Rivian's center screen runs Rivian software, not CarPlay or Android Auto. That means most owners still keep a phone within reach for Waze, texts, a podcast app, or a second map. The factory wireless pad in the console works, but it lies flat, out of your sight line, and many owners find it finicky on rough roads.
So the phone ends up mounted somewhere. There are four common approaches for the R1S and R1T. Each one solves a different problem, and each has a real trade-off.
1. Screen-clip dash mounts
These tuck a bracket behind the edge of the center display and put a MagSafe puck or clamp at eye level, right beside the screen.
- Upside: the phone sits in your natural line of sight. Best position for navigation.
- Trade-off: there is now hardware pressed against the edge of your display, and the charging versions need power. That usually means a cable run under the dash to the OBD port, or a visible cable across the dash.
2. Adhesive aluminum mounts
A machined arm with a 3M VHB adhesive pad that bonds to the dash wherever you want the phone.
- Upside: extremely rigid. Zero wobble.
- Trade-off: it's adhesive on a leased or resale-sensitive interior. Semi-permanent, and the cable still has to go somewhere.
3. Vent clips
The generic mounts you already own from your last car.
- Upside: cheap and familiar.
- Trade-off: they were designed for someone else's vents. On the R1 they tend to sit crooked, block airflow, or drop the phone on the first speed bump.
4. Console-slot mounts
This is the approach we build. The mount's foundation is shaped to the factory console cutout, so it drops in with no adhesive, no clips, and no tools. The charger cable plugs straight into the console's USB-C port, so there is no wiring under the dash and nothing visible. A ball joint tilts the phone up toward you, portrait or landscape, and a knurled nut locks it there.
- Upside: the cleanest install of the four. Two seconds in, two seconds out, nothing left behind. Phone off, the console looks stock.
- Trade-off: the phone sits in the console, not at eye level beside the screen. The ball joint angles it up so you can read a map at a glance, but if you specifically want the phone next to the display, a dash mount is the honest answer.
A note on charging speed
Whatever mount you pick, the wireless charger's rating is only half the story. In a console-slot mount the ceiling is set by the console's USB-C port and by the cable you use. In an OBD-powered dash mount it's set by that adapter. Ask any seller what the mount actually delivers in the car, not what the puck is rated for on the box.
Which one should you buy?
If you want the phone at eye level and don't mind hardware on the display or a cable under the dash, buy a screen-clip mount. If you want nothing touching the dash, no adhesive, and a two-second install, buy a console-slot mount.
Ours is built for the R1S and R1T (Gen 1 and Gen 2) and comes with an Apple MagSafe or Qi2 charger already seated: Rivian R1S & R1T Adjustable Charging Mount. There is a version made for the R2 as well: Rivian R2 Adjustable Charging Mount.
Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Rivian Automotive, Inc. Rivian, R1S, R1T and R2 are trademarks of their respective owner.