Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
i have had mine since the original batch shipped. I really like it. Most days I don't need it. On days when I am out of the office, and go out to dinner, this thing is priceless. Internal battery never lasted close to a whole day for me with the volume of emails/calls I deal with.
 
i have had mine since the original batch shipped. I really like it. Most days I don't need it. On days when I am out of the office, and go out to dinner, this thing is priceless. Internal battery never lasted close to a whole day for me with the volume of emails/calls I deal with.

+1

I really like the Air way better than the Helium. In fact, I would not recommend the Helium at all for the $20 price difference.

I actually just sent my Helium back because when I used it, it would make my phone only get an Edge signal, no 4G.

Its being exchanged under warranty so I'll see how the new one works. My wife who uses a credit card/ID case will keep it nearby if she needs the extra battery when she's out.
 
So I actually found one best buy somewhat near my work that happened to have one Air in stock. I had them place it on hold for me and picked it up yesterday. This is really a well made case. Fit and finish is some of the best I have seen. It really fits the phone well and actually makes the phone more comfortable to me to hold and use. I really have to agree with others that it really does not add a lot of bulk or weight for what it is. I have not had it long enough yet to test out the battery yet, but what I have seen so far seems to show it will work really well. Very happy with this one.
 
Yet you stated earlier that you wanted to get the Juice Pack Air. :rolleyes:

Right, and I'm entitled to change my mind. I wanted to get the Speck SmartShell too, but I got it and returned it because the fit isn't good. People are entitled to change their mind. The headphone jack is a big downside, as is the micro-usb charger, I love the lightning cable. The inability to sync without removing the case is a huge issue, and having to flip the button on\off rather than having a more passive battery-assist is no good for me. In addition, I played with one at BBY, and it just adds too much heft to the phone for my taste. If most of those issues were resolved I'd be a fan, but that many downfalls just doesn't make sense to ME, which is why I changed positions, which I'm allowed to do. Thanks for your concern tho.
 
well you guys were right....went by best buy and there was the mophie air on the shelf...much better than the helium. Fit way better..non apple slide in...buttons on the outside...not much thicker if not the same as the helium.

much happier ! taking the helium back to apple...
thanks everyone for the info :)
 
After using the Helium for about 3 weeks, I returned it for the Air. The Helium had shoddy paint (it was lumpy at a certain area in the back) and the paint was chipping on the sharp edges. The lighter silver casing behind the paint really highlighted the chipped areas. Also the bottom part of the case did not line up perfectly with the top part. It looked like the bottom was slightly wider. The sharp edges that the Helium had did not feel good in the hand too. The battery did work fine though.

The Air, on the other hand, is perfect. The paint and molding have no problems. I like the covered buttons much better then the cutouts of the Helium. The size feels and looks the same as the Helium. Over time the soft touch paint will probably chip a bit in certain areas (maybe), but I'm guessing that the black casing will make the chipping less noticeable (unlike the "glowing" silver behind the Helium's paint).

Honestly, it's like night and day between the Helium and Air. It seems like they rushed out the Helium and put more attention to detail with the Air. Pay the extra $20 if you are deciding between those battery cases.
 
Blah, started getting the "error charging not supported with this accessory" message last night while trying to charge the mophie air case and the iPhone with the supplied mophie USB cable. Strange thing is, it did still charge the phone and case...Don't know what to make of that. Looks like something may be messed up with the case though.
 
It seems like I only get that error when it finished charging the phone, but not the case. If the case had a full charge, and the phone was still charging, I never get that error.
 
It seems like I only get that error when it finished charging the phone, but not the case. If the case had a full charge, and the phone was still charging, I never get that error.

Ok, that is exactly when I was getting the error as well. Maybe it is not a messed up case then. It may be how they make it. Like I said, it does charge the phone and case up so I couldn't understand why it was charging but I was getting that error.
 
I'll probably get called crazy but I returned my Air. Ultimately I can deal with the with the stock battery life as I have lightning cables at home, work and in my car. So the Mophie is a luxury.

