I’m still using it as a daily driver. When I got the device back then, I hoped to have it 5 years at least, so this hope was clearly over-fulfilled. And after it reached 6.5 years I really wanted to keep it for full 7 years.
However, the last several months were kind of hard. My FP2 started suffering from random reboots and (very annoying) frequent freezes, especially when scrolling. Cleaning display contacts, a factory reset and a clean OS installation (LOS 18.1 w/ microG) haven’t helped,
I’m pretty sure it’s an issue with the main module or GPU.
As I lack the trust the device will keep working until the FP5 will come out, I started switching to another (used) phone,. But I defitively hope to continue using the FP2 for some less heavy-load (or rather less heavy-scrolling) use cases for quite some time.
@peygaze Thanks for the hint, I just searched Elkrasso’s post and decided I’m not ready for this yet. But maybe it’ll be an option if my hope to use the phone for other purposes fails.
@SkewedZeppelin Do you have more background information for this assumption?
That wouldn’t be my first guess because
my internal storage is occupied less than 50% (as I’ve been storing big files like music or photos on external SD card)
I don’t really use apps that would clutter internal storage (like Whatsapp, Instagram etc.)
apps are starting quite normal, so no (noticeable) lagging when opening apps as I would assume from the late phase of my previous phone
as mentioned above, there is a clear correlation to scrolling, also in apps that (I guess) don’t store the data they display on the flash before displaying it (like news apps)
Anyway: is there some check I could perform if this is really the case or something that I could try to fix the issue?
If anyone’s interested or may be suffering from a similar problem, these two threads seem to fit my FP2’s (mis-)behavior best:
So we two seem to have made it that far among a limited quantity of other FP2 users.
I’m still strongly sticking to my first ever smartphone and it still goes strong. My everyday companion. No noticeable quirks and with three batteries always enough power to keep it alive.
It’s planned some day to keep it at home as my main BT audio playback source as it keeps all of my music on it.
I own a “Flic” button, a practical BT accessory perfect as remote control.
Congrats @Patrick1 , very happy to read your FP2 is still working fine!
Considering that the FP2 is the first modular smartphone ever (developed by a small company because they maybe just didn’t know this was impossible ) imo it couldn’t be taken for granted that this phone (or at least some of them) would make it up to 7 years and probably longer.
Adding the over 7 years of software support provided by Fairphone, this deserves both a BIG THANK YOU and a BIG RESPECT! to the company as well!
Looking forward to see how many other FP2 users are still active.
My FP2 turned 7 last Tuesday.
I still use it for playing games.
When there are sim cards in it, it reboots many times a day.
So now I only put a sim card in when there is a notification of an update.
I try to charge it as much as possible through my WakaWaka (solar panel).
and my FP2 gave way for a Murena FP4 as daily driver. But my FP2 still in use for special jobs (e.g. when a Google service is really needed…). So I still like and use the device, even after 7 years…
My FP2 turned 7, too. Which means, it’s still young compared to my 10 year old desktop computer and my 15 year old laptop (both working well with the latest Debian stable).
My FP2 is still working well, too, apart from occasional reboots. And it got a new slim case this year because the old one was broken. I’m glad that it still gets monthly LineageOS updates - thanks to everyone who contributed to this!
Reporting in for 7 years of FP2!
It is still my first and only smartphone and I will happily use it for another 6 months.
It actually lasted longer than my previous Nokia brick.
But with the last software update today, it will be outdated and replaced by the end of this year.
I once replaced the battery, but it was not really necessary, I just felt like it deserved a fresh one once in its life. Once replaced the display because it was broken, updated the camera and went through a handful of back covers.
7 years FP2, but I can only make calls with speaker on and the battery is near death (shuts down when I try to record a movie or use OSM+ etc.). So pre-ordered a FP5 now.
I am also still using my FP2 as my first and only smartphone, since Feb 2016, so 7 and a half years by now.
Sure it’s slow, takes horrible pictures, gets very hot sometimes and reboots frequently. But it does everything I need. With one replacement battery after around 6 years, it’s still hanging in for an entire day. Therefore, in my opinion, it’s still too good to be thrown away.
However, as a non-advanced user with no security updates anylonger, I am forced to look for a replacement. It annoys me a little that this is no different from any other manufacturer. And I wouldn’t hasitate whatsoever in switching to another manufacturer if they promised me a longer period of use. However, I haven’t found one yet.
In my opinion, Fairphone could at least make a special replacement offer. So that, externally forced to switch to a newer version like the FP5, I would at least get the new version at a lower price than the RRP/usual market price.
Yes, for a short period of time, 50€ were once offered. Firstly, this is a negligable discount and, secondly, there is no such offer anymore, is there?
Having no other USB-C device nor a charger with more than 10W charging power, FP5 plus Charger, cable and screen cover adds up to almost 800€. That’s quite some price, if you buy a phone just becasue you are forced to.
If you have any hints or could feedback that to FP, I’d be glad.
Best
stim
You can still use your Fairphone 2 with security updates if you switch to Murena, deGoogled Android.
Make a backup first, because all your data on the Fairphone will be deleted when you make the switch.
Have a look at the installation details for the Fairphone 2
If you return your FP2 to Fairphone otherwise you’d get 12€. From that perspective it was not so bad.
You can keep your charger and just buy a simple USB-C cable (or adaptor from µUSB to USB-C) - with that charger you don’t need the greatest cable available anyway. Charging will take about 4 hours, I assume, but that doesn’t do any harm. Upgrading is possible at any later point in time.
Apart from that I get your point. If I wasn’t fed up by some of the weak points of my (otherwise good old) FP2 I would probably not switch yet, either.
True, but this is Android 11, which most probably will run out of security update support in early 2024.
Currently there’s no Android 12 in sight for the Fairphone 2, unless I missed something (which in this case I would be very glad about).
I am also still using my FP2 as daily and only driver. I am wondering wether to switch now to the fp5 or pushing the FP2 for an extra 2 years and switch with a FP6.
The issue is that I am not sure the FP2 can be usable for other two years… it is now very slow with apps not opening, random reboots and all sort of issues we are well aware.
I am still on Android 9 though. Do any of you recomend (for performance gain) switching/updating OS? Would you guess that in that case the FP2 can be pushed for other two years?
If there are no apps keeping you from doing that I’d go for Lineage OS. I’m running the latest FPOS based on Android 10 (because my work requires an app that didn’t work properly on LOS) and your description sounds quite familiar to me. For just calling and texting I think one could continue for two more years or so with the FP2, but last but not least after I tried for 20 minutes to get a podcast running for my son during a train ride and the phone struggled with its many shortcomings its task for today is to signal me the drop-off of a very specific UPS parcel from the Netherlands into a shop nearby…
A factory reset or a fresh install of the OS from scratch could help with this.
I don’t experience any unusual slowness on my Fairphone 2 (meaning the specs are what they are), but then it doesn’t have to do too much as my current backup phone. I’m mainly checking whether the things I really need are still working after updates (running /e/OS).
