Bottom Module - the weakest part of the phone?

haha okay so you did your part in those broken screens :wink:
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!! :slight_smile:

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.

1 Like

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:

2 Likes

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.

4 Likes

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!

1 Like

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 :wink: .
Having any normal cable plugged in instead is more dangerous for the port by magnitudes.

1 Like

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 :wink: .

4 Likes

Ahh they’re part of the same solution thanks for clearing that up I didn’t get that

1 Like

I came on this forum for the same question. I have already changed twice my primary microphone (bottom module) and it is out of order again. I think it is almost every 6 month witch is a lot considering a smartphone life cycle. No problem with charging but with just speaking which is the first thing I expect from a phone.
My battery is although becoming very short now and I have to charge it about every three hours, and it warms up a lot. So I was wondering if there was a possibility that the microphone fails by heating ?

I also had to replace the bottom module twice.

I think the issue might the USB port, like others mentioned. In my case, I used to use the headphones and charge the phone with a battery pack while it’s in my pocket. Because those cables are on opposite ends it bends a lot and that wiggling visibly loosened the connector for the USB.

1 Like

Just a side note: Recently a friend couldn’t load his Samsung anymore because the USB was acting weirdly. I told him that, like with the FP1, the USB is soldered to the main board. If the USB breaks, the motherboard breaks in effect.

All Fairphone 2 owners should be glad that the model can simply be exchanged which prolongs the life of the phone. Imagine you’d have had to buy two new phones because of a broken USB port.

The bottom module makes up only 1.7% of the overall CO2-equivalent emissions during production of the FP2. (Source)

2 Likes

The first bottom module worked a little over 2 years, but the replacement only for 4 month… wrote customer support, but no reply, so I just had to order a new one… I really hope this is not gonna be a quarter-annual thing…

haven’t heard back yet (about a month ago)… but i saw somewhere i this thread that writing here is the way to reach them ?

Nope, it’s not. But there are a few tips in contactsupport.

3 Likes