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Deff Cleave/DRACO IV Aluminum Bumper for iPhone 4 Discussion & Questions Thread

bartsinghson said:
Did they end up giving you a tracking order or update status? I placed my order last week friday and still haven't got the tracking. I called them today and they said that it has been shipped yesterday but no tracking information is available.
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Yeah I ordered mine last Thursday and emailed them on Monday about not being happy with their customer service and updates because it says on their website that they will ship within a certain amount of hours and give you shipping information but I haven't received any. The next day I got an email that my item was shipped and I viewed my order status on igearusa and there was a tracking number there. Hope this helps!

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dtjay7 said:
I have a Verizon 4S and my husband has a Verizon 4 and they both lose signal when they are in the case. It is too bad also because it does look great.
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Gavernty said:
For you people experiencing signal issues, are you using a 4s or a 4
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I'm having signal issues too but nothing that really bothers me. I haven't done the legit numbering check yet but all I know is that I lost maybe half of a bar after the case was put on. I have a Black 16GB iPhone 4S from Verizon. I had 4 bars at home before the case was put on, and after the case was installed, it fluctuates between 3 and 4 lol I have a sticker/protector around my antenna from grafixpressions if that has anything to do with it...
 
bartsinghson said:
why aren't you guys calling them? I called them today morning and the customer service girl picked up in 2 minutes. maybe that will help. I have also tried sending them emails with no response. Not really happy with the company or their customer service.
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Thanks for the suggestion. They very quickly answered the phone and told me how to return. Too bad they aren't replying to the emails but the phone worked great though.
 
Traveling

If you travel, none of these metal cases will do. I have to remove mine every time I take off. For places that have 1 bar without the case, you will get zero reception with a metal frame on.

I haven't tried it with a hybrid type case yet, but from what I've been reading here, you still lose some signal with those also. So what would happen if you use it in a location that was already giving 1 bar without a metal case?

Hope someone has been able to test this and let us know.
 
dtjay7 said:
Thanks for the suggestion. They very quickly answered the phone and told me how to return. Too bad they aren't replying to the emails but the phone worked great though.
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What did they say? I faxed in an RMA and haven't heard back.
 
slapppy said:
If you travel, none of these metal cases will do. I have to remove mine every time I take off. For places that have 1 bar without the case, you will get zero reception with a metal frame on.

I haven't tried it with a hybrid type case yet, but from what I've been reading here, you still lose some signal with those also. So what would happen if you use it in a location that was already giving 1 bar without a metal case?

Hope someone has been able to test this and let us know.
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Bottom line is that this case is gorgeous. Certainly one of the most beautiful cases (bumpers) available for the iPhone. It is also a fact that this bumper (and other aluminum bumpers) do degrade signal quality...there is no getting around that. I agree with you, slapppy, if someone has a strong signal where they live, that's great. But if one travels regularly, as I do, this bumper is worthless...but it a great looking worthless bumper. :eek:
 
got myself a deff cleave for my ip4s. Reception is pretty ok, as Singapore has strong reception. But somehow wifi signal seems weaker, usually ill get 3-4 wifi bar in my room, but with cleave on, i couldnt even connect to it some times.

I would say it is definitely a eye candy, dust easily get in the openings like charging port hole, and lining around the iphone. And to open it up to clean it is a hassle.

Just bought a SGP snow 2S 2 days ago and my wifi signal is strong again!

now i had a element case vapor ar15(used to be for my ip4) and cleave in my cupboard. Damn i will stop buying aluminium bumpers! Pricey, and esp when u accidently to dent the bumpers, you will feel heart pain!
 
about to sell my black draco...bought it for my 4s and it is awesome but i just cant get used to not being able to use my beats headphones with it and i love listening to music so...its gotta go. none of my earphones or headphone jacks fit in that thing :(
 
I bought a real T.D. Blade and a presumably fake Deff Cleave. Does anyone have real experience dropping either of these? They both hold onto the glass, so instead of a drop on the side hitting the strong frame, wouldn't all the energy transfer to the glass? Would the energy be distributed along the glass evenly enough to not crack it? I guess I'm just thinking out loud here...
 
Brettka7 said:
I bought a real T.D. Blade and a presumably fake Deff Cleave. Does anyone have real experience dropping either of these? They both hold onto the glass, so instead of a drop on the side hitting the strong frame, wouldn't all the energy transfer to the glass? Would the energy be distributed along the glass evenly enough to not crack it? I guess I'm just thinking out loud here...
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some of the pressure would be on the bezel but on both cases they have the pads on the inside rails to keep the aluminum part from touching the metal antenna. most aluminum cases are mounted the same way.
 
