Fairphone seems like pure fraud to me. Commitment to sustainability, but cannot supply the parts needed.
It is clear that this part is a known and common problem, and fariphone does not even consider it necessary to do anything about it
Don’t respond for a moment, they just abandon you. Even if you are without a phone, it doesn’t matter to them
but they do ask a lot of money for an average device.
“fraud” means there is someone behind this lack of spare parts that is actively working to leave customers without spare parts. I really can’t see any reason for that.
First of all because Fairphone makes profit through selling parts, so not selling parts is not in their interest. Then because lack of support always impact on the company image so its hard to think Fairphone deliberately put its image at risk.
As part of my daily job (I work in the railway domain, so nothing to do with Fairphone) I also prepare spare part analysis to help customer in properly dimension their spare parts warehouse and I know a lot of things can go wrong without me (or my company) having any role in it.
A couple of examples:
spare parts calculation is based on statistical data. It’s not like calculating the area of a square, it’s something that has to do with probability (i.e. failure rates). All what you can do is raising the probability of having spare parts in your store when you need them but you can’t be sure of that. As an example, if a given component breaks more than its supplier told you (and Fairphone has to rely on data coming from their suppliers) you get easily out of stocks
spare parts calculation is based on hypothesis about “turn around time”. If you make the hypothesis that it takes two weeks for your supplier to send you the parts you order and at a given moment your supplier can’t comply to that time, once again you get out of stocks. FP3 dates back to 2020, we had a pandemic and we’re having a war in Europe that compromised the ability of companies to fulfill their duties, for instance in supplying raw materials or products. This impacted all the chain, from producers to final customers, and Fairphone is in the middle of that chain.
So… I can understand your frustration and you’re perfectly right to complain about that.
However, if you tell yourself that’s the result of a fraud, in my opinion you’re telling yourself a nonsense.
Ciao,
Max
Dear Max
Thank you for your extensive answer.
and yes fraud, it has more meanings;
If you promise a philosophy and thereby attract people to sell your products, but then it turns out that you cannot deliver on that philosophy, but only use it as a sales argument.
Then this is straight up abuse or fraud
Thank you for understanding the frustation and if you follow the forum you will see that it is an know problem for an very long time with now solution or reaction of FP
So no that is not nosense
This needs another reply because is totally another issue and it refers to sustainability costs.
Here again, you’re right. When I bought my FP3+ I was also disappointed by the “quality” to price ratio.
As time passed I realized that the ratio was so bad because of the way I calculated it.
Actually, I forgot to put in the “quality” part the fact that no children worked to build my phone, that workers had a better salary than other companies used to pay, that someone spent time and money to design a phone that could last longer, that could have a better impact on this planet life, and so on…
If you just take into consideration the technical specification of the phone, FP3+ could be a very expensive phone. However, if only technical specifications matters to you then probably a Fairphone is not the right choice. Samsung can give you much cheaper and better phones.
Despite my being a Fairphone Angel, I always discourage people from buying a Fairphone as long as I see they’re interested in performance to price ratio, as Fairphone is not the right phone to win this match. They would be frustrated.
Fairphone is a phone for people that put human rights and environment above other things. When I think of this I’m not only satisfied with my choice but I’m also proud of it.
Ciao,
Max
First of all: Yes, I certainly do understand your frustration. I get that you feel left alone with this problem and I’d also like to hear an official statement from Fairphone about this. Please contactsupport to let them know that you’re affected!
They don’t check the community forum systematically and might miss reports here. The more people report back to them directly, the more likely they’ll understand the severity of the problem.
However frustrated you or I may be, though, it is still important to not throw inaccurate accusations around. As for that:
I’m pretty sure that is not fraud. While one can argue about the details, fraud requires some sort of intent on the side of the fraudster. Simply not delivering on your promises is not enough for that. Some issues that are outside of your control - as @mpolito1969 already detailed - can always happen and are a totally sufficient explanation for what we’re seeing right now.
For comparison the first sentence from the Wikipedia article about fraud reads:
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right.
