It seems that my Fairphone 3+ that has a bit more that one year old has the core module broken. Nothing special happened, the phone has just stopped to work, black screen, no boot, no charging however battery voltage is 4V. I’ve tried to open it, clean the USB connector, remove the bottom module and check connections, clean battery contacts. What else can I try ? Is this taken under warranty ? How do I proceed to send it back or get a new core module ?
Regards,
Luc from Norway
Hi Luc, welcome to the community forum – we are all users here.
To contact Fairphone Support:
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I’ve tried to contact them 2 days ago but no answer so far.
I was wondering if anybody has an other suggestion to fix the problem ? Still not 100% sure it is the core module.
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Do you know anyone else nearby with an FP3? That would make it possible to change back and forth some components with your own for testing.
If you don’t know any other Fairphoner around, there are Fairphone Angels in Sandnes and Oslo, maybe that’s an option for you:
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Yes I’m a good fairphone seller. I have a few around me. I 'll try to swap the battery or the bottom module. What else can I try ?
Luc
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Yes, those would have been my candidates, too. 
I assume that the LED is also staying black permanently?
I guess you know these already, but just in case – I find these instructions the best:
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Yes the LED is black also. I have USB measuring tool at work. I can try to see if it takes some current while charging but I don’t think. Battery and charger are cold. I’ll let you know.
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Nothing helps. I’ve contacted support. In two days they answered me I had to wait because they are experiencing much support with OS10 on Fairphone 2 and Fairphone 4. Finally 2 days later I’ve received a mail asking me to test the phone with the charger connected ! What is this shit after-sales-service ? So now I have a so called sustainable telephone that is under warranty and cannot be repaired. For any other product I could return it to the shop and get a standard replacement in one or two days. Fairphone is just marketing. Very disappointed
As you didn’t buy it in a shop the option is to send it to Fairphone.
- You can send at you own cost, like walking to the shop or
- Wait to see if Fairphone can assess remotely if there is an issue that can be worked on under warranty.
In the first case if the issue is not a warranty then you will have to decide what to do once Fairphone (Cordon) have it tested.
One thing is clear, remote support can be a pain 
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Still no answer. Is Fairphone in great difficulty ? In bankrupt ? It is a long time ago I haven’t seen a so bad support.
I need a RMA or similar. I cannot just send it and expect anything from them.
They lost my trust already. I need a new phone, apart Fairphone, who makes sustainable phone like them ?
It’s not clear?
In the first quote, which was only a day ago you were asked to test the phone, a pain I know but to then ask the forum a day later doesn’t make sense.
The people here have no idea if you did the test as asked etc. and even if you did, to expect a response the nest day is optomistic. To complain on a user forum is a bit ???
If you have a ticket number that can be raised by staff you cxan be contacted here but it seems you have contact according to you quote, a day ago.
There isn’t much anyone here can do but empathise with the unpleasant wait.
Do you mean you sell Fairphones privately ??
I have raised a ticket to support. After one week the only thing they ask was to try to charger connected. What a stupid question. Of course that’s the first think I’ve tried when the phone didn’t respond. That’s what I told them.
The purpose of my message on this forum was to get some help or advice. But it seems there is nothing else to expect here.
Yes I have convinced many people to buy Fairphone…Maybe not a good idea.
Ah! I would never recommend a Fairphone but point out that if one is interested in Fairtrade for the miners and factory workers then there is no other choice currently.
So you only have the one phone 
On the pain of using support. It matters not really what you have tried until they ask, in the order they ask, then providong the evidence they want. There’s no quick way around that. And if they have backlogs it can take a lo~~~~ng time.
It seems as though it has only been a week or so since you contacted support. In your world that is an eternity, I have some experience. To Fairphone each of us is just one of many.
So what have they asked you to do
and provide some screenshots of a dead screen
With a battery voltage of 4V then charging is not the primary issue, have you checked the battery since?
Meanwhile what can you do.
- remove battery and test voltage again
- remove SIM and any SD card DO NOT replace them
- If the battery is over 3.85V the phone should have no problem starting
- could it be the power button?
So what response did you send Fairphone after their last request and whn was that exactly?
Hi, Thanks for your answer.
- I’ve measured now 2,8V and try to connect the charger. So some current is driven by the phone.
- the phone consumes 50mA on the USB whether I put the battery or not. Something is consumming power. I’ve tried also to check where goes the 50mA to the core module with infrared camera. But this is too low curren to see anything.
- I’ve checked the button with multimeter. The continuity is correct. So the button is not the problem.
- I’ve tried to disconnect the bottom module and check the current consumed on USB. There is no consumption when core module is not connected. So the bottom module might not be the problem.
- I have also the same consumption with top module and camera module disconnected
Is there anything else I could check ? I have a binocular and all stuffs to repair and produce electronic products here. There is a lot I can do.
I’ve answered them:
“All of these doesn’t solve anything. Phone is still dead completely. I’ve tried 2 different Fairphone chargers with original cable.”
I think you should apply to their support team. You have been more helpful than those people
That’s almost too low to charge. You could leave that plugged in for a day.
There are mentions of this low level, I’ll see what I can dig up, but 50mA at that low seems about right, so it will take forever and a day.
Some not so cheering opinion
Yes, lithium batteries undergo unwanted chemical reactions when discharged below 3V, causing their internal resistance to be permanently and significantly raised. Their capacity will suffer as well, meaning that they won’t accept the same amount of charge anymore. When such an overdischarged cell is “brought back to life”, it will likely become chemically unstable, creating a risk of a short circuit developing inside the cell.
Even worse, assuming that you measured 2.5V at no load, your batteries have dropped even lower when they were being discharged and have subsequently rebounded to 2.5 V after the load was removed.
Yes of course the battery is maybe in deep discharge now. The problem was not the battery because the measured voltage was 4V the day after the phone was dead. I didn’t know it but the phone has been taking constant current from the battery for more than 1 week. Not surprised battery has low voltage now. Hopefully the battery is not damaged but there is no more hope from Fairphone, I still haven’t got any answer from their customer support.
What other phone can I buy now? I’m using now my old Samsung S7 that lasts more than 8 years…compared to my crappy Fairphone 3+ that last a bit more than one year. (Sorry for the bad words but i’m so disappointed)
Luc
If the phone isn’t two years old you can use the 2 year warranty
Do you have a ticket number and when did you last hear from them?
Good news. I’ve finally received an answer today to send my phone for reparation. I’ll follow
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