through a sealed bag. Victoria’s guidance is that parents contact the school office. Put that in the parent letter so it is not a surprise on day one.

What about a medical exemption?

A non-locking bag opens without a special tool. Max-Lock needs a key or dock. Exemptions for health conditions sit with the principal under most state policies. Do not make the student’s phone the only emergency channel.

Do we need a subscription?

Non-locking bags do not need one to attenuate signal. Max-Lock needs unlock hardware. Confirm any app or support fees in the quote.

Which products do not block signal?

The Phone Storage Box, ClassKeeper, Phone Hotel, and the standard event locker unless optional shielding is specified.

Sources

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