My experience with the Draco case...

I just got my Draco iPhone 4S (Jeweled Beetle) case in the mail today. I ordered it last week from iGearUSA. Got the 20% off and it looked great from all the reviews I read online, so I was excited. I could not have been more disappointed.

First off, the case was difficult to install properly. At first I thought it was because I had a clear coat scratch protection on the sides of my phone. So I removed that and tried again. No luck. Then I thought that the screws weren't going in correctly because the hex wrench may be too small. So I used another hex wrench and there were still problems. All in all I spent about 6 hours trying to get this case on snugly and securely. At one point I thought I was going to damage my phone because of how hard I was squeezing the case together while trying to screw it in. Anyway, I got it on there but the screws are still not flush.

At first I thought I got a knockoff case but iGearUSA is an authorized dealer. The only other thing I can think is that I have an Sprint iPhone 4S. But that doesn't make any sense either. I guess maybe I just have a defective case, but I don't know.

Anyway, I emailed Draco and iGearUSA to see what they suggest. Hopefully I can return it but as of right now I am not only out 70 bucks for the case but another 30 for the clear coat that I had to remove trying to install it. :(

Coincidentally, I am having none of the other problems people mentioned in this forum, maybe 1 bar drop for signal strength but that's it. And every accessory I've tried like headphone and cable attachments have had no issues. So unless it really does have something to do with my Sprint phone this case is not working for me. Its a shame because it is a nice looking case.
 
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finally received my 4s today after a 5 week wait, lol

now waiting on my draco iv, hopefully here by the end of the week, will post impressions then ;)
 
thought i would never say this, but got tired of the loss of service with the case on my 4s so i just took it off today...probably won't be going back on for a while
 
whom ever has a silver draco case and dont want it anymore ill be gladly to take it off your hands for you just let me know
 
al0513 said:
I bought a fake Cleave.

Tell you the truth, quality is pretty good. fits perfectly.

I bought one of these and an element vapor pro.

I dont see a problem with buying these "fakes". They work just fine, looks just as great, and ill tell you, 99.99% of the people you see wont know its fake.
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Yes, i agree, the original one up to US$100, and the fake one down to US$13.5, if the quality is good, not a bad choice. Such as this
Deff Cleave case for iPhone 4/4S , and other stores are also hot selling this case for a good price.
 
DK1ng said:
thought i would never say this, but got tired of the loss of service with the case on my 4s so i just took it off today...probably won't be going back on for a while
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same here, took mine off after 2 days, poor reception inside my house (usually 2-3 bars anyway) and as I work from home, can't afford to miss any calls and got sick of the fluctuating "SOS calls only" and 2-3 bars :(

disappointed, but a lesson well learnt - say no to aluminium! ;)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Anyone thinking of buying this should also read the reviews on Amazon.com, which are largely very negative. I was interested in buying this until I read about customer experiences and issues not only here but in volume on the Amazon site too.
 
Not so good. Im using my element vapor right now. The cleave drops a lot same as the real ones.
 
coolweirdo said:
how is the signal on the knockoff brand
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Im currently testing a knockoff Deff Cleave (gold color, not my style but someone I know got it and lent it to me for review, she loves the color, so its all good :p). At home where I have poor reception, the knockoff shows a drop of less than 5dB after testing it several times over the past few days.

Naked iphone -96dB
With knockoff Deff Cleave -97 to -100 dB

Where reception is strong, ive seen no effect due to the Deff Cleave.

It was purchased from an ebay seller for about $15 shipped.

It doesnt look as slick as the one that has volume button covers and a seperate cutout for the mute switch, but at least we know it will work on a 4S. Im surprised by how light the case feels. It does add some bulk when you grip it, but it feels good in the hand. The case is a bit loose, it moves ever so slightly once in a while (around the phone). Some pads were provided but I did not install them.

Here are some pics :
3BJNs.jpg

SsBzX.jpg

3dhLR.jpg
 
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coolweirdo said:
whom ever has a silver draco case and dont want it anymore ill be gladly to take it off your hands for you just let me know
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You dont want to even bother spending the money for a real one... that being said, I have a fake one for sale...
 
I just bought a black from itrendystuff.com. Has anyone ever ordered from them? They are on dracodesignusa.com's "Where To Buy" list, so they are an authorized seller selling real Draco cases, right?

I know everyone is saying to buy from igearusa so you can apply their 20% off code, but it still came out at $78.29. At itrendystuff.com, their Dracos are priced much lower and they have an additional 10% off code, so I ended up only paying $66.23.
 
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