Hello! I’m looking for help to diagnose why my Fairphone 3+ suddenly shut down.
Background info:
I’ve had my phone since 2020, no issues (other than a cracked screen last year, which I replaced). Last week, while in my pocket, it turned off - with the light flashing red - and wouldn’t turn back on. It wouldn’t charge (or at least, the light didn’t indicate it was charging), with any of 3 chargers (which all worked for it before, and still work for other devices), and there was no response to the On button. Later that day the red flashing light stopped, and it’s been completely unresponsive since.
What I’ve tried:
I tried charging it overnight, no change. A few days later took the battery out and left it open overnight in a warm dry location in case there was any moisture, gently cleaned the bit where the battery connects and the charging socket, put the battery back in, but no change. I did notice the battery seems a bit loose in the space where it sits - like it might shuffle up and down in the space if the phone is moving.
Diagnosis and next steps:
I’ve searched the forum, and topics on ‘bricked’ phones and ‘sudden death’ of Fp3s seem most relevant, i.e. FP3+ bricked or sudden death? :( and Fairphone 3+, Dead in 3 years - #84 by ThoKu88 . I’ve not found any diagnosis methods I can try myself, other than trying replacing each component, but I’d like to avoid buying several components without knowing if they’re needed or will solve the issue, especially as component replacement doesn’t seem to have worked for others dealing with similar scenarios. I also came across the ideas that putting the motherboard in the oven to resolder some pins, or bending the phone ‘in the right direction’ might temporarily help - I don’t know what direction that is, and don’t understand the hardware or soldering enough to do that safely and sensibly! I’ve emailed my nearest Fairphone angel (in Scotland), who responded right away and very helpfully, but has more experience with part replacement than diagnosis, so I’m reaching out here too!
What help I’m looking for:
- Any ideas for how to diagnose the issue. If you’ve seen a similar issue, or a topic with diagnostic suggestions, please share! I’ve read the troubleshooting guide, but as the phone won’t turn on it hasn’t helped me.
- Any ideas or opinions about what the issue might be. A spontenaous un-fixable sudden death? A battery or charging component issue? Something else?
- Thoughts on next steps/longer term options? The phone is beyond warranty, and I’m trying to evaluate my options (diy attempts to fix it, contacting Fairphone support team to send it away for repair, new phone + trying to get a shop to try and recover my data). I rely on the phone for volunteering, and navigation & accessibility when I’m out, so speed is a key factor. Data (photos and videos, which I tried & failed to back up last month) recovery means a lot to me, if it’s possible. Minimising rare metal extraction also matters.
Thanks anyone in advance! Sorry this is long, I wanted to be detailed to hopefully make it easier for readers.
and it worked for me. I hope it will help you as well 
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