Hello, I’m a journalist and got a Fairphone 5 where I installed e/OS some months ago. For an article where I take stock of my experience, would like to hear other people’s experience. How is it going for you the transition from Google/Apple phones to Fairphone e/OS?
I’m also looking for contacts at Fairphone for an interview, but nobody got back to me. Can anyone help?
Looking forward to hearing your experiences!
Please get in contact with them directly again. There are PR contacts named as far as I remember. The forum is a user forum.
Did you do some reading in the forum and in the e/OS forum as well? As a journalist I think you could precise your question, to get something valuable. What are you comparing? What are the points you want to present…
hello and welcome to the community forum
on the press contacts please have a look here, there is (even) a phone number to call, plus a note 
If you do not hear back from us within 7 working days, that means we will have to unfortunately pass at this time.
Did it numerous times, writing also to different PR email addresses on the website. After a few follow-ups, a person got back to me two weeks ago saying they will contact me. Never heard since. Followed up again, still silence…
Regarding your questions, with a colleague we are trying to get rid of as many services and apps from Big Tech as possible. As a starting point, I bought a Fairphone, installed e/OS and tried to replace the main Big Tech apps I used with open-source or local (Swiss) alternatives. This doesn’t always work well. For instance, replacing Google Maps with something up to it it’s challenging for me. I’d like to know what other users are using, for instance also for messaging, emails, clouds… what advantages/disadvantages they found and how they are experiencing their ‘deGoogled’ life. In my case, sometimes Google steps in and tries to make me log into Google services to proceed with buying aps or similar…
Maybe there is a community meeting near by you. I think there you find user with e installed on there phones.
Great experience! Both with FP and e/OS. Everything works really well, it’s efficient and non-intrusive and so many small frustrations just vanished. I choose to keep mine with all AI features turned off, but they are available.
It feels simple, very simple, which is one of the nicest things because it is so damn easy to use and so quick to do stuff. No need to know anything special.
The only difference/quirk is the App Lounge replaces the Play Store (it is not possible to install the Play Store, it uses “MicroG” to run the same services and it clashes with Play Store). Every one of my 300+ apps has worked without problems (I don’t use a banking app).
If you look it’s full of features that just work beautifully and don’t conflict with other things, and that’s increasingly hard to get right as more complex features become standard.
I moved all my internet bookmarks across just by signing up to a Mozilla account on my old device and using that to sign in to the FP5, I hit synch and poof! All there. This was for Firefox but other browsers do similar. The default e/OS browser seemed fine but you can install any (except Safari, obviously).
De-google
Especially glad to have ditched Google given the boycott caused by their military contract’s enabling IDL attacks in Gaza. They have also been removing their past climate pledges and plugging AI everywhere instead. The privacy side was also really intrusive, especially the gmail content scanning and ads based on your actual emails. Although you can install the Gmail app you can use the built-in settings to check it without the ads and tracking, or any free email app. Murena let anyone have their own free email - no need to use their e/OS or a Fairphone so that made it especially easy to switch, although I prefer Tutanota’s free email and app.
Friendliness and familiarity
e/OS looks and feels the same as the last Android versions I used despite differences underneath, there’s a lot less bloat and far more flexibility over core apps, privacy, customizations, etc. And a lot more free storage for your stuff. You can buy e/OS pre-installed from Murena or Fairphone - price difference from Fairphone with standard Android yo-yos throughout the year.
It’s fast, reliable, looks great, hardly ever crashes. I even setup the home screen to look exactly like my old iPhone so there wasn’t a learning curve.
Updates
The software updates look and work exactly like standard Android, appear in the same place and notify you.
I’ve done 2 major Android update releases on the air - through the usual System / About / Update after being notified. No issues. Apparently e/OS is now based on lineage but no visible difference. I did expect some hassles from a non-standard setup but there haven’t been any.
FP5 handset
I got my FP5 from eBay, bought as nearly new (as I do with all tech, being a tree hugger), with standard Android 13 installed, which I wiped to install e/OS in order to de-google and dump the big tech. I had previously been affected by Apple’s deliberate slowing down of ios via the back door, and before that Samsung bloatware, it felt like very few options existed that didn’t force you to use manufacture’s own apps.
It costs less than half the cost of iPhones it buying new, and hundreds less if buying used (e/OS ones can be expensive used, you could probably make a tidy profit installing it and reselling them…)
I needed to take out the battery briefly - can’t remember exactly why - didn’t need a screwdriver but it is also definitely not going to fall out or move by itself. Unlike my old iPhone the battery is replaceable and inexpensive.
Murena
Murena gives you free email (murena.io, no need to run e/OS, Thunderbird. K9-mail or built-in phone email settings work with it) the email is running on rebewable energy, permanently free and ad-free, and free Workspace account linked to it including ability to transfer contacts, calendar events, files etc, all very smoothly. Workspace storage is small.
Workspace transfers your contacts, calendars, photos (I had to zip my photos since I went over the limit).
