Enable desktop mode on the Fairphone 4 5G - use it as a desktop, laptop or game streaming!

Discuss The Products
1

Hi,

The Fairphone 4 5G supports both wired and wireless Android desktop mode - like Samsung DeX or Motorola Ready For, you can have a deskrop on a 2nd display such as a TV, monitor or portable display.

This video shows you how to enable it and some uses:

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks,

Rob.

23 Likes
2

Very nice !
I just tried it and for some reason the taskbar only appears on the phone’s screen while the monitor only shows the app drawer on an overly misdimensionned background wallpaper.

1 Like
3

Try terminating on the phone and re-launching on the desktop

4

Pretty neat!

Just as a little side-note, Taskbar is Open Source and also available on F-Droid: Taskbar | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository :slight_smile:

6 Likes
5

Thanks Rob I watched your instruction on you tube, desktop mode works fine on monitor with keypad and mouse. But the desktop mode on the hp elite x3 lapdock (which I still have from my Windows 10 mobile phones) is not stable. Is it too old, I wonder.

6

@Robs_Shed_of_Tech

Thanks for posting this. Did you test the other dock from Targus you showed in the video with your Fairphone 4? I think its this one: https://uk.targus.com/collections/docking-stations/products/usb-c-travel-dock-with-power-pass-through-dock412euz
I am mainly interested in whether the Ethernet connection works. Because I tested a few docks myself and none worked properly in this regard.

7

Hi,

Yes this works with the Fairphone - I don’t use the internal Ethernet as I just plugged in the USB Ethernet dongle my daughtwr uses for her Switch.

I am using it to play Halo using XBox GamePass.

Cheers,

Rob.

6 Likes
8

Thanks Rob, I will give it a try.

9

@Robs_Shed_of_Tech Thank you for the video, quite impressive are the possibilities of the FP4 :smiley:

I already used an external monitor (TV & computer screen) for my FP4, either wireless (Miracast) or with USB-C docking station (with DisplayLink Presenter), but I was not aware of the “Desktop mode” option in Developer Settings :slight_smile:

However I got lost in your explanation for the laptop part:

  • Is it a regular laptop? So can I use any laptop with USB-C port for this?
  • How do you configure the laptop so it knows that he have to take the USB-C signal as an input instead of output?
  • When you connect your two devices (FP4 and laptop) directly with USB-C, is your laptop already on (running Windows) or turned off? If I plug out the USB-C cable, do I go back to Windows?
10

Hi,

This is a lapdock NOT a laptop.

It’s a portable USB-C touchscreen 1080 13.3" display in a laptop shell with keyboard, touchpad and battery.

Kind regards,

Rob Knight.

1 Like
11

Hi,

Habing tried an HP lapdock, I’m only getting 2
720p.

12

I have now tested the Targus dock and it works flawlessly with my Fairphone 4 (with the normal 30 w charger plugged into the dock) and also my MacBook Pro. Functioning Ethernet and charging at the same time. Great.

1 Like
13

Fantastic!

I use the tavel dock plugged into my TV to play games using XBox Game Pass.

14

Thanks to Rob, it took me just a few days to get the desktop mode running reasonably :wink:
I now even have a “double setup”: using a 12" touchscreen display mounted in my car (had a Samsung Tab S5e mounted same position before) and a uperfectmonitor 11.6" Lapdock at home.

I’ve been using Samsung Dex for quite a while now and it’s quite helpful for my job and me. The solution now using the Fairphone is, of course, not as good and close to perfect as Dex. It took some trial and error to set up things. I also haven’t managed to get Second Screen running, which might make things easier and smoother.

Are there other FP users interested in an exchange about using the the desktop setup and the apps used for it? Since documentation is not really existant, it might be a resource for anyone interested.
Please contact me if interested. I have the technical means to set up a communication platform.

Regards, Haimo
(southern Germany)

2 Likes
15

Hello Haimo,
How did you manage to activate the desktop mode at the fairphone?
Answer is warmly welcome also in german :wink:
BR
Hardy

16

Hey Rob, I can’t open the video. It says its private.

1 Like
17

Open now - Ive made it public.

2 Likes
18

Hi Rob, how to adjust the Screen Resolution to eg. 4K aka 3840*2160 ?

19

Thank you @Robs_Shed_of_Tech.
Today arrived my new dock support and I’m trying desktop mode now (with eOS) and I’m very happy to learn this useful possibility, scroll in a wide screen, use mouse and keybord… very happy!

20

Hello everyone!

Today I noticed that I lost the nice pink-landscape background on the desktop mode.
image

Instead I have a black background. :frowning:

I wonder if it’s just me (some settings to adjust) or if this is linked to a recent system update (I’m on Android 12 - build B.065)
Could someone check, please? :slight_smile: