Fairphone 3+, Dead in 3 years

Discuss The Products
41

Hi, I bought a FP3+ in February 2021 for my partner and 5 days ago it suddenly stopped working, no LED lighht, no reaction to charging… I tried with another battery, cleaning usb port… nothing.

I have read that apparently there is a motherboard problem with some phones sold during that time and, due to the already expired warranty, the only solution offered by Fairphone is to replace the motherboard at some 300 € (I didn’t even try to contact them, as I have no hope). I personally don’t want to put the motherboard in the oven, as suggested by some users:

I ended up losing all the data and buying a normal standard phone with such a pain, as the FP3 was meant to be used for more than 3 years.

I also have a FP3 (which is running ok), and it’s a shame, and makes me really think of what will be the next phone I buy when my FP3 stops working, as I kind of lost trust in Fairphone due to this incident.

It’s so sad, specially after all the good things I’ve spoken about the FP to other people, now having so many doubts…

42

Why not? You had nothing to lose, and that might at least have given you a few hours of use so that you could salvage your data. See above, post #34.

There’s no need for you to feel bad about having praised Fairphone. I understand that you should be annoyed, I know I would be. But let’s remember that those here on the forum lamenting their suddenly dead phones are presumably a tiny minority. There are tens of thousands of FP3s still working out there, like mine.

To look at this logically: it seems there might be a weak point on the mother board. Fairphone didn’t manufacture that, and other phones have different designs and perhaps different manufacturers, so there’s no reason to suppose that FP4 or FP5 might have similar problems.

If it really is a weak solder point it might be quite easy to repair by someone handy with an iron, given precise instructions (which maybe Fairphone might be able to provide, who knows?)

This is happening to individual units, and may be related to how they’ve been used and in particular, how they’ve been carried around all day, every day. If we could do a survey, we might find that the problem comes from having been regularly sat on in the owners’ jeans back pocket …

Everybody should back up their phones, of whatever model and make, and everything else that’s important. You just can never know what’s going to happen. And nowadays, with secure, reliable and automatic services like Nextcloud or Proton Drive (to say nothing of Google, for those who use them), there’s absolutely no excuse for not doing it :slightly_smiling_face:

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43

I need an information, how much of you (people with broken motherboard) use normally fast charge?
There is someone here that have a failing motherboard not using fast charge (Quick Charge 3.0)?

I almost never used Fast Charge, because my default charger does not support it. Also not in the weeks before my phone’s blackout. So at least in my case the issue does not seem to be related to charging.

44

Hi everyone. I’m new to this forum- so thanks in advance. My Fairphone 3+ has died. I have taken it to a local repairer and they say its not taking any charge.
Basically, I checked the phone for the time, and it was working, I walked 5 minutes, checked the phone in case I had a message and the phone was ‘dead’.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks.

45

Hi CARGardens and welcome to the forum.
I’ve moved your post here, please see above and in many other topics.
The symptoms you describe are unfortunately indicative of a problem that has been reported by a number of FP3 owners, and which concerns the main board which is unfortunately a part that you cannot replace by yourself. The problem may lie with a weak solder point.

I would recommend that you get in touch with a local fairphoneangel if there is one near you, who may be able to assist with checking the phone.

However if it’s a problem with the main board, you might like to read the experience of some users who have been able to at least temporarily fix the weak solder problem. See for example post #19 above.

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46

Hi. Many thanks for moving the post and for the advice. Does this issue happen with FP4 and 5?

47

No. It seems to be specific to the main board (“motherboard”) of the FP3, and is only affecting some users. Only Fairphone themselves could have an idea of how many.

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48

Hi!

I’ve encountered the same motherboard problem like many here have had as well. My Fairphone 3+ just went dead for no reason, it had 75% battery. Even after buying a new battery and charger, it didn’t work.

There are a lot of my valuable travelling photos on my phone and I really want them back. That’s why I’m thinking about reflowing the motherboard, like @HolosericaCaligo suggested. It seems like the last resort.

