Black screen only

Help Fairphone 3
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OldRoutard
December 11

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Hi Wendy,
Sorry you’re having problems. Did you see anything that sounded familiar in AnotherElk’s list?

Can we maybe fill in some more details?

· You say this happened suddenly: you have no ideas of possible recent causes (water damage, recent update, new app installed, unusual behaviour, some other recent event …)

No idea what has caused this. Was working fine and then the next time I went to it, it appeared to have “died”.

· How old is the phone? This will be important if it has to be sent in for repair.

Bought in early 2021 so still under warranty.

· Have you been running the standard operating system Android 10 and was it up to date (the latest update 3.A.0134 was announced end of November, and the one before that, 3.A.0132 was announced on the 16th November)?

As far as I’m aware it was up to date. I generally run the updates when prompted to do so.
If not, can you let us know which OS you have been running, and which version?

· You stipulate that you can turn it on. What happens exactly? Does it vibrate as usual? Any other sign of functioning?

When I turn it on I can feel the vibration (tho’ it seems a bit slower to start up than it used to) but I can’t see anything at all on screen.

· When you connect the phone to a charger, does the LED at the top of the screen come on?

Yes, top left, a small green light come on which I think indicates it is fully charged.

· Has the phone given similar or other trouble before?

No, I haven’t had a problem with it before.

It does sound similar to problems others have experienced with “sudden death”, and have ended up having to send it in for repairs by the sound of it. I’ll try taking out the battery for a while and plugging in without it as has been suggested in trails on the forum, and removing other components this afternoon, but I am not optimistic.

Cheers, Wendy

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Hi, I’ve got the exact same problem.
I tried to fix if with the help of troubleshooting (open the phone, try to see if there were a problem of contact for the screen, put it off and back) but now my phone is blinking for approximatly 2 seconds (I can sometime see my homepage, but not often) before turning completly black.

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@WSHopkins Yes I agree this isn’t looking very hopeful, so you’ll probably have to send back the phone.

The only thing to do that I can think of is to clean all the contacts with isopropyl alcohol (high percentage) and a non-fluffy cloth and then re-assembling carefully.

Get in touch with support as soon as possible and don’t forget to post back with your news!
:christmas_tree:

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Hi LiseR and welcome to the community forum :slightly_smiling_face:

Your case seems to be a bit different, since the screen is working at times. Same advice though: disassemble de phone, clean the contacts with high-percentage alcohol and reassemble carefully. You’ll have seen there are instructions for disassembly on iFixIt. Be careful not to go beyond step 7 or I believe you will render the warranty void.

Get in touch with support anyway, so they get a ticket going for you.

Good luck and post back with your news
:christmas_tree:

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I am also having this exact same problem, though the first time it happened was after I dropped the phone. However, that was many months ago and the phone started working again after that, since then it’s gone black once or twice but always started working again. However, it is now not showing anything on the screen at all, same problem as Wendy: LED light comes on when charging, when i hold the power button down for 10 seconds i fell the vibration and hear the start up noise, but can see nothing on the screen.

I have tried taking it apart etc. but has made no difference.

I live in the UK and bought my phone through the Coop, can anyone tell me where to send it for repair?

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I have arranged with Fairphone via the website to send mine back to them for repair. I bought it from Coop in UK and its still under guarantee.

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Thanks Wendy, I well get in touch with Fairphone support too.

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Hi OldRoutard,
I try to do what you told me but it doesn’t work still.
I had a discussion with FairPhone and I will send it to them. I’ll tell you what they tell me at the end if it can help someone later.

Regards.

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So after sudden demise of my phone and sending
it off for repair it has been diagnosed with oxidisation and a bill of 400 euros plus! Not had it a year but apparently oxidisation is not covered under warranty.

It sounds as if fairphones may be a bit prone to oxidisation due to moisture in the atmosphere or sudden changes in temp, due to their modular nature. Anyon else experienced this?

