How I turned a microphone stand into a great phone holder

And made it comfortable to work from bed

When you’re quadriplegic and often use your phone in bed, you know how frustrating it can be when it constantly slips, falls out of reach, or you simply can’t use it while lying down.

A touchscreen is a special kind of nightmare for someone whose fingers and hands don’t work properly. First, the phone is bulky and heavy for hands with weak muscles. Second, when you try to grab it, you also touch the screen and mess up all the icons. In the struggle to get a good grip, you’ll probably uninstall an app. Usually, that’s when the phone decides to call someone you absolutely didn’t want to call, and then you can’t hang up because the phone flipped over. You might even post some weird, random status on Facebook or accidentally delete five photos from your gallery—or publish the wrong image on Instagram.
Ask me how I know.

I adapted a microphone stand into a phone holder.

THE IDEA – what I wanted to achieve

The idea was to find a mount solution for the phone that would meet the following needs:

• The stand and the holder should be stable and always stay in the same position
• The phone should always be within reach while I’m lying in bed
• Anyone should be able to safely and easily place the phone into the holder and remove it when needed
• Anyone should be able to bring the stand closer next to the bed or move it away when not in use
• The height should be adjustable to fit different bed heights
• It should be compact, foldable, and portable

Usage

When I’m lying on my back in bed, I keep the stand next to me on the right, so the phone is exactly within arm’s reach for comfortable use.

Image before sleep. You can see how the stand is positioned next to the bed.

Technical part – how I made the phone stand

A few steps using available components.

Parts List

I used a standard microphone stand with a round base weight. I bought it locally via classified ads.

It proved more stable than a tripod-style stand and takes up less space, which reduces the risk of accidentally knocking it over.
Model: Millenium MS-2004. Price: around $30.

To the stand, I attached a Magic Arm (not Manfrotto) – a flexible arm with small clamps on both ends. Ordered from AliExpress.
Price: around $15.

One clamp of the Magic Arm attaches to the stand, and the other to a bicycle stem clamp.

I luckily had a stem clamp in a drawer from previous projects, so I didn’t need to order one. Alternatively, you can use a piece of metal pipe, 25 mm in diameter and 4–5 cm in length.

This pipe or cylinder could also be 3D printed, but I didn’t want to experiment with plastic because I wanted everything solidly attached.
Price of the stem: around $2.

Phone holder for bikes or motorcycles

As mentioned, one end of the Magic Arm clamps to the stand, the other to the stem, and the phone holder is mounted to the stem.
Price: around $10.

There’s a reason I chose this particular phone holder:

• It’s made of aluminum, not cheap plastic
• It has a side screw that tightly clamps the phone so it won’t fall out even if bumped
• It doesn’t use those plastic spring-loaded side clips, but has a groove where the phone slides in
• Image below shows a cheap plastic holder for comparison.

Safety Note

The reason I chose the Magic Arm was to increase the distance between the phone holder and the stand. It’s easy to bump into the stand in the sleep since it’s close to the bed.
With this setup, I can stretch my hand under the phone without touching the stand.

Photos above show the phone’s position on the stand.
You can also see a trackball – I was doing something else on the computer when we took these photos, hence its presence.

Why safety matters

Cheap plastic holders use side clips with springs while leaving the bottom part of the phone free. When placing the phone in such holders, opening those clips can be tricky—especially for someone unfamiliar with them. Like grandma. Or grandpa.

There’s a real chance the phone could fall and break, which would be unpleasant. That’s why I design equipment to be simple and safe to use.

The aluminum holder and the whole setup are very sturdy, while the phone can easily be placed into the holder with just two fingers.

💡 For tighter grip where metal clamps onto metal, it’s best to use a piece of garden hose or inner tube from a bicycle tire for extra friction and a better hold.

It’s important to think about the safety of your gear in advance—especially when someone else is handling it.

Final thoughts

So far, the stand has proven extremely practical and stable.

It’s portable and folds up easily, which makes it ideal for travel—whether you’re going to a cottage or a hotel. It’s height-adjustable, so no extra tools or accessories are needed.

This setup can also be adjusted for someone sitting in a wheelchair, with the phone positioned at the ideal angle and height for their arm.

At the time of writing this article, I noticed that AliExpress now has a much better selection of aluminum phone holders. A few years ago, when I built this setup, there weren’t as many good options.

I hope this little tutorial can be an inspiration for those with similar needs.

If anyone has done something similar and is willing to share it with the world, feel free to leave a comment below. Or send me an email and I’ll publish your article.