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Comprehensive Review of Different Types of Cellphone Mounts.

In the quest for the perfect car mount, I've tried a handful of them over the course of several years. I tried several magnetic car mounts sold on Amazon. The Vano was decent but I thought the Spigen was a much better buy in my opinion.

However, in some Spigen's reviews, some buyers had complained that the Spigen's magnet wasn't strong enough for their heavy phone. I was kinda' shocked. Must be some competitors writing bad reviews, I thought. I have a Note 5 with a very heavy additional battery (it's really heavy) and the Spigen was more than strong enough to hold it while driving. I use a light case so that might have been a factor with these buyers. But I can tell you that the Spigen is more than strong enough to hold very heavy phones.

In fact, the Spigen is MUCH stronger than the Vano. I would say that the Spigen is more than twice as strong! So, if they thought the Spigen was too weak, then the Vano will definitely not work for them. So it was weird that Vano got so much higher reviews. Is it just pure statistical volatility? Bought reviews. I had bought 2 of these and they were strong.

But WAIT! I bought two more for my parents. Both of them were significantly weaker. You could tell. Now I understood. There truly is a lot of volatility in the product themselves. I bought two more and found that one was strong and one was weak. So, it really is random what kind of magnets you will get. Should I buy like 1000 and figure out the percentage of strong vs bad? If I was paid for it, hell yeah but this is as far as I go.

I didn't test Vano whether they had much stronger magnets if you bought additional. I simply don't have the time. I wish I could, only so I could be fair but oh well.

But also remember that what I liked about the Spigen was not only the strong magnet but they What made Spigen a much better deal is not only the STRONGER MAGNET but that they included TWO magnets that both had adhesive backs to them AND two film covers to protect against scratches. In fact no other seller provided this amount of accessories. It may only cost a few cents but it's really useful actually.

Just FYI: In my quest to find the perfect car mount, I also tried a few non-magnet car mounts as well. I tried this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AJRVIQI/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This actually works great too. The ratings are justified. There is nothing wrong with this but I actually found the magnet car mount to be much more convenient. I was initially apprehensive that the magnet wouldn't be strong enough or lose it's power over time but that has not been the case. And I've found that using the magnet is TONS more convenient. It might seem like it's not that much to tighten and loosen the grips on the car mount given in the link above but why waste the extra few seconds when you don't need to?

I also bought and used a suction cup mount for a while:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007FH716W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This was good as well because it does stick. It has some adhesive in addition to the suction cup that really prevents the mount from coming off. When you first put it on, it will NEVER come off. It won't leave any residue but it's got suction and this sticky stuff that creates the strongest bond I've ever seen. The only problem is that sometimes you want to take it off for one reason or another. And once you take it off, the adhesive begins to lose its stickiness.

I also tried the famous Pro Clip. Google it and you'll find it. It's a mount that doesn't use any screws but fastens securely by holding onto corners and little gaps. I had originally bought this because I was afraid the vent mount grips wouldn't be strong enough (later found that vents are more than strong enough). The ProClip is EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE though. But I didn't want to make holes in my car so I gave it a try. The ProClip is actually pretty great but the mount can't accommodate extended batteries except the Ottie so I returned it.

*I really hate the upvoted reviews written by people given free or discounted products. They give high ratings which totally skew Amazon's rating system. Please upvote this review so that people can read an honest evaluations of these products.

This Spigen magnet is both a love and hate. I love that it allows me to quickly Mount my phone without the need to fiddle with a claw-type mount. The reason I'm giving this Spigen a 1 star is because the build quality is very poor. It pains me to say this because I've been buying Spigen products for years and have always loved them. But I have to say Spigen must have dropped the ball with this product. I just purchased 2 of this magnet today which would bring my total purchased for the last year to 8. The magnet works fine for a few months or less but then starts to break. The mechanism that holds the magnet front to the pinch fingers on the back breaks after a short while. And when it breaks the magnet front will start spinning freely so when you mount your phone it cannot stay upright instead it will swivel. Spigen needs to have it's engineers look at this issue. This issue has happened to literally every single one of Spigen magnets I've purchased before. I just bought 2 today and unless Spigen corrects the design flaw I will not buying Spigen magnets again after the 2 I just bought breaks in the near future.