Best max
I completely follow your reasoning. If you want a lot for little money, there are other (not fair) brands and products
And I ‘pleasedly’ paid the price for my FP because I fully support the idea of fair trade and the idea of sustainability and not the disposable culture of smart devices
However, fp seems like a balloon full of air to me, it seems special, different and impressive, but with almost every problem there is little to no support, and fortunately there is the power of the forum and the community (which fp also stands for)
But then you read the same problems everywhere, the same frustration and no solutions.
And then it becomes more difficult to believe in the extra cost for FP’s concepts if the concept turns out to be just air for which you paid.
I hope to hear of a solution soon, but I fear that in the long term I will have no choice but to follow the polluted throw-away culture as there is simply no decent alternative.
So yes at this moment i’m disappointed and frustrated (maybe not the best time to be active on a forum 
thanks for your reaction so far 
PS; I have also already shared the temporary solution that I found as I hope that others will not drop out and continue with the idea of fp
Hello
Thank your for your reaction, I have contact the support with no reaction so far (it is not the first time the reaction is way to slow, I can’t wait for weeks)
If the check the forum, why keeps the problem still exist for more than a year? the problem is know but the still happen. How can a phone be durable if everybody has to change and trow a way the same module?
the sales arguments seem misleading, but if it is not fraud it sounds like deception
@Gerdi.V Fairphone is a fairly young company (they’re only on their fifth device now, and the phone you’re complaining about was their third).
The quality of the phones is improving with leaps and bounds every iteration, but there are some lessons to be learned along the way.
I cannot claim to have any inside information, but from my own experience with FP3 and from reading the forum:
I think we can be certain that FP is learning along the way, and I’m happy to support them while they are slowly improving.
We don’t know how big the problem is but I know several people with 3+ years old FP3s that are still working. So it is certainly an overstatement to say that everybody has a problem. It is the nature of the forum that mostly the people with problems come here to seek help or complain. This leads to a very skewed picture of how big a problem actually is.
That said, every broken phone is obviously still one too much. But there is also no 100% perfect solution for anything. Stuff can always break, mistakes can always happen…
Dear mde
Your indeed right, I have also more times good experience than bat experience. I also just come here to find solutions if have problems.
I just I can’t understand if an problem seems so commen that there isn’t an solution, or communication about.
And if it is now and you contact the support that there is no reaction.
But yes I don’t have to generalize this topic. There is an perfect solution, but FP can’t delveri for months, so what is the point for an modulaire phone if you can’t use it.
Fairphone support is really disappointing sometimes, so on this point also I must say you’re right.
The only point where I don’t agree with you (even if I can understand your frustration) is the way you throw the baby out with the bathwater (I don’t know if this saying exists in other languages but it exists in italian).
As Paul McCartney sang, “there is good and bad in everyone” (“Ebony and Ivory”, 1983).
I got disappointed sometimes by the support but I must also tell that when I bought FP3+ I had a problem of the phone rebooting by itself 3-4 times a week.
Fairphone support chased me for weeks. They sent me a new phone with a test SW installed so that I could use that phone and when a reboot happened I could send them log files. They prepared a new SW release only for that phone and uploaded to my phone so that I could do other tests and sent them more log files. We went on like that for weeks.
I think they spent to support me much more money than I gave them when I bought my FP3+.
I don’t think you can find such a support in other companies.
You’re frustrated, you’re tired, you’re angry, I guess Fairphone has managed very badly the communication on this point. Luckily you don’t have Thor hammer or Fairphone would have been destroyed by now. 
I do hope Fairphone can quickly solve this issues and regain your respect.
Ciao,
Max
Dear Dryhte
Thank you for your anwers
Having to replace a module three times in such a short time is not encouraging and only increases the waste mountain
You hereby confirm the fears and the question of what the point is of using FP.
New problems with every model, perhaps we should stop trying to innovate with new models to attract people and first solve the problems of the devices they have
Because of the way they are getting newer and bigger, they will eventually be no different than any other telephone distributor.
and the problems of numbers 4 and 5 do not solve my problem or many others
Dear Max
The only point where I don’t agree with you is the way you throw the baby out with the bathwater (I don’t know if this saying exists in other languages but it exists in italian).
