Habeeb - after 48 hours I retract my no issues with reception statement- a certain area of my commute home is really bad with the aluma case dropping calls that the element handles ok...hell, they all got a problem in certain situations...
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Alumacase
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Habeeb - after 48 hours I retract my no issues with reception statement- a certain area of my commute home is really bad with the aluma case dropping calls that the element handles ok...hell, they all got a problem in certain situations...
Yeah, it seems that any time you would normally have 3 bars or less, it really creams the reception hard.
Now i'm concerned... So I have not recieved mine yet (live in Canada) and I get 1-3 bars around the house. Shipping it back going to cost another $15... Has anyone done a successful mod to it? Of course I've also got a preorder code from fusion, but now im once bitten twice shy... Since Fusion's case is only $50 preorder, do I take the chance? or wait to see the fans reaction and tests on it!!!!
Arggg
Arggg
I lined the inside of the case with vinyl (2 layers) and it seems to improve the reception a bit. GPS on the other hand was still a disaster. I'm waiting to get the hybrid atomic case...
I'm almost 2 full days into using this case, and so far, I haven't had any dropped calls with it. At home, I usually have between 1 and 3 bars, and I can notice a decline with the alumacase on. Though in some places in my house, I can still get 3 bars. But so far, I haven't dropped any calls because of it. I can also notice a decline in the signal strength of wi-fi while I'm at home, but it hasn't had a huge effect on performance, at least that I can tell.
AT&T has great reception in downtown Houston so when I'm driving to work I always have 5 bars, even with the case on. I put it in field test mode yesterday, and I was at -62. Case on or off, that's pretty darn good.
When I get in my office at work, I go back down to 1-3 bars again. (before the case). I don't normally make too many phone calls while I'm at work, but the few I have made in the past couple of days haven't been an issue. As for service, I was able to watch the Yankees-Rangers game on my MLB 2010 app over 3G. Again, this was with the same 1-3 bars. Anybody who has that app and has tried to watch games will know how it can freeze at times. It was pretty smooth, and I didn't really notice any difference in performance from when I had my bumper on.
I've been told that AT&T is great in Houston, and I guess based on the performance of this case it really is. Especially in light that almost everyone that has reported back has had issues.
AT&T has great reception in downtown Houston so when I'm driving to work I always have 5 bars, even with the case on. I put it in field test mode yesterday, and I was at -62. Case on or off, that's pretty darn good.
When I get in my office at work, I go back down to 1-3 bars again. (before the case). I don't normally make too many phone calls while I'm at work, but the few I have made in the past couple of days haven't been an issue. As for service, I was able to watch the Yankees-Rangers game on my MLB 2010 app over 3G. Again, this was with the same 1-3 bars. Anybody who has that app and has tried to watch games will know how it can freeze at times. It was pretty smooth, and I didn't really notice any difference in performance from when I had my bumper on.
I've been told that AT&T is great in Houston, and I guess based on the performance of this case it really is. Especially in light that almost everyone that has reported back has had issues.
I dunno...delrin can be pretty pricey. Back in the day I recall paying 50+ for a delrin bolt for my paintball gun.
Alumacase... I love it, and I hate it.
I just finally received my case today. They lied when they said they shipped the product out on 10/14. The packing postage clearly says shipped on 10/18.
They lied about fake users posting reviews.
They lied about giving macrumors members a huge discount .
They lied about reception and GPS issues.
They lied about shipping... $5 each item shipped? Come on that is ridiculous.
My aluminum case came and already has scuff marks on the case... luckily it is on the back.
After all of this, I gotta say, this case looks AWESOME in my opinion. I really like the way the carbon fiber backing looks also. Looks 3D. Is this real carbon fiber?
I took my phone out with me today and had tons of comments about how awesome this case looked. I gotta agree, given all these shortcomings about the company and case.. I am REALLY LIKING the way this case looks. SO SEXY!
I just finally received my case today. They lied when they said they shipped the product out on 10/14. The packing postage clearly says shipped on 10/18.
They lied about fake users posting reviews.
They lied about giving macrumors members a huge discount .
They lied about reception and GPS issues.