After repetitive adjustments & removal, the grips broke from the mount. The IPhone 6plus seemed to be too much weight for the vent and the mount couldn't compensate this weight, so constant adjustment was needed. The size and portability is convenient, but repetitive removal weakened the grips and they eventually came apart from the mount. (Displayed in pics) After about 2 weeks, the mount is useless.

I bought this is anticipation of my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 arriving 9/4/17. Obviously a large sized and heavy phone. I tested it with my work phone (I'm a veterinarian who does house/farm calls at least two days a week so GPS navigation/Google Maps, invoicing, etc all done on the phone). The phone is an older large android phone in an enormous, bulky, and heavy otterbox 2 piece case. The work vehicle is a late model Honda Element. We have broken about 4 car mount phone holders in the past month, the other two barely fit the width of the phone in the case and the phone would unexpectedly explode out of the clips at us. I placed the rectangular magnetic sticker on the inside of the outer portion of the case. I mounted the mount on the air vent with ease. It feels extremely sturdy. The swivel and customization ability of the mount is great but it helps that you can use the screw portion to tighten it down into position as well. It worked FABULOUSLY. Despite crappy PA roads, bumps, jerks, etc the phone never wobbled or wavered. The magnet is very strong, I attached the work phone while still in the office and violently swung and stabbed in up and down in the air and the phone never came off. This is so much easier to deal with then mounts that you need to two-handedly insert and remove the phone from. I know this will work amazing on the Note 8 and will post photos and a follow up shortly.

It's unobtrusive and well designed. The rubbery attachment you wedge onto the vent slats is very secure. The only issue I ran into in my car ('97 Volvo 850), is that the vertical adjustment of the vents are very loose so when you put any phone on the mount, the vent is pulled downward until the disc portion of the vent mount comes in contact with the surface below the vent. This only impacts/limits the angle of swivel but to try to negate this I removed the mount from the center of the vent and put it all the way on the lowest slat I could to start.

I know some reviewers have found there are bad/weak magnets used in this model occasionally, I am thankful I got a properly working strong one. At least 4 of my coworkers will be purchasing this same product after seeing it in use so I hope to be able to report on the % of any defective magnets shortly. I will buy again and I have already purchased the extra sets of magnet plates/stickers so that I can have one on every case.

This product came with two large rectangle magnets and two protective layer stickers. Again, one was placed on the inside of the outer layer of an otterbox case, it stuck very well, I did not use a protective strip as it was going to be between hard case and rubber case. The second magnet I placed directly on the back of my old/battered Note 3 that came out of retirement when my Note 7 was disconnected, doesn't have a case on it, and just needs to survive 4 more days. As the back of the Note 3 is textured fake leather, I was curious to see how the adhesive worked. It stuck very very well and does not want to come off.

While I will be getting a wireless charger for the Note 8 I have not tested wireless charging function impairment personally yet. Spigen warns that it will at least be slowed/hampered if not entirely prevented. I don't forsee this being a big issue for me, however, as I plan on installing a tempered glass screen protector on the Note 8, If the taking on/off of cases negatively affects the stick and function of the screen protector, that would be a downside for me.

Overall, I LOVE this product, I will NEVER use dash mount, clipping, two-handed type car mounts ever again and this is a very useful and sturdy product I would recommend to anyone.

9/4/17: I've added pictures and also want to add that after using it for 4 days it is occasionally pulling off the vent when I pull my phone off. Like other's have mentioned this is more likely to happen when you have a lighter/uncased phone (I am temporarily using a naked old note 3 with no case and magnet directly on the back of the phone). It's not a huge deal, you can slide it off to mostly prevent this issue. I still recommend this product over the clip kind any day!

