Magnetic Metal Surface Mounts for Tablets and Phones

Magnetic Metal Surface Mounts for Tablets and PhonesToday we discuss how to stick a phone or tablet to a metal surface.  There are a lot of instances where metal surface mounts come in handy.  Think about stuff made of metal.  A refrigerator door, work bench, file cabinet, even the side of a stationary car (key word is stationary, I don’t like to use these mounts on the outside of a moving vehicle).

There are a few ways to attach your phone or tablet to a metal surface.  The most obvious way is to use a mount that has an adhesive bottom but that isn’t ideal since it’s a one time use mount and will likely leave some residual adhesive on the mounting surface.  Magnetic metal surface mounts beat out an adhesive bottom.  It’s temporary.  You don’t need to wait for the adhesive to set.  Just stick it on and it’s ready to use.

The ideal magnetic metal surface mount has a very strong magnet on the base covered by something like plastic or rubber to prevent marring of the metal surface.  The ideal mount will come furnished with an expandable universal cradle so that it can be used for multiple device sizes with or without a case on it.

Consider the Arkon Magnetic Holder for SmartPhones.  This mount includes an expandable cradle and magnetic base.  When it comes to metal surface mounts, this Arkon entry is perfect.  The included cradle opens to 3.6 inches.  Plenty of room for even the largest phones including my Apple iPhone 6s Plus which comes in at 3.07 inches without a case.  Adding my hefty Otterbox Defender still fits within this mount.  The bottom has a magnet embedded and it sticks quite readily to a metal surface.  The universal cradle can pivot and rotate into any orientation.  This mount carries a 2-year warranty from the manufacturer.

Tablets are a bit more of a challenge because they are heavier than a phone.  You need to use a larger magnet and for these we turn to RAM Mounts.  The RAM Triple Magnetic Base Adapter is a 2.5 inch round metal base attached to three rare earth magnets for a very strong hold.  Add the Ram Mount Double Socket Arm to the base for a three-inch reach.  This is the standard size arm from RAM.  Lastly, add the Ram Mount Universal X-Grip II Tablet Holder to hold your tablet.  We have recommended the RAM X-Grip in prior articles because they are easy to use and well made.  This is the size that would be used to hold a small to midsize tablet.  Anything up to the Apple iPad Mini in size.  The cradle opens to 5.75″.  The RAM X-Grip line has other size holders for smartphones as well.  All of these components carry a lifetime warranty from RAM.

I started the article by saying there aren’t too many good magnetic base mounts out there.  These two are the best that I know of.  Both come from quality manufacturers that stand behind their products so they should work out well.