We don’t use it, but I’m goinig to do it from now on 
If I had the thor hammer, I gues my phone would be the victim form the frustation, and I have to by the FP4 or 5, problem solved 
I’m still a fairphone believer and to keep believe you have to go sometimes trought some hard time’s. I hope as you that I will get fast an anwers and solution
Your ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.
Re. My USB port changes, that was my main reason for buying fp3… my two previous phones’ USB ports broke as well and I couldn’t repair then. Maybe I do something that breaks USB ports 
I was in fact happy that I could replace this one myself.
This is also my private reason to be a bit pissed with FP for being unable to provide USB ports currently, so I understand your frustrations. Still, not a scam
Drythe
You’r right 
I have changed the subject
Hi @Gerdi.V and everyone else waiting for the Fairphone 3 bottom module, let me start with the good news: We just received a big delivery of modules and they are back in stock now!
We do of course realize how frustrating the wait has been and want to thank everyone affected for their patience. Ideally, we’d sell an infinite number of spare parts to our customers for as long as they need them, whilst also ensuring we do not produce a single module too much to prevent producing e-waste. But this is - unfortunately - not so easy.
That said, we are getting better at predicting the demand for spare parts with every new generation of Fairphones, because we can draw on historical data from previous phone generations. Claiming we “do not do anything about it”, do not care or are committing “fraud” or “scam” is therefore indeed a bit harsh. We have been listening to the many requests for spare parts and are very happy to be able to deliver - albeit with some delay.
We hope that you will be able to repair your phone with a new bottom module and keep it in use for many years to come. 
Hello Anna
thank you for your reply I may have reacted too harshly.
I have now ordered the module and I hope this solves the problem
if not I will draw my conclusion from here.
Thanks in advance to users for their clear answers and opinions, thanks to FP for doing what they do behind the scenes and trying to help where they can.
If this solves the problem (or not) I will let you know so I can help others with similar problems
Fairphone is a fairly young company (they’re only on their fifth device now, and the phone you’re complaining about was their third).
FP is young in terms of amount of phone models, but mature in terms of years of existence.
Hence, I follow you in accepting the phone model design may have more glitches than phones from other manufacturers, e.g. FP3’s bad fingerprint sensor.
In contrast, concerning processes, support and communication facing users, I agree with @Gerdi.V’s moderate posts (i.e. not deception in sense of fraud but fogging or the ballon metaphor): There are so many forum threads about issues like lost data (think of local contacts) or lost functionality (think of brightness or bluetooth) or spare parts being unavailable for weeks/months. We also repeatedly read “we listened” and “we learned”, plus we users do propose quite concrete solutions (e.g. software updates testing and communication of known issues), but still, history continues to repeat: Spare parts are unavailable for longer time (have they really been ordered already when stock was still well filled but reduced much quicker than anticipated? if so, why is this information so hard to find?), the software update screen does still not mention a “known issues list or link” enabling users to easily avoid loss of data/functionality that is important to them, it does not even link to already existing page OS Release Notes informing about intended changes, etc.
As this pattern repeats since years, I have the impression FP does observe users loose their data or hit personally severe issues, but tolerate or neglect it instead of wholehearted tries to avoid it – really fair or respectful towards clients is different. I doubt I will buy another mobile by FP but instead shift or rephone.
The only point where I don’t agree with you (even if I can understand your frustration) is the way you throw the baby out with the bathwater (I don’t know if this saying exists in other languages but it exists in italian).
Same idiom in German
This view is perfectly understandable reading the truely exceptional support you experienced. The other way around, I did so far fully agree to @Gerdi.V because I did not perceive any considerable action on the reboot issue that also affected me – maybe that was simply a communication thing in the sense maybe you were a user representing all affected users including me and I just did not know about. In other words, if FP had simply communicated more visible what you did write here, I would have had the impression FP does care and take action, and purely the (in)visibility of that activities leads to the quite different perceptions of you and @Gerdi.V + me.