I currently own a FP2 since February 2016. It runs LOS 15, and apart from a slightly broken bottom module and an old and therefore weak battery, it runs a bit slow, but well.
The question Iāve been asking myself for the past couple of days is: Should I switch to a FP4 or not? After thinking about different arguments, I think it boils down to a simple problem. If my FP2 lasts for another 3-4 years, I could get the FP5 and getting an FP4 now would be a waste. If it doesnāt however, I might as well switch right now. Also, for reasons I canāt disclose here, if I get a FP4 now it would be free, but this āofferā only stands for the next couple of days, so if my current phone breaks in two years, Iād need to get a new one anyway and then I would need to pay for it.
However, Iāve already ordered one of the USB-C bottom modules the wonderful @Leo_TheCrafter developed and I could just get a new battery, which would fix most of the issues Iām having right now.
Itās a difficult decision for me. On one hand, I donāt want to waste a relatively well working device, on the other hand, it is already quite old and Iām not sure if it will survive until the FP5 comes out.
Iām happy to read your thoughts.
So is it about money.? If so you could take it and put it in a drawer for a rainy day.
What happens if your FP2 dies, do you have a spare phone and if not how long will it take to get an FP4? Especially given the global delays, look at the parts for the FP3 being unavailable.
You could always use the FP4 as a device to understand itās working as being an angel you may well be asked to help all these, hopefully, massive amount of new Fairphone consumers tempted to the table by the look and specs of this rather attractive new phone
Maybe you get the free phone and make a present of it to an acquaintence.
Put aside that you could get the FP4 for free I totally understand your uncertainty. In another thread I mentioned some reasons for changing, too:
-No VoLTE and no VoWifi on the FP2 which is annoying if you have weak mobile reception but WiFi available.
-In general weak reception performance of the FP2 which could potentially be better on a newer phone like the FP4.
-Better battery performance. On my FP2 I can watch the battery running empty compared with other phones. The FP4 should perform much better in that aspect.
-Last but not least a new phone will be more powerful and there are a few apps that want to use that even though I try to limit the usage of such apps.
But in the con-side: My phone is running well, no real issues, even the very first bottom module still does the job and I have the slight feeling that a potential buyer of my phone wouldnāt be able to take it as far as I can because I have learnt to live with it and Iām taking care of it maybe more than others would - maybeā¦
You can probably help more users, when you have the current model
Joking apart, I think you did already well with using the FP2 until today, if you would like to try the FP4 then grant yourself this gatget, after all you are a power user.
Iām more or less in the same situation and if I would have been a lucky one, I would do itš
My FP2 in general works, but the battery drives me nuts and I doubt a new one will make a big difference. Also the reception deteriorated since they switched off 3G in Germany. So I will buy a FP4 in a few month waiting another 2 years for the FP5 is def. nothing I can bear. Still the FP2 will not be useless, as I can still help others with it or test hopefully still coming updates.
Iām in a somewhat similar situation myself. Iām currently using Moto Z2 Play, which I bought in August 2018 (so I have it for a little over 3 years), and which is running Android 9. (Note that the last security update is from September 2019.) The battery is showing its age and it has a cracked display. Itās still usable, but it occasionaly turns off (because of the battery) and the cracked display slowly drives me crazy.
So one option was to buy a new battery and a new display (+ pay for the work, because Iām not able to replace it myself). That would solve the hardware issues, but it would cost more than half the price I initially paid for the phone. Nor would it solve the problem with software updates. Sure, I can install a custom ROM, but none of them seem really stable to me. And I honestly donāt really trust anything other than LOS for a daily driver.
The second option was to buy FP4. I went for it. If the battery suddenly dies, itās a few bucks and I can replace it myself. The same with the screen. And software updates should cover me for a long time.
I know that FP2 still receives security updates to this day, so the situation isnāt exactly the same. But youāve been using the phone for more than 5 years. I would say itās enough and you can buy FP4 without remorse. You can keep your FP2 as a spare phone.
