Fairphones in Australia šŸ‡¦šŸ‡ŗ

Gā€™day mates.

Thought it was about time a dedicated forum could be about Fairphone related topics to Australia. I know a lot of people with FP travel or come to live in Australia and there are already a few discussions around that. (cue @Stefan) Thereā€™s quite a few Australians who have sourced their FP via European friends, and so obtaining new parts or service is a bit more of an ordeal. Thereā€™s also a lot of people interested in getting Fairphones as their next phone, but pending good reports from those already purchased and using.

Most of those that I know have had a variety of issues with the phone, and Iā€™d like an honest forum about that, and how quickly we personally have gotten onto the issues vs how quickly theyā€™ve been fixed once identified.

I have quite a lack of technical skills and software or phone knowledge in general - so if there is someone in Australia that is interested in Fairphone or has one, itā€™d be great to get in touch to chat about detail I just donā€™t really get :stuck_out_tongue:

I also want to be able to build support for FP in Australia, with maybe a little ā€˜guide to having Fairphone in Aus in 2017 in terms of compatibility, pros/ cons etcā€™
So feel free to add your thoughts in this forum, and suggestions for FP if they were to set up here eventually.

Some questions to guide discussion if you already have a FP:

  1. Why you were interested in Fairphone?
  2. What motivated you to end up purchasing one (what model and what year?)
  3. How did you go about getting it sent to Australia and were there any issues or things youā€™d recommend?
  4. Have any friends / family / colleagues been interested in your FP, and what might be the barriers to them purchasing one?
  5. What city are you in and what network are you using?
  6. Have you had any issues with your FP and if you did anything about them, what was the outcome? (compared to previous phones, i.e. can get it fixed locally etc)
  7. Pros and cons of having a FP for you :slight_smile:
  8. Tips if FP branched into Australian market?

If you donā€™t already have one, most of those questions could be altered for that perspective too.

@Stefan might be helpful and link up all the other self-identified Aussies or people living in Aus, and the existing forums about these topics? I donā€™t know how to do that :stuck_out_tongue:

Cheers!

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This calls for a tag!!! :smiley:

#australia

Donā€™t forget to add yourselves to the Local Fairphoners #addressbook ! :wink:

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Just a little reminder: FP2 in Australia will soon mean ā€œone SIM onlyā€. Since the remaining Australian 2G networks will be shut down in 2017, you wonā€™t be able to use the dual SIM capabilities (it supports 3G/4G on one SIM only). While this might not be an issue for many, I think you should be aware of that. If you are a visitor to Australia, you wonā€™t be able to use your home SIM and a local Australian SIM at the same time.

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Interesting @ChuckMorris - do you think this could be why my phone is displaying a scrolling ā€˜No Service - sim card not readā€™ notice across the top of my phone all the time, despite the one sim card I have working perfectly fine?

Still the ability to have 1 sim and be in contact with people is awesome. At least we have wifi and the NBN (lol) to communicate through online platforms to those overseas!

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Maybe Australia is the perfect Market for second hand FP2s with broken Sim Pins.
Itā€™s mainly an issue with older FP2s, before an apparent redesign (Here you can see my old FP2 with a broken Sim Pin compared to a new FP2 with rater unbreakable Sim Pins).

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Fairphones in Australia? OMG yes please. Iā€™m really not keen to have to travel to Europe to grab an ethical phone. Even if there was just an option to ship to Australia and some basic info on Australian use/compatibility that would be great. There are 23+ million people here and the market penetration of ideas of fair trade, ethical procurement and conscious consumption is really high.

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I donā€™t know if thatā€™s an option for you, but vireo.de ships worldwide for 25ā‚¬ shipping costs: https://www.vireo.de/fairphone/fairphone/3758/fairphone-2

Compatibility is discussed in this topic.

so you could still use 2 x 3G/4G sims though? ie if you wanted to have a personal sim and a work sim?

Yes, but you canā€™t have them both on 3G/4G. One sim has to be on 2G. Which one you may choose and you can alter your choose as many times as you wish.

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Hi @Bopper, great idea!

