Finally Got My Green Housing! And It's Lovely!

[MattLFC]

So when I got my Lumia 950 last December, I got the Mozo Cognac cover (no longer Cognac lol). I thought this was the business, but coming from a bright yellow 920, it was always going to be a bit too subtle. Anyway, after Windows Central announced that sellers from China were producing replica back covers in blue and orange, I bit instantly. I also got a wood-effect cover at the time. All three cases cost me $9 delivered, which is a little cheaper than the ?35 I paid for the Mozo lol.

Have had them for a while, and whilst they're clearly inferior quality, it's not noticeable day-to-day. Places where you can tell they are lesser quality:

- The plastic is a bit smooth (less texture than the originals)
- The windows logo squares look like shiny plastic stuck in cheaply (the original looks more like brushed steel)
- The Pureview/ZEISS text is not as crisp
- The buttons are not so nice
- There is no NFC or Qi capabilities (I don't need NFC, and remedied the Qi by carefully removing the coil from my white case, and interchanging them as required).
- No recess for the Qi coil.
- The seal/sponge isn't present
- No removal notch

Anyway, I recently went back on to Aliexpress, and low and behold, a green one is now available!! :evil:

So I instantly bought one (and a black one to complete the set, although that hasn't arrived yet). The green one arrived yesterday, and I have to say it is an excellent product.

The plus points over the orange ones:
- The plastic is the same as the original (same texture)
- The windows logo is the same.
- The Pureview/ZEISS text is actually better than the original
- The buttons feel better - not as sharp as the original, which is a good thing!
- There is no Qi coil, but it shipped with the NFC coil present!
- The recess is present for the Qi coil.
- The seal/sponge is present
- The removal notch is present.

I took some photo's, the photos of the phone itself wearing the cover were taken on my good ladies 650, so quality probably not good.

For reference, this is the seller - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...2702610797.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.63.weeAtU - I may re-purchase the orange and blue covers from them as these are certainly much closer quality to the original covers (they claim they are actually original, which is doubtful, but they are probably made by the same manufacturer as the originals!). May be worth looking at even if you just want a white/black cover.


You can see the quality of the Windows logo is the same as the originals.


This is my Qi bodge job I did when I got the orange and blue covers, you have to be careful not to break, but a very thin tool and you can remove them and just swap them from case to case as you change them.


Unlike the orange and blue cases, both the seals are there, but also the NFC coil. The Qi coil is not present, however you can see the recess is present, and it is exactly the same as that on the original.


Again, the removal notch is present on the green one, not so on the orange and blue ones.


For those interested, this is what the coil looks like.


I always run the glance screen in green when I have the white back on, and now it has a matching cover! Win!!


Apologies, only after giving the 650 back to the missus did I realise the case wasn't on properly when taking the photo (you can see the power button looks a bit odd, but this is because the notch isn't on correct.


I always wanted a green housing for my yellow 920... now I finally have on my 950! Now all I need is a yellow option and I'll be mega happy!

 

[RumoredNow]

Lookin' Good. Thanks for the write up.

 

[libra89]

This is awesome! Appreciate this! If I kept my 950, I would surely click your link. The green looks awesome!

 

[Johan Ruda]

Thanks a lot for this! I used to have a neon green 930 and I actually miss it, so I just ordered one of these for myself

 

[raycpl]

My 830 originally came in orange,...but I got a second back plate in that awesome green!!

Sent from mTalk

 

[karelj]

Good for you! Personally, I'd be too nervous about swapping out the NFC and Qi charging.

 

[MattLFC]

Good for you! Personally, I'd be too nervous about swapping out the NFC and Qi charging.

I was fortunate in that I don't need the NFC, but actually the green case (and I assume the other cases from the supplier in the link) ships with the NFC coil installed already.

With regards the qi coil, it's not a hard job. I heated the case a little to soften the glue (not hot - it's plastic, just a little heat), and then a very very sharp knife just to prize one corner up. I then used a screen removal tool (guitar plec?) to carefully prize it off. It took a little patience, and 1-2 minutes of time to do. As you can see, there is plenty of clearance around the coil itself, you just have to be careful on the bend nearest the contact. I didn't have a photo of the other side when I did it with mine though, so it's not a hard job.

To stop it re-securing itself too well, I stuck a sheet of plastic over it (the glue is extremely sticky and my fear was it would stick too well and have to be lifted off carefully again, probably weakening and then breaking it down the line. I just attach it using sellotape as you can see (have been using the same two pieces for last few months lol) and it has a little notch in the lower part which allows you to line it up with the aftermarket covers.

Hope that makes sense. I believe Stellatech also sell the qi coil itself for around €10 plus shipping. Personally, I though it was worth a try removing it first, because if I broke it, I'd have had to purchase one from Stellatech anyway, so I guessed I had little to lose by attempting it really.

 

[MattLFC]

My 830 originally came in orange,...but I got a second back plate in that awesome green!!

Sent from mTalk

It is pretty much the same green as that on the 830 and 930. :evil: