Intimidated by weight - experiences/thoughts?

Help Fairphone 4
1

Hello everyone

First time using the forum, long-time Fairphone user, sorry if I’m getting something wrong.

I’ve just opened my new Fairphone 4 yesterday, and I’m very, very concerned with the weight.
I tried putting it in my pants pocket, and it feels like it’s trying to pull down my pants, it visibly pulls at the rim of my pants, dragging it slightly down even though they are tied. In the pocket of my elastic band pants, it drags them down quite a lot.

I’m seriously concerned that I’ll never be able to even somewhat comfortably carry the phone, that I’ll have to use a bag for it all the time, that it will ruin my clothes prematurely if I try carrying it normally, that I’ll semi-indecently expose my underwear…

My gut feeling right now is that this isn’t a phone for me, but I’m honestly very upset about that, to the point of sleeplessness last night. I want to support Fairphone, I went through a months long process to get where I am now with my new phone, I’ve invested in screen protectors from a third party and a waterproof bag for this phone, since my last died from rain damage, and I just feel awful about the idea of returning it. And I feel awful at the idea of not using Fairphone anymore, since I’ve used them since Fairphone 2.

Has anyone here had a similar concern/issue, and if so, how did it turn out for you? Did you get used to the weight, did your pants survive intact, can you comfortably carry it in loose comfortable pants without dropping them? Do anyone have some clever practical solution I haven’t thought of? Or did you have the same issue as me and return it, or did you live with it despite the issue?

I’d really appreciate any input at this point, thank you in advance to anyone willing to share.

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I’m almost sure you won’t like it, but anyway: Some users actually carry their smartphone in a bag tied to a lace/band around their neck (so the phone hangs down from the neck, resting somewhere at the upper belly or so). Perhaps your waterproof bag even has two holes for a lace/band?

I haven’t got any experience of my own with this though. My FP3 (!) usually sits well in my pants’ back pockets, but then again I rarely wear loose ones. Only had the issue with some jersey shorts that has (front) pockets not that deep.

P.S.: Welcome to our Community Forum :slight_smile: I really hope we can find a way for you to stay. :+1:

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Quite a difficult question here.

As far as I can see it’s either the FP4 (which is more or less waterproof, by the way) is too big/heavy for your pants or the fabric of your pants is to thin.
On a direct approach you can do following:

  • Accept things like they are (and go buy pants more often)
  • Getting a lighter phone
  • Getting some less tight pants with thicker fabric

Or like you already said:

  • Use some bag for it.

Maybe something, which adds to your style? I’m not confident to do great suggestions here but I think some nice looking belt-bag could do for your smartphone.

4

Hello and welcome to the forum. Well, what can I tell you, it’s a chonker. :sweat_smile: I usually wear a belt so it’s not really a problem. But yeah, when I’m wearing sweatpants and I have my phone in my pocket, they fall down a little bit over time. It’s entirely up to you if you can live with it. I know it would be a total deal-breaker for my wife, for example.

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Personally I avoided buying a mobile phone for a decade because of weight / carryability concerns. All I needed, all along, was a £5 cheap no-name belt-mounted carrying case. Thanks to that the phone weight while being carried is imperceptible (and probably would be imperceptible even if it weighed several kilograms), plus it never gets distorted, never gets sat on, never gets crushed, never gets things in the pocket scratch the screen and I have never once accidentally dialled the emergency services while walking down the street.

The Fairphone is a standard enough size (despite its thickness) that most such cases work fine: I was able to repurpose the one I used for my last (much thinner) phone without trouble. The cases usually have flip-open flaps so you can easily get the thing out in a couple of seconds one-handed (which is easy: I have clinical coordination deficits yet even so I think I’ve dropped a phone when getting it out maybe once in five years). Putting it back in is even easier.

So if you wear a belt, try one of those.

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If you are still within 30 days you can send it back.
Be fair to yourself and avoid sleepness nights

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Thank you, my waterproof bag already comes with a band for carrying around the neck, and I was planning on doing that while gardening to protect from dust, and when out during rainy weather, but it would be quite uncomfortable to wear all the time, even at home. I could maybe try to use the water proof bag to test the weight on my neck, see if a bag solution could potentially work. Thank you for thoughts!

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Thank you for your thoughts/ideas! Belt bags are sadly completely out of the question, since I can’t comfortably wear belts. But you do make a good point about the thinness of the fabric; my pants are quite worn and thin, and I supposed I could try getting a new pair, see if that changes things!

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Thank you for sharing! My exact issue is that I very frequently wear sweatpants due to anxiety bloat and stomach aches, so wearing tighter and more fitted clothes isn’t really an option. I’m sure this won’t be much of a an issue in good quality jeans with decent pockets. As a small woman, pocket size is already a challenge, and generally my sweatpants have solved that over other pants types, but now the looseness provides another issue. I look forward to the day where pants stop causing problems! :sweat_smile:

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Thank you, that sounds like a great solution for you, I just sadly can’t wear belts due to issues with anxiety bloat and stomach aches when wearing anything tight around my stomach. Even just wearing nice pants for a dinner out is almost guaranteed to cause stomach pain. But I really appreciate the suggestion!

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Thank you! Sadly I’ve waited quite a while with opening my package, because I was waiting for the protection film to arrive, and then my anxiety acted up regarding setting up the phone, so it’s been almost a month since my order date. I think the return policy says 14 days as well, if there’s no defects? But I’ve written them about it, hopefully they can quickly help. But thank you for the comforting words.

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I dont have good further hints reg. the weight issue in pants as I have mine mainly in the bag while being not at home and at home I dont carry it around all the time, its just lying around on the table or so.

I still would like to say: dont put yourself under pressure, in case the weight does not work for you thats how it is, and there is no need to feel bad about this, its not your fault. Be benevolent with yourself its just a phone and I wish you it will not give you further sleepless nights, as I think its not worth it. And gut feeling/intuition is always a wise adviser :wink:

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You need better pants…:smirk:

Fp4 user here…Sony experia before that… difference is not that big

15

Hi,
I don’t know many (non-teen) women who keep their phone in their pockets.
My wife keeps her phone in her purse or next to her on her desk when she’s working. She sometimes wears jeans, but for some reason her jeans pockets are always too small for a phone (strange design choice but that’s female fashion for you).
I think if you wear sweatpants, you should give up on the idea of putting a phone in your pocket, just as you would do when you were wearing a dress.
Would putting your phone in your purse be an option?
The FP4 is not so much bigger than most other phones, and the really small and pocketable phones are very few and far between. Sadly.

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I used to have my FP3 in my pockets, in both sweat pants and cargo pants. I generally don’t wear a purse except when wearing a dress on rare occassions, I wear a small backpack when out instead, so I keep my phone in my pants pocket, or jacket pocket if I’m wearing one, but I’m not always. My alternative to a Fairphone would be a second-hand phone, where I can get some quite small ones, as small as 5 inch displays. I had just made my mind up to support Fairphone instead, since what they do is important to me for the long term future for the industry. But thank you for your thoughts!

18

I mean, you probably aren’t wrong in terms of condition, but I do need to wear loose fitting/elastic pants due to issues with stomach aches. I didn’t have this issue with my FP3. But thanks for adding your input!

19

Thank you so much for your kind answer!

20

Yes, I’ve just read up on that. :frowning:

21

The difference between this and your new phone is only 36g. But why didn’t you stay with the FP3? It’s still supported.

22

In the beginning I also found the weight a bit problematic, but I must say that you get used to it very quickly.
I don’t wear sweatpants, mostly regular jeans. No problem to put it in your pocket. No damage to the fabric either.

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