I’m surprised to read such repeatedly here while in the Shift Community I read it the other way round.
For rephone: future will show what happens now that Gigaset is insolvent…
And for Shift: they do a lot good things, while their devices show the same struggels than Fairphones with a community that is a lot smaller and a “Flagship” device still running A10 and no updates at all since around a year…
I think that Fairphone has a communication weakness they should address.
A company that has such an ethic footprint shoul be even closer to customers than it already is (and thinking of other companies it’s already quite close).
Sometimes disappointment (such as this one on missing spare parts) could be mitigated by timely responses and information sharing.
Ciao,
Max
That FP users peek at shift and the other way around is probably not rational but more emotional. Issues I experience on a regular basis, maybe even bugs that do nag daily, are perceived more relevant than issues I briefly heared they happen to others in “the other ecosystem”.
From user perspective, it does not make a big difference whether no updates are released or they are released but not easily installable – the latest firmware my FP3 offers is 4.A.0019.1 while https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048139032-Fairphone-3-OS-Release-Notes listes several newer ones. Yes, I could manually install newer releases, but as far as I read it’s a considerable effort + uncertainty (installing some software on a PC, unlocking the mobile, loosing all data so backup + restore are required, maybe banking app refuses to run at all (there’s something with root or the like) or at least not accepting the fingerprint any more,…). Side note: I am still on a 1.5 years old Android 10 firmware 8901.3.A.0136 which causes a bad feeling due to omitted security fixes, but that feels less bad than the fear an update will again make me loose data/functionality that is important to me. If there just was a proper “undo update” feature…
should you be interested in “fixing” this, a new topic would be a good idea. There are many things mixed together in this statement that dont fit together. Just one comment: you will see further updates, once the one offered now is installed.
should you be interested in “fixing” this, a new topic would be a good idea.
Done: List of known side effects of updating from Android 10 to Android 11 or 13?
you will see further updates, once the one offered now is installed.
The update screen does not tell that. It does not even tell it’s an upgrade not an update, so probably the vast majority of users is not aware the installation will switch from Android 10 to 11 with all related effects – some of which are considerable, like effects of Scoped Storage (apps can become unable to access data that was available to them before the upgrade). Ensuring that users can anticipate the consequences of an action is one core requirement of UX (User eXperience) and the feeling of “too poor” UX of the complete “FP package” (hardware, spare parts, software, processes, communication, support desk,…) compared to the marketing & price is to my understanding the core of this thread. And also, how that may be changed 
Hi Dryhte,
That looks familiar to me from the world of (open source) software. Little and not unimportant difference: updating open source software goes is a rapid cycle. You wish your phone to last for 4 years at least…
Cheers,
Cor
(both my wife and me have a PH3 that we bought second hand early this year. So far, so good… )
Mine served me well for nearly 4 years (still usable, we keep it as a spare). That was with only 2y of warranty. For FP4 and FP5 5 years is offered… I fully expect this to be honoured,
That is not to say that things like the FP3 fingerprint scanner cannot happen again - some things are out of control. But I still think this has been blown up out of proportion.
Very nicely put @mpolito1969 (and as an ex engineer and project manager, I also agree your explanation of spare shortages was spot on, thanks). The humanitarian and sustainability side of Fairphone is why, however frustrating the spares sitch gets, I would stick with them; there simply doesn’t seem to be another smartphone with anywhere near the same improved impact, and I don’t need a super phone, just a good enough phone (performance also adds negative impacts). I’m currently sending mine off for repair despite some advice in here to just buy someone’s spare as 1) I have a borrowed phone (not a FP) which will do for now 2) it is totally dead so beyond my repair ability - but hopefully not theirs- and 3) as a sustainability consultant, repair will always come higher up my action list to try first. And the repairers will let me know their diagnosis and can dispose of the phone officially and responsibly if it really is sayonara. So long as the repair is cheaper than a whole new phone, and the repaired phone will last a few years support-wise, the environmental impact is minimised as only the bad parts should get changed, so this is a fab combination of least damage and lowest cost. I like your approach as an Angel- I do much the same in my day job when bidding to clients about carbon footprints!
I feel conned by Fairphone as well (I am not discussing here with you about any dictionary definition, just explaining my feelings).
I have a fairphone 3(+).
Following problems:
This phone was released 4-5 years ago. And even after 4 years, the camera is not able to get for fairphone 3+. From a company like fairphone I am expecting replacement parts for 10 years. Now I can throw it away.
Type in any other random phone like “OnePlus Three” in eBay. You get really cheap replacement parts there (USB Connector, Camera, …). And this was released in 2016!!