I have a few questions about the reflowing procedure:

  • I’ve disassembled the phone so there’s only this left. Is this safe to put in the oven? And if not, what do I have to assemble as well? I’m doubting if it’s safe to put in the black wire on the picture. @HolosericaCaligo is that the antenna cable you’re talking about that I should remove? And if so, how do I remove that long black cable?

WIN_20240415_22_49_32_Pro
WIN_20240415_22_49_32_Pro1280×720 167 KB

  • About the picture: this is the side that has to be faced DOWNWARDS in the oven, right? @Ehocl

  • Other things I should know before I put my motherboard in the oven?

  • Also, I’m a little scared of causing fire, even though many people have done this before with motherboards. Is this a legitimate fear, or is there nothing to worry about? I’m using a second hand oven for this that I’ll put on some tiles in the garden (away from flammable material), also for decreasing the smell indoors.

Let me know if you have some advice!

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49

How many FP3 and FP3+ are affected by sudden death?

FP3 or FP3+? Dead or alive? How old?
  • FP3 dead, < 2years
  • FP3 dead, >=2 years
  • FP3 alive, < 2 years
  • FP3 alive, >= 2 years
  • FP3+ dead, < 2years
  • FP3+ dead, >= 2years
  • FP3+ alive, < 2years
  • FP3+ alive, >= 2years
0 voters
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50

Hey, thank you very much for this detaillied information.

I am also frustrated about my dead FP 3, and that I presumably would have to buy a new motherboardd-module (~220€) to get it to work again. That makes from financial view not much sense, and above that, its frustrating to install everything from scratch.

So I am very exited about your attemp of reflowing the mb. And yeah, sad that it broke after a while again. I hope, my , if it ill work again, will while at last one year.

So yeah, my FP wouldn’t run at all, after it turned dead without any warning. Although: since a few weeks before its death, the FP’s flashlight was always flickering, so yeah, I should have think about it. I was about installing a new bottom module, because I had issues with recharging the battery with most cables. They didnt really fit anymore. And sometimes, I had the message, that the FP is connected to a pc via usb, without having a cable plugged in. But before I had the time to get a new bottom module, the FP was dead.

So while deconstructing the FP to clean the contact (as I read in different forums) I realized that I was able to open the bottom module, to clean the usc-C port to the gorund. So yeah, I hope , reflowing the mb will help, and my FP will run again for a while till it can be recycled.

So as far as I understood, i put my mb with all the sd- and simcart slots upside into a oven (appr. 200°C) for 10-15 minutes, and then just let it cool out and built it in, right?

SSo yeah, thank you again very much

1 Like
51

Hi!

So I tried to reflow the motherboard in the oven twice. I did it twice for 12-15 min on 220 degrees celcius with all plastic parts (the black antenna and plastic stickers) disconnected.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any success.

Luckily there are enough people in this forum and on the internet who had success reflowing the motherboard. So, for people who are still thinking about doing this, you still have a chance of regaining your phone again after this reflowing method recommended by @HolosericaCaligo .

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52

So i tried the oven trick (but i did not remove any plastic parts or antenna, and not sure, how to remove them, could someone explain this to me ?). So yeah, suddenly i could charge the batterie again, and after a while, I turned it on.
The thing is, I got that “Your System is corrupted and not trusted. It wont boot” Message. I get into that fastboot menu, but cant boot the system or get into recovery mode. So I assume, that there is still some physical issue, cause i havnt modded the software at all. I would to reflow it another time, perhaps its not enough. what do the experts think about it? f.e. @HolosericaCaligo ?

And about the other topic: I like the philosophy behind that brand, and I am still willing to support that company. But I am now stuck between the alternative (if reflow or changing microchips wont help) of buying a new MB (appr. 220 €) or buyin a new FP. the thing is, 220 € for such an old device is a bit over the top, especially if I am not sure how long it will stay alive or be supported the next years. On the other hand buyig a complete new device is a problem, because i am totaly satisfied with the power of FP3. I do not need more performance. And the newer FP devices are much to powerful (and expensive for my needs).