So to answer your questions from me personally:

  1. Why you were interested in Fairphone?
    I was interested in Fairphone from the start as Iā€™m passionate about knowing where products I own come from and that to the best of my knowledge they have been made fairly (workers treated well, not overworked, no slave labour, safe working conditions, etc). Iā€™m also passionate about the environment and having products that are made to last and to be recycled. I try to support people and organisations and initiatives that are trying to demonstrate new and better ways of doing things, and challenge the current unfair and unsustainable systems.

2) What motivated you to end up purchasing one (what model and what year?)
I bought one of the first fairphones (one of the first 10,186 to be precise). We pre-ordered when Fairphone were crowd-sourcing purchasers for their first batch. I was buying to support the concept, and to help a startup trying to do something amazing to give it a shot. I was buying the phone on principle. Where possible my view is that ethics should come first, and price/colour/convenience/taste/etc second. I realise this is not always possible and this is isnā€™t a judgement on other peopleā€™s choices - just to say that I wanted to buy this phone because it was attempting to be a fair phone and make a supply chain transparent and challenge the status quo - and I wanted to support that! If the phone I received worked, that would be a plus. The fact that what I got was a fully functioning smart phone to rival any other android, that it wasnā€™t some ā€œhippy phoneā€ (whatever that means), that people donā€™t notice I donā€™t have a ā€œnormal phoneā€ unless it comes up in conversation, that people then look at it expecting to find things wrong with it (because after all, you canā€™t make something fair AND qualityā€¦) and are surprised to realise itā€™s a smart phone with facebook and photos and stuffā€¦ these facts were just a massive bonus!

3) How did you go about getting it sent to Australia and were there any issues or things youā€™d recommend?
Looking back at emails it seems:

  • I signed up for a fairphone account in April 2012
  • I emailed a stack of friends in May 2013 to say I was pre-ordering a Fairphone and inviting them to join me so I could get them bulk sent to a friend in UK then bulk sent to Aus
  • In June 2013 I ordered 5 x Fairphones. They were less than $400AUD each :slight_smile:
  • After a few delivery hiccups (not necessarily Fairphoneā€™s fault) in March 2014 we received our Fairphones in Australia and I distributed them amongst friends.

Since then Iā€™ve ordered spare parts and accessories from Fairphone (more below on that) and got them shipped to other friends in UK, who have then gone and posted them to me. I canā€™t remember exactly now but I think maybe there was an issue trying to send the replacement battery overseas (I donā€™t think we could get it posted or couriered to Australia, but I think I was lucky that it ended up coming back on a plane with a friend in their luggage).

4) Have any friends / family / colleagues been interested in your FP, and what might be the barriers to them purchasing one?
Yes, people are interested. They love the concept and they want to support it. From memory barriers have been:

  • Fairphones not available when new phone badly needed
  • People forget its an option when theyā€™re buying a new phone
  • Donā€™t want to wait to get it shipped to someone in Europe then shipped here
  • Donā€™t want to have to wait for spare parts from Europe via friends
  • Worried that they wonā€™t be able to get it fixed here
  • Worried that it wonā€™t work in Australia (Iā€™ve heard that could be a problem but to be honest Iā€™ve never had an issue or heard of anyone with a FP1 or FP2 whose phone didnā€™t work in Australia. Iā€™ve also travelled with mine to New Zealand and used a sim there no problems).
  • Distrust that itā€™s as good a phone
  • Have read extensively on the forums and there are some things that donā€™t quite meet their needs/wants in a phone (eg amount of memory space I think?)
  • the cost of buying a phone outright instead of paying it off as part of a plan
  • I think there could still be some concern/distrust/fear of the unknown: Is it actually a functioning smart phone? Will it be as good and do all the things I need? Is something going to go wrong? Are they actually as good as they purport? etc??

5) What city are you in and what network are you using?
Adelaide, Optus

6) Have you had any issues with your FP and if you did anything about them, what was the outcome? (compared to previous phones, i.e. can get it fixed locally etc)

