I had my FP4 for 1.5 days now and overall I am very happy. I havn’t had a single random reboot the whole time, amazing! Coming from 6 (I think?) years of FP2, most of the time with LineageOS, there are however some small features that I am missing. I want to make a list of these missing features and send them to Fairphone support. But maybe you can help me, because something might just be in a different place. Or you can add your own things to the list. Here we go:
(My system is set to german, so maybe some translations are not perfect)
System Setting for status bar. In LineageOS Android 11, there is “Settings” - “System” - “Status bar”. This is just missing on FP4 Android 11. It allowed settings for the clock, and which system symbols to show in the status bar
“Caffeine” (prevent display from turing off temporarily) is missing from quick action tiles
With display turned off, long press of the power button does not turn on the flashlight anymore. I’ve used that all the time!
The setting for that was found under “Settings” - “System” - “Keys” - “Long press for flashlight”
Actually the whole “Settings” - “System” - “Keys” menu is missing. I really miss the “show arrow keys while typing” setting. It was really helpful for spelling mistakes and stuff. (But now I realize: With “Gboard”, we can now swipe the spacebar left and right to move the cursor. That is actually more convenient!)
Being able to remove the google search bar. There are other threads about that topic and maybe there is already a solution
Tapping the big clock on the homescreen used to take me to the alarm clock settings. Now it does not do anything, which is a missed opportunity. Testing this again however, I noticed tapping the weather symbol right next to it takes me to a weather app, which is nice I guess. (Edit: I found it: The widget that does what I was used to from LineageOS is installed by default. But putting it on the main screen next to the Date/Weather-Notification takes up too much space)
In the alarm clock, LineageOS has settings “action on shake” and “action on flip over” (or similar). They can be set to “slumber”. On FP4, only the volume keys can be set to “slumber”. When I want those extra 5min of sleep, just flipping over the phone like “shut up!” is great
In LineageOS, I can allow a display rotation of 180°. This way I can use portrait mode, while the power chord is pointing away from me, which is useful sometimes. I cannot find such a setting of FP4
Other questions / small gripes:
I have set up my fingerprints, and they work very well. But if I press the power button with my thumb, I have to lift it up and put it back down to actually unlock the phone. If I press the button and keep the thumb rested on the button, it will not unlock. Is this a “feature” that allows me to actually see the lock screen?
Could / should there be a quick action tile for toggling NFC?
Yes.
once lineage always lineage
There is simply nothing you can do about it
So we stay patient and look forward to the releases that are to come
I am on Lineage for decades and have become extremely accustomed to it
You don’t transplant an old tree
Just to get it right: Is some/all of this stuff present in “stock” android, and Fairphone is cutting it out? Or is Lineage adding it to stock android? Do you know?
Not particulary “LineageOS” specific but I do really really miss a vibration intensity setting…
I have trouble getting used to the fp4 default feedback which I find to strong or too long.
I don’t want to remove it, just decrease it.
Don’t know if LineageOS was offering this option on FP2/3 since it’s usually a kernel dependant feature.
Some workarounds on stock Android for the time being.
“Caffeine” (prevent display from turing off temporarily) is missing from quick action tiles
You can install Screen On, it adds a quick action tile to the drawer as well.
Being able to remove the google search bar. There are other threads about that topic and maybe there is already a solution
Use another launcher, like Lawnchair, which offers far more customization than the stock launcher and doesn’t come with any bloat.
Tapping the big clock on the homescreen used to take me to the alarm clock settings. Now it does not do anything, which is a missed opportunity.
In the alarm clock, LineageOS has settings “action on shake” and “action on flip over” (or similar). They can be set to “slumber”. On FP4, only the volume keys can be set to “slumber”.
You’re probably using a widget of the standard Google Clock app, so there’s likely not anything FP can ever do about that short of making their own app. You can search for another clock app on the Store; Simple Clock offers a widget that is interactive, though no special gesture actions.
Could / should there be a quick action tile for toggling NFC?
On my old Nokia 7 Plus, the fingerprint reader (which is located on the back) is always on. So if I put my finger on it, it automatically woke and unlocked the phone.
I was under the impression that it was a standard android feature. and was surprised when my FP4 could not do it.
Cannot speak for Android as my FP2 does not have such fancy tools, however on my company IPhone 6 the sensor is in the home button and I first have to awake the screen, before the sensor will unlock the phone, and on the IPad the sensor is in the power button, also there I have to press to awake screen to unlock the phone. Only difference I don’t need to lift up my finger after pressing the button.
I was a bit surprised with the way the sensor works on the FP4, too. I used to have phones with the same fingerprint in the power button setup, and they would both unlock on the power button press, without me having to raise my finger and pressing it again. hopefully it’s something that can be changed via software and not a quirk of that particular sensor hardware.
You can perma-enable the fingerprint reader under Settings → Security → Fingerprint Unlock Behavior. If you check this very non-descript checkbox, the fingerprint reader will work as expected.
Coming from 6 (I think?) years of FP2, most of the time with LineageOS, there are however some small features that I am missing. I want to make a list of these missing features and send them to Fairphone support. But maybe you can help me, because something might just be in a different place. Or you can add your own things to the list. Here we go:
