I wanted to open this discussion to hear from any Fairphone 6 new users: what’s your feedback on the microphone performance?
I’ve been using the Fairphone 5 for the past 243 days, and there’s one thing that I still find hard to accept—the microphone quality. I’ve reported the issue, and I’ve seen many other users do the same. The sound quality and distortion are, frankly, unbearable and unacceptable.
I chose Fairphone primarily for its sustainability values and made a significant investment in the FP5 (over €600!). But now I’m seriously considering switching to the FP6—only if it offers a noticeably better microphone.
So I have a few questions for you:
Has anyone tested the FP6 microphone already?
Is the sound quality good in noisy and loud environments?
And more broadly: how sustainable is it really to keep releasing new models if users are pushed to upgrade due to unresolved hardware issues?
This is my first new phone, the Fairphone6, the second smartphone I ever bought.
The sound is terrible, clipping, only useful for calling. Maybe software exists to adjust the gain, microphone input level? Could it solve the problem? I’ll continue using my iPhone7plus for recording music.
Thanks for the comparison! However, I was particularly interested in understanding how the FP6 performs in loud environments—such as music, crowd noise, sudden loud sounds, or kids screaming.
In my experience with the FP5, the sound becomes completely distorted and starts clipping in all of these situations. Many other users have reported similar feedback, so I was hoping that this issue had been resolved in the FP6. But based on the comments I’ve read, it seems the problem still persists. Such a shame.
With the FP5, one of the proposed solutions was to download OpenCamera and change some microphone audio source settings as you can see in the latest comments here. But after a few months of using OpenCamera to record videos in loud environments on my FP5, I can say it doesn’t make much of a difference.
Based on my experience, I still can’t record videos or send voice messages in noisy environments—the sound becomes completely distorted. I also tried using the Dolby On app to record video/audio and tweak the tone and other audio settings. It helps slightly, but it takes time and effort, and the improvement is minimal.
I really can’t believe they still haven’t fixed this major issue in the FP6, especially considering that it was already widely reported with the FP4.
It could be due to the fact that they couldn’t find any microphone suppliers that are produced fairly? The high dynamic range mics have been around since about 2012 or so. There was also a patent on them.
To be clear, the fairphone microphones are performing worse in these noisy environments… Compared to what?
I just want to understand what phone by comparison is good in such cases. I’m hard of hearing so I can’t tell a difference, but now I’m wondering because I have a speech to text app.
I honestly believe Fairphone microphones are performing worse than any other phone on the market right now, pick any brand: Samsung, Apple, or others. And based on my personal experience, even phones from 5–6 years ago outperform them. My previous phone before the FP5 was a Samsung S10e, which I used for five years. It was released in 2019, and its microphone performance in loud environments is simply not comparable to the Fairphone. The same goes for older models like the iPhone SE from 2020 and other phones my friends used while recording live music alongside me when I was using the FP5.
That’s why I find it so disappointing to hear that the FP6 still hasn’t addressed this obvious issue.
Phone would be good- but as you said the
microphone / sound recording quality is so awful
i cant believe it.
Is Fairphone really selling a product which is
sort of defect?!
Wrote the support- hope they find a solution to
replace the microphone…
Doubt it.
If the problem will not be solved we have to warn potential buyers on social media,
“Fair” ??
Buying a new phone on launch is like buying a Bethesda game on launch. You’re always better to hold back and watch reviews. So while we might assume that a phone in 2025 will have perfect camera, mic etc, it’s not guaranteed. Buying a FP you are prioritising reparability and ethics over everything else. It shouldn’t have to be like this but then the world isn’t perfect. The rich businesses who exploit people both in the supply chain and their customers with non-repairable devices to maximise their profits will always have more money to spend on R&D and engineering.
Agree.
I am just saying they should really try to fix that via Update or offer to buy a replacement to for the microphone. I pay for it- fair enough.
Fairphone has to meet some standards if they want to continue to be successful- and I am sure they know best.
In many ways they meet these standards already which makes the product so interesting for new customers like me.
It would be a big mistake to play it with “Fair OR good”.
They can do both and their marketing tells us.
Its a good AND fair product already- but major BUGS like this audio recording quality should really be fixed.
I am talkin about standard sound record quality, not expecting high end.
Thanks,
Best T.
Well, they have promised an update on 14th of July for some issues. I’m sure it did mention sound recording. But I guess unless there’s a software bug or some sound processing is not working correctly (multiple mic algorithm issue) then it may just be a hardware limitation. Will have to wait and see.
I wanted to share something that might help others running into the same issue I had with the Fairphone 6 and audio recording.
The issue
When I tried recording live music (especially with strong bass), the audio came out muffled, overcompressed, and with almost no bass. At first, I thought it might be a hardware issue — but turns out it’s not.
What’s actually happening in my opinion
The problem seems to come from the default audio source used by the stock camera app (and probably other apps too). The system applies aggressive processing like:
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) — messes with volume levels
Noise suppression — kills detail and dynamics
High-pass filtering — removes bass
Basically, it’s tuned for voice, not music. So loud or dynamic recordings (like live gigs) sound awful.
What fixed it for me
Switching to apps that let you pick the audio source manually made all the difference. I now use two:
1. Open Camera – for video
Audio source: Unprocessed
2. Easy Voice Recorder Pro – for standalone audio
Audio source: Unprocessed
Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
Channel: Mono
Both apps let me bypass the system’s audio filters, and suddenly the recordings have proper bass and sound way more natural.
Caveats
The default Fairphone camera app doesn’t let you change audio source, so it’s stuck with the filtered sound.
There’s currently no OS-level toggle to change the default audio source unless you’re rooted.
It would be nice to have some feedback on this very soon by the dev team.
If you prefer a free option (both “free as in free beer” and “free as in freedom of speech” ) you can use Audio Recorder (F-Droid). I use it on my FP3 as it also allows you to choose the ‘unprocessed’ audio input, and I am very happy with it.
I’m hard of hearing so I can’t tell a difference, but now I’m wondering because I have a speech to text app.
The issue
What’s actually happening in my opinion
What fixed it for me
Caveats
) you can use Audio Recorder (