The BEST 6ft (1.8m) - Iphone/Ipad Charging + Data Cable you can Buy!

What is the BEST Lightning Cable for your Iphone, Ipad, or IPod Touch, and Why?

If you own ANY Apple mobile product, an Iphone, Ipad, Ipod, etc -- You likely have had Cable issues.  If not, you may simply want a longer than the short factory cable -- Usually it's both.

I was going to make a Top 5 or Top 10 list here as I've tried , personally, a dozen different cables over time on many products.  However, the one I've been using for a while now changed this.  Why make a "Top 5 Best Iphone Charging Cables" list, if there truly is ONE Cable that does it all, is reliable, is double length at 6 feet, 1.8 Meters, is Tangle free, and so on?  Well there is!

It is the Anker 6ft Nylon Braided USB Cable with Lightning Connector [Apple MFi Certified] for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s Plus, 6 Plus, iPad Pro Air 2, and ANYTHING that takes a lightning cable, period.

Before you Read any further - Here is a video I made showing this cable,.. unboxing it, etc.  So you get an idea of what I'm describing:

This Cable is $11.99 on Amazon as of this writing.  It's not expensive, yet it's constructed to be the last cable you'll need for the life of whatever device you are using it for.  You'll probably buy more than one after you realize how great it is.  I don't get paid by Anker, or any kick backs for saying this -- I just hate spending my hard earned money on items that have issues over and over and over.  I hate going through lists on the internet only to find the #1 item is a piece of junk and the "blog" was just someone who hadn't even used the items trying to make money.  

This is what you want out of a cable:

1) Apple MFi Certified

*What is MFi?* - It just stands for "Made For "i" (insert device) - ie: Phone.  It's a tiny chip in the cable that is licensed to the company that tells your phone, tablet, etc it's "certified, and to WORK properly with the cable."

2) Proper Build (Quality)

This is , first, made by ANKER.  ANKER is a very, very reliable brand for peripherals,.. cables, USB Hubs, and many other smaller devices.  If you run across that brand in shopping for something, take a GOOD look at it.  You generally can't go wrong.

Beyond this -- This cable is Made with Nylon with an Aluminum (Aluminium for those over the pond) casing - and has a 4,000 "bend lifespan" - Which is about 3 times longer than the cord Apple makes/provides.  It is Braided.  The reason cables are braided is for strength primarily,.. secondarily it adds to the 'no tangle' attribute this cord has.  It has 'reinforcements' at the points of failure.  The "ends" where the Lightning connector are and USB connector are.  This point often shorts out, breaks, and fails over time.  You will notice this is strongly reinforced. 

3) Options

While this Cord could be only in one color,.. ie: Black, and i'd be happy -- it comes in Silver, Golden, Rose Gold, and Space Grey (among others).  They purposefully went with the colors of the Apple devices themselves.  Smart, imo.  I don't want a NEON colored cable,. but a muted "Rose Gold" looks nice,.. especially for those who enjoy 'pink' cables but want some 'class'.

4) Length!!

This is a huge one.  This cable is 6 Feet long.  (1.8 Meters).  It is about double the length of the original cable.  The original cables for these devices are just too short for all applications.  You plug it into a wall and have it on your bed.. well, it's probably not going to reach , right? Maybe you plug it into your laptop while going to sleep, but MOVE the laptop off bed when actually going to sleep -- what then?  You want your phone next to you - This allows that.  The obvious nature of a 6 Foot cord doesn't need much explaining.  However,.. cords that are longer than the average 3 foot factory cable length are notorious for having problems out of the box, or intermittently.  This one does NOT.  Again, it is MFi Certified, it has the same chip in it the Apple cord does.  Your device cannot tell a difference.  Further, it's construction inside out allows it to reliably maintain a proper charge and data communication pathway over longer distances.

5) Price and Warranty

This ANKER 6 Foot (1.8m) Cable comes with a 1.5 Year out of the box warranty.  "Bumper to Bumper", no questions asked, replacement (and money back if not happy) for 18 months.  If you can't make up your mind in 1 and a half years of use,.. I think it's worked :p

Look, again, no need for a list -- Go buy this cord (if you need one, need a longer one, an extra one, etc) - again it's on Amazon for $11.99:  

Video of this cable being "Unboxed" and Reviewed.

Do you have any other products from ANKER? Do you have this cable, did you BUY this cable?  Comment on this Article/Blog and let us know!

