Multiple problems: FP3+ became slow, Wifi connection instable, sometimes freezes

Help Fairphone 3
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Hi community,
I was reading already for hours in the forum here and tried this and that, but I couldn’t find something that really helped. As my frustration is growing, I’ll try it with an own topic now.

This is what happens to my phone:

  • Wifi connection is unstable and slowly. I’m using a new Fritzbox 7590, all other devices are very fine with it. With the FP3+, I have the same troubles as with my old router: The connection is slow (phone is loading everything much slower than other devices), sometimes the connection stops. When i switch off wifi, everything is much faster. I tried the solutions to force the phone to only usw 2.4 GHz or only 5 GHz which didn’t speed it up. I just started trying only 5 GHz, I can’t tell yet if it’s also loosing connection here.
  • Sometimes it doesn’t react or freeze: For example somebody calls, it rings, but I cannot leave the app I’m using and pick up because the screen doesn’t react

What I already tried:

  • Looked at my free storage space: There’s a lot (more than 20 GB free)
  • Deleted the cache of the bigger / frequently used apps
  • Deleted apps I don’t use anymore
  • Updated all apps

I love the FP idea, and I’m willing to invest little time into my phone because I understand that a small company can’t produce bug-free devices as easily. But I’m a simple user without programming skills, some of the “Wifi connection problem” threads are just above my capabilities.

Anyone an advice for me?
Cheers and thanks a lot, Kathi

2 Likes
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Hi Kathi and welcome to the community and the forum!

Is the phone still under guarantee (less than 2 years)? If so, you might be well advised to get in touch with support anyway.

This may not be directly caused by a wifi problem, it could be all sorts of things unfortunately, so we’ll begin with a list of frequent causes. Take them one at a time.

  • Do you experience these problems at all locations or only when you’re at home?
  • Have you tried a start in Safe Mode and what are the results?
  • Do you have a SD card? If so, how is it formatted (internal or external memory)? If internal, don’t take any action yet, before discussing it.
  • Which connectivity services do you use regularly (Wifi, Data, Bluetooth, USB)? Try turning off services that you’re not actually using - again, one at a time.
    In this regard, can you confirm that you have no problems at all (say an entire day) if you turn off Wifi and just use Data?
  • Is there a particular app, or set of circumstances, when the freezes are more likely to occur?
  • There are known problems for the FP3 with Fritz!box routers. See this post. If the idea of setting the channel manually doesn’t appeal to you we can probably find a way of helping.

That’ll do for a start.

It might be a good idea to find a #fairphoneangel in your area who could help. Let us know if there are any near you.

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Hi and thank you!
What I can say so far is:

  • The phone is a bit more than a year now, so I’ll get in touch with the support as you suggested.
  • Some of the problems also appeared in other locations than my home, e.g. the freezing. The slow-internet-problem stops, as soon as I turn off the wifi. I will keep an eye on how it works with other wifis than my own.
  • I have an SD card but don’t know how I formatted it. If I look it up, it just says “mobile storage” (Mobiler Speicher). Does that mean it’s formatted as external memory?
  • I regularly use Wifi, Data and Bluetooth. If I turn off Data and Bluetooth, it doesn’t speed up my Wifi.
  • I had troubles with freezing with google maps, a newspaper App, eBay, Instagram… it happens at my home Wifi and with mobile data.
  • I didn’t try safe mode, because I only had trroubles while using apps. So how should I find out if the trouble remains if I don’t have an App to test it? Maybe I didn’t understand the concept so far…
  • I will try the “Limiting my fritzbox to channel 52” solution. Let’s see if it works.

I live in the munich region, how do I find out about a #fairphoneangel?

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Just looked at my Fritzbox settings and found out that my 5GHz is running on channel 40. So this shouldn’t be the problem if I understood the article you linked…

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Yes, that’s what we mean by “external”. Good!

Just click at the blue word and then at the closed link (with a lock symbol in front of it) :slight_smile:

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What’s the OS version your FP3 is running with? Is it the current version (you’ve just mentioned all apps are up-to-date)?

Are you using WPA3 on your router? This has come up in other topics to make sometimes problems.

Did you have a look at the test mode (dial * # * # 6 6 # * # * to start it) to see if this has a function which could be helpful in your case?

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Got it, did it, found one! Thank you!

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Just looked at my OS version, it’s up to date (Android 10, last security update 5.8.21, last check for updates 13.11.21).

My router uses WPA2 (CCMP), but I can switch to WPA2 + WPA3. Should I?

I tried the test mode and checked WLAN, it worked, but it took about 30 seconds to connect to wlan. What else should I check?

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Actually the thing about WPA2 vs. WPA3 in the past was that WPA3 is the more advanced way, but caused problems with devices, so back then it was recommended to go back to WPA2.

I’m afraid I’m not the only one here gradually running out of ideas, sorry … :disappointed:

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