At least in Germany there exists something we call “Sachmängelhaftung” (liability for material defects). During (AFAIK) the first year the seller is responsible to proof that the root cause for the defect did not exist when it has been sold to you. Beware: The seller, not the manufacturer.
Perhaps there is such a law in his country?
Please see what I wrote in My fairbuds under warranty need a repair that costs the same as a new pair of buds?! - #21 by jochen0
I don’t think that exists in belgium but even if it did, i don’t think it applies here. the issue is from water damage and the product didn’t contain water when it was sold.
Water def got in during use. How it could have gotten in is the problem.
The response I got back from fairphone:
Dear Thibault,
Thank you for your messages and your forum post! I also want to thank you for your patience.
Based on your situation, the best course of action would be to have your Fairbuds repaired. The diagnosis of the repair center is clear to me, and I am sorry if you feel that the IP rating of the device was not well advertised.
Now, from the terms and conditions we see that “exposure to liquid, moisture or dampness” does void the warranty of the product and is considered user induced damage. This could be from heavier rain, or even light but regular exposure to humidity. For example, it is not recommended to keep electronic devices in bathrooms regularly, as the oxidation can slowly set in and create damage to the product.
So, as it looks like your product has suffered physical damage, which means the warranty is void and no longer covers repairs or replacements.
Note: For the repair, the cost involved might be covered by your personal insurance, so I recommend checking with your insurer.
Please be in touch with Cordon to validate the quotation they offered. (Also note that indeed TWS V2 are the Fairbuds)
I don’t really know what to do at this point… i didn’t leave it in the bathroom and always brought it back inside after use. And if the case is not waterproof then that should be clearly indicated on the product page.
I get that legally they can indeed void my warranty. But it still feels weird that it happened considering I don’t abuse my hardware.
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In Germany the seller would have to prove that the buds have had exposed to humidity not covered by the IP rating.
If belgium laws does not give you this possibility I would consider to leave the buds where they are instead of spending more money for sending them back to you.
And I would learn from that experience not to buy again from them. There are excellent earbuds available from different manufacturers which are usable even in heavy rain.
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UPDATE:
Fairphone has confirmed only the buds are IP rated…
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they haven’t changed the site, it still says the entire product is IP rated… which is clearly false.
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They refuse to pay for the repairs of my buds even though I used them as intended as they were advertised to me as fully IP rated…
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Don’t me wrong, I LOVE fairphone… I believe in the mission, I generally like the products and the buds have some bugs that need to be fixed but I still want to keep using them. And If mine got stolen, it’d buy new fairbuds in heartbeat.
BUT COME ON…
To reiterate: I have many fairphone 4’s and 5’s. I even had a booth with multiple fairphones at a repair cafe…
I’ve send them another email …
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Yes def make screenshots of the product pages and ask support to path this further to applicable departments. This is misleading and can give the impression the rating is also for the case. So the assumption is, the case broke the buds and itself is not broken by the water? Is this something officilaly stated by Cordon? This all does not make a lot of sense to me, the not IP rated case is fine, and the IP rated buds are damaged.
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As mentioned earlier, the water indicators inside the case were also activated so the case was also damaged.
It’s a mystery then why Cordon didn’t include it in the repair, as @urs_lesse remarked
I really hope for 1. The clear statement on IP rating of the case, 2. Reimbursement of @Thibaultmol costs
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UPDATE!
They are fully covering the repair and have changed the website to match the case not being IP rated:
My apologies to Fairphone for having made such a big deal out of it, but I felt like this just wasn’t a correct way of handling this issue.
I’ll be more weary of where I put the case now for sure though. But i’m very glad it’s finally changed on the website as well!
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That’s fantastic news! On all sides.
But, the first Cordon estimate did not include the repair of the case, so mentioning it just in case (pun intended) it gets omitted again
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