Camera, language, and network issues after Android 15 update

Help Fairphone 4
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1

I have a FP4 that’s been great for years, but after the Android 15 update, I’ve had several issues.

  1. The camera frequently won’t turn on or takes blank/black pictures. If I close and restart the camera app, it usually resolves, but sometimes takes several tries.
  2. I have two languages installed, but several apps and the main menu often use the second language installed, rather than the main system language. I’ve checked the language settings, set the languages for the apps specifically to English and the system default, but neither has fixed the issue. Uninstalling the second language worked, but I do actually need to have the second language installed.
  3. My phone is only connecting to Edge or 2G networks. This might not be related, but it did start within 24 hours of the update. I’ve gone through all the network recommended troubleshooting (restarting, removing the SIM, and some manual network connection reset. T-Mobile is saying it’s the phone or a network outside, since none of that worked, but the issue persists across at least a 25 mile area.

I’m not sure if it’s best to roll back to Android 13, or if this is solvable. Any recommendations would be great, and if rolling back is the best option, is there a good guide to that, including how to prevent the update from installing again in the future? Much appreciated!

2

I too experience the issue of the default Camera app saving blank images on my FP4 with Android 15 now. In my case it happens when I quickly take a photo. In my case that sequence is: get phone out of my pocket, double-tap power button to open camera app (indeed it stays blank sometimes), take photo, tap power button to sleep phone and store back in my pocket.

I can now reliable reproduce the issue and also reliable work around it: after taking a photo I wait a while (seconds) before putting the phone to sleep. If I put it to sleep immediately I get a blank image.

My testing concludes that it battery saving mode doesn’t affect this behavior.

I expect the sleep activation interrupts the processing or saving of the image, resulting in the blank image. Either way it is an annoying bug. At least now I know how to deal with it, but I have lost dozens of photographed moments before figuring it out.