Does the Fairphone 3+ have many Bugs?

Hello,

I don’t have a Fairphone yet, but I plan to buy a Fairphone 3+ (so I don’t have any experience with a Fairphone).
In the help forum of the Fairphone 3 I see that there are some problems (camera, speaker, phone).
Are these problems occurring only for some users (seldom problems) or is the Fairphone 3 / 3+ still very buggy?

I think / hope they are very seldom and only some users are affected.

Best regards

OLLI

The only bug that is common is that when using hands free, WhatsApp etc,.
The bottom mic doesn’t work in such situations so I/you have to talk across the top mic, which is fine sitting at a desk with the phone propped up in front but not when walking with the phone held low and angled away from the body.

It’s a recognised issue that Fairphone are working nob

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You might also want to have a look at this poll:

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See also

OK, I see…
The Fairphone 3+ seems to be very stable and only some (seldom) bugs occur…

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Yes it has look at ✏ Known bugs & problems with Android 10 and Group action against Fairphone for dishonest support on Fairphone 3

Thank you @gyldenro for posting this link!
There are indeed many bugs, which are still opened.
And some of them will definitely affect me!

Now I have to decide what this means for me…
:thinking:

I have used a FP3+ since mid september, i still cant use the phone without a headset, the mufled sound issue (a fix is promissed in aprils update, if that does not fix it, i will move on to another phone that i can actually use)

As far as the first link goes, which was last updated as a post in Sept 2020, and as the next post goes by @gyldenro most do not exist, so I’m not sure why the link was posted.

As for the second link, it wasn’t a bug but more a rant on how poor and slow response was, but to put that second post into perspective the user had a third hand phone 9 days before warranty expired and didn’t make a claim within the next 9 days but still got a replacement phone.

Undoubtedly the most pressing issue with t he phone is the slow and tedious response, not to be unexpected from such a small company and secondly the ongoing issue with the bottom microphone not being enabled during hands free calls, which can be annoying if not using hands free upright on a desk.

For a more uptodate experience see

If I see this correctly, then this post was updated on 15th of February:

Yes you are correct I mistook the date for the date of the topic not the post. :blush:

Ref the post ✏ Known bugs & problems with Android 10

Before assessing the list below
a) I have removed those ‘fixed’ allegedly by updates
b) removed some that are user issues not phone issues
b) left some user issue related to downloaded apps

Volume buttons seem to always control media volume - but always show ringtone icon. (Other volume types can be adjusted on screen when tapping the settings icon below the note icon)

If the phone is not in ‘use’ the volume controls the alarm when on a call ~ loudspeaker volume, when playing media the media So I’ve not idea why this is touted as a bug ???

Customise your Fairphone message in system settings won’t go away or on fresh install, add another email.

With no google account I never had a prompt to create a new email account. The Fairphone app and banner do exist but not a bug

Fingerprint sensor seems to lose function . . . . Most of the time it doesn’t work after turning on the phone from being shut off - but then works on second try after restarting the phone .

Never had a problem with fingerprint reader

  • New contacts can no longer be saved as phone contacts (outside of Google account). Existing phone contacts (from before update) are no longer displayed. Forum topic here .

All my contacts are on the phone and the sim card ~ maybe not enabling a google account helps :slight_smile:

  • There may be an issue upgrading devices with adopted storage, or switching to adopted storage. Possibly this is a re-indexing issue (which would mean the problem will sort itself out given enough time to re-index), but at the time of writing this is unclear. Forum topic here .*

If the advice not to format an SD card as internal storage is ignored then all sorts of issues can arise.

Connecting with other devices using Bluetooth seems to fail

This is true will other devices including my Windows 10 notepad and my Raspberry Pi4 if I am running 4G @ 2.4Ghz, wifi @2.4Ghz and of course bluetooth @ 2.4Ghz . So I switch off wifi on the Windows tab as it only has 2.4Ghz wifi and switched Raspberry pi to 5Ghz.

