FP2 simply not good enough

OK, I’ve had my FP2 since January 2016. I was one of the crowdfunders. I was so excited by the concept. But the experience has just been poor. The phone crashes many times every day, sometimes while playing games, other times when I’m not even using it. When it does crash it takes ages to reboot. It can crash in the middle of the night while I’m asleep, which removes the alarm, so I now have to have a separate alarm on my watch just in case. The speaker is pathetic - I can hardly hear what the person on the other end of the line is saying. Music playback through my bluetooth headset is muffled. There are virtually no accessories available - I expected to be able to upgrade the camera (which is pretty basic) but so far no hint of that happening. No external battery charger (I bought a spare battery as the battery life is not particularly good, but it can only be charged actually in the phone). No NFC. No battery cases available.

All in all, the overall experience has just been a bit underwhelming when this could have been a fantastic product. I shall be selling my FP2 on eBay UK when my replacement phone arrives (I’ve gone for a second hand Galaxy S5 - I don’t need the very latest phone, just one that works properly). If anyone wants it, look out for it in a week or two on eBay. My seller name is olddeadpig.

I shall still keep an eye on Fairphone developments. Hopefully FP3 will be better. Best of luck to FP - at least they’re trying. Just not quite on the money this time.

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Why didn’t you ask a replacement FP2 under warranty? I guess that would be a lot cheaper than a Galaxy S5…

Anyway, good luck with the new phone. I guess it will never get a camera upgrade (which is pretty basic ;)), but at least it will probably be more stable than your faulty FP2.

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Really sorry to hear that you’re not enjoying your FP2. I’ve had none of these problems and I found an external charger which works well.

I’ve recently noticed FP2s sell for almost their full price on eBay at the moment (which is impressive considering that a 2 year old Samsung is usually worth about half it’s original value) so if you can’t get a replacement then at least you can get most of your money back.

Best wishes,
Nom.

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I have realized this as well. I cannot imagine why someone offers this phone at a higher prize as it is actually sold directly from the manufacturer.

Maybe someones touch turns things into gold…

Maybe it has the same background than sales of second hand Toyota Prius has.

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13 posts were split to a new topic: Noob issues with FP2 // Android Handbook for Dummies?

Last summer, I (unfortunately) convinced my wife and mother in law to join me in buying new FP2s. It has been a huge disappointment. We hoped for better, but the long string of problems (so far without solutions) has proven overwhelming.

We spent extra money to support the cause, but it is clear to me that the phone was too early for the market. I have been back and forth with the service provider and have a ‘new’ handset, but it has the same problems, namely:

-screen jumping
-no Bluetooth
-random shutoff
-low quality camera
-video sound not matching images
-proximity sensor issues
-‘launcher 3’ issues
-etc etc

I am so disappointed and frustrated. We all three had functioning iPhones when we switched.

How can we get refunds or can we sell them on the open market and use the funds to pay for our canceled contracts?!

Have you installed all recent updates and tried the treatments listed here in the forum? (Example: Stick a paper at the bottom of your battery so it sits tight.) Some of the issues went away (like the low quality camera) or got proper treatments (like the proximity sensor calibration) after an update. (Well, I currently do not have those listed problems.)

If that still does not help, you can contact support to replace your Fairphones with working ones.

An iPhone is a “premium” product. For that high price, Apple can afford extensive testing, a high-quality camera and Apple Stores where you can go into if you have problems. Also, Apple has a lot of savings and experience with previous generations of its iPhones. Fairphone doesn’t have that much money and has no experience with previous models.

But iPhone and Fairphone are for different people: iPhone for those, who want a “premium” product which simply works (and don’t want to experiment), and want to have personal support (Apple Store) if it is not working. Fairphone for those, who don’t want to be restricted from where the apps can be installed, for those, who don’t want expensive repairs (or throw the entire phone away) if a part (e. g. the screen) is broken, for those, who are concerned about working conditions.

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I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’ve had plenty of issues myself and should have got a replacement under warranty.

My experience with the support team has been a fantastic one - they reacted professionally and quick. Although I do know, that there can be problems like with any other company - but I can only speak in highest tones about this innovative company.
My FP2 (bought in May 2016) had reboot problems and I returned it about four weeks ago.
Got a brandnew FP2 (mine was in perfect condition, when returned…) and the whole procedure with emailing etc was great.
Kudos to you people in the Netherlands… :clap: …sometimes people tend to forget, that you are not a big company like Apple or Samsung (which doesn’t guarantee a good support service anyway :wink:)

All my best wishes for the future to the Fairphone-Team, I will stick with you! :+1:

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I got a new phone within the warranty time of one year. My previous FP2 (jan16) had the same problems!! There must have been a wrong batch of Phones produced at the end of 2015?

You even have two years of warranty :wink:

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while im still supporting fairphone in my minds “as a hope”, i had to send in my display and bought a second hand motorola.
its… well, to be honest, would it have two simcard slots, i had no reason to change back to my fp2.
the cam is fantastic, the android version is very well, the batteries last for 3 days, even the connection to the telephone provider is better…
on the one hand, the fp2 can be repaired or in theory upgraded.
on the other hand, the motorola just doesnt need that and was cheap, way cheaper than the fp2. i paid 1/5th of the price and have used it for some months now.

regarding support, they were perfectly nice and solved some of my problems (not all).
but to send it back, i had to register for 3? websites, had to buy another phone, had to…
then, the postman came and took the phone-package from my hands in front of my flat-door. never experienced something like this.

overall, i understand feelings of disappointment regarding the fp2, to be honest…
and as a shift working low income man, it was way to expensive for me…
well, in german we say: not everything shiny is (made out of) gold.
its still a fairphone and a company i would like to see getting successful and bigger.

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Sorry of reading that. I’ve had a completely different experience with FP2. It works properly, only just a few perks, but I have the feeling that FP2 people are working hard to fix the few bugs missing. I don’t use NFC, so don’t missing it and I’m very happy with the product itself, quality of the pictures, sound and resistance. I’m using Open OS and it’s just great. Just a few apps that do not work because of GAPPS missing, but that’s my choice. I had the same problem of rebooting at the beginning, but it was fixed after one or two updates. Main problems of FP2, at least in my case, are:

  • Battery life could be improved. Some games, apps or GPS drain the battery in just minutes! Otherwise, for a normal usage is good.
  • From time to time, depending on the charger, it’s impossible to use the tactile screen while charging battery. I need to unplug the charger, use the phone, and then plug it again.
  • Maybe a little too big in my opinion.
  • No more transparent back-covers available (for the moment)… :frowning:
  • Not my case, but some friends have been waiting for spare parts for a month… Seems that they have a little problem or delay delivering spare parts.

Overall: nice product, works very well and good client service.

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