achieve social: being fair to all the miners and workers in the supply chain, and the people living in poor conditions surrounded by e-waste why need to design screw on the battery ?
If Apple and Samsung continue to design complex non-user-replaceable batteries, in violation of upcoming EU regulations, they could be banned from selling their phones in the EU after 2027.
You should double-check that, it is a big step forward but doesn’t mean what you think it does.
There is a loophole in it that allows for not having removable batteries if the phone can:
maintain 83 percent of their capacity after 500 cycles and 80 percent after 1000 cycles to qualify. Such devices would also have to be “dust tight and protected against immersion in water up to one meter depth for a minimum of 30 minutes,”
Many phones are already waterproof, so to make use of the loophole all they must do is over-provision the battery so that it has enough longevity. The latest iPhones thus already comply. Not very exciting, eh?
Additionally, the legislation doesn’t explicitly rule out the use of glue, adhesive tape/stickers, and similar things. It just says you shouldn’t need heat, proprietary tools, solvents or specialised tools, unless they come for free with the phone.
The definition of a specialised tool is unfortunately open to argument, so it’s very possible for tools other than screwdrivers to be required.
You don’t need screws on the cover and battery for that, but it seems to allow for a smaller fairphone that still has a bigger battery than the previous fairphones, which might lead to more sales, thus helping them with their mission. 
It is noteworthy that this is the smallest fairphone since the fairphone 3, and yet it has the biggest battery of all of them. That is noteworthy.
13 Likes
No it unglues instead
I would like to add my POV as opposite opinion to people yapping about needing screwdriver for battery swap.
In October my FP3 will reach 6 years of service. During that period I had to replace battery exactly 1x. But I also had to pop of back cover every time I wanted to access any of 2 SIM slots or microSD slot.
But because of the interlocking system I had to replace back cover roughly every 2 years and the current one is bent, cracked and damaged even though my FP3 was for the whole (almost) 6 years carried in protective bumper and later in protective case.
With this I fall to “average customer” class. I don’t care about needing screwdriver as long as my phone can get me through 2 days without charging or at least 1 full day (morning to morning) comfortably and I still actually can change the battery without heating it. But what annoyed me was I had to, from time to time, reach to Fairphone shop and purchase 25€ worth piece of plastic and get it shipped to me for additional 8€ because the plastic was weak at certain places and there was no way around it.
I wanted phone that is fair to me. It still has everything important accessible without tools and I believe that this is finally the back cover design that will last at least as long as my warranty.
I’ve read lots of critique in this thread. And it is the same critique I read back in 2019 being addressed to FP3. And FP4 in 2021. And especially FP5 in 2023. Just with minor tweaks to what is new in that current gen. And you know what? Yes you are right about every single point that makes it hard for you to impulsively purchase this generation. You should definitely stick with your old phone for one more generation.
And most importantly, you should make informed and well-thought-out decision. For me this was the generation I am happy to upgrade to. Because of CPU, display, camera, battery, signal strength… Well, it is just better in every way. And no, I’m not missing my 3.5mm jack as it was just (literally) collecting dust in my pocket.
If you’ve read that all the way up to here, I just want you to know that I appreciate your endurance and thank you for your attention. You are awesome!
16 Likes
I imagine you’ll like the externally accessible SIM / SD card tray as well.
1 Like
- In order to achieve a smaller overall volume, lighter weight, and larger battery capacity, is it really necessary to screw on the battery ?
- Adding screw mounts made of metal (such as iron or copper) to the battery would increase the battery’s weight, and thus the weight of the phone, wouldn’t it?
- Adding extra screws and screw mounting structures to the battery also increases Fairphone’s manufacturing cost, doesn’t it?
I think its understood you are unhappy with the screws. No one here was involved in the decisions, thus I guess the few information available have been exchanged plus many interpretations and no real additional info can be added, the discussion is going in circles and is leading to nowhere. The phone isnt for you, thats fine.
4 Likes
I am Sorry for that
These past few days, I’ve been thinking and researching ways How to make FP6 achieve the same level of battery stability without using screws (in the unscrewed state), as it would with screws on. Some ideas include:
- Applying additional padding (such as foam or thermal silicone) to the inner side of the back cover, so the battery is held securely when the cover is closed
- Re-designing and 3D-printing a back cover that can firmly hold the battery in place
- Adding removeable small securing components into the screw holes
…and more.
This would allow us to continue swapping batteries even during outdoor activities.
Again, I sincerely apologize.
- No. Smallest and lightest possible battery won’t have any physical protection, circuitry nor slots to “click in”. You would get something like LiPo cell for hobbyists flying drones or planes. But honestly I probably would not want to carry it in pocket near my body (see Galaxy Note 7 battery incident).
- Matter of grams, if at all. Metal plate can protect battery from direct impact and hold it in place, it can be really thin compared to hard plastic shell. Data from shop: FP6 battery 63.35g, FP5 battery 63.7g, FP4 battery 63.7g. FP3 lacks this data in shop, my kitchen scale oscilates at 48g.
- 1000pcs of M1.6x5 steel bolts weight is 90g according to metcalc.info. You need technically 4 of them for battery and 2 for back cover. That is 0,54g worth of screws. I would probably argue that difference between those 2 mounting styles is negligible considering you would have to add plastic frame to lock hard shell battery in place so it does not fall of, add different connector and so on…
2 Likes
Well thats not what you mentioned so far… So far in my eyes the discussion was focussed on the whys and the negative part. Seeking solutions is a good thing.
1 Like
To add to this, FP5: 4200 mAh FP6: 4415 mAh, so it is 5% more mAh for the same weight without the hard shell, while also being thinner
1 Like
What I’d prefer to see is a larger back section with twice the battery capacity. On the Motorola phones that had Moto mods I had a larger battery that clipped onto the back and I could easily get a week out of this setup.
Battery being screwed down and the back case having screws may be a phone insurance or operator thing. They don’t like the fact that a thief can pull the back of the phone, take out the battery and your phone is then untraceable. Having these changes makes the phone more attractive to these operators. FP is a business after all.
1 Like
I guess screws are not adhesives, the battery is exchangeable, that’s the whole matter the law is about
Just guessing but maybe they wanted to reach IP66+ and this is easier if the back cover is fixed with screws. But in the end there were other issues that stopped them from reaching it but design was already fixed. 
At least IP66+ would be a bigger selling point than the ability to change the battery in the open field.
Btw, if you carry around multiple spare batteries, why not carry around that small (yellowish) screw driver?
Why do you need 3 phones. And are you using it 6 or 7 years?
Partly true. While the FP4 has a back cover that can be removed easily, my FP4 back cover broke after a few dozen dis-reassemblies.
Are there any scientific papers that proof that? The battery must be charged anyway. And the batter doesn’t care if you give it a rest in between. 
A battery even want’s to be in a range of 20-80% if I remember correctly, so swapping it when it dies and storing it in low power state is bad for the battery.
1 Like
as an FP4 user I was quite happy some months ago to be able to remove the battery and put it back in to force a restart of my not responding device.
After that all was well again.
And I needed it urgently to navigate…
Long-pressing the power button, 10 seconds or so, should also force a reboot.
2 Likes