What it boiled down to for me is that the the taller iPhone 5 seemed almost awkwardly long with the Air on and I wasn't happy with the new charging port location. When I hold my phone one handed my pinky finger rests right there and it's kind of annoying.

So yes, I'm being a bit particular, but those were my impressions. Other than that the case was awesome as was the quality.

I posted before how much I liked the Air...and I guess to many the added weight & length wouldn't be a concern at all, especially in light of the device's benefits...but, after a week of using it I find those things do bother me to the extent that I'm returning the Air to Mophie.

Maybe next time...

If somebody here wants it before tomorrow...it's in mint shape & I'll sell for $70 shipped. PM me!
 
What kind of real world performance are people getting out of their Juice Pack Air re: charging?

Had mine a week or two, did a test today. I put it in airplane mode at 7%, flipped the JPA switch, then I switched it off at 77%, so 70% charge there. When it was down to 47%, I did the same, zero activity/airplane mode, and got another 13% charge.

So, total 83% charge. Not exactly 100%, but given how HOT it gets, I accept it'll lose some of its capacity during the charge. It's more than enough battery for my days usage, but I'd be interested to know if I've got a slightly duff battery. I don't think so, it's obviously very inefficient judging by how hot it gets, but I'm just wondering if getting 1,245mAh out of the advertised 1,500mAh is enough.

iPhone 5 (obviously), jailbroken 6.1.2. Wouldn't surprise me if I got slightly better stats if I was running stock.

Edit: My numbers are off (see below), I forgot the Air is 1700mAh.
 
Last edited:
@yegan

Had mine for almost two weeks now. Last time I needed to use the case was a couple of days ago.

I hit the charge switch at I believe 12%, and while still using the phone off and on, got to 100% in about 45 minutes (give or take a few minutes) and switched off. Still had two lights on the case.

After hitting the phone hard on emails, data, a teleconference, and a few rounds of Super Hexagon I was at about 31%. Hit the switch again though I left the phone in my pocket and didn't use it. Got a couple of e-mails and texts but nothing I answered. Case died on me at roughly 83% charged though it could have been a few points higher as I don't know exactly when it cut off. It was 83% when I pulled it out of my pocket.

So that is 88% the first time and 52% the second time for a total of 140% give or take a few points. I'm running stock up to date firmware and have bluetooth on all the time. Only short bursts of intermittent Wi-fi. I don't leave it on and am not around a hot spot long enough typically to screw with it. 4G is pretty fast for what I do on my phone (I don't stream video or music often at all).

That was probably the most I've gotten out of the case so far though I have had zero issues of draining the phone to roughly 10% and then fully charging it all the way back up with usually one light left on the case. Typically I only need another full charge before I get around charger either at the house or the office.

My case did get hot as yours did but that goes away as soon as I shut off the charging. Not too hot that it is uncomfortable but it is noticable.

So far I am pretty satisfied and do expect my recharge rates to go down much like my iPhone 4 Plus version did although when I finally stopped using my 4 and upgraded to the 5, the Juice Pack Plus for my iPhone 4 which I had and used a lot for over a year still got me roughly 60% back which I though was pretty impressive. Especially since I treated that case and phone like complete crap. It looked like crap but kept my phone pretty safe. Other than a few scratches around the camera and bezel, the phone still looked pretty good for a device that was over two years old.
 
@rapaleeman

Thanks for the detailed response!

Holy crap, you're experience differs wildly from mine, blimey. Also occurs to me, my numbers are all off and actually even WORSE than I thought because I forgot the JPA is 1700mAh, not 1500mAh as I stated (I previously had a Helium 1500mAh which I returned and now have the Air, hence the confusion).

So, by that estimation, I'm getting only 1,245mAh charge out of a 1700mAh battery....meaning my JPA is utter trash, lets face it. Dunno whether to return it as I'm from the UK and would have to pay shipping, probably another £10 (cost me that to return the Helium). Damn.