They lied about shipping... $5 each item shipped? Come on that is ridiculous.
My aluminum case came and already has scuff marks on the case... luckily it is on the back.
After all of this, I gotta say, this case looks AWESOME in my opinion. I really like the way the carbon fiber backing looks also. Looks 3D. Is this real carbon fiber?
I took my phone out with me today and had tons of comments about how awesome this case looked. I gotta agree, given all these shortcomings about the company and case.. I am REALLY LIKING the way this case looks. SO SEXY!
I've been using my Alumacase for a day now, and I can safely say that I'm getting much better results with it than I ever did with my Element Vapor. My data speeds are just barely under what they normally are without a case, no dropped calls yet, even in a particularly bad reception area on my work commute. Wifi hasn't shown any negative hit. The only thing that has really shown up is GPS reception. Without a case or in a traditional plastic case, my GPS usually locks location in about 5 seconds. With the Alumacase installed, it locks that fast sometimes, but usually takes about 30-45 seconds. But once it's locked, it tracks me just fine.
So far, I like this case much better than I did my Vapor. I like the symmetrical design much more than the one-sided notched design of the Vapor. If Alumacase would just offer the frost finishes that Element does, I'd have my favorite aluminum case (so far...still think I'm going to like the hands on look of the Fusion Raw the best).
So far, I like this case much better than I did my Vapor. I like the symmetrical design much more than the one-sided notched design of the Vapor. If Alumacase would just offer the frost finishes that Element does, I'd have my favorite aluminum case (so far...still think I'm going to like the hands on look of the Fusion Raw the best).
Couldn't agree more - this was part of what disappointed me so heavily about the performance in mediocre reception areas. I LOVED the look of the case, right down to the way the logo looked. I like my atomic, but I defintiely liked the look of alumacase better.
If you're confident in your reception area, and aren't as concerned about GPS, I would totally recommend the case. As I mentioned in my review though, if you're not in an area with solid reception buyer beware. Give it a try though, worst case scenario you're out 5 or 10 bucks (Depending on if yo uwant the carbon fiber or not) plus return shipping if it doesn't work for you.
BTW, I do have to agree...5 bucks shipping per item is a load of crap...10 bucks to stick the case and backing in an envelope and ship it via regular ol' USPS? Just silly.
Well I have had some more time to do some "real world" testing around town and here are my observations vs. the Elementcase Vapor 4:
-GPS is actually worse on the Alumacase. I say this with a caveat, however. That is that the Alumacase is better in sitting still situations. Once you start moving, GPS goes crazy.Vapor gives you a bigger diameter of forgiveness, but it is consistent, especially when on the move. I don't know how, but it appears the Vapor can lock the GPS signal and hold it better than the Alumacase can.
-WiFi - I have noticed that the Alumacase reduces the distance a little more than the Vapor does. I lose one bar of WiFi signal faster than the Vapor. Does this affect me? No. But if you were sitting far away from the WiFi source, it could definitely be a nuisance.
-Reception - This is where I was surprised. Alumacase went into searching mode in a lot more places with sketchy signal than my Vapor ever has. Where I could hold a bar with Vapor, I was stuck in searching. I know signal isn't consistent, but the Alumacase was searching quite a bit yesterday where my Vapor never has.
-Functionality - I'm torn on this. I can access the power button, and pretty much without problem. I just don't like having to smush my finger down in the hole to hit the little bitty sleep button. I think it'd be great to include a button similar to the Vapor's. If Alumacase is worried about cost, even a black plastic one wouldn't hurt my feelings.
-Fit - I know I previously said you can align the case pretty well with some effort, and you can. However, after a couple days use, the screws lose that initial bite and the case slips back inwards and becomes uneven. I don't see any way to avoid this without adding loctite to the screw or something similar. I might suggest using a pin/hole type design at the two pieces to help them align better, which would allow the screws just to be used for attaching the pieces.
I'm going to try to modify the case to see if I can improve upon the signal issues any and if I can I will definitely keep it. Otherwise, hello eBay. I think that the case has potential and I can certainly see some ways to improve upon the existing design without compromising it too much.
