I bought a FP3 secondhand two years ago, and my experience has been so bad so far :
The connectivity was very unstable (like 3G instead of 4G, even when it was in 4G with another phone and the same SIM card), and I tried every possible solution out there, just to get told this particular Fairphone may not be compatible with the French network
The support didn’t want to know anything as I never had the original proof of purchase (which is never EVER provided by any second-hand shop, how could the 2nd life of FPs be so badly planned?)
Overall, very laggy and buggy from day 1, camera crashing constantly or taking ages to start filming
And to the final nail in the coffin: the very first part to fail after 2 years is… the core module. Sudden death occurred out of nowhere, and there is no way I’m paying 220€ to replace it without my data. So I’ll try putting it into the oven when I can get my hands on the right screwdriver, but that’s it for me.
Firstly, I don’t understand FP’s policy. Trying to sell sustainable phones, but also blindly listening to maniacs who want useless features on their phones (who cares about borderless screens and fingerprint recognition when the basics are not assured?). So they are pushing releases of multiple different models, each one having their different issues which are never adressed, and spare parts availability is not that clear (no camera module available for FP3 and bottom module was hard to find for a while, for example). Also why did they abandon the idea of having modular phones like the 3+ camera? And why is that so hard for them to sell refubished FPs?
So now I am searching for a reliable, solid, easy to repair phone with software updates guaranteed, or at least specs allowing to get to an alternative up to date OS when Android would no longer be supported. Looking at Ifixit ratings and other review, I see two new possible brands emerging : HMD with the modular Fusion, and Nothing Phone with their 2a. Are their other FP alternatives I did not find? Thank you in advanced for your attention.
Is not good in long term upgrades/updates so far, read their specifications for the most recent device.
2 OS Upgrades (now coming with A14) and Security updates:3 years (2 years monthly + 1 year quarterly)5. Both from global launch.
I guess your best choice is a used Pixel phone for long term support and frequent updates/upgrades.
I guess there is nothing with very long term support, fast updates/upgrades and repairibility. For me the best mix still is Fairphone. Shiftphones is very good in reparibilty however bad so far in updating or even upgrading.
Wouldn’t switching to Lineage after a few years bypass this issue? They seem to have focused on repairability, so the only concern is about software. But I never switched to another OS so I don’t know if it would work.
Is it available already for the Shift 8 or work in progress? The community is still small and so far Custom ROM were available due to commitment by an employee.
Would be happy to see that this is progressing, still one would have to change directly to a Custom ROM when updates are important.
Our software promise: We promise you software updates for the SHIFTphone 8.1 until at least 2032, including regular security fixes. Of course, we would also like to enable further Android versions (17, 18, 19). Here, too, we promise to do our utmost to provide newer versions, but whether this will be feasible depends on further support from the chip manufacturer and other factors that we cannot yet see.
It feels like Shift did encounter some issues with network providers (update 3.12.2024)
Dear community,
a big thank you in advance for your patience - and please excuse our long break here in the status telegram. We have already been in contact with the majority of our pre-order customers via info mails, but of course we would also like to keep you fully informed about the current status of the project here. After the first delivery of the SHIFTphone 8, we became aware of a problem with GSM/2G support, which became particularly apparent when VoLTE support was missing from certain mobile phone providers. Initially, we assumed that we would be able to solve the problem on the software side. However, it turned out that a hardware customisation was necessary to fully integrate 2G.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to retrofit devices that have already been produced. Therefore, after further tests and prototypes, we are now on the verge of producing a new generation of circuit boards. The result: There will be two variants in future:
SHIFTphone 8.0 (without 2G support)
SHIFTphone 8.1 (with 2G support, delivery expected to start at the end of March 2025)
All pre-orders placed by 18 November 2024 have been given the option of choosing a SHIFTphone 8.0 now or waiting for the SHIFTphone 8.1.
Information for all those who have already received their SHIFTphone 8 and are now wondering to what extent their device is affected by this and what the next steps are, is in progress and will be sent out shortly
Just for everyone being bugged by FP and looking for an alternative:
All phones that are easy to repair are the same quality. I spent weeks online, doing research for this.
If you don’t have an issue with used phones, get yourself a Google Pixel 8 or the like, install Graphene OS and be done with it:
You get a mature, stable phone, privacy and security in one package. And yes, it’s sad that you have to buy a phone from one of the worst data stealers on earth, just to do things right.
I am fed up by Fairphone, also. You are completely left alone. And I won‘t pay again for being beta tester.
I just had a talk with an early adopter of Shiftphone 8.1 who has installed CalyxOS on the device and who is in touch with the developers. It’s still in early beta status, but it’s definitely work in progress.
The update for their newest model 8 is 3 month old - not a good sign.
For their older models, they only publish “L” software - without Google. I guess some people prefer it that way, and tinkerers can probably add Google afterwards. But hardly mainstream.
I guess it’s hard to get a Google certification for updates to those old phones. But Fairphone manages!
