Perhaps the core modul is slightly bigger than it should be and there is too much tension on the cover. That could explain why some people have more than one cracked cover and others have no problems.
To my mind the only internal component that is known to change size is a swelling battery, could it be that, so soon?
Good suggestion. I have compared the battery in my phone with my wifeās phone and I cannot detect any swelling. Donāt have any super accurate measurement instruments though.
Just do a spin test. Itās remarkably simple and efficient. Any propensity to spin when resting on either of the flat sides is a positive result.
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I feel like ripping it off would put more stress on the fragile parts than undoing the latches one by one first. besides, itās really difficult to actually take it off without undoing them first, at least partially.
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Canāt get the battery to spin even with Avicii on the radio 
Battery seems very fine, no problem there.
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Fairphone customer service has now replied that they will send a replacement back cover. They did not ask to have the old broken one sent back for analysis; probably not worth the hassle.
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This looks like a problem Fairphone needs to address since the ability to replace a battery and swap out the memory card are selling points of the FP. I have the exact same problem after opening my Fairphone 10 times or so. See photo.
The pieces of plastic came loose one by one. I remember that I opened up a simulair phone (Samsung S5) maybe a hundred times without any problem. Maybe it is a good idea to test this on future Fairphones: Open the cover 100 times and check the results.
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
You may want to contact support officially, but consider that although the back is removable it does require care and wasnāt designed to be opened repeatedly.
Still if you were careful and only ten times that is a worry. Iāve opened my FP3 dozens of times with no damage.
See the above post if you already havenāt
Exactly same problem with my FP4 (speckled green).
Iāve just contacted Fairphone support and am looking forward to receive a reply soon (and hopefully a new back cover).
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ll i agree 
itās too thin ā¦
I 3d printed that. It fit ok u can leave the phone lay down without camera glass touching and being rayed by stone dustā¦ ā¦ it you got a lil clearance
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This guy is a fanā¦ Donāt believe fanā¦
Back cover should be more heavy dutyā¦
And people should use all 4finger to lift it with care as it itāsā¦
Lift the corner and top like u want. Then put r finger inside it to lift all back cover evenlyā¦ Should not break like that
Please use the quote function (select text, press "Quote) instead of screenshots.
Not sure who youāre calling a fan / liar here. If you meant me, I strongly disagree with your characterization. I have my fair share of criticisms of the FP4 and Fairphone as a company.
But, the back cover of my FP4 and the one of a family member is still absolutely fine after being removed countless times by now.
Does that mean I just got lucky and received a good batch, I have no idea, but if you want Fairphone to get their QA in order and you have issues with yours, youāll have to contactsupport.
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I got the FP4 with the speckled green cover and within a month, the cover had chipped off around nearly every clip. I never dropped the phone or did anything unusual to cause damage. I had removed the cover maybe 3-4 times whilst setting up the phone. I contacted Fairphone and they quickly arranged a replacement. I bought a protective cover at this point too. With the new cover, I have never taken it off, and had it under the protective cover from day 1. Despite this, the cover is still chipping away beneath the protective cover. Iām reluctant to request a replacement, as it goes against the reason for moving to a FP. Maybe the speckled green is particularly weak?
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
Maybe your use is relevant, but in the second case
So ??? you must have removed the protective cover/case to see what is chipping away, so it is really weird that that has happened. My daughter has the same and although the speckled finish is coming off on the corners itās fine.
Maybe you could post a picture.
Regarding the reason for going to Fairphone, why was that ?
Given the focus was from fairtrade minerals and fair wages that you may use another case does mean more fair trade and Iām pretty sure the extra plastic etc. used is largely irrelevant compared to people having a decent wage.
Thanks for the message. To clarify, I didnāt remove/unclip the speckled cover since replacing it, so this was not the cause of the damage. Whenever the chips occured, I could feel the little lump of plastic under the protective cover, so I did remove the protective cover to take them out.
Iāve just checked, and already have 4 chips, despite always using the protective cover.
I am hopeful FP will improve the quality of the back covers, so Iād rather wait until they have a more robust option before replacing it again. The protective cover hides the damage, but the damage is embarrassing and I couldnāt recommend the phone to others on this basis.
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Sounds like a manufacturing fault, the material seems to be excessively brittle.
I wouldnāt hesitate to get this replaced under guarantee. And Iāll keep a closer eye on my own device!
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I have exactly the same issue (3 marks on mine instead of 4).
Iām guessing this could be an issue with the battery heat, but Iām not sure.
Could @Fairphone do somthing about this issue?
I now reached the point where I definitely have to change my back cover. Six pieces around the clips are missing and even one edge is breaking apart. Surprisingly, the rest of the cover doesnāt seem to be fragile, even bending it slightly does nothing.
My phone got delivered December 2021, so seemingly one of the earlier devices. Has anyone made better experiences with the newer covers or are they as fragile as the first ones?