A fix for slippery iPhones

It was on Systematic #133 with Rich Stevens where I was first introduced to Suction Cup Tape. I ordered a sheet before the podcast recording had ended. It was my own “pick of the week” soon after.

It’s a tape with traditional adhesive on one side, and a “micro suction cup” layer on the other side. You stick the former side to something such as your iPhone, where it affixes permanently (though the residue is easy to remove), and then that object can adhere to any flat surface, be easily removed, and re-adhered again (and again). When it stops sticking, just wipe it off with a bit of soap and water and it’s good to go.

I fell in love with the stuff, especially with my slippery iPhone 6+. Even when not fully adhered to something, it provided a non-slip surface that prevented dropping my phone or having it slide off of my dashboard, car seat, or a table jostled by a furry family member.

The problem was that it’s expensive to produce, and thus even more expensive to purchase and use. An 8.5x11” sheet runs around $15. Granted, the first sheet I bought has lasted almost a year across three devices, but it does eventually begin to wear out. I’d assumed that prohibitive costs would prevent it from ever being mass-marketed, but LizzyTape proved me wrong.

The LizzyTape Cellphone Sticker Mount is available on Amazon for $5.99. It’s a smaller patch of suction cup tape, and the price comes out about the same per square inch, but you can buy it as a ready-to-use version at a lower price than buying full sheets.

Assuming it lasts as long as the similar material I’m used to, one sticker on the back of a phone should be good for at least a year. I received a couple of them that I’d ordered this week, and it’s just as good as the tape I’d been cutting previously.

I can stick my phone to the bathroom mirror while brushing my teeth, my dashboard (or the empty carseat next to me because no one ever rides in my car—except for Emma, occasionally) while I’m driving, or just let it rest on my palm while walking for slip-free usage without a rubberized case or any actual adhesive.

I’d always cut my strips to full width of the device, and it was the edges that first started wearing out and peeling. The smaller format of the LizzyTape version makes sense, and will probably prove to be a better solution than my previous efforts.

I don’t generally review $6 products I found randomly on Amazon, but I’m excited about this one. If you’ve ever wished your phone, tablet, or small child would stay in place¹, I recommend checking it out.