FP3 Display freezes! Display noise issue

Hi there,
Just wanted to keep you updated… everything is still fine… yeah!

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Hi,
I have one of the first fp3 and I had the same problem yesterday after a walk with the phone in my pocket. After trying to restart, removing battery several times, " shaking" the phone,… it worked again … As some of you suppose I assume too this could be a problem of contact… Let’s hope it will keep on working…

Hi everyone,
I bought my FP3 in May 2020 and the 11th of August, when I was on holiday, I took the FP3 out of my pocket and put it on the table. After few minutes I went back to take it, and the screen was totally pixelised, exactly as shown in other pictures above.
Today, 23th of August, I tried to do the “twisting” as proposed by @Audouin_Leo and guess what… it worked also for me. Now my phone is back and I couldn’t be more happy!
I’ll keep you updated wnenever the problem will show up again…
cheers!

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i am seeing this

but on a FP3.

seriously, this is the worst phone i ever owned.

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I moved your post here as there was already a thread about it.
You checked this message written a bit higher in the topic:

twisting the phone fixed it for me as well, then flipped back to snow, then back again.

so even fp1 already had this issue, right?

seriously, i dont want to rely on a device that works this way. sending this back a.s.a.p.

Hi,

I just had the same grey/noisy screen on my FP3. Found this thread. Removed the display for the first time, cleaned the contacts a bit, reassembled the phone and everything is back to normal. My phone is working after 15 minutes of “repairing” (the display was really hard to get off the frame).
Thank you for making this awesome product and thanks to the community for providing help and solutions.

Best regards,
Plak

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It’s great you found help here and your phone is working again!
Anyway, as your phone is a FP3 I’ve just moved your post from the FP2 to the FP3 category and hope it fits better here. :sunglasses:

Thanks. I found the FP2 thread through a google picture search.

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That’s great! Still I assume that the pictures in this thread should resemble more your FP3 than the phones in the other one… :wink:

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As I can’t edit my old publication, and seeing that this still happens to other people, I want to share with everyone that 9 months later, and after removing and assambling the screen again after the freezed colored pixels that day, I haven’t had that problem again until today. I hope it continues like this :crossed_fingers::slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi there,
Since my last post on this topic a few months ago, the problem did not reoccur… until my phone fell from about 40cm height. The screen was rainbow pixelized again. I was scared… I just did a “twisting” thing and it immediately came back to normal, without needing to open it or removing the display. I did even not turn it off.

Cheers

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The problem first showed after dropping my FP3 in a horizontal position flat on a wooden table top from less than an inch. The screen would – at apparently random intervals – freeze even without interaction (e.g. while watching a video) but audio would play on, weird false color halos would show in pure red and green, and ultimately the full screen of rainbow pixels. Rotating the phone would sometimes resolve the freeze. Switching the display off and on again would sometimes resolve the full screen of rainbow pixels. The display would still react to touch.

The problem escalated quickly within hours, rendering the phone unusable. Rebooting the device several times, removing the battery and SIM cards, etc made no difference.

Fairphone support suggested that

this issue can be caused by the display module not being properly connected to the core module. We suggest you the following steps:

  1. Put your phone on a flat surface
  2. Turn the phone on
  3. Press all along the border of your phone with your thumb (not too hard). Does the screen work normally after this?

The procedure did help, but the problem reappeared every other day, even multiple times on one day! At some point the procedure did stop helping.

I checked the four screws that secure the connection between display and core module as suggested by urs_lesse but found them tight. I then disassembled my phone as suggested by corvuscorax (see this video on how to replace the display of your Fairphone 3). I cleaned the display contacts with isopropyl alcohol (aka isopropanol). After reassembling the phone the problem has not reappeard for three days.

Is this truely is the price to pay for a phone that can be disassembled without having to unsolder components?

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Can anyone suggest how to remove the screws attaching the display…9 came out easy but remaining were “chewed” so can’t get purchase…
If they’d all been on same side I might have been able to find another way round it they’re on opposite sides and middle…
I guess I’ll have to reassemble, try the twist and keep fingers crossed. trying to avoid sending it to support as I can’t download anything I need without screen :confused :confused:
EDIT; So I reassembled fone again tho I hadn’t been able to get to display module…powered up and was back to normal!. Who knows how but it’s good …for now.

Hello, my screen is frozen like on the pictures above since this afternoon. It happened after a bag with my phone in it fell, although it was really not from high up and didn’t seem like much, but I guess it must have moved something in the phone.
I tried opening it up and twisting it a bit, but no luck so far.
I would welcome any other ideas, if anyone has some.
I would really hate to have to buy another phone after less than a year with this one… :frowning:

What do you mean? Have you been able to dis- and reassemble the display?

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Yes I have, but nothing changed, the screen is still in freeze mode.

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I have tried it a second time and it has worked, so my phone seems to be back to normal - nothing seemed different in what I’ve tried the first and second time (i.e. disassemble the phone and try twisting it around a bit when reassembling it), so it’s worth trying several times if you run into such an issue…

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Thanks! Recently had this problem with my Fairphone 3 and got it solved by securing those four screws.

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This worked for me - I was about to request a replacement but saw this and it’s solved! Thank you for the tip!

Taking the whole thing apart and cleaning connections and tightening screws did nothing, but the simple twist worked perfectly.

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