[MannyZ28]

Thanks to another user AnnDroid from this forum I have been made aware of issues people face with both the original Note and the Note 2 when it comes to leather cases (lets call them pouches from now on) that use magnets to keep your phone secured inside the pouch together with either a flap covering the whole top of the phone or a strap just to keep it in place and keep it from falling out.

Personally I am very interested in this particular pouch.



The issue that people face usually involves the type of case that requires the phone to be permanently mounted inside the case. Now, when using the S pen, the area on the screen behind which the magnet of the case is located seems to not respond to the S pen as can been seen in the post found by AnnDroid:



In my case, the phone will not be permanently mounted, instead it just sits in the pouch until I use it. Never the less, I was still concerned about potential damage long exposure of the magnet will cause on the phone, so I talked to Samsung support. I had the chat log....but I hit copy and paste one too many times so now it's gone...anyways, the general idea was that Samsung is aware of the potential dangers of magnets in pouches and cases, but they found in their testing that magnets do not cause any damage to the device. This goes for pouches like the one I am interested in. As long as the screen is towards the belt side of the pouch, the phone shouldn't be affected since it's as far away from the magnet as it can possibly be. Not sure how many people actually place their phone into a pouch with the screen side out, that doesn't make too much sense to begin with.

According to the person I talked to, the general consensus was that they are not concerned about permanent magnet damage, at least that's how I understood it. I then asked if their warranty would cover any issues potentially brought about by magnets, and she said that as long as there is no water or physical damage, it was covered.

So take this all with a grain of salt, but I am going to roll the dice and probably buy that leather pouch I linked too above.

Just figured I'd get this out there so everyone is aware of the potential problem magnets might cause, especially in cases where the phone is permanently mounted into the case and thus is in use while being close to the magnet.

Thanks for reading...have a nice day. :-)

[Gyre8]

Thank you Manny. I joined just to say thanks as I am going for one of these cases and was concerned about the magnetic tab.

Screen towards the back and i should be OK. Cheers

[sndplace]

Depending on how people grab their phones they do not realize that they put the screen out facing the magnet. When i had my First epic i would place it both ways screen in and out. Nothing happen to my screen or phone. I will take this information though and add it to our practice to inform customers.

[Gyre8]

As far as I am aware the magnet issue only effects those handsets that use a Wacom-based S-Pen or stylus. Again, afaik, the Epic does have such a stylus, so the magnetic case closure should not be a problem on such phones.

[Tari]

Anyone know if the Spigen cases use magnets?

ie (though this is for the original Note):


Going to be looking for non-magnetic cases that can function as stands, now. Thanks for the warning!

[Uncle Louie]

Hmmm... I was planning on doing a Touchstone mod on my Note 2 (like I did to my S3); but now I'm concerned about the magnets that I'd need to use, even though they'd be on the back.

[MannyZ28]

Yeah it's the Wacom parts that don't like the magnet. I am still looking for a leather case. Not sure how fast PDAir ships, they don't have a number to call either and their email support is on the sluggish side as well.

[Frenzytom]

Did anyone find out if they got a good horizontal belt case that does not have magnets?

[wyndslash]

Anyone know if the Spigen cases use magnets?

ie (though this is for the original Note):

Going to be looking for non-magnetic cases that can function as stands, now. Thanks for the warning!

that looks pretty good.

i wish they'd come out with cases similar to ones for tablets with elastic closures instead.

[Tari]

I sent them an e-mail a while ago asking if they'd make cases like that without magnets. Never got a response.

[WebOS Migrant]

Hmmm... I was planning on doing a Touchstone mod on my Note 2 (like I did to my S3); but now I'm concerned about the magnets that I'd need to use, even though they'd be on the back.

I've been plotting out how I could do a Touchstone mod as well. I'm thinking about incorporating it into the silicone skin of an Otterbox Defender case. My thought was to run some copper foil tape on the inside of the back cover of the Note 2 (possibly with a little button of solder to ensure good contact with the charger pins) and out so that it provides contact strips on the outside of the back cover. Then I'd run a couple of pieces of copper foil tape from the foam area on the inside of the polycarbonate inner case out to the outside of the inner case. Finally, I'd run a couple of strips of copper tape (or possibly insulated wire if I have to cross them to contact the proper pads on the induction coil) from the contact strips on the inside of the silicone outer layer to connect to the induction coil. I may have to dremel out a depression in the silicone outer layer to minimize the bulge from the induction coil. If I can maintain decent contact surface area, the resistance losses should be minimal. And, the whole thing should be reversible - just pull up the copper foil tape. Whaddya think? Will it work?

[Uncle Louie]

From what I've read, the Note 2 charges via a 2 amp charger. I don't think that the touchstone is gonna cut it for us.

[WebOS Migrant]

Well, it should be able to charge via USB from a computer. That maxes out at 500mA @ 5V under USB 2.0. The Touchstone for the Pre is 1A. So, it should work, but it might take a while. I recall reading one review that mentioned that their International Note 2 took 8.5 hrs to fully charge from dead using a computer. The Touchstone should do at least equal if not better than that. Also, I had another thought - the TouchPad Touchstone charger works at 2A. That should definitely work!! They're still available on Amazon for $30. And we wouldn't even have to worry about adding permanent magnets to improve the "sticking" power!

