Annoyed and frustrated

I did buy a Fairphone 3. It arrived a couple of days ago. I also bought a charger BUT nothing told me I needed to buy the USB lead to attach it. So now I can’t charge the phone and will have to pay postage for an item which could have been sent at the same time. I know very little about technology and am on my own, and can’t ask friends to show me. The so-called ‘instructions’ do not even say how long the phone needs to be charged for.

I am sorry and feel for you.
Did you buy from the FP shop directly?

But; right over the price of the charger it reads:

Please note: the USB charging cable is sold separately

Even with a link to the cable.

I knwo, this is neither consolation nor any help.
You might learn from it, that - especially when being inexperienced - it i advisable to read the available information completely.

More information on charging the phone (and other things) can be found on the support page:
→ How to’s & tutorials → Fairphone 3
Here: Start it and use it
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032166752-Charge-your-FP3

A charging time is not given there as well, since that depends on the charger; especially the current (1 to 3 Ah; quick-charge).

Therefore the statement on that page:

The charging times will vary greatly according to the charger used.

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A 3A charger (quick charge) is charging in less than a few hours to around 90% in my experience.

Excuse me, but the wording on the Fairphone website in the section In the box is very clear and says that USB-C cable, charger and earphones are not included.

But it should be no problem to quickly buy a certified USB-C cable from Amazon, another retailer you prefer or even Fairphone itself.

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An enormous surplus of certified USB-C cables??

Don’t worry! Google.com is your friend. Maybe start by searching “I’ve never used a smartphone before, how does this work”.

Almost all technology that isn’t just a rechargeable battery has a display that says how charged it is. More and more rechargeable batteries are getting charge indicators too. Even with the phone off, if you press the power button once very shortly, it will display how charged it is. One thing that might not be in the instructions: extend the years of life of the battery by only charging to 90% (on the FP3 the charge light switches to green) and not letting it get below 20-30%.

Other than that, it’s always advantageous to read the provided information if you know you’re lacking knowledge. Especially before you place an order. The next step is to do internet searches with websites like Google.com with any questions you may have. If you still can’t find a good answer, then ask others on a forum like this one.

These steps are considered good “netiquette”: the etiquette that is expected from people when interacting with others online. You can do an internet search and learn more about the basics of netiquette.

Of course I googled it first.

Please don’t lecture me. I was not sent the correct equipment for the charger and my phone provider website has not been working properly

I’m 68 years old and all this stuff has not been around for most of my life. I hope the ‘etiquette’ will not change, but I suspect that by the time you are nearly 70 you will be in a similar position. Think on it.

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So, you did not buy from the Fairphone shop?
Because in that shop is clearly stated, that the charger comes without a cable (as I already posted above).
If you did the shopping somewhere else, then it is that shop, that is to blame.

While I understand, that all that technical stuff is new to you, I have to agree with @arizonadeux, that it is advisable to read carefully before ordering something; especially when it is something one ain’t used to.

Believe me, I have made my own experience in that regard.
And the mistake is not with Fairphone in this case.

Well, I thought you were asking an honest question, because it’s unusual for someone not to know that all smartphones have a charge level indicator. Otherwise I would have thought that you were trying to get a negative rise out of us, also known as “trolling”.

Yes, my previous comment would sound ridiculous in any other context because it is so basic, but basic questions can be answered with basic answers. However, you obviously did not google how much your phone needs to be charged, because you would have immediately learned about the charge indicator.

Westfield, please don’t consider what people wrote seriously, if you choose the Fairphone is because you’ve good intentions firstly and it’s the most important.

I understand also your frustration even if I could also be surprised by your post especially because in the webshop and to all Fairphone’s partners, it’s clearly mentioned the usb-c cable isn’t provided.

In your situation the best could be maybe to tell us in which city you live and maybe someone can kindly drop you one cable which is silently sleeping in a drawer?

Thanks to have warn us on the matter, maybe yes report the incident to the customer service could be useful.

Cheers,

Thank you. That is very kind. I’m not replying to those people. I will be blocking them.

I wish I had bought the cable with the charger at the time. I did buy one from the Fairphone shop online last week and had to pay £9 postage for it. But thank you so much for offering to send one to me.

I’ve had an old Nokia for many years and so I just presumed the charger was the same - a cable is attached to it. I do miss things on the internet but I think I do quite well considering my age and poor eyesight. (And now we can’t even visit the optician!)

All the best to you in these difficult times

Jenny

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All the best to you as well and stay healthy.
I finally have found out for me, where the problem lies and why my and other advice was a bit off the mark. I guess, you never saw all the pages we were referring to.

@lorahaspels
@formerFP.Com.Manager
I just checked the shop once again.
In my opinion there is some room for improvement, as the experience of @westfield2342 shows.


- 1 -
When ordering a charger individually from the shop, …
… you are taken to this page, that explains very well, that the charger comes without a cable.
https://shop.fairphone.com/de/accessories/usb-charger-eu


- 2 -

But when you buy a phone it’s different.
As soon as you place it in the basket you are taken to another (crossell) page

https://shop.fairphone.com/en/crosssell/products/index/product/244/form_key/

And there you can add the charger to the basket by just clicking “Add”.
And all you learn about the charger are some technical data and the price:

A faster charge for busy days

  • Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0
  • 5V/3A Output
  • Color: black

Well, the pictures do not show a cable and a cable is offered as well on this page.
STILL: It would be much clearer and avoid such frustrations if you would add just one line:

  • Charger comes without cable. If you need one, order it as well.

Or something to this liking (in every language of course).

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Thank you for the last two comments. I did not see them because they went straight to my spam folder.
Yes it is true that a reminder on the shop page would be ideal. Anyway I have started to use my Fairphone 3 and have been pleased so far.

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Good to hear! :grinning:

And don’t hesitate to ask, if you run into any problems or have questions.

In general answers in this forum are meant to help. Sometimes the wording is not perfect and might seem a bit rude, but please don’t let that put you off. And keep in mind, that english is not the native language for most users. Therefore some things might be just a misunderstanding caused by translation. :wink:

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Thank you. I think you are all amazing being bilingual. I wish I was. I’ve been learning French for many years but am nowhere near your standard. Another two questions:

a I’m putting contacts onto my Fairphone 3 (manually and via Google) but they are all duplicated when they appear. If I delete one of them both disappear and I have to do it again. One of the pairs of contact entries says WhatsApp - I did download it.
b My earphones don’t seem to work. I think my ears must be a funny shape. Also I thought they would just work once plugged in but there is obviously some way to switch them on?
Thanks, Jenny.

As for the duplicate contacts, they can be merged - see rmf’s tips in these threads:
FP3: telephone app contacts contains all accounts
Contacts twice registered

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