[Mike_Luchia]

Hello everyone,

I have two Z10's that are in Otterbox Defender cases as all my BlackBerry devices have been in the past. I have always found Otterbox Customer Service and quality to be second to none. I noticed that when the Z10 is put into the clip, the sleeper magnet does not put the phone to sleep. I have taken the phone out of the defender and held it directly against the magnet in the clip and the sleep function is then activated.

I contacted Otterbox last week and explained to them that the sides of the Defender case are too high to allow the sleeper magnet in the clip to put the phone to sleep. I also told them that the height of the sides of the case also make it difficult to type on the keys that are along the sides as well as the screen protector has to be removed to allow gestures to work properly on the Z10.

Otterbox responded by saying they have never heard of any of these problems and said I should return both the Defenders to the place of purchase because they were within the 30 day period for the venders to replace them. I said that felt that this was Otterbox's problem in the design of this case and clip. Their response was to ship me two new Defenders which I received today. I tried both clips that came with the new Defenders and neither of those sleeper magnets work either. I have asked Otterbox to contact me to discuss the design of the Defender for the Z10 however I doubt they will contact me this time either.

Is anybody else experiencing a problem with the Defender for the Z10 regarding the sleeper magnet. I did read elsewhere on the forum that somebody initially had this problem with the sleeper magnet but that Ottebox had shipped new cases to the retailers and they worked properly now. I'd be interested to hear if I'm the only one that is lucky enough to have this problem with 4 different Defender clips or if this is as wide spread as I suspect it is.

Mike

[terdferguson3]

Yep same here. Magnet doesn't work. Haven't used the holster because of it. The thing is totally f****d. In the past same experience, amazing service. Sounds like they dropped the ball.

Posted on my Z10..... while on the can

[dracolnyte]

good thing i didnt buy one then

[progress1]

Mine does the same. Magnet doesn't work. Was fine to type with at first but is harder now that I have had it on the phone for 2 weeks.
I am going to email them tomorrow like you did. As I ordered mine online it is hard for me to return.

Posted via CB10

[trigo]

i was targeting to purchase this also, all my mobiles are in otter box and their customer service is great but this is alarming on products that are not working as advertised. they should take great note of this failure.

[Wilsonia Goldens]

I have an otter box(model 3000). I put my spare battery in the otter box. I place the z10 in the carrier from the box the z10 arrived in and place the two on top of the spare battery. I also place the charger and cable in the otterbox. Works great. I place my playbook, charger and bluetooth keyboard in a padded 9x7 carrying bag with my otter box on top of my playbook. Makes for a nice neat package. I call it my presentation in a bag. Love it.

[Donny_D25]

Have the same problem, my replacement is currently in the mail. Although after reading this I'm not quite as excited as I was.



Posted via CB10

[rj240]

Same problem, contacted them to explain the exact same thing as everyone else. It's as if they didn't even read my complaint. I received a new one in the mail - exactly the same.

Oh well...


Posted via CB10

[skibnik]

I was going to purchase one myself before I tried it out in the store the bottom of the screen protector is also set too high it interferes with the swipe up function that makes the phone practically useless. I then went with a flip case until my sedio case arrives in the mail

Posted via CB10

[Mike_Luchia]

Have the same problem, my replacement is currently in the mail. Although after reading this I'm not quite as excited as I was.

Let us know if you find any difference when you receive your replacement Donny.

I still think the Defender is a great case, and actually makes holding the phone a lot easier for me, as I have large hands. It just seems, as I said to Otterbox, it feels like they are slowing phasing out anything to do with BlackBerry and acting like iPhone is the only thing that exists. It would go a long way for them to say yup we made a mistake in the design of this case and clip, we are going to fix it and replace those that don't work.

I had the same problem with the sides of the case being too high to make typing easy on the keys along each side on my 9860 Defender, but every complaint I made to Otterbox about that went unanswered. Before the Z10 came out, I asked Otterbox about the side being too high and they assured me that they sides on this case were lower than on the 9860 Defender but that's not true.

I still have my Z10 in the Otterbox and protected. I encourage each of you that are having a problem to also email your displeasure with anything you find wrong. It probably won't make a difference but it couldn't hurt.

