December & January Update ❄️

Discuss The Industry
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Happy New Year, Fairphone Community! :dizzy:

Let’s start with a look back at December and a quick catch-up on January so far, before diving into a refresher on how to get the most out of our support channels in 2026.

:headphone: Product & Hardware News

:headphone: Fairbuds XL: The 2025 Refresh

  • Recap: We officially launched the NEW Fairbuds XL on December 9th!

  • What’s New: Improved audio with 40mm dynamic drivers, new breathable mesh materials for long-term comfort, and a 3-year warranty.

  • Modular Upgrade: Remember, if you have the original Fairbuds XL, you don’t need to buy a new pair! You can upgrade your sound by swapping in the new speaker units (currently out of stock due to high demand. Sign up on the product page to be the first to know when they’re back). Big shoutout to @urs_lesse here, who demonstrates the easy upgrade process thanks to modularity beautifully in this or this GIF. :star_struck:

  • Meet the new Fairbuds XL: If you want to test & feel the new Fairbuds XL, join one of the upcoming Fairphone Community Meet Ups! Are you a Meet Up organizer and you didn’t receive a pair of the new Fairbuds XL yet? Just send me a DM & I’ll see what I can do! :love_letter:

:selfie: FP6 FLIP CASE: You asked, we listened!

  • We’re excited to reveal the new Fairphone 6 Flip Case, developed with your community feedback! Flip Cases have been on the Community Wishlist for a while, so we designed this case with a fold-over cover to shield your screen and raised bumpers to keep your camera lenses safe.

  • Made from 100% recycled plastic, it’s built to be sturdy yet slim enough for your pocket. Best of all, it’s fully compatible with our new modular accessories, like the cardholder and lanyard. It’s a great example of how your input helps shape what we build!

  • You are welcome to keep sharing your fair product wishes with us here or via our social media channels. :memo:

:speech_balloon: Support & Community Feedback

:hammer_and_wrench: Repair Portal Improvement

Thanks to your direct input, we’ve made the Repair Portal easier to use: We added the “My issue is not listed” option. You are welcome to keep sharing your valuable feedback on this topic here as we continue to develop the Repair Portal further.

:package: Order Cancellation
Made the wrong order and need to cancel it? No problem! Now, you can do so during the first 2 hours of placing it, directly from the confirmation email or through your order page within your My Fairphone Account.

:sos_button: How to Contact Support

To ensure you get the right help for your issue or question as fast as possible, please use these specific channels:

  • :screwdriver: Repair Portal: You can resolve most issues through step by step troubleshooting or sending your device for repair here

  • :robot: AI Assistance: 24/7 virtual support from Tin

  • :speech_balloon: Live Chat with human support agent: Available Mon-Fri, 10:00 - 12:00 CET via the Support Site

  • :e_mail: Email Support: For any other support request, you can open a ticket with our Customer Support team here or through the My Fairphone App on your Fairphone

:love_letter: Community Meet Ups

Do you wanna meet fellow Fairphone users and enthusiasts? Or would you like to see the new Fairbuds XL live? Then join one of these upcoming Community Meet Ups in your area:

You can find all meet ups here (shoutout & big thanks to @urs_lesse for keeping this page up to date :raising_hands:): events.fairphone.community

:bar_chart: Forum Survey

We’ve recently shared this survey to collect feedback on what you think about the current state of the Fairphone Community Forum. We’ve extended it until this Sunday to collect more responses as we’d love to hear as many of your voices as possible! Share your perspective here:
https://opinion.askattest.com/D3GCC?respondent_id=

You’ll hear from us again in February! :confetti_ball:

Wishing you all the best until then,

The Fairphone Team :green_heart:

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November Update 🍂
Is Fairphone Support no longer available?
Your Opinion Matters! What do you think about the Forum?
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Thanks for the update! I am really happy you are doing those!
Can you maybe incorporate some stuff on software updates in your update like you have done before?
There are still a lot of open questions for a lot of users:
What’s up with the Android 16 update for FP6 that was promised in 2025? How far are you with fixing the bugs in Android 15 for FP4? etc.
Also some updates on how good you’re doing with backlog on support requests.
Would be nice if you can share some insights! Just why are they delayed and how it is going. And if you can an ETA. Although it is probably not meant this way, it feels a bit like you are avoiding these questions. So some updates would be nice!

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Hi, what about Fairphone Angels Network ?

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If you have a question or something to contribute to it, you might want to have a look here :right_arrow: 👼 The Fairphone Angels Program (Local support by community members) - Offers and questions The program is not run by the company, but by users.

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An honest addition to this update would be once more apologizing for the mayhem caused by bad FP4 update for some users. Making mistakes is normal, but admitting them is what makes one special.

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Hi,
I do appreciate the transparency increase with this posts. However, I would love to hear about FP6 January update. Even if it is delayed for increasing stability, which instead of something bad I would take as something good, as a way of not delivering half baked updates.
Also, regarding hardware/software issues that are common (lower volume buttons getting out or phones dieing while charging). A “we are actively working on them” would at least give some calm to many of us.

Thanks for the constant work!

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Hi @ignacio,

Great to hear that you are liking our monthly updates. These are indeed focused on more general company-wide news.
On specific phone models/ issues we share about this in the relevant topic threads, to try to keep everything in the same place.

Regarding the Fairphone Gen. 6 update, we actually have a software package in testing right now. We’re prioritizing stability so it isn’t “half baked” like you mentioned, but it is scheduled for release shortly. Keep an eye on the “new topics” for that.

Thank you as well for your support & engagement here on the Forum!

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@Fairphone_CM Could you maybe say something regarding the status of a fix for the agressive closing of background tasks in Fairphone 4, Fairphone 5 and possibly Fairphone 6 (I am not sure if it is affected)?

It is getting really annoying that a phone behaves as if the RAM is full when it is actually just half filled.

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Thanks for the reply!
I get the point of keeping the things within the threads, however, these issues don’t have official statements within, which will be highly appreciated. Even a “we understand the severity of the issue and we are working on it” is acceptable.

Looking forward for the update, and thanks for sharing!

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Thank you for letting us know about the upcoming Fairphone Gen. 6 update. Does this software package include Android 16 by any chance? We were initially informed that Android 16 would be released in 2025, but there has been no further news on this since.

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The news update is missing the botched Fairphone 4 software update / device bricking issue of December. :face_with_diagonal_mouth:

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