Understandably I am not a happy bunny. Could buy a new phone for 400 euros. I had anticipated the fairphone lasting me a good few years and being able to fix it relatively easily if sth went wrong. Thinking I won’t get another one, although I had been v pleased with it up until its sudden, premature death, and with the concept.

Wondering if there is any point in getting it returned. (18 euros) Any possibility of getting it fixed in UK more cheaply? I guess not. Must admit hadn’t realised I would have to send it off to France for repair.

Any advice/ thoughts appreciated.

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Over fifty articles with the word oxidization. So yes. And as you say, the FP is likely to be more prone to such problems because of having many more contacts due to its modular structure. To my mind the best solution would be to use only inalterable materials for the contacts (if “yAu” see what I mean …) But that would up the price a lot I suppose.

However it takes two to tango. You need a metal that tarnishes but also oxidizing conditions. People who work in Turkish baths should take precautions. Also those who live in the UK probably :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: given the reputation of the climate! Do you work outdoors a lot, or in steamy atmosphere?

As to a cheaper repair elsewhere, read around the forum. For example this topic discusses oxidization and a happy outcome.

If I were you, I’d ask for it back, completely disassemble it, and clean every contact you can reach carefully with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton bud. Several cotton buds. Various products available. With a bit of patience you may well get your phone back and feel mighty proud, to say nothing of 400€ less poor.

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Ok. Thanks for the advice. I’ll give it a go.

(Btw I do a lot of dog walking, sometimes in the rain, tho’ keep phone in a pouch for protection. Maybe its the moisture in the air. )

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Lucky dog (and you of course!)

You’re wise to use a pouch. In the future, when you phone’s back in service (no harm in optimism here!) consider placing a small sachet of silica gel in the pouch, along with the phone. You know, like the ones they place in the packaging of electronic goods and so on. It can be regenerated regularly and replaced from time to time.

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That sounds a good idea!.

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I’m in the south west of the UK and work outside and after 15 months so far no probem.

Regarding the advice, cleaning is the best option and as it is void the warranty don’t be afraid to dismantle the modules - i.e. beyond step 7 in the iFiXit guide.

Using a plastic container can be useful but if you go from a warm house, put it in bag and then go out in the cold, the moisture in the bag and phone will condense and when you take it out more moisture from a warm room will be sucked in. You can see that repeating such is not a great idea.

sucked in - (cold air contains less moisture, when it meets warm air they mix and the warm air enters the phone before the condensed water has evaporated.)

It is worth, when outside, keeping the phone next to the body so it doesn’t get cold enabling condensation of moisture. An open plastic bag would be fine in a trouser pocket for example.

Once the phone is removed from the ‘stuffy’ bag it ideally would be placed in an air flow to help dry it, although using a desiccant, like silica gel, as mentioned would be a great idea.

If you don’t get very far with the phone and are about to give up, you may consider sending it to me in Cornwall and I’ll have a look etc.

All the best

Definitely worth it. If you get it and send it to me I will pay for the return cost and that of sending it to me. Maybe you could use my address for Fairphone to send it too. Will send you a private message too.

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Now I am a bit worried that I have bought a repairable phone with 5 years guarantee that might die because of moisture after one year. Or is the FP4 better protected because of its IP54 rating?

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The FP2 was def not that prone, although even more modular. Seems probanly the USB Port of the FP3 lets more moisture in.

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Theoretically yes it’s better at keeping out ‘drops’ of water.
However keeping in a damp atmosphere, the kitchen, a plastic bag etc will allow damp to get in.

Just ensure that if you are ever in a damp situation or go from a warm to a cold environment ,whence internal dampness will condense, mitigate any likely issues by putting in a flow of air for as long as you can. Days even, if you are worried.

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It seems to me that coming in from the cold to a warm humid kitchen would be just as bad. The phone will be cold and condense water from the warm saturated air.

[@anon9989719 sorry didn’t get that in the other post]

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Yes maybe I didn’t make that clear? From cold to warm air ?

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