Mike

[Mike_Luchia]

I was going to purchase one myself before I tried it out in the store the bottom of the screen protector is also set too high it interferes with the swipe up function that makes the phone practically useless. I then went with a flip case until my sedio case arrives in the mail

Posted via CB10

Removing the screen protector solves the problem with gestures completely. Its just disappointing that it has to be done to solve something that would have easily worked with lowering of the edges and lengthing of the ends. This is the kind of thing I mean when I said that Otterbox design seems to be slipping when it comes to BlackBerry.

[nasi goreng]

I found that the magnet not strong enough, when it is holstered, there's about 5 mm distance between the glass and the magnet. if you take the case off and put the phone directly on the holster, it will put the phone to sleep.

this is what I did with my Otterbox defender holster See my posting on this thread below:
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-10-accessories-f307/otterbox-defender-case-blackberry-z10-766747/#post8055644

[dubber_d]

I too have the same issue with the magnet not putting the phone to sleep. I find the entire holster to be a poorly designed excuse of an accessory. The magnet doesn't work, thats one thing. I have almost had my phone fall out numerous times. if you bump the bottom of the phone at all it gets cocked in the holster and the detents wont hold the phone. I also had to trim down the rubber nubs for the volume rockers as when the phone got cocked in the holster it would hit the volume up or down and would either shut the ringer off or turn it on. I keep mine on vibrate. Also find it hard to put the phone in the holster one handed. Could do it with my 9700 no problem. I definitely think the holster needs work. As for the sides of the case being too high and affecting the bezel swipes, I have gotten fairly used to it now. Sometimes it takes an extra swipe to get it to do what I want, but I would rather that and have my phone well protected as opposed to a drop and smash scenario. I too find the phone nicer to hold with the case on. Just my 2 cents worth... Haven't contacted Otterbox yet about any of these issues as I figured a new case/holster wouldn't solve the issue and/or they would deny there was a problem. After reading that so many others have had the same issues though, I may just hammer out an email to them. They more replies they get, the more likely they are to address the issue. Sorry for the rant, just wanted to share what I had found with the case. Overall still happy I bought it for the protection.

[Jerryg50]

I personally found the Otter Box very poor for the Z10 performance. Even using the touch screen was not very good with this case. I think they sort of botched this one. I would have loved to have a good Otter Box case for the Z10. I am using the Otter Box with all the other BB phones we have. They are bulky, but they do a very good job for protection of the phone.

[kill_9]

I contacted Otterbox last week and explained to them that the sides of the Defender case are too high to allow the sleeper magnet in the clip to put the phone to sleep. I also told them that the height of the sides of the case also make it difficult to type on the keys that are along the sides as well as the screen protector has to be removed to allow gestures to work properly on the Z10.

I have an OtterBox Defender case protecting my BlackBerry Z10. I do not use the belt clip preferring to carry the smartphone in a pocket or my hand. On your point about the height of the edges of the case, I agree the edges could have been designed to be 1-2 mm above the surface of the smartphone to make typing the characters at the left and right edges of virtual keyboard easier to hit accurately.If the smartphone falls face-down, I doubt the case with raised edges is going to prevent it from cracking on most surfaces. Consequently, a shallower edge bevel (bezel?) would facilitate improved usability for some people. On your point concerning the screen protector, my experience is quite the opposite from your usability issues; the screen protector is smooth to the touch and feels exactly (greasy, smooth, easy to move finger across, very responsive) like the bare screen of the BlackBerry Z10.

[Mike_Luchia]

I found that the magnet not strong enough, when it is holstered, there's about 50 mm distance between the glass and the magnet. if you take the case off and put the phone directly on the holster, it will put the phone to sleep.

this is what I did with my Otterbox defender holster See my posting on this thread below:
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-10-accessories-f307/otterbox-defender-case-blackberry-z10-766747/#post8055644

I never thought of that. I just popped a magnet out of one of my old 9860 clips and it popped right onto the magnet on the Z10 clip and now works perfectly. Otterbox needs to but all of us to work in the design department.


