I received my Fairphone about one year ago.
One month ago, the touchscreen suddenly stopped working in its central area, so I can’t perform the unlocking pattern anymore. There was no obvious cause for it (drop, water, etc…) : the phone was working in the morning, I put it in my pocket and when I took it out in the afternoon the screen was not working anymore.
Here’s the result of my hardware test : the dead area is a big rectangle in the center of the screen, and also the left bottom part.
Besides, my phone is not detected by my computer so I can’t backup my data. I already had troubles to detect it before, but I can’t tell much about it because I wasn’t used to plug it on a computer.
The phone is charging well but the computer won’t detect the phone.
I didn’t try a hard reset yet, both because I would like to save my data if possible and because it seems to be a hardware issue.
So :
is my phone still under warranty ? Shall I have to pay something if I return it to repair ?
would a hard reset worth it ?
I posted a quick request (#88847, on 02/21 and #95219 on 03/25) but STILL NO ANSWER !
I have been waiting for a month for an answer from support, and my phone is still unusable, so it’s quite a bad user experience.
Thanks by advance.
PS : I received my FP in February 2015. It’s a FP1 second batch, isn’t it ?
Disclaimer: I don’t work for Fairphone, so everything below is best guess:
Probably yes, as the warranty is 2 years.
I don’t think you normally would, unless the warranty/repair facility determines that the repair wouldn’t be covered by warranty due to misuse (which you mention you’re quite sure isn’t the case). See the warranty information here, especially the parts about defective Fairphones.
It most likely won’t solve the touch screen issue, so probably not. BUT: if you send it for repairs, there’s a high probability that the phone will be reset as part of the procedure. It’s probably a good idea to attempt to copy your data from the phone.
As you mention that the phone isn’t recognised by the computer, but you’re not sure whether it ever worked properly, I would try a different cable (preferably one that you know works with another device) and try different ports on the computer. For access to files you will need to choose MTP mode.
An alternative route would be to copy files to an SD card. To do that, you’ll need a way to control the phone. As your USB port seems to be working, you could try to borrow / buy a USB OTG (On-The-Go) cable and use it to plug in a USB mouse.
I hope support get back to you soon. Maybe @anon48893843 can help out as well, as you’ve been waiting more than one and half month now…
Our apologies for the late reply. Things are quite hectic at our office, but of course you should have gotten a reply faster. We are working on improving this, in the meantime: thanks for your patience. Because of unforeseen circumstances we are facing a backlog in answering.
I have just experienced the same problem with my FP1 - I have had mine much longer so don’t think it is still under warranty. I thought my screen was dead all over but I will double check tonight if it is just patches. As it is preventing me unlocking it that is all that is relevant really. Just like you it just happened out of the blue. I posted my query to support within last couple of weeks . So if you get an answer soon I would be interested if you posted it here so that I can see it. As this was my first smart phone - I am not a great user of the facilities that come with smart phones and I probably would have stayed with a old Nokia if FP had not existed- it is of less inconvenience to me - my sim has gone back into my old Nokia for now. But I can see that it must be very frustrating for others .
With thanks
Same problem here, with dead patches on the screen that prevent me from typing certain characters or using apps in that location. Every once in a while my fairphone goes “beserk” (I have no other word for it): the screen is flickering and not responding to touch. Also the fairphone seems to have a mind of its own, typing random messages so I have to shut it down by removing the battery. After such an episode, if I manage to restart the fairphone (but only IF), there seem to be new dead patches on te screen. The problem started about one or two months ago.
I will send it back to warranty.
For the moment, I’m not sastify on the support I’ll tell you what they answer. system : long response times, no clear answers in relation to my problem … they just indicated to me how revoyer my phone to their workshop.
I’ll tell you what they answer.
Hi both of you,
The repair centre has diagnosed my Fairphone. They said that the display assembly needs to be replaced due to fall damage.
Because the damage is by fall, the repair is out of warranty.
I know my phone didn’t fall just before the problem happenned, but I have to confess that it did fall some times before : a slight crack can be seen on the screen.
Thanks for the update Grubie. I am not sure whether to just send my phone in for repair or wait to hear back from them. Think I will wait just a bit longer. I phone has had no bad falls and does not have any cracks or damage . It just stopped working while in my bag.
Same for me, but they told it was because of a fall and I have to admit that my phone did fell some times… (you can see it on the pictures, but I know it was long time before it stopped working…)
They just change de display assembly wich is about 70€
maybe you can do it by yourself…
Thanks for the info shared. My fairphone did not drop and has no fall damage whatsoever. It stopped working properly very suddenly and out of the blue while lying on my desk, although I must admit the front has been replaced about one year ago due to water damage. Indeed, there is no more warranty after this repair. However, one of the main advantages advertised by FairPhone is the promise of all parts being replaceable… I’ve been going without my smartphone for about four weeks now (and going slightly crazy). Stilll no reply from the FairPhone support team. Very frustrating. I don’t think I can send in the phone for repair without their directions? I simply cannot invest in buying a Fairphone2 and I am starting to think of other brands. Especially one with quicker service or one that can be repaired by every phone shop in town.
Mmm… considering the fact that we don’t know what’s really wrong with my telephone (delayed water damage? software bug? virus? malware?) I don’t think I want to try and repair it myself.
A thought just crossed my mind: is it a coincidence that several people’s FairPhone1 starts to malfunction around the time of the introduction of the Fairphone2? How would I know what’s in the updates I’m so happily downloading everyday: something that could kill my telephone maybe?
You couldn’t know with any other phone… I can assure you that Fairphone does not intentionally push updates that kill your phone! My very own FP1 continues working, even with all the updates installed that Fairphone has ever released (to be fair, I’ve moved on to kitkat ).
To make sure, if it is a hardware or a software issue, you should do the touchscreentest. Tell us the results!
I can assure you that Fairphone does not intentionally push updates that kill your phone! My very own FP1 continues working, even with all the updates installed that Fairphone has ever released (to be fair, I’ve moved on to 