Fairphone3 - When will be the bottom module available in shop?

My USB-C Socket is damaged, because i fell over the cable during charging.
I thought the idea behind the fairphone is to repair the device.
Now the time has come, and can´t buy the spare part bottom Module.
The Phone is now 2 Years old, the spare Parts must be available, or this Project will have no future.
The Socket is one of the most endangered Parts of the Phone, so it should ever available to Repair the Phone.
When can i order a new bottom Module?

Edit: I´ve contact the support. Tnx

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Sadly this is only a user forum, Fairphone may have some idea. You could ask them via email maybe ~ support|@|fairphone/dot\com

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Perhaps you can find one on the website of one of the resellers.

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FP support told me yesterday that they have “no timescale” for the arrival of the bottom modules. :frowning: they confirmed they do have them at their repair centre but I am reluctant to send mine for repair as i dont want to my phone wiped. Any one found one through one of the resellers? Anyone know how long have they been out of stock for in the FP shop out of interest?

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My young Support lady gave me no Information like you become. Except i can search by the reseller. I think the bottom Module is minimum 1,5 Month out of Stock.

I guess this could apply to parts as well, even if not explicitly stated, it’s visible everywhere in electronics currently …

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As much as I agree with you, I am surprised there is again a lack of bottom module for a Fairphone. Was the supply big enough ? Are FP users different from other smartphone users since I had never heard about a problem with the usb port before reading the forum here about the FP2 ? Is this module too weak ?

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Well - just my guess - the bottom module with the USB-port is the module that is most likely to be stressed out; just from the tear and wear of the cable when moving the phone while it’s plugged in. And since it is a module with Fairphone and not glued together with all the other components, movement of the cable might lead to (micro)movements of the module inside the phone stressing the contacts and the module itself. Depending on the amount of stress on the port and the quality of the module (I would expect some modules to be weaker than others), this might be a reason for this module to fail more often.

That said (eh, guessed, to be correct), the FP2 and the FP3(+) are a different piece of cake in that regard. The FP3(+) right now is suffering from the same shortage of components as the rest of the industry relying on electronic devices. Just take cars for example; there are still configurations that can not be ordered due to lack of semiconductors and what not. And if even global car manufacturers fail to lay their hands on components, then it’s virtually impossible for a small company as Fairphone to do so.

The FP2 bottom module did include the loudspeaker and it was less sturdy, as it was designed like a “L”, making the modul much more susceptible for damage from movement. Add to this design of the bottom module the rather flexible design of the FP2 as such, you end up with lots of motion and stress-points inside that phone. The result seems to have been much more broken modules than expected; thus making this module sell out much sooner than expected as well.
The FP2 was kind of a test of modularity, taking that concept - unfortunately - one step too far. While the display of the FP2 was fixed with just a fes plastic hooks, in the FP3 it is fixed with 13 screws, thus lending the phone itself more sturdiness and lessening flexibility.

Once more for clarification, that’s my guess; and it’s not based on some insight or information from FP.

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Obviously not, if Fairphone somehow would have been able to foresee or circumvent the current supply chain crisis, which even big players in any industry weren’t able to foresee or circumvent.
As we say where I live: “You’re always wiser afterwards”. Or “Could’ve, would’ve, bike chain.” :slight_smile:

It’s absolutely not a good look for Fairphone currently after the Fairphone 2 bottom module situation, that’s for sure. Repairability simply requires parts.

The Fairphone 2 has a micro USB port and at least as far as I’ve read and experienced myself these are kind of notorious for getting wobbly or for outright breaking over time. I once got a broken micro USB port in no time on a different device (not a phone).

That’s mainly why I use(d) magnetic adapters in all my phone USB ports, even if USB-C now is supposed to be sturdier. Better safe than sorry.

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I was not clear. Fairphone couldn’t anticipate the semiconductor shortage much better than the others but I wonder if they didn’t think the new design would help to have less problem with the bottom module than with the FP2.

I am sure, that the new design is meant to be more sturdy. And just from the shape of the module and from the flexibility of the phone as such it is - to me - plausible.
Do we know that this is not the case? I don’t, but I have no clue whatsoever regarding the amount of defective modules or the reason for defects.

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