For safe mode see here dic:safemode
Hello,
- I just want to access my internal memory to recover photos of my 1-year-old child. The alternative would be sending the phone to a laboratory for physical memory extraction, which would cost more than €700.
- I’ve tried the safe mode method suggested by @doq, but unfortunately it doesn’t work for me. Here’s what happens: 1) I reboot the phone from the recovery menu. 2) When the first Fairphone screen appears (black background with the Android logo), I start holding down the volume button. 3) Then it switches to the next green Fairphone animation (green background), and at the point where it usually got stuck (the well-known green line on green background), the screen just turns black and nothing else happens. A similar outcome happens (with different vibration patterns) when I start holding the volume down button during the green animation. I assume the phone powers off at that point. Is there any different way to force safe mode on the Fairphone 5, or is it simply not possible in this situation?
- From my understanding, the only way to reinstall or repair the system without wiping the internal storage is to use an OTA update package (via ADB sideload or SD card). On the support page I only see OTA packages published for the Fairphone 3, not for the Fairphone 5. Could you please provide (or release) the OTA update package for the Fairphone 5, so that I can try to repair the system and recover my photos?
Thank you very much in advance for your help and support.
1 Like
Would it be possible to “revive” a bricked FP5 using an unused sensor (in which no print was ever registered) from another FP5 (swapping frames) ?
2 Likes
My solution out of the bootloop was to press the Power-button multiple times when the screen froze. Someone else wrote this here somewhere, maybe it helps someone repeating it here.
To make things clear: My fingerprint sensor worked just fine until yesterday. Now it works sometimes, sometimes not.
The FP5 got the A15-update a few weeks ago (so: update first, issues with sensor second). Now I have the bootloop when I switch on the phone, so I won’t switch it off ever again (?!).
Since the update, the phone often got slower switching apps and it often ”rebuilds”" the home screen when I press the middle button out of an app. So there’s more bad stuff with the A15 update and the FP5.
I don’t think the sensor is physically broken, why should it be all of a sudden? So why should this problem disappear as soon as you make a sensor exchange??
Isn’t it the communication between A15 and the sensor that has to be fixed?
1 Like
Wait for a software workaround our partners are currently exploring a patch that would allow Android 15 to boot even if the fingerprint sensor is broken. Please note: if this patch becomes available, the fingerprint sensor itself will still not function, but you’ll be able to use the rest of the OS.
I think such things normally dont happen with pre-warning, things can brake, for whatever reason
Thank you very much for the information. Is there any remote possibility that this update could be applied without losing the data stored in the internal memory? For me it is VERY important to recover the photos. Is the OTA option I mentioned above impossible?
The biggest issue here is that the moment that they discovered this as the root cause of the bricking, the update should have been stopped until they could release it without the bricking issue.
As it is now, it strikes me as odd if not a bit disrespectful that they openly post that even if the update goes well the phone will brick if at any point the fingerprint reader bricks after installing the update… and then they still don’t pull back the update!
I would love to hear the reasoning behind this from their point of view.
4 Likes
Hi, I hear you and I remember you asking the same question here so I allowed myself to circle it back here again, apologies.
For many users (like myself) the update has not generated a significant challenge. Am I ok knowing that if something happens to my fingerprint scanner, my phone stops booting? I am not enthusiastic about that, of course. But I am hopeful this will be fixed in a future update. Plus I am acutely aware that the phone might stop working as any device.
Frankly, I am a bit torn here and do not have a clear vision that the update should be stopped. But I understand of course where you are coming from
This has been exactly my problem. I had a Fairphone 5 running on Android 15. After it fell, the power button got stuck momentarily. Since then, I can no longer boot the phone and I cannot access the internal memory to recover my photos.
Fairphone support has not responded, and no one can tell me whether there will be any way to update the system without erasing the internal storage. The difference for me is either sending the phone to a professional lab for physical memory extraction — at a cost of more than €700 — or losing photos with a very strong sentimental value.
So far, Fairphone has not even given me an answer such as: “wait until September for more news,” for example.
3 Likes
Hello
Fairphone support has not responded, and no one can tell me whether there will be any way to update the system without erasing the internal storage. The difference for me is either sending the phone to a professional lab for physical memory extraction — at a cost of more than €700 — or losing photos with a very strong sentimental value.
I am not sure this “no one” is factually correct. There were some fellow users commenting on your situation. I am not savvy enough to do so.
1 Like
I think it’s hard to understand how it is to have a bricked phone for many
days or even weeks if that never happened to you. I want to give an update
on my situation: when i eventually managed to contact the technician
through live chat he immediately arranged for reparation. He was very kind,
fast, clear and helpful and I can just say the best about this part of the
service until now. I’m really impressed that they even corrected some
issues with the bot. I feel that one of most important issues at the moment
is how to prevent other people to brick their phone, so not necessarily to
stop the update, but at least give a warning to all the fairphone 5 owner
e.g. directly to email (many won’t search info about update before
downloading it).
3 Likes
I know it’s a little off topic and doesn’t help once you’re bricked, but next time please backup the personal stuff on your phone regularly! (It can always get stolen, fall into water etc.).
If you don’t want to use the automated Google solutions, try e.g. MyPhoneExplorer (www.fjsoft.at) to save photos, addresses & calendar dates on your PC very easily.
2 Likes
@anon76468197 can we please finally get an ETA for the A15 update that fixes the sensor issue?
2 Likes
What is there to be torn about?
The alternative to not bricking phones to such a degree where in some cases they have to be sent to another county for repair is to… delay an update by a month.
Seems like a no-brainer.
Fairphone isn’t alone in messing up like this. Samsung has pulled back updates before, for example:
4 Likes
… if your Device has a broken fingerpint sensor, or if the fingerprint sensor will fail any time in future. If you then have a bricked Device, Fairphone support will ignore the problem, since it is well known to them, as you can see here: FP5 not booting after update to Android 15 The Company fails to warn customers or remove the malicious update from there Website.
1 Like
Hello, I don’t really understand the rationale behind creating another topic on the same issue, so I moved your post here.
If I missed something, feel free to DM.
Well, the solved issue is only, why FP5 does not boot.
But unsolved are:
- warning users not to update to Android 15, and
- help customers who unfortunately have not been warned and already updated to Android 15
Since the old thread is marked as solved, the unsolved points need a new thread.
I would like to point out: nothing looks solved if you have an affected device. Certainly since support has disappeared for weeks now.
So please move the post back to the unsolved thread.
2 Likes
I disagree! we dont need another topic for this, all was said here already and another topic will not change this and only duplicate things.
And kindly stop the discussion about the solution flag
Edit: @anon76468197 its time to confirm the current status of the fixing update and support status for the tickets
4 Likes
are you kidding me? What is solved with a bricked phone, and why the hell may I agree a bricked phone is a solution? Would you rate it as a solution to receive an Email “We received your request and will get back to you as soon as possible. Your request number is 12 (…). We are currently experiencing longer response times due to very limited capacity…”?
unsolved are:
-
warning users not to update to Android 15, and -
help customers who unfortunately have not been warned and already updated to Android 15
Since the old thread is marked as solved, the unsolved points need a new thread. Or this thread has to be marked as unsolved.
1 Like
Do you really think I would tag FP staff repeately here in this topic when I would think that FP (support) is handling that properly?
Or did I ever say all is fine and its solved for everyone? No! So again
So stop yelling at me yell at Fairphone. I understand the frustration, still we dont need another topic. Kindly follow the forum rules, I or other user are not the proper addressee for your frustration.
4 Likes