Hi,
I have bought the Murena Fairphone 4, and I would like to root the device so I can use the Aurora Store in root mode, which allows it to install apps on the background.
My question is; will rooting the device and/or unlocking the bootloader void my warranty?
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Yes rooting does void the warranty, but you had better ask Murena as they are the first place to call, not Fairphone, if you buy from them.
You may have registered the phone for the 5 year warranty, did you read the conditions?
4.2.12 Damage caused by the installation of a Third Party Operating System. An example of such damage would be if You modify some Android partitions when You flash a Third Party Operating System, which makes it impossible to go back to the official Software version provided by Fairphone;
Itās a very general exclusion and it would difficult to show your rooting did not cause a problem.
Hi,
Thanks for your reply, Iāll head to the folks at /e/ to figure this out 
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I donāt think that rooting the device itself voids the warranty, while tinkering with the partitions in general can (depending of the result).
I also donāt see that 4.2.12 of the warranty conditions refers directly to the rooting process.
Anyway, I agree itās best to ask Murena support if unsure.
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Rooting does not void Murena HW warranty (as can be found as answer to your question on /e/ forum 
):
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I wouldnāt put my hand in the fire. That is the statement of the community moderator. No official on their website.
I for one would remain skeptical. What such a post is worth in the end.
You could easily make that clear officially on the product page of the Murena FP4. But it will not
But at least better than nothingā¦
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Hmm,
if I go here and read:
What about the warranty?
Please keep in mind that Fairphone can only provide support for devices running on Fairphone OS.
Then it means it is under warranty as long as it has the original system installed. So, if you root your FP4 and it has a malfunction of some sort, you can (if you still can) flash the original system back to the phone, lock the bootloader again, and you have a FP4 like straight from stock = with warranty.
I might be mistaken, but thatās how I read it.
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I think that text means that they only support their own ROM. So if you have an issue with something and youāre not running their ROM then they are not able to help you. That makes sense to me and thatās how I read it.
This doesnāt really answer the question though. I think most people understand that if you brick your phone when flashing a custom ROM or rooting it, that wonāt be covered by the warranty.
However. If I unlock my bootloader and install CalyxOS or whatever, and the physical screen/camera/speaker stops working 4 months laterā¦ Is that covered by the warranty?
I canāt seem to find a definitive answer to this.
To use the warranty you would have to re-install the default OS then see what works.
if You modify some Android partitions when You flash a Third Party Operating System, which makes it impossible to go back to the official Software version provided by Fairphone;
i.e. impossible for Fairphone to assess. Sure they could do all the work of reinstalling and checking but why would they want to do that? unless you pay.
You canāt use the warranty whilst using another OS
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Or it is completely broken and dead, than it doesnāt matter what OS you are runningš
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which makes it impossible to go back to the official Software version provided by Fairphone
But itās hardly impossible to go back to the official software version if you flash a custom ROM though?
Also, isnāt the phone sold with /e/ as an option? Isnāt that covered either?
Thatās what Iām wondering though. If the phone ādiesā due to a hardware flaw, will it be covered by the warranty?
No, wrong.
If sold by /e/foundation or iode, warranty exist. Also extended warranty
In that case Murena (also Iode when you bought preinstalled) handle warranty and flashing of FPOS.
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As we are only user we cannot give you any def. answer however as long as the custom rom does not break the hardware, hardware defects would be covered under warranty
Itās quite fascinating how fuzzy their terms are on this point, I have to say.
Yeah Iāve emailed both the store I bought my phone at, along with Fairphone themselves and asked about this.
I expect no warranty for the installing of the custom OS itself, but nothing in the terms flat out say there shouldnāt be warranty for /e/, seeing as installing it isnāt āpermanentā in the sense described in the license agreement.
It is clear that if you have e/ installed from the reseller then they handle the warranty.
If you choose to change the OS you are only being asked to re-install the original OS to ensure the fault is not generated by the custom OS
Iām not sure what problem you have with that.
There is the isseu that if the OS is preinsatlled as in Murena selling with /e/ then you do not have to root so no problem with Murena
If you buy with FOS then yes, just set it back to FOS before you complain. Thatās a simple condition and makes sense.
I just want to avoid the scenario where hardware breaks and Iām unable to install the original OS. For example, if the screen gives up over night for no apparent reason.
All I want to know is whether or not they will fix the device in that case.
Letās say
No risk no funā¦