Fairphone 4 suddenly shut down and won't restart

[Duanra08]

Hello,
My Fairphone 4 suddenly shut down and won’t restart.
On Monday evening, even though it had 90% battery, it shut down and refused to turn back on.
I completely disassembled it, but still no luck.
I checked the battery voltage, and it is delivering a steady 4.4V.
I’ve opened a support ticket.
But does anyone have a manual with all the steps to try to identify the source of the problem? (with voltage check points, for example)
Thank you.

[AndreasChris]

@Duanra08

it shut down and refused to turn back on

Did it shut down regularly or did it just turn black from one second to the next?
Have you tried accessing fastboot/recovery mode instead of starting the device regularly?

[VirusBurst]

Also try emergency fastboot with BOTH VolButton pressed down and Power…

If it doesn’t react to… maybe your phone is fried

[Duanra08]

@AndreasChris

Did it shut down regularly or did it just turn black from one second to the next?
Have you tried accessing fastboot/recovery mode instead of starting the device regularly?

It shut down in 1 second.
And fastboot mode doesn’t work.

[Duanra08]

I think is fried…
Now, I stand an answor from FP support

[AndreasChris]

If you’re sure that its not just the screen that’s dead, it honestly sounds like a core module issue. I wonder wether that’s a problem similar to the FP3 sudden death phenomenon.

If you still have warranty the best way to go is probably to contactsupport and get a replacement. If on the other hand you’re still looking to recover data, then some of the troubleshooting steps suggested for the referenced FP3 problem (such as performing a reflow to fix damaged soldering joints on the core module) may help, but beware that that’s rather a last-ditch effort than a first step and may also damage other parts if unsuccessful:

Fairphone 3+, Dead in 3 years

Hey @Vange I can totally understand your frustration. The same happend to the motherboard of my FP3 two weeks ago. I already had an Idea why this happened (which I will elaborate on below) and tried to reflow the motherboard as explained here for the FP2 and tadaaa - after I put the motherboard in my oven at approx. 200°C for 10-15 min. it worked again But here comes the sad part of the story: A week later my beloved FP3 fell out of my pocket from ~10cm to the ground, and was …

[Duanra08]

@AndreasChris

If you’re sure that its not just the screen that’s dead, it honestly sounds like a core module issue. I wonder wether that’s a problem similar to the FP3 sudden death phenomenon.

If you still have warranty the best way to go is probably to contactsupport and get a replacement. If on the other hand you’re still looking to recover data, then some of the troubleshooting steps suggested for the referenced FP3 problem (such as performing a reflow to fix damaged soldering joints on the core module) may help, but beware that that’s rather a last-ditch effort than a first step and may also damage other parts if unsuccessful:

Thank you for your answer.
But, I will request a replacement from the support since I am still under warranty

[Meaghan]

would such a reflow void warranty?

[yvmuell]

Yes if it fails… Nothing I would ever recommend with warranty and even without waranty just with a warning…

[AndreasChris]

Since you still have warranty I’d only do this if there’s some critical data to restore that hasn’t been backed up and is really worth the risk. That’s the only thing you won’t get back if you opt for a replacement via FP.

[yvmuell]

@VirusBurst

emergency fastboot with BOTH VolButton pressed down and Power…

What is this doing or showing?

[VirusBurst]

Nothing, blank screen, it’s the emergency download mode from Qualcomm in case you bricked the phone

Qualcomm EDL mode

[yvmuell]

And that would not help you

FP4 / Potential buyers technical questions

The problem isn’t that you couldn’t use that, you can just as easily access Qualcomms EDL mode on a Fairphone, been there, but the loader you need to communicate with the FP4, unlike the FP3, is signed. Some phones just used a generic one in the past, not sure how common that is anymore. They don’t, (almost) all those solutions rely on tools that have been leaked, which would work with a FP4 as well. Don’t get me wrong, I would very much prefer if Fairphone just released the loader, but they…

[VirusBurst]

That would at least tell you, if the device is still ‘somehow’ alive

[helenreilly]

Hi

My Fairphone 4 (bought new in May 2023) has crashed. It just wont switch on. Have tried charging it using different cables. Took out battery for 15 mins etc. The screen is completely black. No logos or red lights or anything. Was working fine earlier in day then I noticed screen was black and thought it just needed charging. I’m trying to get proof of ownership from BT/EE online shop where I bought it in May. As Fairphone have requested this before they can do anything. My life has ground to a halt without it. Everything is on that phone! I’ve seen msgs here about rebooting in recovery mode but a bit clueless as to how to do that…

[yvmuell]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I moved your post here as it seem to be the same problem, although there is no solution yet.Maybe @Duanra08 has an update?

[Duanra08]

@yvmuell and @helenreilly ,
I contacted the support and I await their return.
For the moment, no solution has been found.

[helenreilly]

thanks Duanra!. appreciated

[facetto]

shure that this isn’t the same issue like this one: https://forum.fairphone.com/t/black-screen-issue-after-android-13-update/100933/48

how often did this issue occur on FP4 before the A13 update?

[yvmuell]

There was no mention about the upgrade, and for the OP it happened 6 days ago while the update is out since 2 days.