A novel microwave microelectromechanical systems switch with a coplanar waveguide structure has been developed. The switch consists of a freestanding metallic cantilever and an electromagnet. A permanent magnetic film was deposited on top of the cantilever. By supplying a dc current to the electromagnet, the magnetic field generated would attract or repel the permanent magnetic film on top of the cantilever, causing it to make or break contact with a bottom electrode. An all-electrodeposition method has been used to improve the mechanical properties of the cantilever. The deposition process of the cantilevers has been optimized to improve the adhesion of the cantilever to the substrate and to minimize the switching dc power. Using commercially available electromagnet, a voltage of 2 V (de power of about 15 mW), is sufficient to actuate the switches. Similar switching power was observed using an improved hand wound electromagnet. The on-state dc resistance of the switches is generally less than 2 Omega. At 10 GHz, the on state insertion loss due purely to the switches is about 0.1 dB and off state isolation is greater than 20 dB. Repeated operations of the switches showed no sign of performance degradation in a conventional room environment.