Leaving a movement

[novski]

A open letter to Fairphone,
Dear Fairphone Team. Since this Journey started im a proud owner of Fairphones and still believe in what your goals are.
The work you have done is inspiring. Fair Gold, Tantalum and Cobalt. Fair produced electronics. I now have to tell you my story with a aim at hope, not complain.
I was enthusiastic when i received my FP1, but soon had to regret that it was not able to hit my needs of a phone. I sold it. Years later than, I run the new founding of FP2 and tested the FP2 with the same emotions i did when unwrapping the first. What happened was a nightmare.
The phone software that got shipped was pre-alpha, with bugs like not responding Touch, Calls i wasn’t able to make nor receive, because of a proximity sensor that wasn’t working right and bad Batterie life.
But i stayed patient and try to help with replaying and bug-testing. I thought soon, soon, soon it would be fixed so i and told my Friends. Today i had to realize that i was hoping throughout a whole year that at least the main functions of a phone will be working soon.
But its not the case. I still have a device that doesn’t fulfill the one most valuable condition i expect from a phone. - A relaxed chat with my pa.
And to me the hardest part on the whole thing is, that i wold never recommend any friend to buy this phone anymore. Don’t understand me wrong, the last i wan’t is to discourage the Team or harm Fairphone. Software is the blocking feature of everything today and that i was able to learn only because of this deep look insight. So it comes that it has a bright side for my life as well.
Fairphone takes that huge burden to lower ethical threads and rise ecological thoughts though out the whole World, and i thank Fairphone for this.
Now please, before you go on to a new device called FP3, take a deep breath and think first who will use your device and provide a useful entity for it. Recall who is your customer and your community, think about what Information you are providing to journals or press before informing your base and what they think if the hope of a modular replacement gets undermined. Even if Fairphone don’t like to be seen so, in the end you are selling a commercial electronic thing that aims to solve one problem: communication.

To me this Project has lost his roots, and i have to stop here investing time. That makes me sad.

Sincerely, Novski

[spaetz]

I own a FP2, changed a split case, changed a broken touchscreen, suffered bright spots on 2 displays (without changing them), had ghost touches during charging, never found a combination of cables that made the FP charge with any powerbank (which charged about 10 different devices without a flaw), the microphone now suddenly broke. I am not going to buy a new one, it does not feel sustainable to change parts of a phone in that frequency. I went back to an old, used Android and will be sticking to it until it dies. Good luck Fairphone, maybe I will be back for round 3.

P.S. if you need a used and broken FP2 around Hamburg let me know.

[Stefan]

Maybe it’s a warranty case? If not, please offer your FP2 at the forum market: #market:offered .

[SusanSeymour]

Sorry to be leaving you, but my FP1 died and I cannot get a new FP2 until at least September. I tried for 6 months to keep the FP1 going with a very weak charging connection. I notice this module is replaceable on FP2 which is good (but not for me).

I got a WSKEN magnetic connector which was recommended on this forum, so thanks for that. It eaked out another 6 months of charging sporadically enough to survive. Otherwise the phone still works fine and meets my limited needs.

So I bought a Moto G5 for one third of the price of FP2. I know it is not up to the ethical and sustainable standard I would like, but I need a phone. I am going to give the difference between the prices of the 2 phone to charity. I will look for a good home for the money, a group that work on supply chain issues and modern slavery.
Goodbye and good luck.

[explit]

Well. FP2 is a device which has a lot of bugs. Thats true. And it will never work as smooth like Samsung Galaxy or iPhone. Because Fairphone is a small company. Because they doesn’t have the same service capacity as Samsung or Apple.

But: Most bugs could be solved somehow. 2x i exchanged the broken cases, 2x i exchanged my displays with white spots. To use the FP2 with Powerbank its necessary to setup the USB-Option: Charging only, not Always ask. The powerbank should deliver more then 1 A. (2.1A) is fine.

[humorkritik]

Well, it has been a while. Remember the plans we all had?

How long do you plan on keeping your Fairphone?

Hi everyone, I was wondering what everyone plans to do with their in a couple of years time. From their user profile survey, Fairphone found that people kept their previous phone for an average of two years. Now I know we are able repair our Fairphones if they break and longevity is at the heart of the design, but, as we all know people like new things, and will you be able to resist the shiny new Fairphone 2? how long do you plan on keeping your Fairphone? until it really is breaking years d…

My display is shattered, and while I continue to use the phone for other purposes, QR codes for public transport tickets don’t work any longer. FP officially announced there will be no further support for the development of Android 4.4, so there is no point in pretending my phone is lasting longer than the immediate future, i.e.: until the end of July. This is it.

