Hello dear community,
I have been following Fairphone since its inception and had a Fairphone 1 for a short time. After an initial test, I sent the Fairphone 2 back. Unfortunately, the technology was always far behind the competition. This seems to have changed with the 6th generation. It is now mid-range, which is acceptable enough for me to consider it as my daily driver. Apart from the asymmetrical edges, the design is really very successful!
After browsing the forum, reading posts on the internet, and asking users in public about their experiences, I have a mixed picture. For me, a critical factor in a smartphone is stability and reliability. Failures (e.g., sudden reboots at night) should not occur. I myself use a Google Pixel and have also had experience with Apple iPhones. None of the devices has let me down or failed in any way so far. Fortunately, even after years of use, no repairs were necessary.
I would like to reconsider other smartphones as alternatives in terms of sustainability and privacy. A Fairphone 6 with e OS would be the most suitable option here. The poor reviews of the support and reported bugs may paint a worse picture than is actually the case. Some acquaintances have rejected the idea of buying one because of this. Several new devices may be on the horizon in my circle, which raises the question of the best choice of smartphone once again.
How stable do you think the Fairphone 6 is and how satisfied are you with it? Have you had any positive experiences with the support? Perhaps someone has made the switch from Google Android to e OS and can report on it? I would be interested to hear what stood out most or what the pros and cons are.
Thank you very much in advance and I look forward to your replies.
Welcome to the community forum.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/wwb295/my_pixel_6_sometimes_randomly_restarts_at_night/
https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/284377009/pixel-7-restart-every-single-night?hl=en
https://9to5mac.com/2023/10/19/iphone-restart-overnight/
https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1iqnecl/iphone_randomly_rebooted_overnight_ios_1831/
Every possible computer device may serve you well until it simply doesn’t. Be as prepared as you possibly can.
While it is plausible that issues should tend to be statistically overrepresented in the information space because affected users have more agency and urgency to seek help (or to vent their frustration) compared to users who could only report that everything is fine on their end, the current state of Fairphone support still is a legitimate concern, sadly.
To me there seems to be not as much visible grief currently about Murena support, if you intend to buy from them with /e/OS preinstalled, but I’ve seen reaction times measured in days mentioned over in the /e/OS forum, too.
Apart from that every vendor will have to deal with bugs. With luck, not every user will.
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Please note that while you can buy the Fairphone 6 with /e/OS pre-installed both from Fairphone as well as from Murena (the company that develops and maintains /e/OS), the warranty terms differ significantly on an essential point: Fairphone’s terms allow you to change the operating system yourself (as long as you are able to revert the change should you require Fairphone Support), Murena’s terms do not allow you to change the operating system.
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Thanks for the quick reply. The point you make is absolutely fair and the links show that it can indeed happen with the devices I mentioned. In that case, I assume you would have the same concerns with the Fairphone 6 as with any other phone?
That’s a good point about the difference in warranty! If you’re going to buy one, it probably makes more sense to buy it from Fairphone and install e OS yourself. However, that means you won’t be supporting the project. I installed e OS on a Samsung Galaxy S7 to test it out and it makes a good impression. I’m currently working with the community to resolve a technical issue. It seems to be a good alternative to Google Android.
However, I still have questions about the Fairphone’s hardware in combination with the e OS software and how it would be handled in the event of a warranty claim.
I do not know the details on the FP-Murena cooperation but devices with e/OS preinstalled are more expensive and I would assume this money goes to Murena.
On warranty please check the following
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/14487777708946-Warranty-with-an-Alternative-OS
and
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