11 Useful Smartphone Accessories You Can 3D Print At Home

Phone accessories have gotten so plentiful and cheap these days we're spoiled for choice. In fact, they're so inexpensive that on some retailers you can find bulk sales of things like phone cases for sometimes pennies on the dollar per unit. And competition has to be fierce, when standout daily-use phone accessories really are releasing all the time. However, if you have a 3D printer, you have a huge leg up, as you can make virtually any phone accessory — within reason — that you could imagine.

3D printers open the floodgates of possibility further than ever before. You can try out designs on 3D printer file-sharing sites made by brilliant people around the globe who have come up to solutions to problems you might not have even known you had. That's what this list aims to address, as these 11 smartphone accessories can be printed right there at home. They're actually useful, too — not just more accessory junk for the landfill.

One of the coolest things you can do with your iPhone is use it as a webcam for FaceTime on Mac — if you have a mount for it. Apple sells one, but as expected it's a pricey $30 for a tiny clip-on piece. Your printer can go cheaper. jia_jie97's Continuity Camera Mount – V3 is a solid replacement. It uses the same hook-on design to hang off the top edge of the screen, but forgoes the magnets for an adjustable phone holder instead. Oh, and it does one better than the branded replacement: It works as a phone stand, too. So when you're not doing calls, it can hold your phone on the desktop.

That one's oriented more towards Macs, but the iOS ecosystem isn't the only one with a feature similar to Continuity Camera. Android joined the party with Android 14 in 2023, doing the same thing —albeit over USB — but with the less interesting "Webcam mode" moniker. MINT & MAX makes the Smartphone Mount for Monitor for other devices besides iPhones. The creator notes that it was originally built for a Google Pixel and Dell monitor combination, but a later update made it adjustable to fit (likely) any monitor or phone combination. Just make sure to measure yours in advance. Check the comments and you'll find users with iPhones and Android devices had little issue getting their various configurations to work.

There are a lot of quirky iPhone stands for sale at online retailers, but you ain't seen nothing until you've taken a look at some of the options on MakerWorld. One that stuck out to us is this Tilt Phone Stand by Matthew Ghost that uses a simple gear assembly to tilt your phone at any angle you like. There's a cutout for a charger and it uses an arresting screw to lock your phone in the desired orientation and keep it there.

If you didn't like that option, there's the Phone Gear Stand by Pork3D. Same concept, but a slightly different gear system. This one's a print-in-place design too, so in theory you should be able to pick it up off the tray and start using it immediately.

Are these stands over-engineered when another simpler design might do? Possibly. But do they look cool and thoroughly steampunk? Absolutely. If nothing else, both projects could provide valuable learning experiences with prints that involve interlocking, moving parts.

The former stands are meant to find a semi-permanent home on your desktop. How about something more portable when on the go? MakerWorld user mgm86 uses a brilliant keychain design for the Small smartphone stand. It's meant to be a compact little slab that should easily fit in any pocket, bag, or maybe even wallet, but be able to support even big phones — up to 13mm in thickness — when extended. Then, the hinged folding-open jaws create a phone stand with enough back support to keep the handset upright in portrait orientation. The project is small, effective, and easy to fabricate, since it's a print in place design, too. The creator even has an insertable, customizable plate where you can put a logo if you so desire.

The small smartphone stand is a wonderful concept if the comments are to be believed, but there are alternatives that take a different approach. Pork3D also has a Compact Foldable Phone Stand for keychains. This one hinges open into a V-shape and may perhaps better support a phone in landscape orientation. Note that there are two versions of this print, the second of which has a bigger gap around the hinge in case you find that hinge to be too stiff.

Watching content on a phone while lying in bed can cramp your hand and wrist fast — a modern-day "problem" that's not really much of a major issue, but annoying nonetheless. Try superGeometry's BedEase 3. It's a tilted phone stand for watching content when your head's on the pillow, either holding it with the finger holes or setting it down on a bedside table. That's it. Even if you don't find yourself watching TikTok in bed on a daily basis, it's one of those things that's so easy to print that you might as well make one and keep it around for a rainy day.

It might seem like something superGeometry designed in a couple of minutes, but you'd be mistaken. The creator discusses how it took after four months of personal testing and a whole bunch of community feedback to make this new version possible. The comfort of the finger grips, its stability, and its overall design were not careless in their development. The BedEase 3 is proof of how complex engineering can be for an ostensibly "simple" object — and thus another learning experience to improve your own 3D prints.

By now, smartphones already have great built-in document scanning capabilities. You can scan documents natively on Android and iOS, the later of which even lets you do so from the Notes app. None of that matters much if you're struggling to simultaneously hold the phone, position the document, keep your fingers out of the way, get the lighting right, and somehow make sure the phone's shadow doesn't spoil the shot all at the same time. Anyone who has tried to take a decent picture of their passport knows the pain. Enter Grenot Crafts' Smartphone Scanner Stand for Books.

This uses a simple design: It has four arms and a stand to hold the phone, plus screws to keep everything in place. Unfortunately, this quite a big design that may not be ideal for only occasional document scanning. For those not willing to make this a semi-permanent feature, try Krigen's Document/Photo Scanner Stand. This one has the added benefit of supporting an LED light strip to eliminate glare and shadows. Even simpler and smaller is the Smartphone Holder for PDF Scan App by jloehnhardt.