FP5 hardware
Moved to FP5 from iPhone X after ios16 … keep dropping my phone and managed to stand on the screen and it’s still fine. I tend to drop it from around waist height onto hard outdoor surfaces a lot but it’s nice and sturdy.
I think there might be an issue with Bluetooth headphones - can’t remember the details and it could have been resolved- I did buy a USB-C adapter/splitter with a 3.5mm port to be able to plug in my old wired headphones, which worked fine. I think it was an FP5 only issue.
WiFi is great, and texts/photo messages, I don’t do calls.
FP5 is heavier, I only notice when I’m really tired. It’s s thicker phone which I only noticed for the first few days. But I’m going to put it in a case regardless.
Accessories
I got the biowaves case (so not especially tough) but eco friendly. FP6 do an eco-friendly case with lanyard which would avoid me dropping it so much (dodgy hand grip). I have self-installed the official /e/OS build rather than paying the extra to pre-install. Everything went well bar a minor issue I had responded quickly thanks to previous info here (community is very helpful). I hardly ever smash screen protectors with I drop it compared to my previous phone with “military” case.
Accessibility - I use assistive tech at times - a specialist bluetooth vertical joystick that’s normally used on desktops or tablets - no setup was needed, and the dwell-click and scanning (switch access) work with it. I have not tried voice input to keyboard yet. It was hard to get into in advance and many accessibility products advertise iPhone/iPad compatibility or tablet only, so happy to have the FP working immediately.
Ads - the Advanced Privacy per-app per-tracker feature is excellent for blocking specific leaks by some of the dodgier ad-supported games, and the ubiquitous google firebase tracker. Far better than browser based ad blocks or primacy features.
Problems - App Lounge was flaky so I swapped to Aurora Store, It has everything on Play Store with no need to sign in. The few apps I have that require a Google/Gmail account work fine. No issue with banking or obscure apps (I have over 300 aid apps installed, none are Google ones).
Default Bliss launcher came with Bliss Weather which didn’t seem to be possible to remove (you can probably use ADB bridge but I just swapped the launcher instead, very very easy).
Phone-based unexpected sign-in confirmations eg for Google account confirming sign-in don’t appear - I think it’s only when you have it set to spoof device type and it mistakenly thinks you have a pixel - Google being Google doesn’t ask your consent for this - I think there was an additional account verification method I needed to sign up for to provide an alternative, since I won’t give Google my mobile number. The notification showed on my old iPhone which I still had.
Security updates always come late, which is my main criticism, however most of the big vulnerabilities aren’t hitting us, probably because they tend to target standard Android vulnerabilities, and big tech apps like Chrome, Yahoo mail, or bloatware, none of which are installed by default, but all of which work find regardless.
The major issue I have had moving over is actually Apple’s default/decision, which was their inability to export saved passwords until ios 17. I did have a phone 6 or 7 years old at the time.
Btw Pixel addicts often sign up to this forum just to bomb threads about FP vs Pixel, despite most of them never having tried a FP, so of you look at general FP vs alternatives posts you’ll see them brigading en masse.
Excellent!
Fossify apps - on F-droid - Messages (for testing), Contacts, Calendar, Fossify’s Gallery (actually has SVG support), Camera, and a lot of what is on F-droid are really good. Standard e/OS ones are all fine.
Lots of good launchers (if you don’t like Bliss).
Thunderbird is possibly the best and best known email app but obviously you can setup emails via the system settings for anything with POP3 or IMAP access (gmail, yahoo, murena.io and others).
Keyboard - F-Droid has the best range, Heliboard has Swiss French and Swiss German, FUTO is multi-lingual, Simple Keyboard, etc.
For documents - MJ PDF for pdfs, WPS Office or PolarisOffice,
Fonts - fontspace.com
Widgetopia for widgets including iPhone events.
SimpleWeather for weather, and ad-free weather widgets.
With email there are some good rivals to Gmail that run on renewable energy now (unlike Protonmail which was down again this afternoon) - Tutanota, Mailfence, Infomaniak’s free account, Posteo (paid) - all in the EU and offering German and French, plus Murena.io which is far smaller and not quite as reliable. Ethical consumer has rated some others.
PhotoEditor - search for the “mcguvyer” one - it’s excellent, ad-supported but does absolutely everything including layers, blending, loading custom fonts, filters, changing and enlarging canvas size, sharpening blurring and advanced effects.
Browsers - Firefox (although big tech) is the obvious choice for privacy, independence and familiarity. Vivaldi, FOSS Browser for anti-tracking features, Ecosia, Ocean Saver are all worth a look.
Check this thread:
Lags in security patches in Android SPL are understandable with custom ROMS, but not when it comes to android system webview, especially when Murena states they do patch 0-day vulnerabilities ASAP when they don’t always. That is enough for me to quit e/OS despite an otherwise great experience. Trust is lost, sad!