Posted via CB10

[nasi goreng]

I never thought of that. I just popped a magnet out of one of my old 9860 clips and it popped right onto the magnet on the Z10 clip and now works perfectly. Otterbox needs to but all of us to work in the design department.


Posted via CB10

Make sure to glue it in place, I used crazy glue

Posted via CB10

[8889]

I have had an otterbox since feb12 and basically no problems .When typing on the edges I just press a little bit harder .As for sleep mode ,after 30 seconds my phone goes to sleep and no worries for me .My view the case is tough and in the event of a fall ,I do hope it does it's job of protecting the phone .

[blackmagnum]

Otterbox Defender for Z10 also has a design flaw in the space given for the bottom of screen to perform gestures fro. The bottom up. Why do they design the case and the "BlackBerry" logo on the phone is not visible. Worst case ever, do not buy this case. Also, typing on the sides does not register half the time because of the high side walls of the case. Hopefully they listen to customers feedback and redesign the entire case.

Posted via CB10

[Mike_Luchia]

I was going to purchase one myself before I tried it out in the store the bottom of the screen protector is also set too high it interferes with the swipe up function that makes the phone practically useless. I then went with a flip case until my sedio case arrives in the mail

Posted via CB10

Which Seidio case did you buy?

Mike

[Donny_D25]

Just opened my replacement case and it is identical, no design changes. Still love the protection, I just don't use the holster now. Going to try to take the new one back and see if I can get a refund where I originally purchased it. Hopefully they redesign it in the future. BTW no Q's asked new one at my door in less then a week. Top notch customer service.

Posted via CB10

[Kazoo48]

I contacted Otterbox, Directly from Best Buy (Right in the Midst of purchasing the Defender)...to initiate a warranty claim for this very reason. I actually went to the trouble of opening Every case at the store, before calling with my complaint of poor quality control. --While the CSR I got, and her supervisor, claimed to know nothing about the BB 'sleeper mode' when holstered, I was immediately given an email with an incident # that allowed me to claim a replacement case. Procrastination meant that I only just today called back to confirm that I was in line for a warranty replacement as soon as they receive my reply with photo 'proof' that I indeed had a case.
While on the phone with the CSR I was able to confirm that they are presently aware of the sleeper magnet issue, and apparently the replacements 'directly from our warehouse seem to be working better'. They do Not seem to be aware (or at least not yet acknowledging) that there is a design flaw with the phone case covering the BlackBerry logo -- making the 'up gesture' difficult at times. When pressed, I was told that if in fact Otterbox does 'redesign' their case to address the gesture issue, that I would be eligible for another replacement. -- Now That's good Service!
This has affirmed my confidence in Otterbox and is why I had No problem buying what I knew was a flawed product. Too many other naysayers would rather gripe and complain - and foolishly admit that they didn't even offer the manufacturer opportunity to right the situation (Shame on them)
This case is worth Everything I paid, and will only be better once the 'sleeper' magnet works. Thank You Otterbox!

[Matt J]

I have the same problem. This case is junk. Not only does the design of the screen protector bezel make swiping up difficult, but the sleep magnet doesn't work. Total design flaw. How could this make it to market?

Bought it today, returning it tomorrow.

[galleychief]

I have the same complaints. Not so much the sleep issue but with the height of the case and difficulty getting the numbers and letters to select easily. I am reluctant to return it because I have yet to find a better protective case & holster. I will likely deal with the annoyance until other, equally durable cases become available.

[Mike_Luchia]

I have the same problem. This case is junk. Not only does the design of the screen protector bezel make swiping up difficult, but the sleep magnet doesn't work. Total design flaw. How could this make it to market?

Bought it today, returning it tomorrow.

If you want to do it or not is up to you, but I can tell you from experience that the problems with gestures and typing is not caused by they width or height of the case but rather caused by the protective screen that is on the case. If you pop the protective screen off (and I recommend replacing with Ghost Armor) you will find that gestures and typing work perfectly. As far as the sleeper magnet goes, I had an extra clip from my 9860 Defender, I just superglued that magnet on top of the other one and now the sleeper magnet function works perfect too.

Yes I know these are design flaws, however as I and others have said in the past, I need the heavy duty protection for my job and there is none that compare to the Defender series as far as that goes.

Mike