I had it in my hands at the end of January 2014. I planned for 4.5 to 5 years - I got 3.5, roughly. I had it repaired, twice, and both times on warranty. Overall, I still can defend my decision to buy it, and I still support the idea. But I guess for me, the journey will come to an end, soon.

I wanted to thank you guys, especially the community moderators, for investing so much time. I found help on this forum with quite some issues, and I hope to have helped some people as well from time to time. Since the FP2 was introduced, I reclused myself a bit from the forum, since I couln’t follow any longer - now, it’s really goodbye. As soon as I have decided how to go forward, I will quite surely leave the FP1 forum behind.

[Edit: still trying to repair my FP1. If that fails, well - an FP2 is currently no sensible option, sadly.]

[mase]

After I read what happened to the FP1, I am afraid, that the same will also happen to the FP2.
The company seems not to have an open ear for the community, not as open, as it should be.
I like my FP2 and it works like a charm, but I will sell it anyway and leave the so called “movement”.
I had different expectations. I wanted an open device, which I don’t have to flash with a
custom rom, or just try different systems. But that was too much pain. Critique was
whitewashed or called offtopic most times. I am tired of that.
But I wish you guys and the FP company good luck for the future!

[Pippi]

There are actually no really open devices in the phone world, because there is no open hardware available - and I don’t recall Fairphone promising an open device. Their initial goal was to work towards fairness, and later they extended this to sustainability. The chances for the FP2 to be around longer than the FP1 are not that bad. The SoC is widely used - and so far, the various ROMs are making good progress,

[BertG]

As this in a way is a thread about customer satisfaction/customer treatment, I would like to add my experience with regard to a broken cover.
Perfect: Support answered super fast (same day) giving clear instructions.
Perfect: After sending in my picture, I was asked to select an available cover from the store (same day as well).
Not so perfect: The colour I chose (coral red) was not available (although it could be selected in the shop).
Frustrating: When pointing to the availability in the shop I received the following answer:
“You are right in a sense that we do have coral red slim covers offered in the webshop but our stock is diminishing and therefore we are not offering them under warranty.”

But … "We are very sorry for the situation we are in now.
I assure you that we do not wish to treat you like a second class customer."

Not sure what situation they are in, as he did not elaborate on that point.
In my opinion a likely conclusion is a possible shortage of money.
But why not be open and raise some money. I for sure would have supported fairphone, because I still believe in the cause.
Clearly there - at least for me - is a lack in communication and openness.

Sooo sad.

[mase]

Yes, the various ROMs are making a good progress, especially LineageOS. Since more than
half a year I owned a FP2, I was talking about this. 2 people porting a ROM is not enough.
FP should support them. Developing FPOS is a waste of time. LineageOS is the better
system, and you cannot negate that. Why not making it the official OS. They should talk
to the people behind LineageOS, and I don’t think, they would decline.
But I sold my device and don’t have to worry about this any more.

[AMayer]

Interesting point.
See comment above (10th of August 2016):

@fp1_wo_sw_updates

Also it would be interesting to know how much power Google and the SoC manufacturers have over the ODMs. Some designs only make sense because Google seems to have some power over the ODMs

For me this was and is an important feature of my FP1, but I seem to be a minority. Have been fortunate so far - no technical problems at all but can’t understand why we can’t get Software updates any more (at least that).

[explit]

I need also to say “goodbye” to the Fairphone-community. I had FP2 for 14 Month with SailfishOS.
@mal did a gr8 job - i’m really very thankful for his engagement in Porting SailfishOS to the Fairphone 2. It was one of the best SailfishOS Ports, which i have seen and used. Atm. i don’t have my FP2 anymore, and i doubt i will buy it again for a couple of reasons:
1.) High price for 2017. In Summer 2016 this price for this Hardware was high - but it was understandable. In 2017 same price for the same HW is way to much for me. I understand, Fairphone is a small company and earn only 9 $ per device, BUT: Mobile Phone Market is a “Bloodbath” And Fairphone decided to swim in this bloodbath like a small fish. Thats very brave, but if they want to survive they need react. They need attract customers on another line. Be creative…
2.) One of this “Attractions” could be official SailfishOS Support, which was semi-promised at the beginning, but was fallen later without an official comment. Only one small tweet from a Fairphone employee, that they will not deliver SailfishOS Support.

For now i will stay with my Jolla Devices: Jolla 1, Jolla C and Jolla Tablet. And waiting for official Sony Xperia X Release.

