Strongest MagSafe Connection (Multi-Purpose)

[Coolio1234]

Because I’m sure no one has actually measured magnet strength, I’m curious to see what the ideal setup would be if one were looking for the strongest MagSafe connection possible.

I’ve been on the hunt for various ways to take advantage of MagSafe, and a couple of ideas have popped into my head:

DIY Car Mount using MagSafe charger and MagicMount w/ 3M

bathroom mirror/wall mount using magnets/3m

desk mount using magnets/3m

My question is, what would be the ideal setup as far as magnet strength goes? I’ve seen numerous videos where people suggest going caseless for best strength, and others say that using an Apple case yields the highest magnetic attraction.

 

[lordhamster]

The apple cases of course have additional magnets closer to the "target" that will help for sure over non-magnet cases. ALL magnets are weak when "sliding" them apart vs pulling the apart perpendicular... just the nature of magnets.

I use an apple leather case, my wife uses the silicone case. I taped a magsafe puck to my dash. Both hold the phones just fine... but I will say the wife's silicone case has a smidge more friction to it to help against the "sliding" action that could be an issue in a vertical mounting scenario with bumps/jostles.

 

[Coolio1234]

The apple cases of course have additional magnets closer to the "target" that will help for sure over non-magnet cases. ALL magnets are weak when "sliding" them apart vs pulling the apart perpendicular... just the nature of magnets.

I use an apple leather case, my wife uses the silicone case. I taped a magsafe puck to my dash. Both hold the phones just fine... but I will say the wife's silicone case has a smidge more friction to it to help against the "sliding" action that could be an issue in a vertical mounting scenario with bumps/jostles.

Thanks for detailed response. Could you describe what you mean with the sliding action? My applied physics isn’t kicking in here!
So, would you say the MagSafe cases work better than going naked? My current DIY setup is a MagicMount with MagSafe puck attached to it, as opposed to taping the puck itself to the dash. Would I be better off just taping the puck itself to the dash (space permitting)? If so, what did you use for that?

 

[lordhamster]

Thanks for detailed response. Could you describe what you mean with the sliding action? My applied physics isn’t kicking in here!
So, would you say the MagSafe cases work better than going naked? My current DIY setup is a MagicMount with MagSafe puck attached to it, as opposed to taping the puck itself to the dash. Would I be better off just taping the puck itself to the dash (space permitting)? If so, what did you use for that?

Imagine the magnets pictured are your magsafe puck secured to a table and you are looking directly down at the puck from overhead. If you try to "lift" the phone off the magnet, the force required is much greater than if you try to slide the phone towards the edge of the table. This is because magnetic force is very directional.

Adding a higher friction material adds friction...which makes the "sliding" action harder than it would be on a low friction (bare glass) phone.

 

[Coolio1234]

Imagine the magnets pictured are your magsafe puck secured to a table and you are looking directly down at the puck from overhead. If you try to "lift" the phone off the magnet, the force required is much greater than if you try to slide the phone towards the edge of the table. This is because magnetic force is very directional.

Adding a higher friction material adds friction...which makes the "sliding" action harder than it would be on a low friction (bare glass) phone.

Makes sense. So the case option seems to be the smartest for any car mount purpose (silicone).

How about MagSafe puck vs mount magnet+puck? Would I be able to pull either of those off with a bare glass phone?