I’ve been using the ESR HaloLock MagSafe which is just $22 right now on Black Friday and it mainly works well. It is true that if you hit a big bump or you have a Pro Max, it has a tendency to have the phone pop off. So off to Popular Mechanics, Gear Patrol to find something with really strong magnets to prevent this. I don’t know the specifications of the system, but you have to make sure that if you use a case, it has magnets on the case itself. And of course, you want to get one that supports the full 15W charging capability of the modern phones. Note that there are as of yet no Qi2 car mounts yet, but as the iPhone and everyone else transitions, you should see those appear shortly:
- ESR Cryoboost HaloLock. I don’t have the version with Cryo Boost which is basically a fan to keep the phone cool, but it is small and works on the vents of our Honda and Mazda. NOte that this is a 10W version, so not as fast as it could go.
- OtterBox MagSafe Charger Vent Mount. This supports 15W and it is a suction mount. I’ve actually had mixed experiences with suction mounting because it doesn’t always stay stuck unless you use a really hard-core system but then it means that you use a physical lock to mount it.
If you look at Amazon for things with strong magnets, that is another approach since this isn’t really featured in many of the reviews above so you get a host of devices that don’t include charging but which might hold better. These all look like they come from the same Chinese OEM, so they aren’t expensive and worth trying if falling off is the big issue:
- LISEN. This has the 15@ charging and has better magnets and a completely confusing line of products. So there is a $15 one that has 20 Magnets and MagSafe charging. There is a vent-mount noncharging version that is $16. There is a 15W MagSafe with 20 magnets for $20 and then you can get them in pretty colors for $35-50 which doesn’t seem worth it. Then there is another version that doesn’t rotate that has 20 magnets and 15W charging for $15. Fakespot seemed to like the first one, but the cheaper $15 one gets an F Rating so YMMV.
- Lamicall and 2nd generation. This one at least has 3K reviews and at $10 is probably worth at least trying. The 20 N52 magnets can hold up to 4.4 pounds so not bad to try. It doesn’t charge though. The $16 one has a steel hook,
- Ponzel. Only three reviews but $16 and claims it has 20 magnets, but it does have an adhesive mount which is not as nice as a vent mount.
- Mungudes and Vent Mount. This one looks exactly the same but at least a few more people have used it. The claim is that it uses 20 N52 magnets in a double circle so has twice as many magnets
More on Micro USB Magnetic cables
I have a ton of USB C cables so now of course, I want to go all magnetic and have a few old devices like an Eve Room, Kindle Superwhite, and Kaiterra monitor around. I’ve been using the Digital Ant Gen-X and they have been good, but I just lost in the garage one of the little tips, so in looking at new ones, I wanted to find ones that are both charging and provide data. That is they need to support all 7 pins. I’m going to try the Ankndo 4-pack for $20 which gives you lightning, USB, and micro USB at 3A and 480Mbps and which are Fakespot A rated so wish me luck. I’ll see if they are compatible.
Adding Magsafe to your old iPhone X
OK, if you have a magnetic charging and an old phone, they don’t have the magnet array you need to orient. Fortunately, the Amazon economy has figured this out and there are now cases that have this built in so you get great alignment. It makes it very easy. You can try the one we did HVDI Clear Magnetic and it is just $11 on Cyber Monday. Give it a try.