  • I broke my screen once and I ordered a new screen (and a cover!!) from Fairphone. When it arrived I went to a small phone repair place in station arcade (the one near the nuts and travel shops, really close to the actual station). He wasnā€™t interested or even curious at even taking a look. Once I said it was a Fairphone and he hadnā€™t heard at it, he just said no! My friend ended up ordering a spudger (tool) and fixing it for me from ifixit.com instructions
  • more recently I needed to replace the motherboard (I knew this because my camera or something wasnā€™t working and I had sent pics/had discussions online with Fairphone staff who had identified the issue and informed thatā€™s what I needed to do) I ordered a new motherboard and this time I went to another shop in station arcade (this one up past the escalators, closer to Hindley Street, itā€™s the city arcade shop for http://allthatmobile.com.au) You can read my rave about that shop here
  • I had a swollen battery which Fairphone helped me identify, gave me great advice, and replaced for free immediately (and as we all know, weā€™ve since seen that happen to other phone companiesā€¦)
  • The other thing that was really useful to me and has probably made it easier for me to say ā€œitā€™s worth itā€ and ā€œitā€™s fineā€ (see below) is that I actually ordered my parents both a fairphone when I ordered mine. But my dadā€™s old phone was still working and he hasnā€™t needed to switch yet. So when my mum or I have had a problem, weā€™ve just borrowed dadā€™s unused fairphone or borrowed a part from it, eg the battery, while waiting for our new part to come from overseas. This has worked well. I recommend always buying a spare phone that you can use for parts and back up (<-- thatā€™s a joke, but it has been very useful!)

7) Pros and cons of having a FP for you
PROS

  • My faith in Fairphone is renewed and increased regularly. I believe I am supporting people and an organisation that is truly trying to make a product as ethically and transparently as possible and in doing so challenging and changing the electronics industry for the better
  • Fairphone provide THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE I have ever received anywhere for anything, consistently (they respond to my emails personally and within a very quick timeframe, they go back and forth with me until they identify my issue and I am satisfied with their explanations, they have replaced parts for free for me when theyā€™ve identified them as a fault. They are just simply wonderful!)
  • I canā€™t comment if youā€™re used to an iPhone, but as an existing android user it was easy to switch to a Fairphone (from Samsung, HTC, whatever). Itā€™s just another android.
  • I love that when something breaks I can replace that part and fix my phone and recycle the old parts. I donā€™t have to go and buy a whole new phone!!
  • While I have had a few things go wrong, things go wrong with any phone. Letā€™s not kid ourselves, Iā€™ve had issues and glitches with and broken HTCs, Samsungs, and seen friendā€™s iPhones do the same. And Iā€™ve had this Fairphone for 3 years! Things are bound to go wrong, thatā€™s not unique to it being ethical! The fact that Fairphone is still relatively speaking a new start up and is attempting and achieving all that it is I think is amazing, and I think putting up with a few glitches and issues is worth it. But thatā€™s just me.

CONS

  • Iā€™ll be honest, the camera is not as good as an iPhone, or maybe any other smart phone. But donā€™t get me wrong - its better than all phones used to be, itā€™s still great and I use it daily, itā€™s just in some lighting and settings etc my photos arenā€™t that great and I know my friends iPhone will take a much better shot.
  • I have had a few things go wrong, butā€¦ (see above :slight_smile: )
  • Honestly the main con is having to order things to go to a friend in UK/Europe and then wait for them to post to you here and pay the postage, and waiting for a new part to come from the other side of the world can be pretty frustrating when you have a phone thatā€™s really not working, has to be constantly plugged in, etc (though I donā€™t think it should stop people buying Fairphone - Iā€™ve survived it! And the more people buy, I hope, the more the demand will be demonstrated and Fairphone will be able to export to a stockist here. I donā€™t know if the only barrier to stocking in Australia is finding/convincing a retailer to stock them, or if there are tax issues, laws, if itā€™s too hard for them to set up an overseas branch or to ship here, or whatever. Iā€™m just optimistic that itā€™s inevitable and just a matter of timeā€¦I hope!)
  • Oh, one other thing thatā€™s quite annoying now is that I broke my screen again (my faultā€¦) and the original Fairphone 1 screens are now completely out of stock and thereā€™s no guarantee if/when theyā€™ll be able to get them back. I think Fairphone are working hard to get their production cycles that which will mean people can still get what they need for their phone for as long as possible/needed (since the point is theyā€™re meant to last a long time and have parts replaced, not just be replaced by and upgraded to the next model). But unfortunately the system is not perfect yet. But itā€™s not just my screen thatā€™s broken - my phone isnā€™t working 100% at present (not terrible, just little glitches - potentially caused by my broken screenā€¦) and so after 3 years of their first attempted model and a few replaced parts, Iā€™m probably ready to order a Fairphone 2 (once I save upā€¦) and recycle this one.