I have a Spigen case for the Galaxy S8+ that I use as my daily driver (with a huge Mophie juice-pack case reserved for long flights and the like) and so I already know they make quality gear. I was a little wary of buying this, having seen some of the reviews, but all I can say is that I'm more than happy I did. I opted for the blue item as it was a quid cheaper than the black, go figure; it's a smart, dark blue and is hidden away anyway once the phone is attached.

I will address some of the concerns I had based upon comments from other reviewers.

1. 'Prevents wireless charging' - No it doesn't, at least not if you attach the magnet in the right place; which on a Galaxy S8/8+ is at the bottom of the handset. Do this and wireless/NFC work just fine - I'm charging my phone using a wireless pad right now, in the case with the magnet in situ.

2. 'Very poor quality grip to car vent means it can come off when phone removed' - I just don't understand this one, as the vent grip is no worse and actually far better than many I have used over the years. It grips the horizontal louvred vent perfectly, and tightly. Seriously, once on properly it's not going anywhere. I have driven many miles, over different terrain, and it hasn't loosened off by a mm let alone fallen off when I touch it. It's a very solid attachment, and one I'm more than happy trusting with holding a £750 handset!

3. 'Holder is so heavy it bounces over bumps and slams up and down' - again, I just don't recognise this. If you tighten up the nut once you have the correct angle for your phone, and tighten it well, the thing doesn't move at all. Not, for that matter, does the holder where it is attached to the vent. Sure, there is some vibration of the phone but nothing that I would call 'bouncing up and down' or anything like it.

I've been known to use a few different methods for holding my phone in the car, and this is the best bar none... the magnets are really strong (too strong even?) so the phone isn't going anywhere. I got this in conjunction with a Spigen matte black slim case iPhone 6 Case, Spigen® [Non-Slip] [Perfect-Fit] iPhone 6 (4.7) Case Slim **NEW** [Fit Series] [Thin Fit] [Smooth Black] Premium SF Coated Non Slip Surface with Excellent Grip Matte Hard Case - ECO-Friendly Packaging - Slim Case for iPhone 6 (4.7) (2014) - Smooth Black (SGP10936) and this case has a dent inside to stick the metal plate on to, so you don't have to stick it to your phone, which is quite clever.

My BMW 5 series vents have the vertical fins too far in which means that this mount only attaches to a single horizontal fin, and it stills holds really well.

This is my second one since I gave mine to my girlfriend who wanted it right away after I showed her how well it worked, we are both very happy with it.

The system is perfect. You get two magnet stickers to put on your phone or in your phone case, nine times out of ten it can be hidden and won't effect the look or feel of your phone.

Taking the phone off the bracket takes a bit of practice, as you can pull the entire thing out of your air vent accidentally (that's the sign of strong magnets). You can pick the phone up by the mount and shake VIOLENTLY and it still won't come off! Pulling the phone off at an angle is a one handed operation, however it will change the viewing angle when put it back, but the joint is so malleable this isn't an issue.

My friend recommended the product to me, however his one is just a straight mount. This one has a ball joint so you can fine tune your angle.

My only quarm isn't to do with the product, it's the aircon vents in my car that this product relies upon. If your vents are a bit floppy and not all the components join into each other. This can turn high-speed roundabouts into a shot putting competition as the mount flies into the back seat.

In spite of this I can't and won't stop recommending this product

I usually really rate Spigen products which is why I had no hesitation paying double for what I've come to expect as being high quality goods. Very disappointed in this however. Fitted to an F30 3 series bmw, the holder is so heavy it bounces over bumps and slams up and down. So not only is the phone less secure, I was concerned that it would eventually damage the vent. I tried it at different height levels in the vent. It may suit vertical slats better for this reason but then, I'm not sure if that would cause it to move left to right more. Overall, disappointed. Returned for a refund and would not recommend.

