I had experienced the very same you did with FP2 (mid 2018 untill now).
I gave FP3 a try nonetheless in early 2020 and I can say that as so far, the FP3 it the best phone I ever had. Very stable in software and hardware though in heavy 24/7 use. 
Just my experience.
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I think the factory reset is a good idea. Phones don’t just magically become slow as time goes on unless there’s a hardware issue, which is unlikely. We know that FPOS as well as FPOpen run smoothly on other phones, so a factory reset really should fix whatever’s come unstuck in your operating system.
If it doesn’t, try contacting a Fairphone Angel near you to see if the issue can be identified. I see you’ve written a few topics in Dutch - if you’re anywhere near Leiden, and if you’re comfortable doing so, we can plan a meeting and get to the bottom of this and fix it once and for all.
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I do have FP2 bougth same time as you did and experienced the same issues, but it was not the hardware. I Installed lineage and i enjoyed a clean, very long running phone again. If you can live without google and accept a reset, thats the way to go, as it delivers Android 10: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/FP2/install
Also bought FP3 this year (not for me to be very sad), and i have to say: really good phone if you can live with google - i cannot so this currently won’t be my choice until there is an open source os for it (which i have not tried so far).
Both phones seem to be very well suited for a long lifetime when they are treated the right way.
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I think LineageOS is a good choice. But I think here it was rather the new installation (including factory reset) which made the phone “very long running again” than the change of the OS.
You can run FP3 with /e/ OS or LineageOS (unofficial) if you don’t want to have full Google implementation. Or did I misunderstand your comment?
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You did understand me right - I just have not tried to find alternatives for FP3 yet - so thanks for your hint.
On FP2 if removing apps does not work, and a factory reset is needed anyway (as i understood is the case here) - than there is so much benefit in Android 10 vs stack rom, that i would definitively go for lineage if i am able to.
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A good starting point may always be the oslist
where you should find the operating systems for all Fairphone models including additional details.
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Hello Pacia,
You don’t know HOW different the FP3 is from the 2! Believe me, I had a 2 and managed to change it (long story) for a 3. It’s so much better… To quote (more or less) someone (apolize that I don’t remember the name) ‘FP1 did not worked, FP2 buggie, and FP3 is a phone’.
I’m very happy with it (since Jan 2020), never failing, fast (at least for my need: very normal day stuff. Few games), dicent photo, good battery.
FP2 never will recommed, 3, definitly.
Hope it helps, as the decision affect others.
Best
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I have had my first FP, FP3, for two weeks now. Very good experience compared to other (nonethical) smartphones I used to have. Works smoothly, camera not as good as with my previous phone (Motorola One Vision) but quite decent, battery sufficient, etc. I hope it will continue like this, I am with FP and decided to stay with them for the sake of people & planet. Like my wife says, one has to take a step back to move forward… 
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Let’s not forget, there were, and still are, also FP2 owners that were not disappointed, like myself (4 years and counting).
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Thank you, rmf,
I will try a factory reset. I think that more problems began when I upgraded my primair camera to a 12mp version. The phone gets very hot in the topcorner.
When a reset does not work I might be visiting you in Leiden.
Patricia
Verzonden vanuit Mail voor Windows 10
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My FP2 is the same age as yours (March.2016) and is acting the same way now. Slow, apps get stuck, battery live without heavy use max 10h, problems with a stable connection to WIFI, sometimes bad connection to network, calls get interrupted, … . I will now reset it one last time and if that won’t make it any better I’m out. I’m a bit disappointed by the whole FP experience and will not get a new one or recommend it to anyone. My last smartphone (Samsung) lasted 5 years and worked reliably from day one until it accidentally drowned in a pool. With the FP2 there is too much compromise on the hardware and performance side. A bit weaker performance would be totally fine but in the end a phone has to serve its purpose. And the FP2 does not - there is too much need for trouble shooting all the time and the core functionalities a phone has to offer do not run reliably. To serve the sustainability idea I will buy my next smartphone from refurbed - so it’s at least not a new one. But I’m sure an iPhone (or a phone from any mayor brand) will also work for 4 years but much more reliable and with a better user experience.
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I really understand your frustration and your decision to not buy a Fairphone again.
You could try a factory reset to assure, that there is no “debris” from an app causing trouble like battery drain etc.
It’s just about that comparison/argument, that always pops up like “Samsung or Apple last as long and work so much more reliable …”
Just keep two things in mind:
- Fairphone is a small company that is comparably new to the market; they produced and sold as many phones as Samsung or Apple are selling on a daily/weekly basis.
- The big brands glue all the parts together, making the connections between the parts more reliable and sturdy but virtually unrepareable as well.
and finally
- You will find lots of users that report troubles with phones from those brands as well. And it will be hard to quantify things, though it’s most likely and plausible, that the dropout-rate for the FP2 is quite high; due to it’s ultra-modular design.
There are other things as well, having to do with them being a small company, for sure.
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I really feel for you as well.
I would add, that Fairphone use fair materials and pay fairly their employees, which other brands don’t guarantee.
It is also true that the FP2 had a lot of issues, but as I read it on this forum, it was the first phone they designed, and they perhaps did a lot of mistakes. I consider it a bit like a beta phase of Fairphone. The FP3, although it has a certain number of issues as well, seems much more reliable, as they learned from their mistakes.
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You could try a #dic:kickstart to get a better battery life.
And if you have a little patience, Fairphone is already beta testing Android 9 for the Fairphone 2.
