Let’s not forget, there were, and still are, also FP2 owners that were not disappointed, like myself (4 years and counting).
8 Likes
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
2 Likes
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.
2 Likes
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.
5 Likes
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.
3 Likes
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.
2 Likes
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.
2 Likes
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!
4 Likes
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.
4 Likes
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.
1 Like
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
1 Like
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
Are you talking about an update of the Fairphone OS?
In that case, there are various threads in this forum offering solutions (for me, manual installation worked out fine).
(As for the FP3, it’s supposed to have less issues than the FP2, disregarding the problems with Android 10 for some users.)
2 Likes
Then please let us know whether there is an error message shown on the screen or not, and if so, which. Sometimes the Fairphone community can help out, but like Blofeld once said: “Information is everything!”
3 Likes
Yes, Fairphone update.
But to be honest, I gave up. I was so happy to be the owner of a Fairphone and be part of the solution for a better world from my food till my phone. I’m unhappy and disappointed as far as I was happy and proud when I bought my Fairphone.
After numerous trials, my Fairphone still didn’t start. Meaning I lost everything as, my fault, I never did any backup. So I accepted a friend proposal and put my SIM card in her old phone she didn’t use anymore. Of course, it will take a while to build a new address book but at least I can call (I use my phone for business too).
And so it is. End of my Fairphone story. It’s also a defeat for me because after explaining to my friends and family everybody should have a Fairphone, I turned back to an old Iphone.
I’m really disappointed it ends like that.
I wish you however success with your Fairphone 3 and next. The concept is really great but I’m afraid the maintenance is too difficult for non IT people. It’s not about the price, I agree to pay a bit more but to be honest my Fairphone 2 never worked very well.
Best regards,
Estelle
2 Likes
If you only told us how your FP2 does not start, the community could help out in how to save your valuable data. You can find a lot of people here who are willing to support, even though you are leaving. Should you experience such an issue with an iPhone, I do not think anyone else than Apple can recover your data for cash…
3 Likes
I tried to update my Fairphone as suggested after I wrote I can’t register anymore.
Then during the update, I got the TWRP screen. I went on the community and read if people has the same issue. I understood I should press on the on/off button or get out the battery. Which I did. And after that nothing happened except the screen “Fairphone powered by Android”. I did it many times still with the same result.
Community is really great but you need to understand a bit how Android is working which is absolutely not my case. Maybe new technology is not for a not so old lady like me !
Anyway, I threw the sponge as we say in French (but probably not in English) and will until this old Iphone also die then maybe I will come back to Fairphone :-)… unless somebody can help me to fix my FP2 and I can give it to my young daughter ?
Best,
Estelle
1 Like
Do you see a blinking blue LED while “Fairphone powered by Android” appears on the screen?
3 Likes
If you happen to have fairphoneangels (<- see link for info) in your vicinity, perhaps you could ask whether somebody could have a look at it in person.
3 Likes
I can totaly feel with @KatYes.
I had so many troubles with my FP2s myself.
I spend hours and month writing back and forth with the FP-support about repairs and warranty-issues. 3 faulty displays, 1 foulty bottom module, 1 faulty top module, 1 faulty core module, 3 new batteries, several slim cases (there was an issue with the transparent slim cases and faulty placed power puttons) and finally a total replacement of my first FP2. Workarounds for connecting to the wifi @ home after one update…etc.
The first FP2 had been in repair-mode for 11 month. I bought a second smartphone (samsung xcover4) as back-up phone because i could not rely on the FP2. When travelling i always carry my company phone with me…just in case!
Just so many problems during those years. So much energy spend in fixing my phone. So many evenings spend reading the forums and writing with FP-support…
Still hoping that the FP2 miraculously becomes a properly working phone 
3 Likes