They look good and of course I like the idea of being able to repair and update them, but they do not work well. I bought them a week ago and was surprised to receive the OLD model. The online support doesn’t load, no reply to emails. The sound is ok for the money, but ANC is weak, the equalizer is greyed out on my iPhone 17 (bc the app was last updated one year ago?). The FairBuds keep disconnecting and take too long to reconnect to pick up the phone. Not a good experience, so far. I can understand why the are busy and reply late if at all…
Hi
The new version launched this week so I guess it should not be surprising you purchased the old one. Having said that, it seems you are still within a 14 days return period.
The online self repair portal should be working though, could you please say a bit more on what is not working.
The app has just been updated, at least for Android, like two days ago or even yesterday. I am sure it should/will be updated for Apple as well, but can’t give any time framework for that.
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Just looked it up on the Apple App store. The Fairbuds App was last updated 2 days ago. Version3.0.2.
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Hi, and thank you all for the tips.
Eq working after the app update a few days ago. The FB-XL keep disconnecting and reconnect is too slow to reliably pick up the phone. I don’t know about the online-repair, didn’t need/try that, but the chat-thing hasn’t yet worked for me .
In the meantime, help-desk staff replied explaining they are a bit overwhelmed but expect to get better in the near future 
I requested to return the FB-XL – the reply to that was swift.
I like the self-repair ethics but they also have to work. SO before returning them I would like to know whether replacing the drivers (and/or what else?) may improve ANC (help-desk did not reply to that). I’d be grateful for details.
Thanks and best,
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This post here seems to partly answer my question. However, another reviewer notes: „Active Noise Cancellation also gets a massive boost in this iteration. Fairphone also addressed call quality issues found in older models. The new design includes advanced wind noise mitigation algorithms.”
Hi all.
I must absolutely add sth (I find) funny. Sorry, long post.
A few days after returning the FairBuds XL, I received their request to review them. I did (see below). Fairphone noreply-fairphone@bazaarvoice-cgc.com replied after a day or two – a lot faster than Support: ”VA, Our staff has read your review and values your contribution even though it did not meet all our website guidelines. Thanks for sharing, and we hope to publish next time! Thanks again, Fairphone”. And the ”Submit something new” link to my review. My review was:
One Star.
| Good concept, poor job |
|---|
| Poor ANC quality. Poor customer service. Late unhelpful reply to emails. I returned the FairPhones, receipt not acknowledged after weeks. |
The “Writing guidelines” are: „Keep your review focused on the product. Avoid writing about customer service, contact us instead if you have issues requiring immediate attention. Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product. Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.”
They don’t say „be respectful”, though – appreciate the trust. Of course, FF are so confident their product is good that they’ll tolerate bad reviews. However, NOT including personal information is not an option, reply-buttons include unique identifiers. Although they ask for some: “Personal/Product Information (Optional)”. I Skipped it. Then, writing „about customer support” and other issues to customer support didn’t seem to help so far anyway, so I edited that out. Returning a product doesn’t require explaining why. But, it’s a product review, it might as well be helpful, ok? I won’t mention „competitors or the specific price” – although I’m tempted to look into that now.
Looking forward and I’ll keep you posted – unless, of course, I’m told in no uncertain terms I must not.
Best to all,
Reply to return came after about 3 weeks, refund seems to take another few days. Thanks everybody for all the fish .
As a small (quiet) comfort, parts are generally available for good headphones, though unfortunately not as a matter of principle as FairPhone does. As for me ANC quality is essential, I – quite regretfully – switched brands.
Best,