Missing LED indicator for charging / new messages

hi, I have FP4 for a few days now.
I am missing little LED on the phone to show charging status or arrival of new messages (green, red, blue …).
Is this missing LED a feature or a bug. Or can I turn it on somewhere?
thanks

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the FP4 doesn’t have an LED indicator, sadly.

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Hi and welcome to the forum

As noodled there’s no LED, and there are a number of unhappy peeps around that.

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I’m happy I don’t see a notification led. More brain time available :blush:

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If you don’t have one for a while, you don’t miss it

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It’s a real pity and it has stopped me from buying a FP4, I’ll stick with the FP2 for now

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FP3s have one, so maybe you can find one of those to look at and see what you think.

OH! and a jack socket :slight_smile:

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The LED is and will always be the exception instead of the rule.
At some point, you have to make a decision. Making the LED a hard selection criterion will not simplify the decision…Future even more than now
Only the dead remain in the habit. Those who want to live must accept change…

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The FP3 is now also too old to buy as “new”, I would eventually take a used one, at a reasonable price and from a reasonable source (well :smiley: )

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it used to be in most smartphones available out there, and has been phased out in favour of always on displays showing notifications. using an AOD is only viable on OLED screens though, and as the Fairphone doesn’t use one, it doesn’t make sense to remove the LED.

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yes, but no matter whether it makes sense or not. in the end, it is no longer there. you can turn it around however you want. unfortunately, it doesn’t change anything.
That is the fact. As hard as it is now
Maybe there will be another one in FP5. Pure speculation.

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Must be a few at Fairphone who disagree. Maybe you’d like to ask them why :roll_eyes:

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The lack of a notification LED is one of three reasons I won’t be purchasing a FP4. It is true that the trend is not to have one, but if Fairphone want their devices to appeal to more people, they need to stand out. FP should have added dual SIM slots and a 3.5mm headphone jack too. Sorry for repeating what I have already said in other threads. I just think a newer model should have more features not less (unless it is a cheaper model which it isn’t). I’ll stick with my FP3 (which I really like) until it dies then move to another brand if Fairphone can’t provide a phone that suits my requirements at that time. While I am all for fair trade, the device also has to meet my specs. The bean counters have obviously worked out that not incorporating certain features would cost them less per unit price than what they’d lose in sales from people like me that want more.

I’m an old git and am not permanently glued to my phone screen. With my phone mostly being on silent, the LED notifier is very useful.

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I don’t necesseraly need an LED. I am fine with an AoD as well, where notifications are displayed.

But as the FP4 doesn’t have any persistant visual notification (no LED and no AoD) it simply meets not my requirements. Not a bad thing, as I am still using the FP3 with LED - no need to get the FP4.

Just my opinion. Some people are fine with no persistant visual notifications at all.

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Hi ontheair,

I agree AoD would also do nicely. The FP4 has an LCD screen though so probably would not be the most efficient use of battery. Maybe the FP4+ might get a drop in OLED :wink:

Yes, a lot of people don’t require a persistant visual notification. The folks who don’t put their phones down for long won’t miss anything, others have tech worn around their wrist get vibrated constantly, and others couldn’t care less. Everyone has their own specs.

The FP3 LED (annoyingly) didn’t notify to start with. Fairphone added the feature by a software update a few months in. Maybe they will find some AoD work-around for the FP4??? Regardless, I hope my FP3 lasts another couple of years and the FP5 is something I want to buy as I think the Fairphone mission is fantastic.

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What about people that don’t bother to touch the display or press a button, when they really want to see whether there is a message or not? I don’t see the necessity for a dedicated LED, when I can just have a look, when I’m ready to do so.

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that’s great that it works for you, and in that case every phone with an LED has an option to switch it off completely. some people like being able to tell from across the room that someone tried to reach out to them, though. or that their phone’s battery is running low, or that it’s charged up enough, and so on.

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Maybe it’s a case of what you don’t know, you don’t miss? :slight_smile: An AoD also pro-actively alerts you of upcoming meetings, takes into account traffic/public transportation delays if a meeting has a destination, shows all the icons of the apps that have notifications and more things like that. So with on passive look you are already informed enough to know if you need to pickup your phone or not. So if your phone is on your desk, night stand, or just anywhere you just can ignore your phone without missing important stuff. I think it’s great. But for those who don’t like that, there is of course the option to disable it. But with Fairphone there is no option.

Hopefully Fairphone will grant a feature request I submitted. That’s that the lock screen wake time can be user customized. The ~3 seconds are way too short to see the icon and message. Especially since on Android 11 it’s very small. It would be great if the screen wakes for 10 seconds. Then at least there is something halfway in the middle towards persistent notifications.

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Hi Incanus,

Fair comment. Not everyone wants this type of visual notification.

Yes, the FP3 has it disabled by default. You have to enable it.

In my case absolutely right!

Good luck with the feature request. It’s a good idea. I’m not sure how much Fairphone have to do with the launcher / lock screen though. Isn’t that all Google pixel? For example no way to get rid of the US formatted date on the Android 10 first home screen or the search bar. Maybe Fairphone could acomplish your idea by creating their own launcher?