My Fairphone 3 finally stopped turning on (fell and is unresponsive).
I repaired it 2 times during his lifetime for lesser issues.
It has 1 unrepairable detail: the protector of the back camera unglued and got lost, leaving it exposed to the elements
POLL - Would you (in order of resource and money usage): 1. “Attempt to repair the FP3, it’s likely just some connector broken in the motherboard” 2. “Buy a refurbished phone, so no new resources are used, and some are like new” 3. “Buy a Fairphone 5 and start fresh!”
If connecting your FP3 to a charger does not even make it vibrate, I’d probably suggest an FP5, too.
Of course, if you know another FP3 user nearby or if there’s a Fairphone Angel in your area, you could still test components between yours and hers/his.
The difference in money is like 200 euros between FP4 and FP5, while the difference in promised support is approx. three years*
*Calculating extended support for FP4 to 2028, as now being suggested, and following the promise of the support of FP5 to 2031, but it might get extended…
If you are of course considering getting a refurbished FP4, assuming this offer is back on the table
Are you willing to install e.g. LineageOS after the Fairphone drops software support?
Do you like/mind bigger/heavier displays/phones?
Do you need a real audio connector without an USB-C adapter?
Do you use 2 SIMs? Do you prefer 2 real SIMs oder 1 eSIM and 1 real SIM? Do you need eSIM?
Do you need a waterproof phone?
Do you prefer/need an OLED display?
Are you willing to install e.g. LineageOS after the Fairphone drops software support?
That’s 8 years (or 10) down the line right?
Nobody knows for sure. Supporting the FP2 for 7 years without the support from Qualcomm was an incredible act from FP, imho. I guess 7-11 years support from FP could be a realistic cycle. LineageOS still supports the FP2.
Do you use 2 SIMs? Do you prefer 2 real SIMs oder 1 eSIM and 1 real SIM? Do you need eSIM?
I currently use 2 SIMs, but now that I google eSIM I think I should be able to use my giffgaff one as a eSIM
Since the FP2 was supported for 7 years, though the SoC wasn’t supported for that Android updates by Qualcomm I guess the all the following phones will be supported for at least 7 years. The FP3 was released in August 2019. I didn’t find any details about the 7 years support for the FP3.
Hi. I’m new to Fairphone. In fact, I don’t have one yet. And this is the thing. I’ve spent all week sending messages everywhere for help in choosing my first one between the newly upgraded 4 and the 5 but I’ve not got any answers (on Twitter, Facebook comments, Messenger, Instagram and email to your support team).
My question is simple: the 5 is £100 more expensive, but is it £100 better than the revamped 4?
What I like about the 5 from the info I’ve looked at:
dual SIM
8 years of upgrades
improved hardware (screen, case, processor?)
good camera
I want this phone to last for years, is the extra £100 worth it?
I only use the phone for
social media
taking pics
accessing files from Google drive
apps for running my business (booking system, payment system etc)
Are you planning to add a stylus? I want to get rid of my iPad but I use the pen a lot.
That’s quite a lot of questions… sorry.
But would really appreciate an answer from ANYONE as I’m VERY keen to get one ASAP.
Thanks, that’s helpful. TBH, I can’t really afford the 4, let alone the 5, but I’d rather spend more for longevity than stay in that cycle of waste… and I really need a phone to work. So, what’s £100, hey, it’s only money, right?!
Without a doubt, yes.
I transitioned from a FP3 to FP5 recently, and love almost everything about the FP5. It’s probably quicker if I talk about the drawbacks:
FP5 is OLED.
OLED will never, ever be a good technology for a phone intended to last 5+ years. OLED longevity has improved, but it’s not real longevity. Each pixel is run at about 20% under-brightness and that is increased in relation to how long that pixel has been on for, to compensate for OLED degredation. It’s impossible to know how long the screen will last because of that. But it’s safe to assume that it will go a couple years without noticable degredation anywhere, then will start to see burn-in (keyboard area, for example) effects all over. We can’t know how long that period will be because FP doesn’t release information on how under-bright it runs its pixels. However, you can replace the FP5 screen, so this is less of a drawback than it is on other devices.
FP5 lacks a status LED
Fairphone has, unfortunately, joined the rest of the pack in eliminating the LED status/indicator light in favour of Always-On LED screen tech. This is truly unfortunate, since the screen as discussed is OLED, and the cost of adding a single LED is so so low for the benefit it gives. This is one of those “What the fork were they thinking” decisions, but unfortunately there aren’t many of these for this phone.
In virtually every other area this phone absoluely shines. Of particular note is FP’s choice of an embedded CPU SoC rather than traditional smartphone SoC. Most every other smartphone has a smartphone-tailored chipset, but the FP5 reporposes one initially designed for embedded applications. This gives two great benefits:
The benefit that everyone talks about, which is support longevirty
The benefit not many talk about is the fact that the FP5 embedded SoC is built with communications in mind!
The FP5 SoC has amazing comms throughput. Smartphone SoCs often have actual WiFi/USB/Cell throughput as a very low priority. They quote the speed of the WiFi (5, 6, etc) generation they support, but the internal pathways for communications throughput often run at a fraction of those speeds or require heavy CPU assistance to operatate (think old winmodems). The FP5’s embedded SoC has very fast internal piplelines for networking and hardware WiFi acceleration that mean the CPU has to work less at high speed. With a good router you will see better WiFi throughput on your FP5 than almost any other smartphone.
The capcitive fingerprint sensor, hardware HDMI, 5G cellular frequencies, improved cameras, and dual hardware/software simms are just icing.
As Moore’s law continues to fold, communications speeds become more iportant. I love my FP5 for that reason.
Whoa thanks for this technical reply. Although most of it flies over my head, it’s really helpful and reassuring someone who knows what they’re talking about approves, especially the bit about comms speed.
One last question, how much difference the cable will make to the durability of the battery? Again FP price tag is high for a cable but I’ve only got old Samsung phone chargers, will they do?
Hello
If you wish to increase the battery longevity, check the forum for relevant threads, but in general what’s recommended is using the battery protect function, and charging only up to 80%.