I am very happy with my FP5 with /e/OS and everything I need works (maps, NFC payments, taxi apps, public transport tickets, etc). There were some odd cases that had issues but one way or another it always worked out.
I have encouraged others, some of them went for it, and complain constantly - saying all the non-google apps are difficult to use and you have to decide which ones to use which takes time and effort.
Satisfaction depends on the mindset - if you enjoy discovering and testing new things, it’s great, if you want it all to just work out-of-the-box, you’ll be a bit disappointed. But based on my sampling even people disappointed can stick with it for 1y+.
I switched to a Fairphone 6 with /e/os 4 months ago, along with it leaving Big Tech behind, and everything in my life is running smoothly. The hardest part was updating my email address on hundreds of services 
No Google for anything besides grabbing some apps from App Lounge / Play Store. No Gmail, no Google Maps, no Google Pay.
I still have a full and complete digital life. I can access banks and government services.
I love the built-in tracker blocking in /e/OS.
No major loss of convenience. We don’t need Google and Big Tech for a good technology experience.
You are still using Android, though, supplied by Google in the form of AOSP, taken by LineageOS as their base to then alter, taken by Murena as their base to then alter to get to /e/OS.
But most of the code actively running on your phone was still written by Google, and Google supply the security updates for it which Android Custom ROMs like LineageOS and /e/OS then adopt.
You need Google, and desperately, because apart from still using their Android …
… congratulations to you, then, but this is not even true or trouble-free for every /e/OS user, and then let’s dare you to get that to work on a phone really free of Google and Big Tech 
.
/e/OS does what it does pretty well overall, and Murena know how to communicate to their target group … and they have documentation.
My own /e/OS experience is pretty smooth so far, because I deliberately try to reduce use cases which can run into compatibility issues (read: I try to reduce the number of Apps I use which have Google dependencies built in, which are most of the Android Apps in existence, as well as Apps which claim heightened security concerns and tend to try to prevent running on Android Custom ROMs). I didn’t reach zero regarding this, and also thanks to /e/OS I never will have to without being forced to somehow, but I can manage if compatibility issues arise, which I’m aware can happen anytime, and which in fact do happen occasionally.
I bought a Gen6 with /e/OS installed a couple of weeks ago.
Coming from a Google Pixel, it was both a no brainer and a pain in the neck.
I did not manage to just copy the apps from the Pixel, so I had to install it all manually.
It was a great opportunity though, to decide which apps I really needed and which ones I could do without them.
I activated MicroG to be able to keep using my Google Calendar and Google keep. Just because my wife uses Google and I don´t want force her into my new world.
And to continue with payed apps like MobileSheets and Deezer, since payment goes through Google Play.
I don’t use Murena: I am using Nextcloud already. Murena looks like Nextcloud, but offers less features (apps).
All apps work fine except that I can’t use the phone with Google Auto. Which makes sense.
So I use an old Android phone instead. It has no sim card, but it uses the hotspot of my Fairphone.
I already was familiar with Magic Earth, the default navigating app.
It is great, but it has some annoying disadvantages.
I installed it also on my ‘car phone’ but for an obscure reason it needs the internet before it starts to work. That’s not the idea of an offline app, is it?
Up to now, I am happy with my Fairphone and I definitely will keep using it.
/e/OS gets better with every update.
One thing I do miss (a bit) is that I only can install widgets on the ‘left’ screen, and not all).
On the other hand: it forced me to decide that widgets are fun, but absolutely not necessary.
Fp6 e/os pre installed . works fine. Less clutter on internet with duck duck go. I search for apps with exodus report , privacy rating from 8 out of 10. Works fine. I Use more website and do not install all apps. I dit not install newspaper app but view news paper through website. Less tracking, I think.
I migrated a FP 3 and an FP 4 to /e/OS some nine months ago. First the FP 3 for testing and then the FP 4 for regular use. Both run perfectly since then. As the FPs can be unrooted again, also my banking apps run without problem. There were just two or three apps I had paid for in play store which don’t get the license transferred (logging into App Lounge with the respective Google account). For other apps, the same thing worked however.
For me, the pros of /e/OS are
Just for clarication: I assume you mean re-locked, because root is not required to flash e/OS.
Also banking Apps might not work, even with a relocked bootloader and they might work on an unlocked and rooted phone.
I may have used the wrong term. Ok, relocked. Anyway, my banking apps do fine, anything else would have been a showstopper.
Welcome to the community forum.
/e/OS comes with Murena’s own Bliss launcher to manage your home screen in this way, and this comes with certain (mostly intended) limitations.
As is Android’s way to deal with something like this, you can install any launcher you like and set it as the default Home app in the Settings to get capabilities and layouts the Bliss launcher might not offer. If you need inspiration, just see topics tagged “launcher” in the /e/OS community forum … Topics tagged launcher.
In case you are already aware of this possibility and just choose to live with the Bliss quirk you mentioned, that’s fine too, of course.