  • Have got the impression that loading battery is slower than before; this is a hunch, can’t prove it since I don’t have 9 anymore.*

With the new Qualcomm Quick specs, specific chargers and cables are required to get a charge in 1.5hrs. I use an old 5V USBA to USBC and it can take 3hrs to recharge from 40% to full.

  • Won’t connect succesfully to ReSound GN hearing aids; the phone finds them while searching for bluetooth devices, states that they are connected but doesen’t play sound to them. ReSound states that these hearing aids are compatible to all Andoid 10 phones. The hearing aids are listed as “Android 10 compatible” by the manufacturer, but this feature needs to get enabled by Fairphone. (I’m probably the only one with this problem, though)

  • some apps (“Tagesschau”, “Spiegel”) do not work at all, in general, starting an app takes minutes. Often You get the message: “App does not react”. After deinstallation and reinstallation of the same app no change.

  • Stock photo app sometimes produces \ (backslash) in the file name of photos, breaking other apps (i.e. Nextcloud photo backup) - Forum topic *

Never happened to me with stock camera or any alternative

I’m not sure my editing is that accurate but it indicates that much of the post is irrelevant.

If you are worried about how you may be effected by the odd failings of the phone and support then don’t buy it. If you are more concerned with how you effect the trading with the miners and factory workers then buy it. :slight_smile:

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Hello @anon9989719,

thank you for taking the time and breaking this down for me.
With your annotations I see that there are some bugs, but many of them are user-specific (like the problems caused by ab wrong-formatted SD card).

I think I dare it and buy a FF3+ soon.
Just have to wait for a feedback of a friend.

Best regards

OLLI

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After all your research I hope you will be happy if you make the decision to reach out and trade a bit more fairly. It makes the concept of soul and humanity being humane a little more real.

I haven’t come across anyone quite so inquisitive, quite scary :slight_smile:

All the best whatever you do.

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The Fairphone is so different to other phones, not only in the hardware, but also in the Software.
So when I would exchange my Samsung device with an other Samsung device, then there is not much to ask.
But I plan to exchange my Samsung device with a Fairphone, so there are some facts that I want to know / check before I buy.
But you and all others helped me a lot.
Thank you!

There were many aspects about a Fairphone that I had to learn.
Understand what fair trade really means and what is really important.
I learned a lot here in the forums.

I think you will read more from my side.
Some questions that I am interested in before I buy a Fairphone.
And some questions after I bought my Fairphone 3+
:wink:

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It has camera bugs, for example just yesterday I chose to use HDR mode and took a photo but it was not taken, so I had to restart the camera and try again. Sometimes the camera app crashes. I have no other problems. But there are no phones without bugs, I blame the fact that the manufacturer can get a way with using their user base as beta testers. You can call it a forced caveat… it’s not like people have a choice unless not participating is a choice.

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And you are quite right to do so, as Fairphone is not a manufcturer like all the others. Apart from the social, ethical an ecological aspects.
Fairphone still is a tiny company in that market, without the background of global money. Therefore one should neither expect the same performance nor the same abilities the global players can afford (especially setvicewise). (Though I expect improvement with every device, as was the case by now.) Hardwarewise the FP3(+) seems to be a quite good phone to me.
It’s better to realize this, before buying it like the next Samsung, as you rightfully pointed out. :wink:

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It is now two months that I own a FP3+. Maybe it is too early to comment, but so far so good.
Except the known bottom mic problem during WhatsApp calls (which can be easily remedied by a set of headphones) and inferior front cam image quality during video calls, I haven’t experienced any problems or bugs.

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Hi and welcome to the forum!
Like you I’m a newbie here, though time flies, I realize it’s already six months since my FP3+ arrived. No problems so far :slightly_smiling_face:

As for the software, my last phone was a Samsung. I’ve had no trouble.

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That I haven’t noticed, will pay more attention to see if I can confirm