I am willing to pay a high price for fairphone, no big deal, but with this bad support for replacement parts, I will not buy a fairphone as my next phone. I will also not recommend a fairphone to any friends anymore.
Everyone who has a fairphone gets talked to by work collegues, family, friends… you know what I am talking about. This phone has a high interest. Sorry, but I will not make positive advertising anymore.
In theory fairphone is sustainable, in reality other phones are way easier to get replacement parts. I’m done.
Did you recieve a ticketnumber?
There is:
The whole Internet? There are very often offers in the market place here:
Why? Because a LED is possibly not working? Do you throw away your car, when the cigarette lighter doesn’t work anymore.
Don‘t get me wrong, we all here know that you can always do better and the people at Fairphone are no exception from the rule. But they are already doing better in a lot of respects than many other companies.
@Lidwien Hey, yeah it is #1193716.
First of all, this forum is awesome! Don’t get me wrong on this side.
Thanks, did not know this bottom module includes the USB connector. Really awesome! On the website on the overview it was just written “gives your phone a voice…” so I thought it is just the speaker. Only written really small at the bottom, that this also includes the speaker.
I know this exist on this forum. But as I said, I prefer to use a shop and buy new parts directly and don’t want to wait, not looking for a bazar and hope that sometimes replies to my ad after days or weeks. It has to be easier for customers.
I am dependent on the feature. I am using this flashlight so many times, I would also buy a new phone, if this does not work. To your comparison: I guess you should more compare it to the main light of the car, not the cigarette light. And yes if the main light of the car is not functioning and could not be replaces, I would have to buy a new car.
I can not evaluate other engagements of fairphone, only the one how to get new replacement parts or answer for customer support. And in this way they failed. So yeah, as you said, they can do better. I am not talking about doing a mistake. Everybody can do mistakes. Having a spare part CURRENTLY not available is a mistake. Discontinuing sparts parts for phone which has been released by a fair company 4-5 years after release is not just a temporarily mistake but a big no-go. Then you have to order more parts, if they are sold out. “Everybody could do better” is no excuse here. “Just do it (better)” and you’ll win me back as a customer. Show, don’t tell. Simply as that.
As I said, even none-fair companies like OnePlus even do it better (or at least they have suppliers, who are still offering the replacement parts on the internet).
Easy repairability = Availability of spare parts + Easy disassembling
Many other companies fail on the right side of the plus, Fairphone fails on the left side of the +. In the end both types are not easy to repair, if one element is missing.
It is nice to have this conversation here. But I would appreciate, if the fairphone company and customer support would actually read and learn from it. Take my money, make it as expensive as you want if you have good reasons for it (high storage costs of replacement parts). I will buy it, I like this idea. But what I want from you fairphone, keep your promise in the end.
(I cannot and am not elible to evaluate fairphone’s other endeavours (sustainability, fair salary, …), but if they fail at basic stuff, other engagements are automatically questioned as well.)
So you are talking about the flashlight, not the notification LED?
As already explained, it’s not a conscious decision of Fairphone to discontinue the production of the camera module. The figures they would order are so small, that they can’t find any company being willing and able to do it. They have no own production site, they have to order everything externally and if all possible contractors are not interested or calling prices that would make it impossible to sell the modules with a reasonable price tag, it’s just impossible to get those parts.
That’s regrettable for sure, but something which can’t be changed.
Yeah, the flashlight LED in the camera module. As far as I understand, I would have to get a new camera module to get it work, right?
No no no, this does not count. Fairphone has quite expensive spare parts, so they should order more in the beginning and increase their storage. That’s why I pay the premium price for the phones. To get into risk and store replacement parts for the next 10 years.
And if you cannot do this, then don’t give this promise as a company. See, many customers see the standing of the company and buy the phone. When they have a problem, they don’t want to read in a forum, why it is difficult from supply chain perspective to get spare parts and so on. Simple solution: If you cannot offer the spare parts, don’t advertise this phone as easily repairable. Customers think simple and want easy and quick solutions.
You can find countless replacement parts on eBay for other phone (Samsung, OnePlus, Pixel, …) which are even older. According to your argumentation, also there, they should not be available, because the figures are there so small. But you can get new parts easily, even for many exotic and really old phones.
I understand your answer from a economical perspective. But for other companies it obviously also works.
Yes, yes, yes that does count. You will never know how much of every part you will need. So ordering far to much is not sustainable and economically senseless, so against the Fairphone principles.
Other companies sell much much much more phones of a single model than Fairphone sold altogether since the FP1.