OtterBox Defender for iPhone 4s

Rubber shell not designed / built for regular phone charging – Have I damaged my iphone ... No ... Hence why I gave it an ok rating... But the mere act of charging my iphone (having to open the rubber cover for the charging point) has resulted in the rubber case stretching and bulging at the bottom of the iPhone screen near the home button... I feel that this has degraded the effectiveness of the case as well… Read more

as being really annoying... I would look at different cases next time and not something that pulls away from the phone (effectively) so that you can charge your handset.... Disappointing...

iPhone 6 drop zone – I am a 58 year old, and suffer from mild progressive degenerative arthritis. I tend to drop things and people that own smart phones know that, even if you can afford to buy them you just cannot afford to drop them. So after buying my new iPhone 6 I thought it prudent to look for a protective cover. Tried the Apple shop but they don’t seem to cater… Read more ·  1

for protection, seemingly only catering for the stylish, which is fine, it allows for more choice through third party. So I took to the internet and came across Otterbox, producers of protective covers for portable devices and well respected in the review world. There are a couple of versions from the mildly protective and still maintaining the semblance of slim to the bullet proof and bulky Otterbox Defender. This was the one for me. It is a protective plastic cover that fully encases the phone except some areas such as the camera. The front and back casing are held together with a wrap around rubber bumper. It does raise the edge by a few mm’s making it very difficult for any part of the screen to reach impact by dropping it and so ultimately protecting your investment.

The front case has a protective screen which does not distort view nor in any way detract from the touch screen sensitivity though the side edge may at times interfere due to its high rise.

It also comes with a clip on belt latch attachment in which you can reverse fit your phone with the back facing outward, further protecting the screen while on your belt. Handy if you prefer such instead of putting it in your pocket and great for when you travel.

Now the ultra slim iPhone 6 has transformed back to a much bulkier phone that may be off putting to some users. But the aim of this case is optimum protection which is what I wanted.

All good so far but now I came across a couple of snags. I had some trouble with the finger print feature because the edge is raised so high but after removing a thin plastic protective film (maybe you are supposed to do this in the first place) it was all good. Then I tried the buttons. Ouch, my hands were unable to depress the start stop button to switch on and off, it is way too rigid. This was not good. Otterbox will do well to make a bumper that has softer buttons or at least a better reach otherwise protective or not, it becomes unusable. So, I found some foam material in my garage I had used as underlay for a laminate floor, soft and pliable and 2 mm thick. I cut a small piece to the size that would fit into the Otterbox case between the inflexible button and the original iPhone button. After refitting the bumper, the button now worked flawless and comfortably for my hands so it was obviously reach that was the problem. The volume buttons did not have this issue, it was still hard but manageable where the on-off button would not work at all.

Other than this small set back the defender series is an excellent product. I have not attempted to drop it of a 10 meter building as they did in one review but it looks and feels so solid I have no doubt that should I ever drop it, there will be zero damage to the phone and it doesn’t look half bad either so it is not entirely devoid of Apple Style.

Conclusion: Cost is between $40 and $60

+ Very solid quality product with excellent impact and scuff protection, comes with belt clip cover

- Somewhat awkward, bulky and inflexible at the buttons

Seems rugged but the Galaxy S5 fit is not great – After dropping my Galaxy S4 and breaking the screen, I got an Otterbox Defender cover for my new S5. The universal no language instructions were useless. I had to Google how to get the 3 components apart. After wrestling with it for about 30 mins, I got it apart and tried to fit the phone. No matter how hard I tried or how many times I took it… Read more

apart and put it back together the phone would not completely seal in the plastic shell/screen protector. There was always a small gap at the top and the top clip would not fully engage.

I finally gave up. The S5 has good splash & dust resistance and the Otterbox has a thick outer silicon cover, so I'm pretty confident it'll do the job. Surprisingly, it doesn't add too much to the size of the phone.

2017 Update: had to replace the now very ill fitting Otterbox. The phone shop fitted the new one perfectly. The original saved my phone from disaster several times. So a good investment. Robust, not too bulky and built in screen protector Very poor instructions and less than perfect fit for the Galaxy S5 that compromises protection

Fantastic if you have kids! – I had a badd kids case for my ipad that you had to remove to charge. The otterbox is brilliant, fantastic protection for the ipad and easy to use and charge the ipad with the case on, no need to remove. Protects ipad from falls, scratches, dribble etc, v good for parents Good protection, easy to use

OtterBox Defender is a bit of a fizzer and expensive – The problem I face when buying a new mobile phone is how to provide it with adequate protection. Being in the gardening and mowing profession, the things that come high on the list of priorities are protection against dust, water or splashes, and impact protection. Given that the OtterBox was one of the first cases released for the Galaxy S3 I… Read more

thought I would give it a go.

The case is a very snug fit and is made very well to conform to the shape of the Galaxy SIII. The instructions provided on how to fit the case a very well presented and there are lots of videos on the web to give additional instructions too. Finger touch sensitivity seems to be as good as without the case, and overall protection to the back and sides of the case seems to be very good. I am concerned, however, about dropping the case face-first onto a surface that isn’t flat; such as onto the corner of a desk. The belt clip and holster are also well designed in that it presents the back of the phone to the outside and provides additional protection to the face while in the holster.

The case isn’t waterproof or dustproof like the LifeProof case is for the iPhone 4. The main problem for me in an industry like mine is that dust gets between the screen and the screen cover and acts like a sheet of sandpaper. The result is very fine scratches over the surface of the screen. Dust also gets into the 3.5mm headphone jack, the earpiece, the USB port, the microphone, the speaker, and the 3 buttons. While a waterproof phone case isn’t a high priority for me, having a waterproof one would solve the dust issue. While taking a week off work, I kept the Galaxy SIII in its OtterBox and found that after about 4 days the case was still attracting dirt, lint, and dust just from swimming around in my pocket. The debris also gets in between the edges of the case and the screen protector and can’t be wiped away with a lens cleaning cloth. After just a week it was like I was looking through dirty sunglasses or a starry night.

The rubber flaps that cover the 3.5mm headphone port and the USB port seem easy enough to pull to one side to attach the cables, but it isn’t easily done with one hand. This might not seem like an important point but if you buy the case it will surprise you how many times you may find this frustrating – having to put your coffee down, putting your pen down mid-phonecall, or totally rolling to one side in bed to attach a cord.

If removing your OtterBox twice a week to clean it doesn’t annoy you enough, you also need to totally remove it if you need to change your SIM card, memory card, or battery as well.

And for the very last gripe, the belt holster has a ratcheting swivel connection between the belt clip and the bit that holds the phone. If you rely on the vibrating feature of your phone such as people who wear ear muffs, people who switch their phone to silent, or people who just want to know that it’s their phone that is the one ringing, the ratchet absorbs nearly all the vibrations. If you’re not standing deadly still and holding your breath, you just won’t feel it ringing. Very snug fit, good protection against knocks and scratches, and nice belt holster. Not dust proof or waterproof, needs to be cleaned too often, needs to be taken off the phone to get access to some features.