Introduction: Button Cover for Portable Phone Charger

The Problem: When I carry my portable charger in my bag, the other stuff inside tends to press the button turning it on. It really only should be turned on when I'm using it.

The Solution: Create a cover that also makes the button easily accessible when you need to use it. Something like a missile switch over but smaller.

Note: I'm sure there are chargers out there that are better designed so this doesn't happen, but I got this for free so I'd rather just make it work since there's nothing else wrong with it.


Things you need:

- Portable phone charger

- Plastic pill box. I bought one that's close in size to my charger.

- Exacto knife or other cutting tool.

- 2 part epoxy (or any adhesive of your choice). I recommend the 5 minute kind.

- Toothpick or skewer for spreading the adhesive

- Clothespin

Step 1: Cut the Pill Box

1. Cut the pill box so you only have one cell with all 4 sides. Avoid detaching the lid from its cell.

If you have a 2x2 pill box (the one pictured):

The lids might come off. That's ok. Divide the lids so you just have one and make sure that one is connected to the central plastic thing (see last photo).

2. Remove the bottom part of the cell. I wanted a lower profile, so I cut the cell horizontally.

How to cut with an exacto knife:

Score the plastic and keep cutting on the same line. After you do that a few times, check if you can poke the knife through the plastic on the cut line. Once you poke the knife through, so you can see it on the other side of the plastic, rock it back and forth while putting pressure downward. DO NOT FORCE THE
KNIFE! I slipped a few times when I put a lot of pressure and almost stabbed myself a few times.

Also, I don't recommend using a sawing motion since I found it hard to control on something so small.

Step 2: Glue the Lid Back On

Put the lid on uncut side of the cell. Make sure the notch of the lid is at the front of the cell. You can tell, because the cell will have an indentation where the notch will go.

Remove the lid, put epoxy on the back of the cell and put the lid back on. Use a clothespin to clamp the plastic back piece onto the cell. Just taping the lid on doesn't create enough tension to keep the lid closed which is why I glued it on.

Wait for it to cure before moving on.

Step 3: Attach It to the Charger

Add epoxy to the cut edge and put it on your charger over the button. If your cut is uneven, you can put more epoxy to fill in the gaps. Do not open the lid until the epoxy is fully cured otherwise you'll pull the whole thing off.

And you're done!