Aluminum battery door

[dezymond]

Got an aluminum battery door for my s4 today, surprised since it came in so quickly.

It does give the device a bit of a bulkier, but premium feel, you definitely notice the weight difference too. Not sure if I'm going to keep it on as I did like the lightness of the device and the slimness, but it does definitely make it feel more premium. Also with this battery door on my Slim Armor case won't fit anymore, so that gain of bulk may prevent cases from fitting properly.

I got it from this vendor on ebay and they ship fast. The product itself is pretty good for what you pay, but I'm not liking it as much as I thought I would. Plus the aluminum backing seems to be coming off the plastic already and mine came with a pretty prominent scratch on it. It does look very good though. This is the grey door for those interested: Full Brushed Metal Aluminum Battery Door Back Housing Cover for Galaxy S4 I9500 | eBay

And pic of the scratch. In the process of getting a refund as I'm not sure I really like it.


Update: they're sending me a brand new door tomorrow. I have to say they have excellent customer service and quick shipping as it comes from Hong Kong, it took 5 days to get here.

 

[m3incorp]

I have to ask why if you didn't like the product in the first place, that you would accept another one instead of refund. It's often being stated that really cheap price often equals really cheap workmanship.

Got an aluminum battery door for my s4 today, surprised since it came in so quickly.

It does give the device a bit of a bulkier, but premium feel, you definitely notice the weight difference too. Not sure if I'm going to keep it on as I did like the lightness of the device and the slimness, but it does definitely make it feel more premium. Also with this battery door on my Slim Armor case won't fit anymore, so that gain of bulk may prevent cases from fitting properly.

I got it from this vendor on ebay and they ship fast. The product itself is pretty good for what you pay, but I'm not liking it as much as I thought I would. Plus the aluminum backing seems to be coming off the plastic already and mine came with a pretty prominent scratch on it. It does look very good though. This is the grey door for those interested: Full Brushed Metal Aluminum Battery Door Back Housing Cover for Galaxy S4 I9500 | eBay

And pic of the scratch. In the process of getting a refund as I'm not sure I really like it.
View attachment 64754

Update: they're sending me a brand new door tomorrow. I have to say they have excellent customer service and quick shipping as it comes from Hong Kong, it took 5 days to get here.

 

[dezymond]

I have to ask why if you didn't like the product in the first place, that you would accept another one instead of refund. It's often being stated that really cheap price often equals really cheap workmanship.

After having some more hands-on time with it (I made this thread about 10min into getting it) I actually like it. I have it on now and been using it since I made this thread and I like what it adds to the phone; small amount of bulk for better grip, no slip, and looks dang good (even though you don't spend much time looking at the back). So my initial writeup, I admit I didn't give it a fair chance, plus I was bitter about it coming in scratched. After a few hours of use and handling, I really do like it.

I would like to add the somewhat obvious, that this battery door does interfere with signal. I noticed with the plastic cover on that I get around -86-89dBm and 51asu. With this new battery door I'm getting about -95-105dBm and 39asu. So that's a pretty significant difference in reception quality. If you live or frequent a weak signal area then this battery door may not be for you.

I also agree that cheap price often equals cheap workmanship, but considering I found the exact same door for $25 at another vendor, I rather pay 1/5 of the price for something I might like. Considering both products were shipping from HK, I assumed they were pretty much the same manufacturer, so I just opted for this one. For the price, you get alot for what you pay for in my humble opinion. And for the record I offered to return this defective unit, but they insisted I keep it and that it was their mistake.

 

[Bluesman2008]

Does that back work with a cordless charger? NFC?

 

[dezymond]

Does that back work with a cordless charger? NFC?

I don't use wireless charging so can't tell you if it does or not.

NFC works.

 

[Dusty]

I'm waiting on my metal back covers (1 chromed aluminum, 1 bright brushed aluminum, 1 dark brushed aluminum) to arrive on the slow boat from China. I ordered them on the 5th of August... geez. They should get here on Monday, but I'll be away on vacation.

The weekend after next I'll test reception, NFC, and wireless charging. I purchased an NFC external antenna which I'll attach to the battery cover along with the wireless charging adapter. I currently use the Nokia wireless charger.

 

[Dusty]

Well... I received my chrome battery plate and brushed aluminium plates...

The verdict...

- I went from 3 bars of LTE to an unstable single bar of LTE.

- NFC doesn't work even with an additional NFC antenna installed.

...And wireless charging is does NOT work with a metal back.

So, all in all, they turn your phone into a doorstop.

They look GREAT though.

My faux carbon fiber back plates arrive tomorrow.

 

[dezymond]

Well... I received my chrome battery plate and brushed aluminium plates...

The verdict...

- I went from 3 bars of LTE to an unstable single bar of LTE.

- NFC doesn't work even with an additional NFC antenna installed.

...And wireless charging is does NOT work with a metal back.

So, all in all, they turn your phone into a doorstop.

They look GREAT though.

My faux carbon fiber back plates arrive tomorrow.

Wow that big of a difference for you huh, signal wise that is. Yeah they look great but in no case should aesthetics beat performance, especially for a phone. At least it was only a few bucks.

Let me know how that faux CF works out for ya. It sounds nice, got a link for it?

 

[Dusty]

I tried the CF cover and made a post of my findings.

http://www.droidforums.net/forum/sa...15-faux-carbon-fiber-battery-plate-cover.html

 

[MTsang]

I got my blushed metal back door from the same seller on eBay. It looks great and feel premium, it does add a little bulkiness to the phone, some of my phone case doesn't fit but lucky I got at least one clear case that fit the phone with this new metal door. However, sometimes the reception is not as good and S beam feature doesn't work with the metal door. So if you don't need the S beam feature this wouldn't be a problem.