Curious... 🤔 Who here has used a Fairphone the longest

We had a discussion about your concern a few months ago if you like to take a read here.

Faulty devices are out there, but many times evidently due to misuse.

I have my FP2 since 2016/01 being one of the first 10000 and still operating very smooth.

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I got my FP1 in early January 2014, my FP2 in 2016, both without issues and using both.

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I had a FP2 for a year, it was not a bad experience, but some things where annoying: The battery live was not very good, the percentage often jumped and I needed to charge it twice a day if I used it more then usual. The microphone broke. It was easy enough to replace and Fairphone delivered the spare part on guarantee. I switched to Google Pixel because I needed the lastest version of Android for work (I do not have a work phone.) I am looking forward to a Fairphone 3 that hopefully will come to market next year. I have a colleague using a FP2 and a friend, that sill uses it, but is not so happy, having issues with the battery.

You asked for experiences, not advice, but here is some, if you don’t mind. Otherwise just skip the rest. I

If you really want to keep the phone for 5years, I would not buy the FP2 now. There is plenty discussion in this forum about this and some will disagree.

Fairphone is doing a tremendous amount of work to get the FP2 to Android 7, which was released two years ago. Don’t get me wrong, that Fairphone works on Android 7 shows that they really care. However, we are currently at Android 9, I doubt that this will ever be officially supported on the FP2.

The reality is: There might never be an Android phone supported with up-to-date software as long as iPhones are. But the future could be a lot better with technical advances in Googles Software introduced in Android 8 and 9.

If you do need a new phone now, you could try to keep the 5S or switch to a used 6S/SE. Stay in this forum, subscribe to the newsletter and check back next year to find out* when the next Fairphone is released.

* Edit by @Stefan to clarify the sentence. Nobody in the community knows a release date so this could be misunderstood.

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Thanks for sharing your experience! "#fairphoneangels " and “spare parts” is a whole new world. Thanks for the “nerd tips” also. I’m learning a lot from this thread! I hope it helps others also.

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Patrick, the thread “here” was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for! Thanks!!

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Thanks Ben! Your experience and announcement of FP3 and where things are at with Android and FP is really helpful. I am keeping my 5s on life support (an external battery) and so I have a bit of time to learn about things.

My first contribution to this forum was in search for a solution to both get a voucher and use it too. But it seems the break in the voucher system (where you need to already have a second phone at your disposal before you invest in what would be a new third), is like the break in the “modular system” right now. I was thinking the basic frame stays the same and new parts—like a better motherboard or camera—can be bought and installed as tech advances. But if these modules are only for the sake of a repair and the quality never advances without having to buy a new frame anyway, it’s not really the module I dreamed it would be. I dream of a smartphone like a bicycle. Get a nice frame and the parts are standard, upgradeable, swappable. I could level up to disk brakes or even an e-wheel without needing a new frame. So what I am hearing is we have a way to go yet. Thanks for the input of all!!

That’s mostly true. Only the front and back camera modules have been improved in quality once, i.e. not just for repair. They were 8/2MP and now are 12/5MP and FP2s sold after the new modules had them directly at no extra cost.

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This doesn’t really seem to be what you are asking for in the first post. If you replace the motherboard after two years because “technology advances”, what’s the use of keeping the frame as long as possible? According to Fairphone’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) the motherboard makes up 72.6% of the CO2 emissions of the FP2. So a motherboard upgrade is hardly sustainable if the “old” module still works.

Besides, FP2’s modularity is the closest you can get to modularity at the moment.

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Please tell me, what you would consider to be the frame in this case.
In my opinion the SoC/Motherboard is to the phone what the frame is to the bike. You already get better cameras, a better display, a new battery and maybe in the future, the other modules might get an enhancement as well.
And the phone is open to customization as well. You can get or design your own cover, someone else has already made an extension plus a new cover to house it:

The one thing, that’s different to buying parts for a bike, is the fact, that you get no choice. If you need a new camera, there is only the new one (unless you buy second-hand of course). Fairphone has not the means to offer various choices; not to mention, that the difference - pricewise - would not be that much, that anyone would go for the lower quality option.

Still, in all, I would agree with @ben about getting a FP2 now, if you want to keep it for 5 years.

Welcome!

Here is the newsletter form:
https://www.fairphone.com/en/newsletter-opt-in/

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I got my FP2 in January 2016, no repair but it is really time for me to change the case as the original one is tearing along the limit between the two type of plastic it is made of.

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Bought the FP2 in July 2016

  • Throughout all the time: Random reboots. Meditate #rebootsguide for that
  • The “Version 1” case disintegrated -> got a new one through support for free
  • The headphone Jack didnt hold on to the phone anymore -> got a new top module through support for free
  • About 6 months later, the headphone Jack got loose again -> got another top module through support for free - Still holds on strong
  • June 2018 - The Battery started to get weak -> bought a new battery in the shop, also treated myself with the Version 2 camera

All in all I never had more problems with any other phone in my life, but also never had more fun fixing them.

I’ll be damned If I give up on this device unless it goes up in flames in my crotch!

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Thanks Technorati— seems like the general vibe I’m getting from all. There are problems, but also help. May your phone (and self) be preserved from flame! :sweat_smile:

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5S is a good & reliable phone. so don’t be ashamed! if you like its screen size be aware that the FP2 is way larger making 1-hand use somewhat tedious. my FP2 works well as did before my FP1 (smaller *sigh). as was said before you find in this forum lots of complaints (service & technical issues) but that’s normal. satisfied customers rarely give more than a thumbs up if at all. i’ve no complaints for >4 years now.

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My wife uses FP1 since may 2014 without any problem.
I self use FP2 from the first batch without any problem, so I think it’s a users item…

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Thanks Christoph! Both you and Ekomus give solid sign of hope…

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you’re welcome, @Rebecski,
you might have noticed already that chats between folks here in this forum is for the most part pretty much civilized (has always been, from the start). you can come here with virtually any sort of questions concerning your phone and there will always be someone who knows how to fix problems. even trivial ones and you won’t get laughed at asking them. this forum deserves to be called “genius bar”.

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I bought my FP2 beginning 2017. Battery drain too important for me. Had to change the core module (under warranty) - a lengthy process of several moths until I finally got the replacement module. Since then no other problems any more.

Otherwise I am very happy with the phone. I switched to Open Android, like a year ago and was surprised of the smooth process. Just updated to 18 (Android7) without any problem. Overall I like my FP2 very much.

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One happy user here!
I bought mine in the crowdfunding period and got it in february 2016. The only thing that happened is indeed the first cover that broke, but that was a production problem and was replaced (very quick!) for free.
I must say camera quality is not great, even with the upgraded camera module. Btw, replacing it myself was indeed awesome! :wink:

(sorry for bad English :blush: )

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I orderd my FP1 in August 2013, it arrived in January 2014 and I’ve been using it since without major interruptions.
That’s not to say I haven’t had problems. I have had a broken wifi antenna, a broken display and two bloated batteries that I replaced, various android-related problems. But I could resolve these obstacles, thanks to the official FP-support and the community.
For now I’m using the 4.4 Alpha Android Version with all functions needed working.

So troubles yes, but roughly the same issues I had with my previous phone (iPhone 3GS). All in all I’m happy!

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