An Iphone Signal Strength (and Speed) Boosting Case that Actually Works!? - ReachCase R79X

      We all have had times where our cell signal was poor, and/or non existent.  Whether this is a normal everyday occurrence for you, or it only happens periodically,.. it is a nuisance at the minimum.

     So what do you do?  There are powered Cellular booster systems that cost hundreds of dollars that also require you to set them up,.. they involve finding a location with a good signal, running wire to that location , placing the external antenna there, running this back to a device that you plug into the wall and your phone must sit in this 'cradle' that boosts your signal.  (What those are really doing is just transferring a signal down that long wire you climbed into the ceiling/roof to painstakingly run to the powered cradle.) - They work, but obviously your phone has to sit in one spot for the most part.  But the biggest thing is Cell phones are Mobile!  Hence the name, Mobile Phone.

     So is it too good to be true that there exists a simple iphone case you can merely pop on your phone and it boost your signal?  Also improving 4G/LTE speeds? Reducing dropped calls? Well, in the past it has been - but a company called ReachCase (Antenna79) have fine tuned multiple patents / technology into an Iphone 6 / 6S / 6 Plus /6S Plus Case that actually improves signal strength - and 4G/LTE Speeds.

     So what does this amazing , yet simple technology, look like?

Let's get straight to the Results:

     I wracked my brain for a few painful minutes trying to come up with a way to actually test this R79X Passive Signal Boosting Case that would MATTER.  A Test that would empirically show without question whether or not it actually worked.  Everything I've seen elsewhere has people going from location to location (the most ambitious of them), or just showing it in one spot, their iPhone with this case on it,.. and it's all anecdotal.  Which is fine,.. but the internet is a scrutinizing entity of people - People want PROOF.

     So here's how the Test was Set Up:

• Use (2) Two Identical Iphone 6S's - Everything the same, both 64GB, same age, etc.
• Turn off WiFi (So phones are ONLY using Cell Towers (4G/LTE ideally)
• Take the case off both phones, then put the ReachCase R79X on just (1) One of them
• Place the two phones on the same table, and hit record.
• Place both phones into Field Test Mode
• Monitor the dB Signal Strength of each respective identical phone
• Run half a dozen speed tests, simultaneously and one at a time.

     The biggest part of this testing setup was the fact I had access to two 100% Identical Iphone 64GB 6S's using the Verizon Network.  So without further adieu, let's watch the test Video:

ReachCase R79X Iphone Case - Testing Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F8yRVp29N8

     If you watched all or most of that video,.. great! It's great proof instead of me just saying, "Yup it works..". 

     However, the ultimate results were that it improved the Signal Strength from 2 Dots out of 5 , to 3 Dots out of 5 -- In Decibels that translated to an improvement of 7 Db!  (Decibels are non linear, so that is a HUGE increase in signal strength believe it or not).  

     Speed! -- The video best shows the speed differences -- However, On download, the phone WITH the ReachCase R79X Case on average netted 20-30Mbps faster download (IE: 110Mbps to 89Mbps) -- The most consistent result was the Upload speed.  The phone using the Signal boosting case average 20Mbps Upload everytime, while the phone without the Signal Boosting case averaged 10Mbps.   This is a 100% (2X Times) Increase!

     If you are curious about what comes in the box/package when you buy it -- Like watching unboxing videos,.. want to know what the product claims on Drop testing (It claims it exceeds 6Ft Military grade drop testing), Average Signal/Speed Improvement, and on and on -- I did an Unboxing (And feature Overview) Video when it first arrived.  That Video can be seen below:

ReachCase Case R79X Unboxing Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzTVDK-aE68

     So what does this mean for you?

     Well,.. it means if you have a signal similar to mine (1-2 Dots/Bars) (-95 to -115 ish) - The results SHOULD be very similar.  AKA: This should help, especially with speed.

   

  If you have an already great signal all the time (4-5 Dots/Bars) - You probably won't see much difference,.. essentially the better your signal is, the more limited the improvement.  However, if you have 4/5 Dot Signal all the time and just want to try for the FULL signal,.. give it a go, it may work.

  

  If you have a problem where you have NO signal at home, or work, camping, etc -- Nothing is going to give you a signal where one doesn't exist.  This Technology works on "Passive Coupling" - It enhances what signal exists already, it does not, and can not create one, literally, out of thin air (unfortunately).  

     If you already have one of these cases,.. Or, you end up buying/trying one -- Leave a comment and let us know how it worked for you.  Or if it didn't work? Or if it was minimal improvement.  What about speeds?