I’m a long-time reader of this forum, and I owned an FP3 for 5 years, which I really liked, but it was getting really slow so 3 weeks ago I got a new FP6. After 3 weeks of really enjoying the new phone, I’ve run into a problem and this is why I’m posting here:
My phone has stopped charging completely. It still works perfectly fine on the remaining 23% battery, but it won’t recognize any chargers. I’ve already tried:
Restarting the phone.
Cleaning the USB-C port (using a toothbrush and blowing into it).
Testing with multiple known-good chargers and cables.
I also followed the troubleshooting steps in the live chat to put *#*#2886*#*# into the phone app and when I click on manual test > USB Charger, no cable is recognized.
I think this happened when I dropped the power brick of my laptop charger while it was plugged into the phone. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I think there’s one of two possibilities:
The drop physically damaged the USB port. I believe this is unlikely because I can’t see any damage. Also (and very strangely), after leaving the phone without touching it over night, I was able to charge it again up to 44%. So I think in theory it’s possible to charge. However, in the 3 days since, I was never able to charge again.
What I fear is more realistic: Maybe there was a power surge due to the drop that damaged the USB Module or, worst case, the charging management on the mainboard?
I reached out to support 4 days ago but haven’t heard back yet. I also tried the live chat several times but every time it asks me to enter my IMEI, it says that it doesn’t recognize the IMEI and asks me for it again in an endless loop, so I don’t get through the troubleshooting to a human.
I understand that the forum is not an official channel for support, but I was hoping someone might have some ideas or a suggestion for a way forward while I wait.
My main question is this: I’m tempted to just buy a new USB Module myself to fix the phone as soon as possible. However, since the issue seems to be covered by the warranty, I’m concerned that if I do this, I won’t be reimbursed for the part. Has anyone had a similar experience or know what Fairphone’s policy is on this?
Of course, if the issue is not in the USB Module, but on the mainboard, I am screwed.
Any advice would be really appreciated. Let me know if I should explain anything else.
I once had to toggle off the “Battery Protect” option in battery settings, that limit charging to 80% (even though as I remember, my charge was way lover than 80%). Could be worth trying if you havent already.
Just got my FP6 yesterday. It was working fine at first. I tried charging today. It made the usual noise when I connected the cable, phone said it’s charging. I came back an hour later and it’s dead and won’t turn on again. Tried various chargers but nothing seems to initiate charging at all. I’ve also tried the contact form, hopefully they respond soon.
There has been some stories on the forum when people managed to claim reimbursement after they have purchased the part, but of course no one can give any warranty.
The optimal solution would be to get it approved by the CS. I believe there are two IMEI numbers assigned to your phone, have you tried both? Have you managed to register your extended warranty on the one that is rejected?
The worrying thing is the possibility the motherboard might have been damaged (hope not!), would you have any option to check the USB port with a nearby Angel perhaps?
@Gjjring Am I right to understand you are not able to turn your phone now? It might be a different issue than the original post then.
Welcome to the forum as an active participant!
First thing, I would try to find someone else with a FP6 to test with a different port. Check out if you have a Fairphone angel in the vicinity as already suggested.
Second, dismantle the loudspeaker and USB port assembly to check that all connectors are properly seated.
Frankly after that drop, I would trust neither the port nor the cable. They’re pretty fragile.
Check the Ts&Cs. I’d be surprised if a physical accident is covered.
Thanks for your replies and ideas! I will reach out to my local angels and see if they can help me.
On the IMEI: Yes I managed to register the extended warranty, and I tried both IMEI1 and IMEI2 - none worked unfortunately.
On the drop: Since it was only the charging brick that fell (the Fairphone stayed in place, barely moved I think) I was thinking that it should be covered. But I’m not sure how this works. Hopefully it’s just the USB port that’s defect, it would be very sad if I had to get a new phone over this - especially since the FP6 worked beautifully for ~2.5 weeks!
Thank you for the suggestion. I tried multiple cables, multiple chargers. All of them verified to work with other devices. Not working with the FP6. Support reached out to me yesterday and I have just replied to them so fingers crossed they can help me somehow.
I am having the same issue with my FP6. The phone was charging perfectly well for the last few months and this morning I took it off the charger and noticed it was not charged. The state of charge was 46%. I thought maybe I did not connect the cable properly. But I have not been able to get it to charge since. I’ve tried different chargers and different cables. The phone registers that it’s charging, but the percent does not change. I tried turning the phone off and charging while off. Same result. The phone shows it’s charging, but the percent stays the same. I connected to charger to a killawatt meter and the meter is showing a 7 watt draw while the phone is connected to the charger. That tells me the phone is drawing power.
The battery saver feature was turned on and was limiting the charge to 90%. I don’t recall turning that feature on, but I’ve turned it off and now the battery is charging, 53% after a few minutes. I turned the battery saver back on, and waited another 5 minutes - and still charging, now 56% and rising.
I am not sure if toggling the battery saver off then on again fixed the issue or not, but worth trying if you have a similar issue.
After testing some more, trying several different cables, the only cables that work are CHARGE ONLY cables. My earlier suggestion about turning off the battery saver was just a coincidence. When I try a data cable, the watts on my kill-a-watt meter go from 7 down to 0. If I use a charge only cable, the watts stay at 7 using my 2.1 amp USB charger. I’m using a USB-A to USB-C cable. I will try a USB-C to USB-C cable and charger see if the results are the same or different.
UPDATE: - Tested with a 20w USB-C iphone charge and a USB-C to USB-C data cable and the phone charges with a 19 watt power draw at the meter.
Phone is still not charging