I'll do a bit more testing and see what happens, but everything points to my Air being a piece of junk ;_:. Whilst jailbreak may make some degree of difference, can't see it being that significance. On the plus side, like I said earlier, it IS more than enough to get me through the day (typically use about 150% give or take). Hmm.
 
@rapaleeman

Thanks for the detailed response!

Holy crap, you're experience differs wildly from mine, blimey. Also occurs to me, my numbers are all off and actually even WORSE than I thought because I forgot the JPA is 1700mAh, not 1500mAh as I stated (I previously had a Helium 1500mAh which I returned and now have the Air, hence the confusion).

So, by that estimation, I'm getting only 1,245mAh charge out of a 1700mAh battery....meaning my JPA is utter trash, lets face it. Dunno whether to return it as I'm from the UK and would have to pay shipping, probably another £10 (cost me that to return the Helium). Damn.

I'll do a bit more testing and see what happens, but everything points to my Air being a piece of junk ;_:. Whilst jailbreak may make some degree of difference, can't see it being that significance. On the plus side, like I said earlier, it IS more than enough to get me through the day (typically use about 150% give or take). Hmm.

I would give it a bit more time yet for the battery to get broken in a bit. It will likely improve somewhat. Mine seems to be pretty good, although not as good as the other poster. Lithium batteries usually take a bit of conditioning/breaking in before they reach the full potential.
 
I would give it a bit more time yet for the battery to get broken in a bit. It will likely improve somewhat. Mine seems to be pretty good, although not as good as the other poster. Lithium batteries usually take a bit of conditioning/breaking in before they reach the full potential.

Yeah, I hope so. As it is now, like I've said, it's more than adequate for my usage. However, given these things do age after a few hundred cycles, I hope I'm not starting from a low point in the first place (if you follow my drift), only to see it barely hold 50% in 9 months.
 
So I am new to mophie and not 100% sure how to judge it.

To test I let my phone die fully and then hit the charge switch and it took me to 86% and then the case died.

Is that good?

I am wondering if I have a defective mophie air and should return it.

Any advice or suggestions or input would be appreciated.
 
So I am new to mophie and not 100% sure how to judge it.

To test I let my phone die fully and then hit the charge switch and it took me to 86% and then the case died.

Is that good?

I am wondering if I have a defective mophie air and should return it.

Any advice or suggestions or input would be appreciated.

Thats about right...if not on the high side.
 
Wow awesome. Thank you for the input. I have no idea so I thought it was suppose to charge from dead to 100%.
 
Wow awesome. Thank you for the input. I have no idea so I thought it was suppose to charge from dead to 100%.

The box says 100% but thats not the case. I don't know how they can get away with that honestly.
 
So I am new to mophie and not 100% sure how to judge it.

To test I let my phone die fully and then hit the charge switch and it took me to 86% and then the case died.

Is that good?

I am wondering if I have a defective mophie air and should return it.

Any advice or suggestions or input would be appreciated.

I got about 83% out of mine if that's a guide.

Yeah, 100% it ain't, despite what the box says. Surprised it doesn't manage 100% though given the 5's capacity is about 1450mah while the Air's is 1700. I expect energy wastage due to heat but upto 500mah worth is slightly alarming.
 
Last edited:
I started the Air when my phone was at 9%. The Air ran out of juice when my phone had a 90% charge.
 
So I have the helium and was thinking about getting the Air and sell the Helium on eBay. Has anyone went from the Helium to the Air? Is it worth going from the Helium to the Air?
 
So I have the helium and was thinking about getting the Air and sell the Helium on eBay. Has anyone went from the Helium to the Air? Is it worth going from the Helium to the Air?

Does paying 20% more for 13% more capacity sound like a good deal to you?

Helium Cost/mAh - $0.053
Air Cost/mAh - $0.059
 
Does paying 20% more for 13% more capacity sound like a good deal to you?

Helium Cost/mAh - $0.053
Air Cost/mAh - $0.059
Ah since you put it that way, it's not really worth it. I guess I'll just wait until iBattz releases their Refuel case. It just dislike how the Helium is slippery for me but I can deal with it
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.