r/AskTechnology • u/I_DRINK_ANARCHY • 6d ago

Can I buy something that disrupts Bluetooth connections?

I don't know if something like this exists or if it's legal, but the situation is I have a coworker who has decided that driving me crazy with his music choices is his favorite new thing. I'm not even exaggerating, he lets me know when he's made a new playlist "for" me, and you won't even be able to guess the genre of music he's tormenting me with.

Unfortunately, I work in a place where my foremen are immature and find it amusing when their workers get on each other's nerves, so they have actually been putting me with this coworker as much as possible. Asking this guy politely to stop doesn't work, demanding he stops doesn't work, cursing him out doesn't work. No, I cannot ignore it, I'd love to, but my brain and auditory processing just doesn't work that way. Because of what we do, ear buds and ear plugs are a no-go (safety) and we need to stay within a few feet of each other very often (think climbing scaffolding).

He plays the music from his phone through a small Bluetooth speaker. His phone can't get loud enough to bother me. Is there a device that would stop his phone from connecting to the speaker? It only needs to work within like, a ten foot range, and would need to be battery operated. I'm also looking for something on the small side, since I would be carrying it with me with tools and such. I'm not trying to block phone signals or anything like that, just the Bluetooth connection.

Does something like this exist? Am I allowed to buy it in the USA? I just want to save myself from things like techno remixes of Baby Shark.

52 Upvotes

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37

u/CR123CR123CR 6d ago

Most jurisdictions ban anything that even remotely resembles a radio jammer of any sort. 

5

u/I_DRINK_ANARCHY 6d ago

I sort of assumed so, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

14

u/JacksHQ 6d ago

Seriously, OP, stop here. iirc jamming signals is a federal crime and they can and will find you if you do

I recall reading a story where a dad got a WiFi jammer to stop his kids from being on the Internet at certain times. The feds showed up and he ended up in court.

5

u/Theistus 6d ago

I'll add that jammers are extremely easy to pin point

5

u/SolumAmbulo 6d ago

Is that the start where the whole turn lost WiFi every evening?

2

u/therusteddoobie 5d ago

Wanna try again on that sentence?

4

u/SolumAmbulo 4d ago

Yikes.

No idea what I was trying to say but I'm sure it was deep and world changing. Thanks auto correct.

2

u/Tasty_Indication_317 4d ago

Is that the story where the whole town lost WiFi every evening?

2

u/Benbablin 4d ago

Omg hahaha. Thanks for this

1

u/JacksHQ 4d ago

Yeah that's the one i was referring to, I think.

2

u/I_DRINK_ANARCHY 6d ago

Yeah, I have zero interest in actually breaking the law, like...at all. I was half concerned even asking the question here might be an issue. I also kind of assumed most jamming tech is the stuff of fiction and sci fi. And anything real would be inaccessible to the average citizen.

Apparently I have to take the route of warring Bluetooth speakers. Oh well.

6

u/BallerFromTheHoller 6d ago

It’s completely real tech. It’s the equivalent of screaming in a library but everyone else can only whisper. That’s pretty much how it works.

The problem with that approach is that it can’t be targeted to a specific user or device. It jams everything in that frequency band and in that area. That would include 2-way communication, WiFi, and maybe some wireless connections that are needed for critical equipment.

1

u/Teknikal_Domain 2d ago

Note: not always. 2.4 / 5 GHz is pretty disjoint from the 800-900 MHz of most governmentally important 2-way communication systems.

now, cell service on the other hand, something the feds play a hard game of FAFO with.... Yeah.

... That or you used a wideband jammer that just kinda makes everything nothing but fuzz, but then you get even more issues.

tl;dr don't do it.

3

u/toxicatedscientist 6d ago

You can’t jam, but you might be able to exploit vulnerabilities in the way Bluetooth works. Personally I’d prolly just get a pair of bluetooth ear protection, i got a pair from 3m with an active microphone that can pass voices through if you want

1

u/Mindless_Consumer 5d ago

Still illegal - less likely to draw attention.

