i once used an FP1 - but after some years it was to slow and to limited for my usage - and finally the USB Connector broke… After that i used a rooted LG G6 - in between flashed with HavocOS (also rooted)
“If you can’t open it you don’t own it” was printed on the back of my 3d printed FP1 Case. And when i am no root - i can’t use my device as an open device - it has still some locked rooms.
Right now i am at a point where i was with my FP1 when the usage ended (excelt the broken USB Connector) and the FP4 seems to be a good replacement (except the missing wireless charging which might help when the USB Connector breaks) - but i have nowhere read something about a root access. Has anyone information on this topic?
Hi @langhaarschneider
Wie in diesem Interview zu Lesen ist, Ja.
Antwort: Gouwens: Es ist ökonomisch eine gute Entscheidung. Wir bieten 5 Jahre Garantie, 5 Jahre Software-Support und unser Gerät lässt sich einfach reparieren. Zudem ist das Fairphone 4 für Bastler interessant, da wir beispielsweise den Bootloader freischalten.
thanks for this link. I must confess: I am a nerd - but not an Android expert. If Eva Gouwens says, that te bootloader can be unlocked, does that mean that i have root rights after i unlocked my bootloader - or do i need annother root programm to be installed that i gain root access? And if this is the case - will this peace of software also be developed by fairphone or do i have to wait (maybe Months or years) for the community or other projects to provide this?
An unlocked bootloader is a valuable base for being able to root the device.
Still you’ll need a method to root it and this method will probably not be developed by Fairphone and it will be probably not there from the start.
Still the probability is high that sooner or later it will be possible to root the device.
So maybe if you rely on that feature it’s good to wait until the device is on the market and the first devices are being rooted…
I have now also received my Fairphone 4.
Unfortunately, I will only be able to use it as soon as there is a possibility to root the FP4.
I need to root it to be able to migrate all my apps and data to the new phone via Titanium Backup.
After that the root access will be removed.
Is there already an approach? Otherwise I’d rather sell the phone again before I have to register the 5 year warranty on me.
For me, root access is one of the most important features of a smartphone. Without root access, it’s not really usable because, strictly speaking, it’s not my phone if I can’t do what I want on it. (No Root Rights = Not your Phone)
There are unfortunately various apps that do not support storing their data in a cloud. Among them are also various apps that I use for communication.
Without Titanium backup, I lose the chat history. And that is not acceptable.
In addition, the effort for the move without Titanium Backup is much too big.
I have been moving my apps from phone to phone for many years with Titanium Backup. So far I haven’t found an alternative to it.
I had hoped that by the time I receive my FP4, a root guide will be available. I’ll wait a few more weeks, otherwise I’ll order a “China” phone again, they deliver root instructions and sometimes even the software directly with it
Hope someone has success with it soon.
?? If your old phone is an Android device, too, you can simply transfer pretty much everything during the initial setup of your FP4. Neither Titanium nor root required.
Citing the Fairphone 2 warranty (current version): “This Warranty is not applicable for: […] (g) damage caused by breaking or circumventing access limitation protection or by the improper usage of a root access;”
The effect is that if you root the phone you will have to undo it and install the deafult OS for warranty to be considered. You then have to show that the rooting and any subsequent software did not damage any of the components; for example overriding the charging algorithm.
I tried that, and no unfortunately it only works for at least my important apps. Most are simply empty after such a transfer and all data / chat logs disappeared.
I tried it first because I thought that Google might be further along in terms of backup. But that is unfortunately not so. Sure Whatsapp and so standard apps that most people use, there it works.
But since I use a lot of rather unusual apps, I lose almost all data. And I’m not talking about pictures, contacts or the like. They are on the SD card or Cloud anyway.
But really databases of any apps that are stored locally on the phone and are not transferred to the cloud during backup. That is, the contents of apps that store their data locally.
As I see it, only very few apps are really saved by the Google backup function.
yes, migrating app data in android has always been a major pain. Many apps can’t be backed up using google. I also have always relied on titanium backup which for me was the easiest and most reliable method of backing up and restoring apps+data. And the backups can be synced with my own nextcloud, no Google needed.
But it requires the phone to be rooted. I also need a new phone since my battery is dying and am interested in fairphone. I agree with what others said here, root is a requirement. Did earlier fairphones not receive root instructions?
An alternative would be custom rom like lineage, or even Fairphone Open that allows easy root access. But unfortunately, I haven’t seen news on either.
FP2 can be rootet quite easy, and also FP3 root is possible. So it will most likely be possible but not at the moment, as so far nothing is available incl a custom recovery that might be needed.
I assume the instructions for FP4 will be quite similar
While I think it more than likely that a rooted OS will become available for the FP4 in coming months, and that FP will continue their collaboration with the /e/ foundation, you may not wish to wait for that. Getting the previous model, the FP3, is your best option right now for buying a phone made by workers who have been paid fair wages, that can be repaired and gives the user root access.
