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
@yvmuell thanks for configuring my editing profiles! I added VR Secure GoPlus to the row with “VR Banking”, because they work in tandem for transactions.
I don’t know the app “Secure go plus” that is linked higher up in the table, but it seems to be a very different app (also, does not start with “VR”), so I am not sure if it really has anything to do with it.
My guess is, it’s something else.
@Deuxrives I think the link is in the first post in this discussion
Is there any the point in becoming a Beta tester Seems to me it’s just Fairphone ticking another box. No disrespect meant to the testers, they fulfill their side of the bargain by reporting the issues they find. It’s what happens next I have a problem with.
Is there a thread on this forum where Beta testers report their findings to us (the community)? It would save pain by giving us advance notice of breakages if there was such a thread. True this forum is not a bug tracker, but in the absence of any meaningful support from the company, its all we have.
According to this thread, 203,653 FP3s have been sold, 11k were sold just last year. Potentially that’s a lot of very angry customers yet to come to vent. Some of those who purchased their FP3 in the last couple of years will surely feel cheated. Fairphone’s reputation on repairability sustainability is now under scrutiny.
I didn’t know there were multiple channels for pushing updates. Learning this recently I now think Fairphone should withdraw A13 from general rollout, and make it opt in. If you want A13, go and sign up to it on their website, just as you would if you wanted to become a BETA tester (only a different release channel). Could the the Fairphone app be used to advise customers of their options? Hmm, having said that, the Fairphone app seems to have disappeared from my phone. Weird
Not a good enough explanation.
So is it that Fairphone can’t fix the issue, or that they won’t justify and new part or new sensor firmware on such an old phone?
Is it the hardware, software or both that doesn’t make the Google grade?
As @bartim notes, it doesn’t look too difficult to change the part in the iFixit teardown were Fairphone to procure a replacement.
Well yes, that was some kind of miscommunication. Most people don’t scroll down to read all the change notes. This belongs to the absolute top no. 1 above everything else: “Warning, after update fingerprint doesn’t work anymore with most apps.”
So what now? My FP3 is barley three years old. I bought it hoping to use it longer than my last one that wasn’t fair, didn’t have longtime support and still I used it six years. The least you can do is to offer an upgraded module as many in this thread have already proposed. I mean you even produced a better camera module and isn’t this the core idea of the modular system?
So there will be no updates to the firmware and the possibility of an improved module isn’t even addressed by FP.
Presumably because its not feasible from either a technical or financial standpoint (if above statement is correct - that it is a non-replacable part of the phone).
I guess we can close this thread then. It seems like there will be no further action taken by FP.
Now everyone can decide for themselves if they want to take this (arguably big) loss in quality or look for alternatives that are up to par with industry standards.
How to turn off the system update notification:
Settings / Notifications, all Apps / Google Play Services / System update (at the end of the list)
It works so far, before I got the notification 1 or 2 times a day. I was lucky to read about the problems here before, and that the update was delayed. I now still have a working FP3 with Android 11 until the first apps start to complain they require a higher android version.
You should also disable the automatic update in the developer options. If you do not, the next restart of your phone will automatically install the update.
It is slightly different on my FP3 :
settings/apps and notifications/see all XX apps/Google play services/Notifications then scroll to the bottom.
Thank you @mmxmmx , I wouldn’t have found it without you.
Well, can’t see any wrong tree. Everything worked fine, the update without warning followed, now it doesn’t work. Nobody in Austria would have run the update installation, if we knew the consequences.
Miquel, explain to me how on earth you were able to write such a long answer without mentioning the solution of making a new part even once.
You guys aren’t new to upgradability. I understand you’d lose money if you still released new cameras for your old Fairphones, but come on, in this case, releasing a new fingerprint reader part and a video tutorial is the only way to keep this FP3 alive for the upcoming years.
I understand this solution would cost you money, but you don’t realise what losing the trust of your customers (especially the ones who bought the FP3+ less than two years ago) represents in terms of money loss.
Although not wishing to leap to Fairphone’s defence, I suspect that replacing the reader is more than just upgrading the sensor. Seeing as it’s a firmware issue, I would guess there’s a dedicated chip as well, and that’s probably on the mainboard. Upgrading that is a non-starter. It’s all extremely disappointing.
I do not thing so. The whole problem is the firmware, new firmware would solve the problem thats a fact. New fingerprint sensor means new firmware and while it is possible that there is a dedicated chip on mainboard, there is a very high possibility that this chip can be used with another fingerprint sensor. If the chip would only work with the current fingerprint sensor, the fingerprint sensor supplier would have had to work with the motherboard supplier and deliver the chips to them. That would be tedious, would create dependencies and it would be far easier (and cheaper) to either put the chip on the modul or put a generic chip on the mainboard that works with many fingerprint sensors.
While the existence of a dedicated chip on the mainboard is possible and it might necessary to find a supplier that makes a fingerprint sensor compatible with the chip, the likelyhood of this chip onyl being useable with the current fingerprint sensor is very low. If that would be the case, it would be a disastrous failure for a company that touts with longevity, repairability and modularity.
I think the optimal solution would have been for all Austrian users to have to opt-in to the update through an app, along with some big fat red warnings. I think that would make everyone happy.
Hopefully FP will learn from their mistake and not mess up again
That would have been amazing.
I might be wrong but I think FP only knew afterwards how devastating the issue was for Austrian especially.
That was definitely a horrible convergence of really unfortunate decisions on many sides.
But now I am curious if it possible to make such a warning for only one country. And if yes, how complicated it would be. Just pondering.
Seems to me it’s just Fairphone ticking another box. No disrespect meant to the testers, they fulfill their side of the bargain by reporting the issues they find. It’s what happens next I have a problem with.
