Try searching the room late at night to reduce the ambient sound in the room. This will make isolating and locating any noises much easier. There are plenty of different mechanical and electrical devices that can make quiet buzzing and clicking noises. Combine this method with other ways of identifying hidden cameras and microphones to differentiate between malicious and ordinary items.

Smoke detectors are a perfect place for microphones to be hidden as they have built-in power and are normally centralized in a room. Microphones or cameras hidden inside smoke detectors or other electronics will usually be easily visible. Look for anything that doesn’t seem to be attached to the rest of the device, or anything that looks like a microphone or camera.

While most of a camera can be hidden inside something else, the lens will almost always need to be completely visible for the camera to work. Check your suspicious decorations for glassy surfaces or visible lenses that might indicate a hidden camera. The most effective cameras will be positioned so that they can see as much of the room as possible. Look for decorations on the edges of the room that are angled awkwardly to face into the room. Hidden microphones will work best when they’re in the center of a room, so they can hear everything equally. Look for decorations positioned on a table in the middle of your room to find hidden microphones.

If you find an unfamiliar wire and can’t work out what it is powering, you should unplug it immediately.

The light will reflect off of the charge coupled device or lens on the camera, making it easier to notice. Once you identify a glimmer, take a closer look at the object to see if it might be a camera. Some reflective objects will let off a glimmer without it meaning they’re hiding a camera. Some cameras might also have small LED lights that will activate in the dark. These should also be easily visible through a hidden camera detector.

It’s rare for there to be wires coming off of the contact points on your battery. Carefully investigate any strange wires, avoiding coming in contact with the battery where you can. The only device inside your light fixture should be the lightbulb itself. It may also help to take a look inside and around the lightbulb to see if the bulb itself is bugged. All of the methods used for detecting hidden cameras and microphones in your home will also work when looking for them in your car.

Try lifting the mirror off of the wall. Two-way mirrors have to be installed in the wall or bolted to it, where regular mirrors might just be hung on a hook. Another way to detect a two-way mirror is by tapping on it. A regular mirror will produce a dull, flat sound, whereas a two-way mirror will sound sharper, open, or hollow due to the room behind it. If you suspect you have a two-way mirror, the easiest way to deal with it is to cover it up with a sheet, some paper, or even by hanging another mirror over it.

You’ll need to turn off any other devices that broadcast radio signals in order for the RF detector to work. Check the manufacturer’s guidelines for more information on how to use your RF detector. When the RF detector beeps or crackles, look around the area to find the hidden surveillance device.

Move your phone around the area where you think the hidden camera or microphone is to get a better sense of its exact location. The buzzing, clicking, and crackling should get louder on the phone as you get closer to the device. There are many other devices, such as speakers, television sets, and radios that might create small electromagnetic fields as well. Turn these off when searching for hidden devices. You can perform a similar check with an AM/FM radio. Place the radio near the location where the microphone is hidden and turn the dial, listening for any strange interference or static.

The default Wi-Fi name for a lot of hidden cameras will be the product code for the device. Search for any unknown Wi-Fi names online to see what kind of device they belong to. As well as peculiar Wi-Fi names, you can look for Wi-Fi signals that are stronger than you anticipated. A strong signal normally indicates that the device is nearby. If you have access to the wireless router, you may be able to log in and see which devices are connected to your network. Remove access to any devices you didn’t set up to keep your network secure.