Mophie UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging REVIEW

Take sanitizing to the next level.

I’ve always been a hand-washer. I don’t like the idea that I’m carrying dirt or germs around with me all day. With that in mind, I’ve really taken a liking to the personal device sanitizers that have been surfacing in the past few years. PhoneSoap was the first to market with a personal sanitizing device, but other companies have followed suit and now, Mophie has two: the UV Sanitizer and UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to test out the UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging, which I love because it incorporates a charger into the sanitizer and I always like it when products have multiple purposes.

DETAILS

The UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging is designed to kill 99.99% of the “most common surface bacteria” on your personal belongings. According to the Zagg product information, it’s been “tested by 3rd party to ISO testing standards against E. coli and staph. Anti-bacterial technology is for your phone and other similar devices inserted in the device; it does not directly protect the user from exposure to bacteria or provide additional health benefits.” The device uses UV-C bulbs to sanitize non-porous items placed inside the sanitizer. The UV Sanitizer has a short cleaning cycle of five minutes.

The device is compact in nature and can be carried easily in laptop bags so you can sanitize on the go. It fits most mobile phone sizes and cleans quietly since there are no fans. The wireless charger is compatible with any Qi-enabled device and provides up to 10W of power. The wireless charger is located in the lid of the UV sanitizer. In order to use it, the phone must be placed on top of the charger, which means you cannot charge and sanitize at the same time. The sanitizer is compatible with Apple, Samsung, Motorola, LG, and other Qi-enabled smartphones.

USER EXPERIENCE

I’ve been a big fan of Mophie products for a long time now. They are typically the only portable battery I use these days and when I heard about the UV Sanitizer I was ecstatic. The sanitizer comes in a Mophie branded box with a photo of the product on the front. Mophie has really nice retail packaging and a lot of details about the product are actually included. The box states that items are sanitized within 5 minutes and that the UV-C light kills 99.99% of the most common surface bacteria. I want to note here that ‘bacteria’ is highlighted as the microbial that gets destroyed by UV-C light. Viruses are not noted as being killed by this sanitizer. As much as I appreciate the packaging, I feel as though it is a little large for the device. The only other two things included in the box with the sanitizer are the Quick Start Guide and the wall charger. The Wall Charger is a larger power brick and plugs in to the sanitizer using a USB-C male connector.

The Quick Start Guide provides a very brief illustrated instructional guide on how to use the sanitizer and wireless charger. Aside from the illustrations, there is the warranty, legal information, and safety instructions included in multiple languages. There is a full user manual available from zagg.com, but it did not load for me at the time I was writing this review. I continually received a ‘scheduled maintenance’ error.

Using the sanitizer is pretty easy. If you want to charge your phone, you just lay it on top of the sanitizer and it automatically starts charging. According to the product details (as noted above), the wireless charger provides up to 10W of power, which means the iPhone receives its maximum wireless charging speed of 7.5W. I tested the charging rate of the wireless charger by recording the percentage of the battery when I first placed the phone on the charger and then recording it when I took it off the charger. I noted a total of 6% gained within 23 minutes for a charging rate of 0.26% per minute. This is slightly slower than some other wireless chargers I’ve tested that allow the iPhone to get its full 7.5W, but still a very fast charging rate.

As far as the sanitizer goes, the operation is very simple. You place your phone or other items into the sanitizer by lifting the lid and then closing it to no UV-C light escapes. The lid actually does not stay up on its own. I believe this is because the wireless charger is housed there. The inside of the sanitizer has raised beads on the bottom, which allows for light to hit all the places on the back of the phone. After you place your phone into the sanitizer, you press the illuminated button on the side to start the sanitizing process. You will hear a single tone that indicates the process has begun. At this point, you need to leave the sanitizer alone and not lift the lid until the cleaning process has completed. You will know the sanitizer is done when it beeps three time. If you press and hold the sanitizer button, you can turn the sanitizer off mid-cycle if you need to.

CONCLUSION

Even though I don’t have a lab to be able to take before and after contaminant swabs of the phone I sanitized, I know from experience with other UV-C sanitizing devices (HomeSoap) that they do work to kill bacteria on the surface of phones and other items. I would have no reason to think that the Mophie UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging is less effective than other UV-C cleaning devices. I like that it has the added benefit of a wireless charger included so that it’s one less object to clutter your desk. I do wish that the power cable was a little less bulky, but there is probably no way around that. The Mophie sanitizer is a really nice option for keeping your devices cleaned, charged, and ready for the next adventure.

For more information, visit zagg.com, Facebook, and Twitter.