Hi Meaghan,
thanks for your reply! Regarding your input:
NFC, for a change, is working fine. I used it with zero problems the other day to read the chip in my passport for my electronic travel authorization to the UK (where I’d like to pay contactless in busses and such 
) . As kwasow suggested, I should probably ship on over to the e/OS community for the Paypal thing at least.
I am not using e/OS and one of the reasons is my guilty addiction to NFC payments
I’ve never had use of it before as in Germany, everything is still very much cash or ec card based, so I admit, I’m a noob in that regard. For my upcoming long-distance hike, I don’t want to deal with oodles of change and thought I’d simply and quickly set up the contactless payment thing that Paypal has added to their services in 2025. Since FP6 is capable of NFC, surely this shouldn’t be a problem, right? Yeeeeaaaah… nothing is quick or simple with e/OS.
Thanks for the Curve Pay recommendation! I’ll add it to the myriad of alternative apps I’ve already had to install 
I would imagine any Google services might seriously affect your e/OS settings.
I’ve checked and the debit card authorization on Paypayl isn’t even for Google wallet (I think I never even had that ), but simply for Google Pay. If I get rid of that, how would I even pay for non-free apps/ upgrades on a Fairphone? I’m guessing the answer lies with MicroG Companion but that brings me to my list of problems (which are probably all e/OS related except for the last two) :
what else is not working on your device?
Since you asked, here’s a selection:
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Any app/ upgrade purchased through MicroG Companion (?) does not integrate with the base app, i.e.: Hyperion Supreme shows up in my list of apps, but Hyperion Launcher says I don’t have the upgrade. Same with LED Blinker. I’m paying money for extras I can’t use.
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That missing-photo glitch that ist still being reported after, like, a year?
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Messenger notifications don’t sound and show up reliably. I’ve configurated the sh*t out of battery optimizations, profiles, modi etc. and still only get alerted like 30% of the time.
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Whatever that “bubbles” feature and that “pop-up notification” are suposed to be, I have yet to see any.
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Tried to remedy this with LED Blinker, but some apps (like default calendar), won’t cooperate with LED Blinker at all (even the base version).
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FP6 doesn’t show up as a hard drive when connected via cable to computer. Yes, I updated the ADB driver. Have to use My Phone Explorer for sync.
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Switch from WIFI to data doesn’t work reliably. Data sometimes only comes on after a restart.
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Photos never look quite sharp although the camera stats are better than the Honor 10 one. Might need to look for an alternative app.
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Something’s funky with either the charging protocol or the port. We tested it with a USB ammeter and there’s 0.5W flowing at max. At times, it says ‘Fast charging - full in 3 days’! Cable and charger have been tested with the ammeter and other phones and they work fine.
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Battery is draining faster than the 3550mAh battery of my Honor 10 ever did after its 8 year life span, for no apparant reason.
Yes, I’ve contacted customer support with a warranty repair request. They haven’t gotten back to me after almost 3 weeks (“It’s been 84 years…”).
So all in all, I’m set to start my remote hike with a phone that doesn’t charge reliably, doesn’t reliably keep a charge over long periods, vanishes my photos, mangles the photos it keeps and doesn’t do contactless payment (as of now), but at least it packs like a brick and isn’t water-tight 
Yes, I consciously decided to put up with the last two, but I was assuming I’d do so in exchange for some better features and the morality of sustainability. All it’s brought me is grief and endless hours of troubleshooting while customer service seems to have biodegraded without trace. Sorry, rant over.
Thank you for taking an interest! Have a fabulous weekend!