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Tech Hero Product Review: Mophie Air iPhone case

If you own an iPhone, in particularly an iPhone 4S, you’ve probably noticed that your battery life hasn’t been as great with iOS 5. Apple has already admitted that there are bugs in the OS that are causing excessive battery drain, but so far updates haven’t solved the problem. Enter the Mophie Air iPhone case. While the case adds to the size of your iPhone it basically gives you double the battery life. The case is also extreamly well made and you can feel in your hand that the phone is very well protected against damage should it fall.

The case is easy enough to use, just slip in your iPhone and attach the bottom part of the case. The bottom also slides off whenever you need to access the 30-pin connector, and it fits securely back into place. This is a great feature for me as I can use my speaker dock without having to take the phone out of the case.

The case also smart charges the iPhone as well. Plugging in the micro USB charger will first charge the iPhone to full, and then charge the Mophie’s battery. You can also connect the phone to the computer with the micro USB, although some customers have complained that the phone doesn’t show up correctly in iTunes when using the micro USB connection instead of the 30-pin connector.

Now all great things have a bad side, and there are three main complaints I’ve seen on this case.

  1. Some customers have complained that the glue that holds in the micro USB connector is a cheap design and eventually the connector will fall into the case making it impossible to charge. I’ve put a bit of force on mine and I haven’t noticed any looseness at all. Some have pointed out that the design the Apple store carries seems to be better constructed. Since I got my Mophie case from an Apple store I can’t say if the design at other stores is different (see pic below), but why risk it, get it from the Apple store.
  2. Like I mentioned before some people have been complaining that they can’t connect their iPhone to their computer correctly through the micro USB cord. I haven’t been able to replicate the problem on my phone, but if its a problem it takes a matter of seconds to remove the bottom and connect a regular iPhone cord instead.
  3. I’ve seen people mention this in several spots, and its the only problem I’ve noticed with the case. If you’re in an area where you get weak cell reception the Mophie case will be that last straw on the camels back and you’ll lose your reception. The only time I’ve noticed this is at work where I’m usually holding onto a one or two bar 3G connection and I usually lose that and get tossed to EDGE anyways. Taking the phone out the the case solves the issue, and its easy enough to put back in. Once I’m in a stronger signal area there isn’t any problems.

Overall I’m very happy with my purchase. I’ve used the case successfully for two weeks now and despite its $80 price tag I feel like its worth every penny. The device has a switch that turns the backup battery on and off. I’ve found if you keep the battery off and turn it on only when your iPhone’s charge drops you get a lot more battery life than if you leave it on constantly.

NOTE: The picture at the top of this article is the Mophie Air case I purchased from the Apple store and the bottom comes off. That is the type of case I recommend. The picture below is the other design that people have been complaining about more and is borrowed from GadgetMac.Com

 

January 10, 2012 4 Comments T
  • IPhone4user

    First, the micro-USB synch prob is only if you don’t use the cord that came with the mophie – any other standard USB-micro-USB cord will work to charge, not to synch. Second, the real issue is that my Mophie just killed by iPhone4 battery. I have been having increasing problems with the battery and when I just replaced, the repair guy yelled “holy shit” as he opened the case (never good). Seems that the iPhone battery was twice its normal width and the guy said it could have exploded. He thinks it was the Mophie – I only charge the phone through the Mophie – but he said that he only has seen this problem in Blackberry’s – so I wonder if its a micro-USB prob. Either way, don’t exclusively charge through the Mophie

    • Raleighite

      That’s really interesting. I had a similar problem with an older phone of mine when it came into contact with water it expanded. Maybe I need to get my battery checked too. Thanks for the heads up :)

  • flyingcindy

    Help! Can anyone out there tell me how to get the bottom of the phone case off. Seriously! I can get the top off, but not the bottom. My hubby has tried with his superhuman strength also and no can do. I am wondering of I need to pour oil into it? JK….I think. Anyone else have this problem? Don’t know where to turn.

    • Raleighite

      I’m assuming you’ve got the style that opens from the top instead of the bottom. It’s not easy to get the phone out but the best way is to try and pry one side out. I push outward on the plastic outer walls and shimmy one side out. You can’t pull the phone out of one of the cases like you would usually. Think of the plastic walls as teeth holding it in, just pry them open enough to get one side out and the whole phone will pop out.