I just want to share (and request) some feedback after two days of FP5 use.
First, I am quite happy with it ! Even when considering camera pictures quality & battery life (I have read these were some of the FP5 weaknesses).
I am coming from Moto G5 (6 years-old) + LineageOS + as few Google components as possible, here are the cons for me (Let me know if you agree !):
Orange (FR) carrier service (via Sosh) forces some apps install (Orange ones + Booking + Amazon) on the phone on each reboot (I have understood I am not alone and I found the support article on this but it does not sound acceptable to me…). Please note I purchased the phone on Fairphone web site, not by Sosh/Orange. I have also sent a mail to FP support…
Maybe I have an issue with my fingers (possible ) but I often find hard to hit the back button (on screen, + home…). It is like I have to touch a little bit too close to the bottom of the screen to manage to hit it. Am I alone ?
Ring sound volume: the lower volume I can select is really too high ! I would be nice to have a fix for this.
I believe this is an Android issue and not a Fairphone one: it is not possible to remove the Google search bar on home screen except by disabling Google app (But now, I have the date instead, and I cannot replace it by my own icons/widgets)… or by replacing the launcher… and I do not want to bloat my phone with lot of customization.
I use a Fairphone USB-C > audio jack adapter with my headset (Plantronics) and the microphone volume is VERY low and I cannot be heard correctly. I usually use the same headset/mic with my old phone and a Windows PC without any issue. Is there something I can do to fix this ? (headset speakers volume is OK)
On my previous phone, I could switch flash light on by shaking my phone (very handy !). I could not find the same kind of settings for doing it. Is it possible without custom software ?
I am thinking about switching to e/OS in the future to solve some of these issues but I am concerned about required tweaks for banking and other apps + camera good support for example. I had to do some of them and upgraded my previous phone many times because of these.
Are there any existing reviews of the Murena FP5 ? (Is it actually ready for release ?)
Could you do me a favor and check wether call, music, and navigation volume are the same on the same setting? On the FP4 I have observed the somewhat weird behaviour that navigation sounds (Google Maps) seem to be much louder than other sound output (e.g. YouTube videos). Maybe the phone thinks its connected to a car and prioritizes navigation somehow?
Yeah… that’s part of the launcher unfortunately. Nothing wrong with choosing a different launcher though. It’s not really bloat if it replaces your current one, is it?
I have switched to gestures to replace the three buttons at the bottom (can be found in the settings). I thought that might make sense with the OLED screen to prevent it from burning in those buttons and at the same time I win some space on the screen. It needs a bit to get used to but all in all that works quite well.
Apart from that I didn’t have any issues with the buttons, just liked to try something new.
Is there some kind of walkthrough for all available gestures integrated into the Phone’s settings? Haven’t found one so far, so testing gestures has mostly been trial and error for me. Are there any device specific gestures available?
Not sure if it’s appropriate for me to join the thread with my thoughts but I’ve also had my FP5 for 3 days now.
I also found the ring loudness to be a bit high even at the lowest non-vibrate setting. As a workaround, I just tried to find a ringtone that doesn’t sound so loud.
If you find a launcher (preferrably a FLOSS one from F-Droid?) that suits you, let me know. I also don’t like that unremovable date, but otherwise am OK with the default launcher and would rather not switch to something jam packed with features I don’t care for.
So far I haven’t had trouble hitting the back button. I used to use gestures on my old phone but I have mixed feelings about them and might want to stick with the buttons on FP5. I think the traditional three buttons are easier and quicker to use (e.g. when browsing the web or in application menus), but they are also easier to press by accident e.g. when using the camera!
A new one I’d like to know if others are affected by:
I’m finding double tap to wake to be very unreliable. I just tried it five times and it didn’t wake a single time. Sometimes it does, but if I want it to wake for sure, I need to just keep tapping until the screen comes on and that could take anywhere from 6 to 20+ taps… also, at one point I found out the setting had disabled itself
EDIT: I just rebooted and tap to wake got disabled again.
@all please report your observations to support. How to see here: contactsupport
I just noticed when always on disolay is enabled and a call is incoming, the numbers pad to enter the unlock PIN is shown with the option “go back to call” instead of giving the option to accept the call directly
There is no navigation volume available and the microphone volume is the issue (not my headphones) so I do not believe the issue could be linked to these settings.
I have checked volume settings and there is nothing weird or unexpected. Different volumes settings are quite similar.
Re the launcher, I’ve been using Nova instead of my current phone’s flavour of launcher for about ten to twelve years now and it’s gotten to the point that I don’t even try the native launchers anymore. Nova is quite configurable and doesn’t get in the way. Highly recommended.
Hi Dryhte, I am new to FP 5 and also want to get rid of the google searchbar.
After many recommendations I installed Nova Launcher, free version so far. But I have a problem: I have Startpage as search engine, and have disabled all the other search engines.
Now, when I want to search the internet, Nova Launcher only performs a search in “my apps”. I cannot even move on from there to search the internet. This happens when I use the Nova searchbar as well as when I use the Nova search widget. How can I change this silly behaviour? I contacted Nova support 4 days ago but did not get any answer.
Can you maybe recommend a different, rather “simple” launcher? It should just offer a homescreen that is scrollable left and right, about 4 pages wide. Thanks in advance for your help!
Thanks, Lidwien!
I tried to download Lean Launcher from Google Playstore, but can’t find it there.
I don’t want to run any risks (e.g. by downloading apps from other sources than the Google playstore). I am afraid to get into more hassle by trying to solve a moderate initial problem (wanting to get rid of the google searchbar). Is it risky to download apps from outside Google Playstore?
Lawnchair has been recommended in the FP Forum as well, but same problem with this app, current version unavailable at Google Playstore.
Is it Google’s policy to kick out good alternative launchers from their playstore?
) but I often find hard to hit the back button (on screen, + home…). It is like I have to touch a little bit too close to the bottom of the screen to manage to hit it. Am I alone ?