@AnotherElk
Just to clarify what we talk about when mentioning “legacy” options.
It means getting an appointment weeks ahead of time, travelling in the best half an hour to an office (usually between 0800 and 1200), waiting for a bit (an hour or so), then filing stuff in person. Alternatively you might be able to mail it using the postal service, if you are able to find a post box, which itself is emptied every two days.
There was an option till about two years ago I want to say where you could use the old app which just sent you an OTP. But that was discontinued and replaced for everyone using the app. And reverting to this version is not possible.
Also some functions are not possible in person like checking the current status of your filing.
But I agree that forcing an app is not a great idea, especially in a country which is relatively old. Not the country itself but the population.
Forcing stuff is never a good idea. It does not matter if it is an app or some other thing. @jedesnal Thank you for inquiring with a-trust. This is very much appreciated.
@mikiballester Thank you for your post about the fingerprint issue!
Are you aware that there are some other bugs with A13 that have been discussed [here],(FP3+: Issues with Android 13 update) for example? I also found another bug which I did not post, as this is just a user forum.
As there is no official bug tracker: Is there any other “official” way to report bugs?
Sending a bug report to support does not help. Looks like they don’t have access to an internal bug tracker as well. And obviously the support team are not Fairphone employees but hired external people, which never have been holding a Fairphone device in their hands.
Thank you for any information how to file bug reports efficiently, so they really reach the dev team!
In my experience, as I tried to explain, this is not always really working and I doubt all the reports are really forwarded, so the right persons are aware about.
So I thought that there may be a way to report things more direct to the dev team.
But nevermind, if this is not the case, then it is like this.
I can understand all the technical issues at hand here. With lots of hard choices to be made and of things where others should be blamed instead of Fairphone.
But why isn’t Fairphone allowing its user to make these choices themselves and is giving us a clear and easy way to stay on Android 11 for the moment?
Instead of pushing out Android 13 without a warning and deciding that Austrian FP3 users just don’t need an easy way to file their taxes or apply for absentee voting in the next election?
I applaud Fairphone efforts to keep supporting the FP3 with such a small team and you did a really excellent job so far. But without any clear commitment to a certain feature set the promise of constant updates is getting quite hollow.
Because even if the problem doesn’t exist on the FP4 right now. How I’m supposed to trust that it I won’t have the some or similar issue with an FP4 next week?
As we explained in the post, that app does not follow the recommendations of Google. By only allowing to use biometrics, it is closing the door to other more safe ways of logging in, like a password.
The Digitales Amt is aiming to provide the same level of security as your physical passport. Using the same biometric features that allows authorities around the world to verify the validity of your passport.
And as far as I’m aware the is no boarder guard around the would allowing you to get past a boarder check with a PIN code in case the picture on you passport got destroyed.
If Fairphone instead of pushing the Android 13 update on my phone would have put my actual passport on fire. It would be much less of an hassle and cheaper to get a replacement then finding a way to get Digitales Amt working again for me right now.
What further explanation and apologies are you looking for?
It was tested, noone from Austria seem to be on the beta tester group, so this was actually unknown, it was pushed, after first feedback from users, communication was added, apologies and further explanation was given. Was it handled the best way? No, as FP confirms, however thats how it is now. I understand your disappointment, however I doubt any further expalantion about the why will help to solve the current situation for you.
As I just visited the Shifphone HP a few minutes ago: they have upgrade options, in case such things happen, that would be in my opinion a good approach here as well.
I assume Fairphone isn’t considering this option because the fingerprint sensor does not seem to be built to be user replaceable. (That being said: I agree that this would be a great idea; while it isn’t intended to be user replaceable, it also doesn’t look that hard to do so in the iFixit teardown)
Theoretical idea/question: If the fingerprint sensor firmware would be reverse engineered by the community and a reimplementation would be supplied that meets the requirements for strong authenticators in Android 13, would you be able and willing to integrate it in an update for the official Fairphone OS, thereby restoring support for the fingerprint sensor in all apps? Or are you not allowed to do so by a license agreement with the manufacturer of the fingerprint reader?
Edit2: @mikiballester tagging you to open the room for solutions, instead of explanations.
I would like to add my view and I’m not affected, as I no longer use the FP3:
I appreciate that Fairphone listens to their users and provides explanations about what happened and all this is understandble. What I’m actually missing is a constructiv approach for those needing to use an App that does not offer PIN/Password.
So overall what I would hope for in general moving forward: more action instead of just reaction due to negative comments.
“Um oesterreich.gv.at noch komfortabler nutzen zu können, wurde die App “Digitales Amt” entwickelt. Damit haben Sie alle Bürgerservices noch schneller zur Hand und können nach einmaliger Aktivierung Ihrer ID Austria jederzeit Amtswege komfortabel online erledigen.”
[App "Digitales Amt"; emphasis added]
It’s a convenience issue only and the software is broken by design. You’re barking at the wrong tree (to put it mildly).
@RMW definitely not; 48h ago I had a working software configuration on my FP3; now I haven’t.
What has changed is OS - not the app!
I expect FP developer team to offer an easy accessible rollback option to Android 11 (via updater) as long as the fingerprint firmware issue is not solved!
@RMW
To me it is not a convenience thing. If you want to do anything digitally you need the app, because the app is also used for MFA on government web sites.
But I agree that the design is broken and I assume that there is no malicious intent just the usual idiocy in decision making I come to expect from the Austrian administration.
The legacy app in use prior to “Digitales Amt” is also broken now. (Will add it to the list.) For the same reason even though it supports PIN as an authentication method but first you need working biometrics to change the setting.
That I will call an epic fail.
I still can’t see VR Banking app on the list of apps which are affected by the malfunctioning Fingerprint sensor in A13 and would like to emphasize that it really really helps if you check that list for the apps you use if that list is as complete as possible!
I checked that list, upgraded and only after that found out I can’t use the sensor any longer in that particular banking app.
I can’t add to the list myself. Noone has added the info.
I guess there’s other people perusing the list for the info same way I was checking. OTOH, by now it just doesn’t matter any longer, what do I know.
It’s all very disappointing