Farewell Defender

[Grant Lamontagne]

I didn't want to have to do this, but it's time for Defender to go away.

Of course I am talking about my Otterbox Defender, the case I always swear by for my phones.

Up until my current phone (Samsung Note 20 Ultra 5G) the Defender cases have kept my phones looking perfect right up until they were hopelessly destroyed and needed replacing.  Not so with the latest one, and I am very, very disappointed in Otterbox.

The rubber of the Otterbox is still intact, but that is pretty well where it ends.  The internal frame is broken in several places and the front half of the frame has a side completely broken out of it.   

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

By the way, sorry for the terrible pics, I had to use my tablet to take these photos since my phone was otherwise occupied, being the subject.

The new case is an aluminum front and back with a rubber doodad in the middle that the phone sits in.  The aluminum halves are then held together with six screws, and the set not only comes with the teeny allen wrench to use them, but also with 4 extra screws, just in case you lose one... and three of it's friends.

Def

[Grant Lamontagne]

Hopefully this new case will do a better job of protecting my phone- despite having the Otterbox Defender on it since the day I bought it, I have suffered some damage to the screen (a few dead pixels or something following a drop) and a shattered back.   

Yeah, it makes a large phone larger (and heavier) but given what these damned things cost nowadays I figure it's better to try and look after them. 

I tried contacting Otterbox and they admitted that the case would be covered by the warranty, but I really don't want another case that doesn't protect my phone,  That having been said, I have had these aluminum type cases before and they don't last long before I get sick of the added weight and bulk, so we will see what happens.

Also, this spells the loss of the trusty SOG Pop Socket thing I have had on the back for the last year or so- at least until I can find some decent 3M tape to replace it. 

Def

[smiller43147]

Sorry for your troubles.  You list the damage, but no explanation of the type(s) of abuse the case and phone endured.  The Otter Box is a quality product, but everything has its limits.

[Tasky]

I've always used an Otter on mine, too.
Usually a Defender, although I think my current one had to be a different model just so the S21 would actually fit in my already-cavernous pockets!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry for your troubles.  You list the damage, but no explanation of the type(s) of abuse the case and phone endured.  The Otter Box is a quality product, but everything has its limits.

You are absolutely right- everything has it's limits.

Going back to my first Android, the Motorola Atrix my phones have always been in an Otterbox Defender, except my last phone, the Samsung Galaxy A8, which was in a Commuter series case as there was no Defender made for it.  Whether it was the phone or the lack of protection from the case causing unseen damage, I can't say, but that one never really worked right. n The screen would become unresponsive at times, and one of those times was when I was working nights and strange kids started casing my house.  This worried Megan, and bothered me because I couldn't respond to messages.

I based this phone model almost completely on there being a Defender case available for it.

I work in construction, as an inspector and so my phone is treated a bit more harshely than if I was in an office, but the reality is that since I'm not the guy hauling rebar or pouring concrete, my job isn't that hard on it.  Yeah, there is the occasional drop, but the Defender is supposed to take that.

Maybe it's the curved screen design of this phone that makes the case unable to protect it properly, I don't know, but either way, this phone hasn't been subjected to anything my other phones have, and the Defender case has always protected them before.

Def

[Syncop8r]

Perhaps, going by the number of breakages your body has had, it just isn't a safe place for a phone to be. 

[Tasky]

Is it the size?
Phones are getting bigger and bigger, and there's only so much a case can do before it needs a redesign and extra beefing up to cope with everything you throw at it...

[Grant Lamontagne]

It may be the phone size or it may be the curved screen- I don't know.  All I know is that this particular Defender case has not stood up to nearly as much as previous ones have.  I have to say, for the first time ever, I am disappointed in the Defender case.

The new case is heavy, and makes an already large phone even larger, but so far it seems to be holding it's own.

Def

[pfrsantos]

Now it's a bit late, but have you thought about one of those shock proof phones? The screen and cams ad functions may not be as good as a regular smartphone, but they are able to withstand a lot of hard abuse.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have considered them in the past, but in the end it is cheaper to get a new "normal" phone every couple of years.

Def

[cody6268]

Now it's a bit late, but have you thought about one of those shock proof phones? The screen and cams ad functions may not be as good as a regular smartphone, but they are able to withstand a lot of hard abuse.

Had one, and swapped to a prepaid-grade LG my grandmother never used when it started constantly rebooting due to constant overheating issues. They are pricey, don't perform as well as phones of comparable price,  have lower-spec cameras, and those I had (Kyocera) tend to have really buggy firmware and hardware.

Plus, you may be up the creek without a paddle when the warranty comes. These phones aren't popular and sit on shelves.  Kyocera required a receipt with the phone's IMEI on it. AT*T didn't provide one. The phone was made nearly a year before I bought it, as they sell poorly.  The phone started giving me trouble earlier this year. It was within warranty by date of purchase, but long out of it by date of manufacture.