Back cover woes

‘Fairphone - the lettering from the phone is in your hands!’

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Then it is just exchanged again and again and again. Fairphone should best fix the production error. It is not magic or rocket science.

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Well, with a sustainable product the bug would already be fixed. It is still being produced faulty after one year. It is the worst advertisement for Fairphone ever.

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This is what happens when a company is run by liberal treehuggers :smile: kidding…

If you really care about the big flashy logo on the back you will be disappointed to find out what fairphone have in store. So take a deep breath and let it go…

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my replacement has already arrived (actually i think it was last week), it was very easy to get the replacement part directly via fairphone.com although i did not purchase my phone here directly

From what I know (or hopefully correctly perceive), that is totally wrong, as it is a conclusion based on wrong assumptions.
Fairphone is a small company selling most phones through their own website.
Just take a look at the number of phones sold.

Those phones are not produced like those by the global players in a constant stream on a production line (allowing for changes every day). Since those production lines do in one day deliver what Fairphone sells in a year, the phones are produced in “batches”.

This means:
While users started to complain, that the letters are falling off, Fairphone possibly has produced 2 or 3 batches and was working on developing the FP3+.
The FP3’s that are being sold, were most likely produced, before Fairphone even knew that the letters would come off.
As a kind of proof, take a look at the changes they have made to the FP3+. There are no more letters glued to the back. Seems, that the glue-solution could not be made to last and that they were working on this problem but could not solve it, before the last batch of FP3 was produced.

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I still have a PHON and find it hilarious. They indeed seem to come off because of moist (rain, sweat, …). Everyone noticing it laughs about it and says - well, if that’s your wordt issue, you’re good.

Other people usually have a cracked screen, a loose charging socket, or an outdated android version for their banking app.

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My lovely green case is already showing signs of discolouration and wear, mostly around the edges, but the FAIRPHONE letters are still securely in place at least!

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Same here. Seems like the letters are not glued in - for me it looks like some kind of color.

I’m also having a lot of wear on the green cover, mostly coming from my blue jeans.

So I cannot agree that. I dropped my Fairphone (with all the letters after 5 month of heavy use) into the northsea and I loved if only the letters gone lose…Instead of that,… uhm, to make a long story short, I have a new Fairphone and there is no loose of letters in sight. If they want to break free I will get a rainbowPhone…

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Does that mean if we get a new cover (under warranty) for the FP3 we now get the new FP3 covers that don’t suffer from this issue again?

I just can make a guess here.
And that would be, that they have stocked spare parts for the FP3.
As long as they last you will most likely get a translucent cover again. They even still sell them in their shop.
Letting them go waste would be totally against the principles that they (to me) stand for.

I meant my remark solely as a hint, that the cover has been changed for the FP3+ and that the lettering with glued letters is gone.


The translucent cover is even sold as fitting the FP3 and the FP3+.
So, if you want to have a translucent back, you can get one of those covers. (This, of course, would nullify all the improvements regarding the use of recyled materials.)

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Hows it staying looking after some use?
Are they cracking off or turning yellow at all?

Because of the rough texture of the correction fluid, it did start to get dirty after a while. Im using the protective case now. The white lettering on the case remains pristine for now.

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These are all assumptions and rumors. FP does not talk about it, that is a bit pity.

I will not complain about my cover either. But I can understand others who do very well.

Sorry to disagree here.
But Fairphone has on more than one occasion explained their way of production/delivery and how they are waiting for a new batch of phones to arrive. While the phones themselves even might be produced in a constant stream, the shipping is organized in larger quantities and therefore unlikely to take place every other day.
Take a look here:

This stays this way until a batch of Fairphone 3’s arrives at our distribution center and we can assign an FP3 to your order.

Try searching for the term “batch” on the Fairphone homepage and you will be presented with lots of results. In my opinion you will hardly find any company, that is more transparent about all the things they are doing and the ways they are going.
While I am myself often are really curious about one thing or the other, I understand as well, that there are limits to being open about everything. Maybe it’s even the fact, that Fairphone is so open about so many things, that one expects them to explain all they do and everything that happens.

Regarding the “back cover woes” you are quite correct.
That’s just speculation on my side. But the fact, that they discontinued the lettering with the FP3+ tells something. I doubt, that this was due to a change in optical preferences. :wink:

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Regarding the “back cover woes” you are quite correct.
That’s just speculation on my side. But the fact, that they discontinued the lettering with the FP3+ tells something. I doubt, that this was due to a change in optical preferences.

That is the only thing I takl about. :slight_smile:

Because the rest of the phone is perfect.

By the way, some quick first hand/sight impression: While the new opaque black back covers come without white letters anymore, their black letters still stand out somewhat because they are shiny. Almost looks a bit like some liquid transparent glue was there.

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From the comparison documentof FP3 vs. FP3+ (linked on the page with the FP3+ FAQ

Back cover black
This spare part for your Fairphone 3 and Fairphone 3+ is built with durability in
mind. The sturdy back cover protects your phone’s inner workings, is detailed with
a glossy embossed logo and comes in solid black. It’s made with up to 40%
recycled plastics, making it our most sustainable back cover yet.

Not exactly an explanation how they are doing it though.

Let’s just wait until the gloss falls off :smiley: .

(I still haven’t lost a letter, by the way.)

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