I'm middle of the road with this one. It doesn't feel like it clips onto my air vent all that well and I constantly have to push it back in. I have a Note 8 and I'm sometimes worries it's going to fall off and damage the phone. The other thing I'm not happy about is the fact the magnetic plate you stick to your phone or in my case the back of my cover, it stops the wireless charging from working. Obviously the magnets interfere with it somehow. So it means having to take my case off and on to use my wireless charger.

I don't use this every day but when I do (usually on long journeys) it has worked as expected. The magnet is strong and holds my Pixel 2 securely and tightly. The only issue I have is that because it is attached to the vent it can sometimes become loose, nothing that can't be fixed by tightening it somewhat. For average use like mine it works great.

Now this was a product that I had mixed reviews about to begin with I thought it was amazing the magnetic was really strong between the two I could put the phone on the stand and it would not move at all but as the weeks went by and the connector that clips onto the air vent of the car started to dwindle it went from being a strong grip to something that was quite lacking in strength over a six-month period unfortunately I no longer able to use the attachment

Little more expensive than some of the cheaper versions you'll find on eBay, but definitely worth paying the extra money! It comes with a metal plate the same size as the magnet that can be stuck to the back of a phone or the inside of a phone case, and the magnet is very strong and keeps the phone in place even when going over bumps and potholes, unlike some of the cheaper versions. If you're looking for a phone holder for your car then this is definitely worth a look!

Very strong magnet easily holds Iphone 6s Plus. Nice build. However very poor quality grip to car vent means it can often come off when phone is removed. Work ok with smaller phone and smaller magnetic stickers, but still can fall off if you accidentally touch it. I lost it already as it fell off, else would have returned for refund.
Purchased Yosh car phone holder that is very good with grip and design

This is so much better than the round version of Spigens Car Vent Mounts. This holds my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 perfectly whilst driving. The ability to adjust the angle is really useful too as so many car vents are at funny angles these days.
Really happy with my purchase and I'm thinking of buying a second one to replace the round verison I had bought for my wife. (see my seperate reveiw on that awful product!)

Great product and magnet strong enough to hold phone with no problem and regardless of road condition. Small and discrete and does not interfere with use of air vents.
Struggled initially to get a good grip on my air vents initially as quite narrow and at an angle but have eventually managed to fix holder firmly in place.
Great little product and prompt delivery

The main problem with this item is the plastic covering the parts which you push onto your car vent come off when you remove it. As a result you get these plastic bits fall into your car vent. I managed to lose one but get 2 out after the magnet was re positioned during the 1st installation. This should not happen and I ended up gluing the bits back on so I could use the magnet. I contact Spigen to return but was told I had to go though amazon which was too much of a pain to bother with.

I use a HTC One M8 and drive an Astra. The holder itself is surprisingly small, and unobtrusive so it fit into my vents with ease. The magnets are very powerful and keep the phone secure in place through any journey. It's so powerful in fact that you need two hands to get the phone off the holder.

The grips for the holder though are poor. All four fell off INSIDE my vent as I tried to move it to another one and I can't reach them to get them out. Now the whole thing shakes and shakes when I'm driving and falls off more times . If I knew these were going to be so loose I would've superglued them in place before use.

If you are going to buy this then I'd suggest you glue them into place. But for the price, it's not bad.

This really does have a strong magnet. Once you get it right the magnet does hold your phone. I have used with iPhone 6 and 6S and its does its job. Little tricky making sure you put the holder into the correct slots on your heater vents but once done it is great little unobtrusive. I would think it would fit most cars. I have only tried in a Smart and Ford Mondeo.

I'm not saying this is badly built etc, but the issue only arose when I used it.
I have an iPhone 6 plus, (big phone) and the car has circular air vents,(move up/down left/right) the weight of the phone and the lack of support from the grab into the vent slats, meant that the vent itself kept being dragged downwards by the weight.
The phone screen was not visible, as most of the time the display was pointing downwards.
The magnets and hold is really good, but I didn't consider the weight and the lack of support from the grab.