Premium and Advanced - where are you mounting your cell phone?

After trying/failing a few different options I succeeded with this one:

It was a bit tricky getting it on but it has stayed secure for well over a year now.

 

A warning to the sticker mounters - that will leave a mark that will never come out.

I use a vent mount - while it's just okay - it won't leave a mark.

 

I would recommend against any air vent mount. After testing mine, I find they block the cool air from the AC in the summer, and can cause the phone to overheat when you turn on the car heater in the winter. Like the OP, I much prefer Waze.

 

I found due to the large screen and vents, there is very limited space to mount the phone. I don’t want to block the vent because it not only restrict air flow, it also makes the phone too hot or cold. I use a suction cup type mount with magnetic phone holder in front of a pillar. It’s very convenient and doesn’t block anything.
The mount has adhesive on the suction cup so can be mounted on texture dashboard. Cost about $15

 

I like your idea, but if you want to keep your phone charged whilst mounted, you must run a USB cable across the steering wheel.

 

The cable can run across the front of the steering column and not interfere with the operation of the steering wheel.

 

Or, you can have an auto radio installer run your wires behind the dash. I've used this approach to install my Garmin GPS on the left side of the windshield where it doesn't obstruct the important parts of my view, and still is charging during use. It turns off with the ignition. You could do something similar with your phone, however, the beauty of my Garmin is it's "voice command", where you might face some problems with controlling the phone, at the greater distance of my mounting point from the driver. Yes the Garmin wiring is "permanently" installed, but you can order an additional connector for multi-car use as I did. The last thing you do, of course, is take an axe to the factory GPS; alright Toyota GPS lover(s?), just kidding; you could use a hammer, har, har!!

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AChoiredTaste.com

 

At the moment I think it is the most suitable, not blocking the big screen and vehicle instrumentation.

 

It's very easy to hide a 10 foot long cable behind the dash. Plug one end into the USB port between the seats. Loop the cable down between the centre console and the driver's seat. Tuck the wire between the floor carpet and the plastic molding. Run the cable towards the front of the car. Bring the cable up behind the plastic molding that is beside the accelerator pedal. From there, it is a clear run towards the side triangular panel at the end of the dash board (the triangular panel is only available with the car door open; pop the triangular panel off with a pry tool). This brings the end of the cable out exactly where you've put the phone mount beside the side window.

 

I have now opted for this configuration. I am now debating on where to install the USB charger so the cable doesn't run above the steering column. I found a good site to install a USB socket right above the ODB2 port. As for the mount location, the pictured location works great since I can adjust the phone to receive a bit of cool AC air and keep it from overheating when the sun shines on it, and at the same time, I can adjust the vent in the winter so the heated air doesn't heat up the phone. Next step will be to get a phone mount that has a wireless charger built-in. There are some phone mounts on the market that do. That will of course be connected to the USB socket.

 

The new iottie mag mount worked for me. Mounted in the very top portion of the air vent right by the 11” display. Here’s what worked for my

 

@ mveras1972
How is this holding up? If you're having good luck with the setup may I have a link to the product? Searching Apps Car2 phone holder isn't yielding result for that holder.

Hello everyone! I'm late to the party and was wondering if you could help me out?
I'm looking for a holder that will securely mount my Galaxy s10e with medium thick Outterbox case.
Parameters:
- 2018 Prime Premium
- Hold phone in HORIZONTAL position
- Does not extend beyond upper dash into windshield and no lower than air vents
- Prefer held in center of dash area
- Prefer holders that do not employ magnets, or anything extra I'll need to install on my phone (metal plates/popcaps/etc)

I've been using no mount and it's actually working great so far, granted I haven't hit a pot hole or used my ride to rob a bank yet!

 

I like your location, left side of the steering wheel and I have tried every mounting method and location mentioned in this post. I need to charge my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. I tried all the fast charging wireless chargers. The 2020 Prius Prime XLE has a wireless charger but it appears not to be fast charging which is the newest charging method for wireless. My main problem is overheating. If the sun directly hits the cell phone is shuts down the fast charging with builtin sensors. If I mounted it to the left of the steering wheel shown in your setup, then the sun would setoff the overheat alarm on my phone defeating its full use of the wireless charging. The second best location is the mounting behide the steering wheel on the dash. But again the sun defeats the charging. The car is limited for space, glove box is tiny compared to my 2006 Prius that had 2 glove box areas, and the Sun Glass holder is usable for flat glasses only, and center console storage is also tiny. No spare space anywhere for anything. Every spot is dedicated and used.

 

So far I haven't had it fall over yet doing this every day on mostly smooth roads with a short drive through pot hole riddled half mile stretch. I have discovered a couple issues 1) The phone is often in direct sunlight which makes the screen slightly less visible 2) Because it's in direct sunlight the phone overheats. It was in the low 80s today and for the 1st time my phone gave me a warning shutting off the charging feature (I have it plugged in while on the dash with several cpu intensive apps running).

 

Played around with different setups... Here is what I like best so far. Only thing I need to improve is cable management for the charging cable.

 

One thing about my Prime with CarPlay is that I just let the phone sit in the tray. Mounting was an annoying problem previously - on different cars. My learning experience:

(1) Never get an air vent mount. Mine would fairly quickly cause the vent flaps to fall to a position I did not want and, eventually, the phone, with the mounting clip still attached, would fall to the floor. I threw mine in the garbage after a few days.

(2) Forget applying the sticky mount directly to the dash. It would work fine a lot of the time but, precisely when I needed it most, would fall over. I was contemplating superglue, but then sold the car with the device innocently attached without a phone for the buyer to decide if he wanted to try superglue. I did warn him of the issue.

(3) Attach a permanent mount plate - and then attach a sticky device to that. This works very well, but I bought the car from a previous owner with the plate already permanently attached. The same sticky device in (2) never failed in (3).

 

Yup i've tried many and ended up with close to the same mounting location. Mine is mounted directly on top of the steering column cover out of the way of the steering wheel. Not covering any vents or blocking anything else and is quick and easy to look at.