By the way, i bought new Sony Xperia X F5121 for about 200,- EUR, which is 38% of the price of the FP2.
And i got the device 3 days after payment, not 3 month after payment. This is also an very important argument.

Fairphone is a great movement, and i was really, really ready to support it. But i want to see, that i get something back for my support as a customer. And this was not the case, unfortunately.

Maybe i will come back, when there is Fairphone 3 and official SailfishOS Support.

[ben]

@explit

By the way, i bought new Sony Xperia X F5121 for about 200,- EUR, which is 38% of the price of the FP2.

Hart to compare prices, though you are right that the FP2 has fallen behind regarding specs and prices. I hope you do not get disappointed with the Xperia X support from Jolla. Honestly, I will only believe this, when I see it.

[explit]

Well, i have seen alredy SailfishOS on Xperia X on the Phone of a c-beta Member. So i’m pretty sure it will come out.

[BertG]

Sorry, I fully understand everyone who does not buy a fairphone because it is to expensive for to low specs. I absolutely agree, that the phone should to be on storage rather than taking months to be delivered.

@explit

I understand, Fairphone is a small company and earn only 9 $ per device, BUT: Mobile Phone Market is a “Bloodbath” And Fairphone decided to swim in this bloodbath like a small fish. Thats very brave, but if they want to survive they need react.

Just let them know the secret to get on the market with a newly developed modular phone as fair as possible, not taking money from big banks at a competetive price. I guess, they would be really thankful.
Your priority lies with SailfishOS, which is absolutely fine by me and I love it, that Fairphone is at least aiming to be open to all kinds of OSs. I just fail to see, that focusing on the small market of Sailfish and other operating systems would lead to that kind of demand that would enable them to produce so much more phones, that they in effect could lower the prices.

Communications has been a weak point for quite a while, and it really would be appreciated to get more information why some decisions are made. On the other hand, I would suspect that lots of decisions have to be made in a business like this of which not all can be shared with the community; be it an agreement to maintain silence with another company or a decision, that is based on a lenghty and complicated discussion/development that might be hard to put on paper.
Anyway, in my opinion it really would be helpful to even get that kind of basic information.

Btw: In Germany at least there is some development to be seen, as a big online shop offers the new FP2 Slimline at 444,- Euros (excl. VAT) available from September; delivery time max. 9 weeks.

#EDIT: SORRY CORRECTION NECESSARY
Somehow I landed on the b2b page. Therefore the price is excluding VAT.
The b2c shop gives a price of 529.00 Euro as well So sorry for having raised hopes. I was just so surprised myself, that I wanted to share it. At least this shop might help to spread the message.

Still, let’s wait and see, what time will bring.
Just don’t ever compare Fairphone to the likes of Samsung, Huawei, Apple etc., as those are multinational business producing and selling all kinds of stuff. That’s like comparing the little owner-managed bookshop around the corner to amazon. The bookshop in Germany still has a chance, because prices for books, magazines and newspapers are fixed.

[ben]

Edit: We mixed up the price without VAT.

The reduced price is quite interesting and could be a good sign for rumored updates to the current FP2 specs or camera.

Also, it’s much better price.

[BertG]

Thought so too at first.

Just realised, that I had been landed on the b2b-shop site and the given price was the net price excluding VAT.
Adding this you end up at 529.00 Euro as well.
Edited my posting.

[freibadschwimmer]

I’m aware from many of your previous posts that software availability is one of your major concerns regarding the choice of a smartphone, which is perfectly fine. Yet I do think that the majority of Fairphone customers choose the phone for its ethical approach to work towards a fairer hardware chain.

But anyhow, I wanted to sincerely thank you for your efforts and great contributions to raise awareness for and support the distribution of the Sailfish port. While the devs have done an awesome job on porting Sailfish, I very much appreciated your support to other Fairphone users to get Sailfish running on their devices.

In this regard it is sad to hear that you decided to part from your device. Yet, I wanted to thank you for your great contributions particularly in this forum. It is people like you who make the Fairphone community a great one.
Thanks for all your efforts!

[explit]

Thank you for the warm words! I try to support the Fairphone SailfishOS Community in the future, but without own device its nearly impossible. @Douwe send me 2 times FP2 community device for 1-2 weeks, and it was very helpfull.
If it will be the case in the future - i don’t know, but i will always try to support the FP2-Users in their SailfishOS / and other technical- questions. But as i said, its difficult without own device. And for a new FP2 there are no money there (Most important part) and its difficult to get (even if you have money)

Anyway, i will be there on this forum…