Hacking an original Speck ToughSkin iPhone case to work with a 3G

September 15, 2008 on 10:35 pm | In Tech Tips, Web/Tech |

I recently ditched my old Treo phone for a 3G iPhone. When I bought it, I asked a number of people for recommendations for a case. Matt Buchanan was quick to recommend the Speck ToughSkin. I ordered one. It is a great case. Highly recommended. BUT…I was constantly battling a problem where my face would mysteriously dial numbers while I was on a call. I even managed to conference call in a client’s fax machine once…much to my wife’s frustration.

Eventually, I figured out that the problem was the ToughSkin case. I had mistakenly ordered an original iPhone case instead of the 3G case. The iPhone 3G has a sensor in it that detects when the phone is near your head…and disables the keypad. Of course, my case blocked said sensor…rendering it useless and causing my face dialing problem.

The thought of shelling out more money for a new case was more than my frugal mind could handle. Surely I could mod my existing case to accommodate (uncover) the sensor).

I figured that if I held the phone up to a bright light…I could probably see the sensor through the black plastic. Doing so, much to my disappointment, I noticed not one, but three sensors. A pair just to the left of the earpiece, and a third a little distance further towards the side. I took a dry erase marker and marked on the case the approximate locations of the sensors. See the below photo:

I decided that the sensor in the middle would be the easiest to uncover, so I crossed my fingers (hoping that was the one), pulled out an old handheld hole punch and punched a hole in the case. See below photo:

Sadly…it did not work. Uncovering that sensor did not make the issue go away. I’m sure it’s there for a reason, so it was probably a good idea to uncover it anyway.

I proceeded to punch two more holes (uncovering the other two sensors). Magically…it worked. No more face dialing! Here is a photo (paint stick used for contrast) of where the last two holes were punched (before I pulled out an razor knife and cleaned up the cut to make it look smooth and generally professional):

So…for any of you with an older Speck ToughSkin case you want to use on your 3G, I hope you find these instructions useful.

[note: yes, the original iPhone is a little differently shaped than the 3G. However, I see no way in which the original ToughSkin case is off/small/large for my 3G.]

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