FP2 slow : revival options?

Hi everyone!
I have my FP2 since more than 4 years now. Small history might be relevant. Just like many others I’ve had my list of issues.

May 2016 : purchased FP2
Jan 2017 : automatic rebooting issue - after contact with costumer service, got my phone replaced → this is my current phone
April 2018 : battery life gradually became too short, got a new battery, didn’t make a huge difference
May 2018 : primary microphone defective - got a new bottom module (for free!)
June 2018 : again automatic rebooting issue - battery frame defective - issue solved with a shim
April 2019 : got the new camera module
August 2019 : big issues with not being able to charge phone/turn on phone and microphone not working - got a new bottom module for the second time, which didn’t solve the problem. Sent in phone for repair, they replaced the core module (total repair cost 165€) and afterwards the phone was working again
May-Sep 2020 : was abroad for 5 months without any wifi so didn’t do any app updates - phone became quite slow. Improved a lot after doing all the delayed updates when I came home.

Now, October 2020 : primary microphone broken again and phone is veeeery slow. Any activity while charging will make the app freeze and need to restart app in 4 out of 5 times. Any GPS app is totally dysfunctional due to the slowness/bugging/freezing. About 50% of the time, when opening any app, it will take around 20-30 seconds.

According to a good friend who is very knowledgable about anything tech, this slowness is due to the size of the current apps that are too demanding for the RAM on the FP2, he thinks it cannot be remediated.
As a stubborn FP-lover (despite the issues), I would love to find a way to revive the functionality… Is there anyone who has some tips on what I could do to make it faster? If there is no hope, I’m not going to get yet another bottom module and I will consider my options for a new phone (FP3 maybe) with a heavy heart.

Thanks to anyone for your help!
Karolien

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This is completely abnormal and shouldn’t happen. My FP2 is more than 4.5 years old and doesn’t do this.
I would suggest you to backup your data (see dic:backup) and reinstall the OS. There is a guide somewhere, but I’m writing this post with my phone atm and I don’t want to search for it right now :see_no_evil: If I don’t forget it I will attach the link later.

I am also already on my 5th bottom module and the microphone broke again (although I’m pretty sure it’s just a contact issue between the module and the core).

Another question: Do you have any work-intensive background apps installed, such as Facebook or Instagram? Maybe they cause the delay. Also have a look at the battery settings, if there is an app that causes the slowdown, it will probably be noticeable in the power comsumption chart.

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Please check Settings > Storage and let us know how full your storage is.

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This would be a pretty lame conclusion without really checking out what’s going on with the phone.
There are demanding Apps out there, yes, but the Fairphone 2 is still perfectly fit to run most of the Apps normal users use every day.

If storage turns out not to be the issue …

https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/210512123

https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001610926

In the Android world, a factory reset contrary to its name doesn’t set the phone back to the state in which it left the factory. It doesn’t touch the installed OS at all, it just deletes user data and Apps, and the phone starts with the initial setup again.
In most cases, that’s a sufficient reset of the phone, but if not …

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