If your phone's speakers are too quiet, your only choice is to either get a Bluetooth speaker or buy a new phone. Or, you could print a phone amplifier. There are tons of these on MakerWorld, so it's up to you to choose which one best fits your style or makes your phone sufficiently loud. The more stylish looking of the bunch is Adivor's Phone Amplifier Passive Speaker. It's designed so well that at a glance most people wouldn't suspect what it is.

Meanwhile, KR_Design's Phone Speaker Amplifier doesn't try to hide the fact that it's making your phone louder. The dual hexagonal megaphone design is reminiscent of something you'd see inside a Nintendo game, and perhaps may add a greater sense of soundscape by firing sound in two directions. A bit more compact and simple is the Smartphone Stand Amplificator by Izzodesign74.

These actually do work, by the way; they're not just a gimmick. They're basically just megaphones for smartphones and require no batteries. You can even check Adivor's demonstration video for some proof: The phone's audio immediately gets significantly louder when inserted. As for how good the music sounds? That's a different conversation entirely. But hey, you're listening to music on a smartphone speaker, so audio fidelity likely wasn't the aim to begin with.

You're lying in bed with your phone ready to disconnect and go lights out. You can set your phone down next to you, but then it might get lost in the covers or crushed when you roll over. Or you can put in on the side table, but maybe that's too far away and you don't want to miss and drop the phone to the bedroom floor. What do you do in this very minor midnight dilemma? Try the third option: The bedside basket.

Niski's Bedside Smartphone Holder is another example of using a 3D printer to solve a niche problem that you didn't know you had. All it is is a container that stores your phone on its side, keeping the charging port open so you can top up your phone battery. There's probably no closer place or easier way to grab a phone when it's dark and you're bleary and disoriented.

The creator notes that it's intended primarily for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but that's a huge phone; you could likely fit all but the largest models in this unit. It also attaches with some simple clip-on bits, making removal easy any time it gets in the way. Just make sure to measure your bed's panel before you print this.

Gimbal stabilizers like the DJI Osmo are practically essential for travel vloggers and anyone else who needs a stable shot, but they are not cheap. Sure, these things are engineered for professional filmography, with camera controls, smooth gears, and a durable design for filming in all conditions, but the whole point is a steady shot; you can make something from home that will do 80% of the job. Jen's The Phone Gimbal is that something.

The design includes a complete gimbal assembly, handle, phone mount, and a hollow chamber below it that can hold a counterbalancing weight. Bear in mind you will need to fill that chamber with something for the gimbal to work properly. Jen has a demonstration GIF showing the gimbal being rotated in all directions, and the phone stays remarkably steady for something that was printed at home. Coupled with the digital image stabilization that's standard in most phones, and your shots should be rock steady.

Pinky fatigue is a real thing. There are plenty of phone grips that try to mitigate it, but we're here to talk about the 3D-printed options. First, try the Phone holder by Lullabaloo. You hold on to your phone with your middle and ring finger, which should hopefully ease the burden on your index and pinky finger.

Another option that's the same design but with a bit more pronounced of a hook and a focus on the ring and pinky finger is the Phone Finger Grip by AlAmBrAtOr. Users of previous versions complained that the hook actually got in the way of the buttons, but this new version should resolve that. Oink's Pinky Saver Finger Relief & Phone Holder does the same thing, but with a three-finger design that suit you better if the other ones were too uncomfortable. This one has an added benefit of being a phone stand, too, so you can set your handset down and pick it up without removing it from the ring holder. Note, all three designs have versions for small, medium, and large hands. Make sure you choose the right one.

You should give your smartphone a deep clean from time to time, a job that a microfiber cloth and some cleaning fluid can mostly handle all on their own. When it comes time to spruce up the USB port and the speaker ports, though, the last thing you want is to use a needle or some other object that's unfit for the job. MakerWorld is replete with tiny cleaning tools that make for safe, effective ways to get pocket gunk out of your phone's crevices.

First, try the Cleaner PRO by FollowForCoolModels. The creator claims it should work just fine for both USB-C type devices and older iPhones with the Lightning connector. It's so small that you could print six of them in under half an hour. A similar alternative is the Universal Door Cleaner from formastampa. This one is more general purpose, including cleaning out AirPods and other small devices with places where dirt can hide away.

An issue you may run into with these devices is that the heads could easily wear down or snap off when doing some cleaning, requiring you to trash them and reprint the whole tool. To address that, try the ClearPort Dust Remover by lucafeer. This uses a compact, portable design where you unscrew the cap and then insert the cleaning bit; the bits are small and you can quickly and easily print a bunch of replacements as needed.

Is phone addiction a real thing? Depends on who you ask. Some people can get pretty opinionated one way or another on the subject, but regardless of what the answer is, we can all agree that a smartphone has an almost magical ability to suck you in for hours to the exclusion of all else going on around you. Addiction or not, it disrupts social activities and ruins your focus when you need it most. A possible solution? Make your phone inaccessible.

Screase3D's Phone Jail is exactly what it sounds like: a tiny little prison big enough to fit a smartphone. Of all the projects we've mentioned here, this one may be one of the more time-consuming, since it has six separate printed parts that require a bit of delicate assembly; be extra careful with those hinges. Definitely make sure you measure this one against your phone if it's one of the bigger ones, just in case.

Unfortunately, this is not going to be like those phone jails where you can set a timer that locks it and be unable to open it otherwise. Instead, you'll need a small lock to close it and someone to give the key too — unless you have good self-control. However, this is probably a better choice for parties with phone-addicted friends and/or parents who need to keep kids off their phones for a bit.