Since 2011, we've helped people use their phones in ways they never thought possible with our Neodymium magnets. Our original idea was for our RokLock twist lock mechanism to automatically lock using the power of magnets. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a magnet that size powerful enough to twist and lock an iPhone. Then we thought, "What if we used magnets so we could attach our phones to anything magnetic, no mount required?"  
We found larger magnets and double side taped them to the back of an iPhone 4. Then, we stuck the prototype onto our metal file cabinet and voila! It worked, except for one problem. When we put a smooth magnet onto another smooth surface (like a fridge or a filing cabinet), the phone would slowly slide down. This was mostly because there wasn't enough grip/friction -- the magnet had enough power to hold the phone but not enough grip to keep it in place.

To keep the phone from slipping down, we stuck some adhesive backed rubber onto the magnet. The execution was crude but it worked like magic! Now when you stuck the phone onto a slick surface it had the grip it needed to not only hold but hold amazingly well. Phones would stay on slick surfaces like a file cabinet and uneven ones like the corner bead of textured and painted drywall. We had created a simple iPhone mount that would instantly and securely stick to anything magnetic. The magnet was so strong we decided to test its limits. We drove to our local Golf Club and stuck the phone to the golf cart rail right in plain view. The iPhone 4 did not budge even after 18 holes of golf! We drove over bumps, in the woods, and on un-even cart paths but it stayed strong. We mounted our new "magnetic" iPhones everywhere we could - the more we used them, the more addicted we became. We had to make this a reality for everyone.

We had proven our initial magnet would work, so we quickly got to work refining the design. We produced custom-made nickel plated Neodymium magnets along with a specially designed textured TPU (soft rubber) magnet grip insert to hold the magnet. The result was our first injection molded polycarbonate case, the Rokform v3, named for the 3rd case Rokform created in its short little life. The Rokform v3 case for the iPhone 4 with its magnetic insert was an instant success. Within weeks we had sold thousands of cases. Customers could not believe how useful having a magnet in an iPhone case was. Every day we receive comments, e-mails, and testimonials from happy customers telling us how much they love their "magnetic" phone cases!

One of our most popular early inventions to accompany the magnetic case was the LiL’ Rok and BAM, machined aluminum and anodized discs. We insert them with the same Neodymium magnets we use in the case. The Lil’ Rok is the size of a nickel and was designed for smaller phones. When phones got bigger, we made a larger version we call the BAM, which is the size of a quarter. Both are amazingly strong. These little gems easily stick to almost any dash using 3M VHB adhesive and are designed to be removed without harming the surface below. These discrete mounts look good on any dash and you don’t need a giant claw or clamp that clutters your dash. Rok and BAM solve the “giant claw” problem. We now include a magnetic car mount with every magnetic case we sell, for ease of use while driving.

That's the story of how we invented the twist lock and magnetically mounting phone cases. Our inventions are protected by several utility and design patents that can be found on our patents page.

We still get asked every day -- "Will a magnet hurt my phone?" The simple answer is "NO." Apple iPhone and Android devices use NAND flash memory, which is immune to magnets. Since there is nothing magnetic in solid state or flash drives and they have no moving mechanical parts, mobile devices are immune to magnetic fields. They do not use magnets for storage; instead, they use integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data. Check out this popular video (around 1 million views!) where a guys uses an outrageously large magnet on his iPhone with absolutely no harm done. Even the strong Neodymium magnets we use for our cases are only a fraction of the size and power he uses. Rest assured, your phone and credit cards are safe with Rokform's magnetic (and extremely protective) cases.
 

Since 2011, Rokform has been using magnets to help customers stick their phones to a variety of handy surfaces. We have sold more than 175,000 cases without a single iPhone or Android device being harmed by our magnets. We use them every day and they are 100% safe for your iPhone or Android device. You can watch our video of several tests we performed on an iPhone here. Give ROKFORM a try, we think you will love the versatility, quality, protection and service. If for some reason you don’t, just send it back within 60 days for a full product refund. We also offer a 2-year guarantee and have our friendly customer service team at our Southern California headquarters ready to answer any questions you might have.

This guy explains it well as it relates to hard drives:

This guy did a test with a lot of very powerful magnets on an iPhone®