Phone holder for your car or bike: how to choose the right one (and navigate legally)
Slid off the dashboard during an emergency stop, shaken off the handlebar on a cobbled street, popped out of a cheap holder at a speed bump: at the counter we see phones every week that broke on the road. And you’re not allowed to hold it anyway, not in the car and not on your bike either. So a good phone holder isn’t a gadget, it’s the safest place for your phone if you want to use it on the road. But which one?
I’m Job from ThePhoneLab. Below I go through the holders the way I do at the counter: first where you ride or drive, then whether your phone has magnets, and only then which holder.
In this blog, we discuss:
- Phone holder in the car or on your bike: what does the law say?
- Car phone holder: air vent, dashboard or windscreen?
- With or without wireless charging on the road?
- Phone holder for your bike and e-bike: what to look for?
- Which phone holder should you choose?
Phone holder in the car or on your bike: what does the law say?
In the Netherlands, holding a phone while driving has been banned for years, and since 1 July 2019 that also applies on a bike. Navigating is allowed, as long as your phone is in a holder and not in your hand. So a holder is the only way to use your route, your music or a hands-free call on the road without getting a fine.
There’s another reason. A phone lying loose on the passenger seat or in the tray under the radio flies through the car during an emergency stop. And a phone in a weak holder falls at the first speed bump. We see the repairs that follow every week: a cracked screen, a damaged camera, a back that’s in pieces. A good holder costs a fraction of a repair like that.
Car phone holder: air vent, dashboard or windscreen?
My colleague Yara sums it up like this in her tip in the shop: “For the car we have three holders: a vacuum holder with MagSafe for the dashboard, a vent holder that also charges your iPhone wirelessly right away, and a clamp holder with wireless charging for phones without MagSafe.” Each has its own strength.
A holder on the air vent sits low and close, doesn’t block your view and is in place in a second. A holder with a vacuum base on the dashboard or windscreen sits higher in your field of view and holds more firmly than an ordinary suction cup, thanks to the vacuum. Place it low in the corner of the windscreen or on the dashboard, never in the middle of your view. Which one you choose depends on your car and your phone:
- Air vent with MagSafe and wireless charger: you click your iPhone on magnetically with one hand and it starts charging wirelessly right away. Ideal if you navigate on your phone. Clamps onto horizontal and vertical slats. You do need power: a USB-C port in your car or a separate car charger with USB-C and Power Delivery.
- Vacuum holder with MagSafe: a twist knob seals the base airtight onto the dashboard, windscreen or any smooth surface, much more firmly than an ordinary suction cup. The arm folds in for when you take it with you. No wireless charging, so it’s for people who charge with their own cable.
- Clamp holder with wireless charger: for phones without MagSafe, like most Samsungs. It attaches to the dashboard or windscreen with a suction cup, an automatic clamp holds almost any phone, with or without a case, and the Qi charging coil behind it charges it wirelessly.
Air vent car holder with MagSafe charger
Click your iPhone on with one hand and it charges wirelessly on the road. Fits horizontal and vertical slats.
Watch your case with the MagSafe versions: without a magnet ring, your phone won’t stay put. A case with MagSafe solves that; you can read how those magnets work in What is MagSafe? Browse all car holders in the shop.
Car holder with clamp and wireless charger
For phones without MagSafe: the clamp holds almost any phone and charges Qi phones wirelessly.
With or without wireless charging on the road?
Navigating with the screen on is one of the heaviest tasks for your battery; a one-hour drive can easily cost a fifth to a quarter of your charge. A holder that also charges keeps your phone topped up on the road without a loose cable across the dashboard. For anyone who drives every day or navigates a lot, that’s the difference between arriving with 100 or with 20 percent.
There’s one thing to watch: heat. Wireless charging makes your phone warm, and in a car in the sun, the heat of the dashboard comes on top of that. A warm iPhone slows down charging or pauses it completely. So put the holder on the air vent with the air conditioning on, or in summer choose the vacuum holder with a cable. And never leave your phone in the holder in a parked car: the sun on the dashboard is bad for the battery and the screen.
Phone holder for your bike and e-bike: what to look for?
On a bike, vibrations and rain are the enemy, not so much a fall. A good bike holder clamps your phone mechanically, with rubber on the clamps so your case doesn’t get scratched, and sits rock solid on the handlebar with a handlebar clamp. Our universal bike and scooter holder fits almost any handlebar thickness and rotates 360 degrees, so you can view your map upright or sideways.
Universal bike holder
Handlebar clamp with twist knob, rubber against scratches and rotates 360 degrees. With or without a case.
A few practical rules from the store:
- Really tighten the handlebar clamp and check it again after your first ride over cobblestones.
- Put the clamp over your case. A case gives the clamps grip and partly absorbs the vibrations.
- Do you ride a scooter or motorbike? Apple warns that the vibrations of an engine can damage the camera of an iPhone, and also advises a holder with vibration damping on scooters and mopeds, and no long rides in a row. Our handlebar holder is made for the bike and the e-bike.
- Rain? Even the newest iPhones come in to us with water damage, and unfortunately that isn’t covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. So always avoid riding in the rain with your phone in the holder: if it starts to rain, put it away in your coat or bag.
For running and the gym there’s the sports armband: your phone sits around your upper arm, you operate the screen through the window and a key fits in the zip pocket.
Sports armband
Your phone around your upper arm: you operate the screen through the window and a key fits in the zip pocket.
Which phone holder should you choose?
The right holder follows from three questions: where do you ride or drive, does your phone have MagSafe, and do you want to charge on the road? In the car with a MagSafe iPhone, you choose between the air vent holder with charger and the vacuum holder without a charger, which you can put anywhere. A phone without magnets goes in the clamp holder. On a bike or e-bike the universal handlebar holder is the choice, for sports the armband. Here’s the quick way to choose:
- iPhone with MagSafe, in the car every day, lots of navigation: the air vent holder with MagSafe charger.
- iPhone with MagSafe, several cars or a rental car: the vacuum holder, which you can easily take with you.
- Samsung or another phone without magnets: the clamp holder with wireless charger.
- Bike or e-bike: the universal handlebar holder.
- Running or sports: the sports armband.
Browse all phone holders in our shop or drop by a store near you and test which holder grips your phone with your case properly. Combine the holder with a case and a cable, and you pay for two of the three: the cheapest one is free, online and in our stores. And if your screen already broke on the road, we repair it often within 30 minutes, so you can get back on the road with a holder and an intact screen.
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Is a phone holder on a bike mandatory?
No, but holding your phone while cycling has been banned in the Netherlands since 2019. If you want to navigate or control your music on the road, your phone has to be in a holder. Without a holder, you may only look at your phone while standing still.
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Does a MagSafe car holder work with a case?
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Can a phone holder damage my phone?
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Am I allowed to navigate on my phone in the car?
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Does the air vent holder fit every car?
About ThePhoneLab
For more than ten years, ThePhoneLab has been repairing phones, tablets and laptops, every day, throughout the Netherlands. Every repair starts with an honest diagnosis, no cure no pay, and then you choose what suits you: original parts or a more affordable alternative from our own brand, for every budget. Because repairing is almost always smarter than replacing, for your wallet and for the planet. No wonder customers give us a 9.5, in tens of thousands of reviews.
View all repairs or find a store near you.