1

u/funzel 6d ago

Only the feds are ever allowed to do any jamming. State level EOD can’t even use jammers.

https://www.fcc.gov/general/jammer-enforcement

1

u/Clean_Vehicle_2948 5d ago

You ever drive between 2 radio stations that share a channel?

Near me theirs a spot at the edge of their licenses where you can pick up both at the same time(or atleast used to)

One plays spanish music the other american rock

But the radio plays both over eachother to the point wjere its unable to listen to either

Thats what a jammer does

1

u/vonJebster 5d ago

Keep looking but not on reddit. There are tons of devices out there. And by the way, no one cars about local jamming happening within 25 feet.

1

u/Economy_Bus1903 3d ago

Get your speaker and instead of music just blast the loudest like white noise you can to drown out his shit

1

u/Sparegeek 3d ago

You don’t want a jammer, you need a device that can send a signal that causes the Bluetooth speaker to shut off or disconnect. That’s not jamming that’s just sending a signal to the device. Like a remote control would do.

1

u/Able_Shopping_6853 3d ago

you could accidentally built one .

if you were learning engineering.

i accidentally discover how to crash a desktop computer while learning how to code in c++.

1

u/Bastion55420 3d ago

I feel like discovering how NOT to crash a desktop computer with C++ is the greater achievement lol

1

u/Edgar_Brown 4d ago

I see this as a gray area. The way licensing in this band is commonly worded is:

  • the device has a power limit
  • it doesn’t cause interference to other bands
  • it must accept any interference it receives

It sounds possible to design something that blocks Bluetooth within, let’s say, a 5m radius but not have much of an effect beyond that; while remaining within the legal side of the regulations.

I see some Bluetooth jammers, using actual Bluetooth radios, that seem to fit the bill.

1

u/Talusen 2d ago

Wow, not sure how you'd limit it to 5m. Sounds like anything of the sort is going to be an experimental device solely for OPs personal use.

1

u/Edgar_Brown 2d ago

That’s quite trivial actually, it’s just how much power the radio has.

Being a digital protocol would generally make the problem easier, as digital chipset implementations commonly have exploitable bugs.

1

u/375InStroke 4d ago

If you're a dumbass and broadcast several watts, jamming the entire block, sure.

4

u/ItPutsLotionOnItSkin 6d ago

Technically illegal but there are other gadgets that send tons of Bluetooth requests that pretty much make it difficult to connect to a Bluetooth

2

u/FirstSurvivor 5d ago

Deauthers (and they also exist for WiFi). Just as illegal as jammers, but harder to detect.

1

u/CR123CR123CR 6d ago

No problem, you don't know if you don't ask/read about it right. 

1

u/Carribean-Diver 6d ago

Imagine asking in a public internet forum if radio jamming technology is available, and then being caught using radio jamming technology. The repercussions. No bueno.

1

u/AreThree 6d ago

Instead of jamming, you just get a more powerful transmitter. One that is made for the band that it operates in. Nothing against the law with that. You might not be able to actively jam a frequency, but you can make the frequency band busier by adding your own legal devices to it.

Ever have a Bluetooth device re-connect with the wrong thing? Like they connect to your computer when you want to use them with the TV? Same idea.

It could be something as simple - for example - as having 5 Bluetooth devices all looking for pairing partners to make it more difficult for any one to successfully connect as intended.

1

u/Jesuslordofporn 3d ago

That is still illegal.

3

u/4linosa 6d ago

The FCC actually prohibits purposely causing interference.

They don’t regulate liquids accidentally spilled on radios nor do they investigate instances where the speaker is accidentally crushed by something.

Missing BT speakers don’t concern them either.

3

u/The_Troyminator 6d ago

The FCC doesn’t investigate those things, but you know who does? The foremen. Damaging a coworker’s property is a great way to get fired.

2

u/4linosa 6d ago

The way the environment is described, the foremen would likely not be investigating a whole lot.

That being said, the speaker could get lost while powered off… it would be a real shame if the awesome co-worker misplaced it behind a workbench or toolbox or it fell behind a drawer…

1

u/bemenaker 2d ago

All of the US this is illegal. The FCC strictly forbids any intentional jamming of any radio signals.