8) Tips if FP branched into Australian market?
Just do it as soon as possible!
Let me know if you need help, Iā€™ll do anything I can to help you get it here!

If I think of anything else Iā€™ll add. If you have questions, feel free to ask. But seriously if it wasnā€™t a good phone and I didnā€™t believe it to be ethical, Iā€™d be tempted to still stick with Fairphone - their customer service has been outstanding! I really thing what this group have achieved is phenomenal and they deserve all the support they can get. I think theyā€™ll use it to go far. Jump on the bandwagon peeps!

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Yo.

I was unsure if FP2 would work in Australia. I can now unofficially state that it works in the Brisbane area/SEQLD. 4G and 2G just like the charts saidā€¦ But Iā€™m pretty sure I got some 3G at some point too.

  1. Why you were interested in Fairphone?
    Ethical

  2. What motivated you to end up purchasing one (what model and what year?)
    FP2 late last year

  3. How did you go about getting it sent to Australia and were there any issues or things youā€™d recommend?
    I got lucky and my aunt came to visit from Europe.

  4. Have any friends / family / colleagues been interested in your FP, and what might be the barriers to them purchasing one?
    Most of my friends prefer iPhones or anything with high performance.

  5. What city are you in and what network are you using?
    Telstra (f*** Telstra) in Brisbane/Logan.

  6. Have you had any issues with your FP and if you did anything about them, what was the outcome? (compared to previous phones, i.e. can get it fixed locally etc)
    Latest update changed a lot of unexpected stuff around. No fix yet.

  7. Pros and cons of having a FP for you :slight_smile:
    Donā€™t have to feel as guilty about my privileges, customisable enough. Itā€™s dope for the most part. Camera kind of sucks though. Screen goes dark during phone calls so I have to pull the battery out to hang up.

  8. Tips if FP branched into Australian market?
    Do us a favour and start a telecommunications company. Telstra has government hook ups so youā€™d have to outplay all the anti-competetive behaviour. Or just keep doing what youā€™re doingā€¦ More than I can ask for, I guess.

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Hey everybody

Thanks for starting this thread / topic

Iā€™m bloody keen for a Fairphone, and I know Iā€™m not the only one in Australia.

Itā€™s apparently not straightforward or simple to achieve that ends at the moment.

I was considering a Change.org petition to show Fairphone how keen we are and perhaps demonstrate the potential for an Australian market.

But then I thought if it is overly cost intensive to consider it, perhaps we could run a kickstarter to get an Australian branch of Fairphone started.

What do yas reckon?

SK

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Problem would be, that you have to follow all the regulations, i.e. certificates etc. to start a Fairphone branch . Who will be responsible to fulfil the legal obligations with regard to customer rights, warranty and the like.
As far as i understood Fairphone has checked it and is focussing on getting a serious foothold in the European market first. Therefore I would expect, that they will not even supply an Australian retailer lest support an Australian ā€œbranchā€.

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Cheers mates.
This is a very strong and kind community.
If anyone is interested in buying a FP, I am sure someone will order and foward an FP to OZ or NZ.
Or bring it in and stay for a vacation =)

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Hello
Just a quick note to say, Fair phone 2 works in Australia, I am currently trying all different networks here, (when i see a friend with a different network i try in the phone and it see what happens)

So far Ive only tried
Better Life Mobile - (a great ethical business) Iā€™m in a regional area of victoria and receive 4g and have had no problems, Betterlife runs on the Telstra network.

As i go ill update other networks, and also try the dual sim. Watch this space!

Also i am so happy with the phone fantastic product.

Cheers
Aron

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Iā€™m not too late am I? Because Iā€™m totally keen on getting a FairPhone for my next phone (this one is on itā€™s last few breaths, but I run my phone to the ground before I get another one).

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The Fairphone 2 is sold out, if you really still want one, have a look at this forumā€™s unofficial market.

Fairphone remains in the business though and is developing something new, but we all donā€™t know more than what the article (first link, see blue letters) says (oh well, iā€™d hope before the end of this year).

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So keep your current phone breathing a bit longer and have an eye on Fairphones web page.
Cheers, mate.