Do anyone know, if (and how long) I get warranty on new bought exchange Parts like a MB?

Sorry for my bad language skills, english is not my main language ^^

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53

@Mampfus
Sorry to hear about your FP3. I am no expert in reflowing so I will not comment on that. But, as far as your second question goes, let me share my thoughts.
There are rumours that FP3 is getting Android 14 this year and that this may be the last Android it’s getting. My feeling is then that could give you the gist on the length of support, I say 2026?
Obviously you can shift to alternative ROMS afterwards.
Yet, perhaps it might be also worthwhile checking the market offers for used FP3? The price is similar, approximately 200 hundred euros, but most often sellers add extra accesories and then you have an old FP3 as the bank for spare parts, Offer - Fairphone Community Forum

Still, fingers crossed you manage to get your old phone working.

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54

Some summaries about the software support time are at Purchase decisions for FP3, FP4, FP5 and the following paragraphs.

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55

Thanks. Yeah, I will wait, if some of the experts is willing to support me. And then there is the alternative solution with changing the Quallcom chipset, but for that, I need some professional help from a friend or a phone shop.

So yeah, will see, one of my motivation to get my old phone fixed is to get some data and setup. Since I am using the old Phone of my girlfriend (some old and cheap Xiaome Redmi model from 2019) i can wait. Its a good backup phone

56

I guess you mix something up with changing the chipset.
The ROM is not the Qualcomm chipset. It is just the operating system software that is updated e.g. monthly, though it is called read only memory.

1 Like
57

@Jens1 I was referring to this Thread USB control chips: Qualcomm PMI632 and PM8953

Not sure, if that would help, but besides the hardship of doing that step, it seems to be worthy to try

58

Hi,
My FP3 died, too, after 4 years.
I tried to change the bottom module, in vain.
I disassembled it, following the ifixit guides.
I want to try the reflow method, but these guides stop before disassembling the motherboard, since it is not user replaceable.
Could someone who has succeeded to reflow the motherboard post (or point to) a step by step guide to do that ?
I disassembled the motherboard, by unscrewing two T5 black screws, and carefully declipping the top part.
Then, I removed the antenna wire.
Now I have the motherboard:

  • Should I remove the three flat connectors linking the motherboard to the modules ?
  • On the multi pin connector side, should I remove the metal covers covering the circuits ?
  • On the other side, should I remove the two black covers ?
  • In the oven, I understand I should put the motherboard with the multi pin connector down, because it is the other side that must be heated to fix the faulty soldered connexions, is this right ?

Another question: I have an air flow soldering station, would not it be better / safer to use it to heat only the connexions, instead of heating the whole motherboard ?
If yes, where exactly should I heat, and ideallly at what température ? Would it help to add flux to facilitate the reflow ?

As many in this forum, I am a bit disappointed by Fairphone. We do not have statistics, but there seems to be a problem of faulty soldering on at least a batch of FP3; Fairphone should acknowledge the problem and provide the explanations and the means to repair it at a decent price, not for nearly the original price (I paid something like 350 EUR for my FP3 in 2020).

Thanks for your help !

Emmanuel

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59

Just to give one more example, my FP3+ died the same way after 2 years and a few months, too…

60

This would certainly be the better option in my opinion. The oven was suggested because it is what people have at home. You would need to locate the PM chip that was identified as the most likely candidate. I’m not sure where it is, either you can find the information above in this thread or someone who has diagnosed this more deeply will have to chime in.
For temperature I’d go with what seemed to work in the oven or maybe a little above. As far as I see it, some extra flux should not hurt if it is really a problem with the solder joints. There might even be a chance to get this fixed for real as compared to what the oven and no flux might be able to do.

Edit: If using flux, you should probably try to use the “no-clean” version if you can and want to do more than just data recovery.

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