I donāt believe the firmware on a FP2 is still secure. Maybe it is usable secure while airgapped. What I mean to say is you canāt expect to use a Qcomm SoC this long withput serious vulnerabilities lurking around.
Good to know that other people have the same problem .
Like @Stanzi I own a FP2 since February 2016. It runs with LineageOS 18.1 and OpenGApps pico. Actually I wanted to use it until the core module would break. It works well, just a little bit slow. But the random reboots occur more and more frequent in the last months. A few days ago after the third reboot in about two hours I lost my patience and ordered a FP4.
Do I really need a new phone? No. My FP2 works well (at least between the reboots ). And the reboots didnāt occur during phone calls so far. But Iām really looking forward to the new FP4, hopefully without reboots and a much better camera. The FP2 wonāt end up in a drawer. It is my first smartphone and the only mobile phone I own. Now to have a spare phone is not bad and I will probably try out all the different OSes that exist for FP2 on it .
I recently went from FP2 to FP3+ because as well as random reboots, my FP2 would lock up and the only way to get it to respond would be to put it in the fridge for ten minutes or the freezer for two or three. I need a phone to be reliable hence the change. It was second hand when I got the FP2. I am pleased with the 3 and havenāt had any problems with it yet.
On FP2 I feel like thereās a correlation between the state of the battery and the number of reboots. That said, I pulled the trigger yesterday and ordered an FP4. I got four reboots on a 3-hour drive - which could have been 15 minutes shorter if I didnāt have to stop to configure the satnav again after each reboot. Even with a new battery I canāt trust on the FP2 to be reliable anymore. Itās been a fun 5-and-a-half-year ride, but itās time for something new.
Iāve been a happy Fairphone 2 user since 2018. However in the last year, my phone got really slow. I donāt need it to be super fast, but it takes up to 5 seconds to even load just the keyboard, and the keyboard also regularly freezes for a few seconds while typing.
Iāve been able to solve this about 6 months ago by a complete factory reset, but Iām already back to where it was 6 months ago. I really want to keep using my phone as long as possible, but factory-resetting every few months is quite tedious. And just removing cache files doesnāt seem to help any bit. Is there anything else I can do to bring the phone back up to speed?
Iām wondering if this slowing down is a natural result of apps and software getting heavier over the years. Does this make sense? If so, Iām also wondering if it makes sense to change to a new Fairphone 4. I got my FP2 in 2018, so the product was already a few years old. IS it likely that Iāll be able to use the new FP4 for a longer period when I jump on it while it is new?
Iām curious for any thoughts or advices you might have!
Hi @Tonny
I moved your post to this existing, as this might provide some thoughts already and Stanzi or others that upgraded already might be able to give some.more detailed feedback.
Iām pretty sure you will be able.to use the FP4 longer, I use my FP2 since 5years already.
Reg the issues with the FP2: what system are you using? Overall I think the most and only effective way to speed it up is a factory reset from time to time.
Do you keep an eye on your FP2ās internal storage (Settings > Storage)? Sometimes itās not just crammed caches, but storage as a whole that is filling up and slowing down things. However, I admit itās a bit unusual if that would be full again after just six months. Still it doesnāt hurt to look into it.
I have exactly the same issue sometimes (then the thing to solve it is to let it rest 1 minute screen off and itās usually usable again), random reboots up to multiple times a day, and I just adapted my standards to the FP2 and learnt to be patient I can understand not everyone wants this.
That sounds still ok to me. I cannot provide any fixed, guaranteed limit that you need to stay under, but Iād make sure to keep 5 GB free (on the FP2).
). And the reboots didnāt occur during phone calls so far. But Iām really looking forward to the new FP4, hopefully without reboots and a much better camera. The FP2 wonāt end up in a drawer. It is my first smartphone and the only mobile phone I own. Now to have a spare phone is not bad and I will probably try out all the different OSes that exist for FP2 on it 
.
(also running LOS 18.1 on FP2)
I can understand not everyone wants this.