Infinite reboot, except when charging slowly

Help Fairphone 3
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Hi Everybody, my fairphone 3 shows the following issue:

  • When not charging: It reboots after like 20 seconds of usage
  • When charging with a standard charger (tried several): Reboots permanently while charging (even when switched off)
  • When charging from my laptop (via USB cable): Charges and can be used without problems.

I tried updating the OS and a factory reset. I also have contacted the support and followed all the steps. They offer to send the phone to be repaired in France, but I’d prefer not to.

My question is: Do you guys think that based on what I have described it makes sense to just try changing the bottom module?

Greetings to all FairPhone users :slight_smile:

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I would consider disconnecting the existing bottom module with no expectation that it being out of circuit though would make a difference, but I wouldn’t buy a new one unless removal yielded results. I would charge the battery using your laptop first.

If you’ve already removed all the cards (SIMs and SD), I’d suspect a failure of an unknown mainboard component, or power feed to that component. I’d suggest trying safe mode, but you’ve already done a factory reset. How did you manage that by the way? With it plugged into your Laptop??

Does phone still reboot if you haven’t unlocked the phone using the PIN (required after startup)? If yes, have you tried disabling WiFi, bluetooth, and mobile data to stop those services starting?

The FP3 is end of life, so I wouldn’t pay Cordon for a new mainboard + labour + return postage.

It is interesting that your phone behaves itself when using a data cable. I tried plugging in a FP3 my PC (runs Debian OS). The phone has ‘sudden death syndrome’ and a totally flat battery. The LED flashed red for around a minute, no response from a normal charger or a battery with charge. Lord knows why a data cable behaves differently. Odd yes?

Sorry I can’t help you

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Hey TW8punk, thank you so much for your friendly message and for the useful hints.

I would consider disconnecting the existing bottom module with no expectation that it being out of circuit though would make a difference, but I wouldn’t buy a new one unless removal yielded results. I would charge the battery using your laptop first.

I just tried that, but with no results, as you already expected :frowning: I Didn’t know that one can even run a phone with the bottom module removed :smiley:

So I don’t need to try a new bottom module, then.

If you’ve already removed all the cards (SIMs and SD), I’d suspect a failure of an unknown mainboard component, or power feed to that component. I’d suggest trying safe mode, but you’ve already done a factory reset. How did you manage that by the way? With it plugged into your Laptop??

Yes, I tried removing the cards. A problem on the mainboard sounds plausible to me. Yes, I did the factory reset with the phone plugged to the laptop.

Does phone still reboot if you haven’t unlocked the phone using the PIN (required after startup)? If yes, have you tried disabling WiFi, bluetooth, and mobile data to stop those services starting?

I just tried that. The phone reboots also if I don’t unlock the screen. Disabling WiFi, bluetooth and mobile data does not change the issue.

The FP3 is end of life, so I wouldn’t pay Cordon for a new mainboard + labour + return postage.

I agree. If it is a problem with the main board (sounds plausible to me, I also think that the phone heats up faster than it used to do), it is probably not worth repairing.

It is interesting that your phone behaves itself when using a data cable. I tried plugging in a FP3 my PC (runs Debian OS). The phone has ‘sudden death syndrome’ and a totally flat battery. The LED flashed red for around a minute, no response from a normal charger or a battery with charge. Lord knows why a data cable behaves differently. Odd yes?

That is really strange :disguised_face: I was thinking that maybe because the laptop charges the phone very slowly, it maybe a slightly lower voltage than with a standard charger :thinking: That seems to make some difference. But I am not an expert, so who knows the actual cause …

You did help me a lot :+1: Now I know that there is no hope and I need to just buy another phone and send this one in for recycling.

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Hi @Famous_Amos

I’ve noticed my phone also gets very hot when I make a call over WiFi. Warning sign? It’s not hot otherwise. Well unless I fast charge which I rarely do.

20 seconds is pretty precise for a heat issue. If it wasn’t for the fact your phone works okay with a data cable connected, I’d say it could a service starting or maybe duff RAM. But what service doesn’t start up when a data cable is connected besides screen shutdown?

Random thought : how long is your screen timeout set at? Not 20 seconds? When you unplug the data cable, is it still 20 seconds before reboot? If you manually switch the screen off via power button during the time bomb period, does it still reboot at the expected time? Expecting it to be the same sadly. I give up.

If you have ADB installed on your laptop, you can download a bug report by typing :
adb bugreport “path/to/save-file-name”
into the command line, but unless you understand quantum physics it will be a hard read. Needle in a haystack! If only it would splash ‘FATAL’ into the log once in a while.

If nobody else replies with any ideas, and you do decide to recycle , note that there is a market place on this forum where you can offer used modules for sale. There are also certain forum ‘Angels’ that are very good at redistribution. For instance @Antoine in France.

Have a look at Antoine’s used modules thread.

I’m not telling you to to this, but as you mentioned your intention to recycle, I thought I’d mention there’s a re-use option too.

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