[Uncle Louie]

Well, it should be able to charge via USB from a computer. That maxes out at 500mA @ 5V under USB 2.0. The Touchstone for the Pre is 1A. So, it should work, but it might take a while. I recall reading one review that mentioned that their International Note 2 took 8.5 hrs to fully charge from dead using a computer. The Touchstone should do at least equal if not better than that. Also, I had another thought - the TouchPad Touchstone charger works at 2A. That should definitely work!! They're still available on Amazon for $30. And we wouldn't even have to worry about adding permanent magnets to improve the "sticking" power!

I had thought about that too... But isn't the coil on the TouchPad itself different too? I'll have to find a tear down of one to see...

[WebOS Migrant]

I had thought about that too... But isn't the coil on the TouchPad itself different too? I'll have to find a tear down of one to see...

Yeah. I put my Pre on my TouchPad charger. Didn't work. From what I've read, yes, the coil is different. Oh well, so much for that idea.
One other thought. I know that the larger wall plug/transformer that goes along with the TouchPad is 2A@5.3V output. If you used it with a phone touchstone, that should give us the added juice we need, right? I just did it with my Pre, and it works. I know that the 2A wall adapters are available on Amazon for $5 (+$2 shipping). The issue is whether it is the Touchstone that limits the current draw, or if it is the phone that limits the current draw. If it is the phone and the Touchstone can handle the 2A draw (it should and the voltage is roughly the same), then we're in business.

[Uncle Louie]

Yeah. I put my Pre on my TouchPad charger. Didn't work. From what I've read, yes, the coil is different. Oh well, so much for that idea.
One other thought. I know that the larger wall plug/transformer that goes along with the TouchPad is 2A@5.3V output. If you used it with a phone touchstone, that should give us the added juice we need, right? I just did it with my Pre, and it works. I know that the 2A wall adapters are available on Amazon for $5 (+$2 shipping). The issue is whether it is the Touchstone that limits the current draw, or if it is the phone that limits the current draw. If it is the phone and the Touchstone can handle the 2A draw (it should and the voltage is roughly the same), then we're in business.

I actually use a 2 amp BlackBerry charger plugged into the touchstone, but haven't noticed much difference between it and a regular charger. I'll have to give it a shot tomorrow when I pick up my Note 2 (hopefully).

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Android Central Forums

[Uncle Louie]

Yeah. I put my Pre on my TouchPad charger. Didn't work. From what I've read, yes, the coil is different. Oh well, so much for that idea.
One other thought. I know that the larger wall plug/transformer that goes along with the TouchPad is 2A@5.3V output. If you used it with a phone touchstone, that should give us the added juice we need, right? I just did it with my Pre, and it works. I know that the 2A wall adapters are available on Amazon for $5 (+$2 shipping). The issue is whether it is the Touchstone that limits the current draw, or if it is the phone that limits the current draw. If it is the phone and the Touchstone can handle the 2A draw (it should and the voltage is roughly the same), then we're in business.

So, come to find out that the U.S. variants (at least the Sprint one), doesn't have to prongs needed for inductive charging. :banghead:

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Android Central Forums

[WebOS Migrant]

So, come to find out that the U.S. variants (at least the Sprint one), doesn't have to prongs needed for inductive charging. :banghead:

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Android Central Forums

Ouch! That's gonna put a crimp in my plans.

[Vitaliy Gyrya]

I purchased a PDair cover for my GN2.
Note, it ships from Hong Kong!
They send you an email saying it may take 7 to 14 business days to receive an item.
In my case it was around 10 regular days.
After receiving the email I was afraid for the quality of the cover.
Good news - the cover was awesome.
It even came in a nice "present" box.
Bad news - I later learned that the magnet does seriously inhibit s-pen sensitivity.
I hope it is not permanent, because the magnet sous in the same area the keyboard is located in the portrait mode.
I can no longer use s-pen for typing. Finger still works fine.

Bottom line:
1. PDair is Ok to do business with if you are willing to wait.
2. Stay away from magnetic covers for GN2.
That's unless you don't like using s-pen.
But then, why would you have GN2 in the first place?

[Xopher]

With the Seidio Active case, I don't have any issues with using the S Pen. I'm guessing the combo silicon layer and plastic outer are enough to mask the magnet (at least enough to let the pen work properly).

[DPlos]

Has anyone found issues with the Rock Texture Series for the Note 2? The magnets seem to be along the edge of the case in order to keep it from flipping open accidentally. Being located as they are, I am hoping there is no problem as I have one on order. Thanks for any input.

[alvarez13]

With the Seidio Active case, I don't have any issues with using the S Pen. I'm guessing the combo silicon layer and plastic outer are enough to mask the magnet (at least enough to let the pen work properly).

I'm having issues with 2 different active cases.

[ShamashTash]

Wow, thank you so much for posting this! I was freaking out because the problem didn't affect the touchscreen when I used my finger so I thought I might have been a SPen issue...and it turned out it was just my case Thank god.