Hey Guys,
my Bottom Modul (the microphone) ist broken again (will be the fourth in one year!!) and i really start to question the whole sustainability of the Fairphone 2. If i need four new bottom modules each year i do not see the advantge over other smartphones. So before i go back to a normal smartphone i just wanted to check if you guys experience the same promlems with this specific part?
I love the Fairphone and i love the idea but if i can´t receive phone calls thats a big big Problem!
Looking at threads like Which parts of your Fairphone 2 had to be replaced?, it appears screens and covers are replaced most often, only six people mention bottom module. I also don’t hear about bottom module problems that often from fellow Fairphone users. Having four replacements of it is certainly not usual. I have not needed any module replacement after 1.5 years, have only swapped the cover.
I acutally never had a problem with the screen ir the cover. Maybe i am just unlucky. I contacted the support last week but still no reply. Hopefully they send me a new one.
I had one new bottom module. I think the problem was the USB port which is easily damaged and replacing it requires a whole new module. Whereas on my motoG, the USB socket is the ONLY bit that’s replaceable. Never had a microphone problem, but now awaiting my 4th screen :-(.
Wow thats even harder. With using the second microphone i am at least somehow able to use most of the phone. How long took it for you to get a reply by the support?
I got fantastic support … once I posted on the forum instead of just waiting for the formal support system to kick in. Once FP did start to help me, I got a new bottom module and battery in a matter of days and had the phone up and running again in a few minutes.
All the screen problems are down to me being careless - one got thrown across the street when I tripped over reading google maps whilst walking through Brisbane, the second (from Vimeo) started showing random pixels and blanking out … I never discovered if it was the phone or the screen that had gone wrong (but, again, support was excellent and they sent me a whole replacement phone in a week or two), the third screen (on the new phone) got trapped in a car door … AMAZINGLY it still works, but is covered in sellotape to stop me getting glass shards in my fingers … waiting for screen no4 to come into stock!
haha okay so you did your part in those broken screens 
I just hope that the support reads my post here or answers my request to the email support. I did not even drop the phone so i do not think that i had anything to do with the brokem microphone.
Just hope that you will get your new screens as fast as possible!! 
I’ve had to replace 3 bottom modules (for 4 phones) – one broken USB port, one dead microphone and one USB port that wouldn’t charge (probably also just a broken port, but it was a bit weird, the phone recognized when the USB port was connected to the charger but it just heated up and wouldn’t charge and the phone didn’t notice when the port was unplugged).
All phones now working after bottom module replacement. No other problems (apart, of course, from the original cases which have all split).
Hi there ! I’ve just ordered a new bottom module as my microphone is not working properly anymore (people can’t hear me behind all the scratches). I know why though : I dropped my phone while charging it and it didn’t like it. Apparently it’s quite a common problem. The module is fragile… We opened the phone, removed the module and found one of the electrical contacts looked weird, it worked after fiddling with it but any little shocks made it go back to the old scratches during calls. So I’m buying a new module. Hope it works out ! Apart from that, I’m very happy with my Fairphone after 20 months. Although I find the shipping costs pretty expensive…
My wifes FP2 has also had a series of bottom modules. The 4th is underway in a 2 year period. And there is no action that one could blame. What happens every time is that the microphone fails (the first one -built in- also the USB charging failed…), so the phone is only usable in conference mode (which utilizes a different micro and not the one in the module). So from our perspective that is the part that has failed repeatedly. Any suggestions on how to improve lifeteime are welcome.
Regards,
George
Well, I don’t know for sure. My bottom module / microphone / usb-port never failed me.
My tip would be, to leave the phone alone, when it’s plugged in for charging. Don’t move it or handle it. This way you are not applying mechanical stress on the usb-port/bottom module.
I’m using a magnetic USB cable to avoid too much stress on the USB socket (on a FP1 though). But this applies to any phone.
Read on here:
I am sure, that 's minimizing the plug/unplug forces on the usb-socket…
Yet, I wonder if it helps against the forces from moving the cable when you carry it around while it’s plugged.
Might reduce the forces as well, as the magnetic conection possibly breaks sooner than the movement can be damaging the socket.
Actually it’s not so good for charging on the go because it looses connection soon. But for the same reason normal USB cables put a lot of stress on the USB socket: because it wiggles in all different directions.
The problem with this discussion is a lack of accurate data. Fairphone the company likely has a better view of the data because they know how many spare parts have been ordered (either via warranty or aftersale). What also skews the data is: we don’t know if and how much of the issue is user fault. My gf complains about her smartphone rebooting, and its a known problem with that smartphone, but geez she let it drop so often (even has a physical dent). I cannot, with a straight face, exclude the possibility its her own goddamn fault. That’s a problem once you invoke warranty, but its also a problem for statistics like these.
As for using magnetic power cable (akin to MagSafe): very good idea (and MagSafe rocks), but some of the pictures have large adapters sticking out of the phone. The danger lies in that pushing on the microUSB connector due to physical force, thereby actually breaking the port. I recommend that whatever you use sticks out the least as possible!
Which pictures are you referring to?
As I use such an adapter for over a year now I can assure you that this worry is unfounded.
The small part that actually sticks out of the phone is a very firm fix, you would have a hard time to break the port with that adapter in place even if you wanted to 
.
Having any normal cable plugged in instead is more dangerous for the port by magnitudes.
This one here:
The bottom one is np, its totally fine. The top one however, poses issues. They can occur when you have it in your bag, or in your case, or just when its lying on your desk.
Furthermore, the port should be able to endure some normal stress. If it does not, that is a design flaw.
The top picture just shows the long part of the adapter that magnetically connects to the short part of the adapter fixed in the port.
The long part is on the cable you want to connect, not on the phone.
If you would put some pressure on the long part in the top picture, it would just lose its magnetic connection to the short part and come off, and the short part would still be in the phone, doing nothing to the port.
That is the actual purpose of the whole thing .
Ahh they’re part of the same solution thanks for clearing that up I didn’t get that