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Yes, have already done a factory reset. On the phone are only the most essential apps. I think FP has educated me a lot in terms of android software. Have applied several work-arounds and tricks over the past 4 years.
I respect that the performance of a FP is lower than of a major brand. It was clear to me that the FP2 won’t be as good as an iPhone or a Samsung. I accept that the hardware was very expensive taking into consideration that it was already “old” at that time, that the camera is crap, that I always have to carry a power bank and that after an update the software is buggy. That’s what I’m willing to take for a more sustainable sourcing and manufacturing.
But at least the phone has to do its job. Means being able to:
*do a 15 minutes call without dropping out of the line several times - even when the transmitter station is right outside the building and no other phone has any problems with connection
*doing a call with the handsfree system in the car, without constantly loosing connection
- hold a stable WIFI connection when the phone is 1m away from the router
- being sure that the phone won’t get in a sudden reboot cycle and you need hours to fix it again. E.g I always print train tickets because I can never be sure that I can show it on the app.
That’s really basic stuff and I’ve not heard from friends having similar issues with phones from Apple, Samsung etc. If there were troubles the company fixed it. And for sure my FP works more reliable than others, when I compare it to stories here on the forum.
For me the “small company” argument is not an excuse for selling a product that comes with so much compromise. You should not have to decide between sustainability and usability. Because with such a trade-off sustainable devices will always be a niche product. Would be the same as you would accept a sustainable manufactured sneaker hurt your feet when walking. You would never say “sorry, it just hurts a bit, the shoe is from a small company and not from adidas. At least the shoe is sustainable.”. In this case you would rather buy a used adidas sneaker than having sore feet.
Sooner or later there will be the point, where I will be sick of using the FP2. I will not buy a new device but from a reseller that refurbishes used phones. That’s a good compromise for me - it’s more sustainable than a new device but I will have a properly working phone. I won’t even take the FP3 for free. Because 4 years with a buggy phone is enough.
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As I wrote here I totally can understand the frustration about some buggy behaviours of the FP2. But why are you condemning the new Fairphone 3 although you never had one?
It’s so different from the two first versions, much more stable and resistent, you can’t lump them together!
Have you tried a different OS? I’ve repaired several FP2’s and sometimes a different operating system like LineageOS did the trick to a more stable operation. And there’s also /e/ available for FP2 or - as @Lidwien already mentioned - there’s also a beta test phase for Android 9!
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First of all I want to clarify, that I did not mean to imply, that you have to take all the troubles you have gone through.
You have all the right in the world to be frustrated and never buy a Fairphone again for having lost trust.
I fully understand this and really feel for you, even though my FP2 caused little to no troubles.
My idea was just to give some explanations for those troubles.
That’s true of course; as it is also true, that early adaptors of new technology always face troubles and bugs. They are kind of beta testers.
While smartphones are nothing new, they are rather complicated. And producing a modular phone is therefore an absolutely new product. Even Google dropped their project of a modular phone “ARA”:
The FP2 was a revolutionary phone, that can be partially disassembled without any tools. I for example took it apart quite a few times just for showing what a cool phone it is.
As Bas van Abel put it in this techcrunch article from september 2019
“Fairphone 2 goes beyond the idea of repairability. It’s more a show off phone in that sense. And that also comes with risks.”
Please don’t misunderstand me, it’s just an explanation. You still have any right to be frustrated, annoyed and angry.
Yet, for Fairphone the FP2 was meant to work (at least I hope so), and since it did cause lots of unexpected troubles, they learned from it and changed essential design features. The most obvious one is the display, that was “clipped on” to the FP2 and is fixed with 13 screws to the FP3. On the first demo-version, they released for test-purposes, there were just 12 screws; so they started with just a few screws and added one at a time, until the connection/phone was sturdy enough to make the FP3 a reliable phone.
And if you hold both phones in your hands, the difference is fundamental. Where the FP2 can be bend and twiste, the FP3 has the appearance of a sturdy brick.
Regarding your “sneaker-example”. This is not exactly a good example in my opinion, as a shoe is a rather simple product in comparison to a smartphone. The shoemaker is an artisan, who has learned his profession during 3 years (in Germany that is).
Hardyl comparable to even the most basic smartphone.
Still, that does not make your annoyance, frustration or anger any less understandable and justified; it’s just not a good example in my opinion.
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That is very reassuring to hear. I have the same issue explained with my FP2 not even 2 years old and already sent in for repair which did not solve anything. I do have a lot of apps, but I have deleted those not “really” needed, although I would actually want to have them, since I had and used them before. Waiting to hear back for proposal to upgrade to FP3. So your reply comes spot on time.
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Hello,
with interest I follow the Chats in the Fairphone Community to the new FP3+.
In January 2018 I bought a new FP2 for 530 Euro. The reason to buy a FP is obvious and does not need to be explained here. Since I hold the FP in my hands I have had several problems. At the moment the FP2 goes up and down suddenly. I had this problem already several times. The recommendation of the FP angels is to reset the FP. But resetting the FP is an investment in time and nerves.
With other manufacturers there is not the accumulation of problems.
If the problems with the FP2 continue like this, I will buy a smartphone from a manufacturer who is not so ethical anymore, but the phone works without problems.
Sorry.
Kind regards from Germany
Bruno
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Fully agree with you. And now I tried to do an update and my phone doesn’t start any more… Only 2 years… I definitively won’t buy a FP3 !
Estelle