Hopefully, Alumacase goes back to address these issues in a new design or updated design to the original.
-GPS is actually worse on the Alumacase. I say this with a caveat, however. That is that the Alumacase is better in sitting still situations. Once you start moving, GPS goes crazy.Vapor gives you a bigger diameter of forgiveness, but it is consistent, especially when on the move. I don't know how, but it appears the Vapor can lock the GPS signal and hold it better than the Alumacase can.
-WiFi - I have noticed that the Alumacase reduces the distance a little more than the Vapor does. I lose one bar of WiFi signal faster than the Vapor. Does this affect me? No. But if you were sitting far away from the WiFi source, it could definitely be a nuisance.
-Reception - This is where I was surprised. Alumacase went into searching mode in a lot more places with sketchy signal than my Vapor ever has. Where I could hold a bar with Vapor, I was stuck in searching. I know signal isn't consistent, but the Alumacase was searching quite a bit yesterday where my Vapor never has.
-Functionality - I'm torn on this. I can access the power button, and pretty much without problem. I just don't like having to smush my finger down in the hole to hit the little bitty sleep button. I think it'd be great to include a button similar to the Vapor's. If Alumacase is worried about cost, even a black plastic one wouldn't hurt my feelings.
-Fit - I know I previously said you can align the case pretty well with some effort, and you can. However, after a couple days use, the screws lose that initial bite and the case slips back inwards and becomes uneven. I don't see any way to avoid this without adding loctite to the screw or something similar. I might suggest using a pin/hole type design at the two pieces to help them align better, which would allow the screws just to be used for attaching the pieces.
I'm going to try to modify the case to see if I can improve upon the signal issues any and if I can I will definitely keep it. Otherwise, hello eBay. I think that the case has potential and I can certainly see some ways to improve upon the existing design without compromising it too much.
Hopefully, Alumacase goes back to address these issues in a new design or updated design to the original.
beedish - spot on and well said. While I don't have the vapor, I saw the same differences between the alumacase and a naked phone, and alumacase and the hybrid atomic.
It's a pity because of all of them, I bloody well loved the look of the alumacase...but unfortunately the negatives outweighed the "look" that I liked so much.
x2 to all of you - I can't use it day to day - drops to much in areas the element does not....even the atomic does better than the alumacase...
Does the carbon fiber back work with other cases like the bumper or case-mate hula style cases?
I'm not sure... never used any of those cases before. I think so.. as it doesn't cover the entire back.
btw my reception SUCKS!!!!!!
I lost most of my battery life while I was in the office today, with the phone going from searching to 1 bar to no service all day.
I couldn't send out emails with my phone.
And it was frustrating since I didn't have the tool to remove the case with me.
I really want to make this case work. Will a lucky labs decal along the edge of the phone help?!?!
Seriously doubt it. You might be able to make it better with some super 88 electrical tape or some 3m tape but I don't think there is room for it in the case because of its thickness. So you might try some super 88 but I honestly doubt it will do much. I think this case is a lost cause.
The 3m tape is too thick. The way the case is designed won't let anything thicker than the electrical tape fit in there.
Wow...I guess I'm in the very small minority of my Alumacase actually working then. I didn't think it was this bad, but the more I read feedback from you guys, the more I realize I'm very lucky in having mine work exponentially better than my Element Vapor did out of the box.
What is super 88 electrical tape? And should I use it by taping the sticky side against the case? or the iphone antennae? or does it not matter?
Easier to work with sticking it to the case. Make sure you trim it on the part that wraps the front and back of the phone. You can always buy an antenna wrap and avoid messing with the case.
As a tip, an exacto knife makes life MUCH easier while doing this!
Same here. I've been using it since Monday, and I have yet to encounter any problems relating to actually using the phone how I used it when i had the bumper on. There is some signal loss definitely, but apparently not enough to have any effect on actually using the phone.
ahahahahaha
like the guys in the vapor aluminum, have fun spending all that extra money on a metal case that just reduces reception
wow if only someone knew about this sooner
like the guys in the vapor aluminum, have fun spending all that extra money on a metal case that just reduces reception
wow if only someone knew about this sooner