If only I had a nickel for every time I heard/read the questions: “Can you reuse Popsockets?”, “How can I remove a Popsocket©?”, “Can you reuse a Popsocket?” or “Can you remove Popsockets?”. Those questions (along with a variety of the same question in different words seem to be top of mind for a lot of people, so let’s answer the questions once and for all: not really but there’s a better way.
How to Remove Popsockets
First and foremost, it is possible to remove a Popsocket. It’s not recommended, and it’s not easy, but it’s possible to remove Popsockets. You can use your fingernails, you can try to soak it, heat it with a hairdryer, and you can even try to use floss (yes, the stuff to clean your teeth – don’t use mint flavor, just plain is preferable. Removing a Popsocket is not an easy task and unfortunately it’s not always an exact science.
Trying to remove a Popsocket can lead to damaging both the grip and the phone case (hopefully you put the grip on the case, not directly on the phone). This of course makes sense since you don’t want the grip falling off the phone and you end up with a grip in the hand and a broken phone on the floor. But that same strong adhesive that keeps it attached to the phone case is the same adhesive that makes it so hard to remove a Popsocket.
So to the larger question of can you remove Popsockets to be able to reuse Popsockets, the answer is yes, but it isn’t easy to do and it can damage both the grip and the case.
How to Reuse Popsockets ?
If you are successfully able to remove a Popsocket from your phone, and that’s a big if, you can reuse Popsockets … but not always. So as part of the removal process, there is a decent chance you will damage the grip, which of course renders it useless. If it still is useful, it can be reattached, but the question becomes is there enough adhesion left on the grip to be able to attach it again.
Reusing Popsockets is not the core function of the product, and so they are made to be single use. Once removed there is generally not enough adhesive material left to be able to attach it to another phone. So the alternatives are to either use the grip with whatever adhesive is left on it (which can lead to the grip falling off) or using some sort of glue or new adhesive to make it attach properly. Unfortunately not all glues work one every surface, and if you don’t get it just right you may not have the amount of adhesion a grip would need, meaning you can’t really reuse Popsockets.
So once again, we come back to the core question of can you reuse a Popsocket, and the general answer is not really. It’s possible but not very easy and your grip may not stick properly to your phone. Also having a phone grip that is single use is adding to landfill and is not the environmentally friendly option.
But there is a better way – Reusable and Removable Magnetic Grips
Traditionally grip like Popsockets are meant for single use. For pure functionality they need to made with strong adhesives and therefore trying to remove Popsockets and reuse Popsockets isn’t really feasible. And that leads straight to magnets that can save the day. Popsocket is even offering a magnet Popsocket that you can remove and reuse, but that is only for those with the new iPhone with a built in magnet, and frankly it’s a kind of ugly and unwieldy.
There is actually another product that is magnet based and can work on any phone. This one is called the Grip on the Go and it uses a little metal plate and a strong magnet to create the bond needed, so it works on any phone with any case, and of course you can remove it and you can reuse it as desired. In fact this grip is pretty fun as you can actually use it on just about any sized device, not just small phone, but on the large screen ones and even on tablets.