Hi everyone,
Thanks very much for reaching out to our support team about this issue and for sharing all your troubleshooting findings in this thread. We apologise that our investigation has taken some time. We are currently working on an update to our blog post which will contain more information, which we’ll share early next week.
Best,
Rae
Hi everyone,
As promised in my previous message, I’m happy to report that our blog has now been updated with some positive news. Thanks once again to you all for your understanding while we investigated. Of course, please also let our customer support team know if you still encounter issues after our next update.
Rae
Edit:
Sorry, I do the reboot by myself. So I can do calls again for some hours.
A reboot fixes the issue for a short time.
The issue came back for no reason since the weekend.
I deleted all apps and stuff, I’ve installed the last 2 weeks, but nothing changed.
It seems like my fairphone had a feeling, that I’ve explained my “soluition” here last week.
I got the FP3 returned and they sent me a new unit.
I have been testing that unit for exactly 1 week now.
What I observed :
I have tried to reproduce the problem described in 2. several times during the last 7 days but I have not been able to. I wasn’t sure how to conclude either, because there’s still the a problem, but it looked different. Also the problem being triggered by plugging a cable in the headphone socket reminded me a lot how the problem started for me September 2019. Never the less, the state of the unit is clearly better, because (so far, that is 1 week) I had only 1 problem with call (described in 2.). So I would think that swapping the phone actually fixed the problem. We are now 2 to have had the issue fixed by swapping the phone. Still, it doesn’t mean the new unit will be problem free.
To conclude I would say :
_ Do contact the support and do ask for your phone to be swapped. It helped in my case and at least another case too. It took me 5 months and about 30+ emails exchanged to get there. The first few months I was ok to help them test, but when I gave up on that and asked for a working phone, I had to insist for weeks for it to be offered by the support. Just don’t give up, write clearly, and consistently ask to get a working phone. Buying an FP3 is not a lottery, it is covered by obligation on both sides (consumer should pay, seller should give a working unit)
_ Anything about SIM card and other issues they have posted on their blog is NOT related to the issue described in that thread
_ Factory reset does not help
_ The issue seams to be triggered by either watching an ad in an app (ie game) or using headphones. Could that be related to a faulty switch between different audio in/out sources ? I don’t know
Does anyone went the same way (unit swap) ?
Does anyone also got consistently the problem triggered by watching an ad then call doesn’t work until reboot ?
Glad your problem seems to be solved and quite understandable, that you got some reservations to consider it solved. I would as well.
Though:
In some cases it might be related and therefore still something worth checking out. See this citation from a posting in another thread of yours:
Yes a) I think it’s related to an audio switch failure and b) my daughter is having her phone replaced after her disgust that the initial response was to go to the forum for help ??. She’s a lawyer so her second email was probably a little harsh 
I’d love to hear an update, when something noteworthy happens in regards to your daughter
Yes after the second email, where she stated that it was totally unacceptable to be farmed off to the forum she asked for a refund. She has been offered a replacement, just waiting for it.
The initial response was it was past the 14 days but they could replace it as the notification was within 30 days. Technically FP were wrong on the 14 Days that only applies to consumer choice, with a faulty device there only has to be notification within 30 days. However my daughter decide to accept the replacement rather than push for a refund, due no doubt to the facts that a) it was her idea to get a Fairphone as she’s a Barrister dealing with human rights and fair trade and b) I paid for it ~ anticipating problems 
"
You have the legal right to a refund if you return your faulty good within 30 days of receiving it, regardless of what the store’s return policy says.
If you don’t reject the goods within the first 30 days, and find a fault within the first six months of possessing your faulty goods, you’ll need to give the retailer a chance to make a repair or replacement. If that’s unsuccessful, you can then ask for a refund.
After the first six months, the burden of proof switches to you to prove the fault you’ve found was present at the time you purchased the goods in store or first took ownership of it if you bought it online.
The law does not detail how consumers can prove a fault was present at purchase, which can make it problematic when you’re asked to do so."
I just got an email from FP support and they asked again to change the sim-cards, asked about providers, suggested to update … and so on. They didn’t even bother to answer my question about a possible refund. I am getting very tired of it and am considering to keep my FP for homeoffice use. Unbelievable.
@ExFairphoneUser Painful reading
a) How long have you had the phone?
b) when did the problem start?
c) when did you first contact them officially?
I’m coming to the idea that if I can’t be happy with a less than optimal Fairphone I’ll just give up mobile phones.
A crappy phone I can ‘live’ with but the lack of care I cannot, and I don’t mean the lack of Fairphone caring about me I mean me caring about those I exploit.
a) bought it in july 2020 and even got the camera updates
b) some time im september and it got progressively worse
c) october/november
I had to buy a new phone (a used samsung which works like a charm) as I need one for work and the FP could simply not be used.
As you contacted them within six months they should fix it or offer a refund if they cannot. Best to get a copy of the consumer legislation and present it to them, saying if they fail to fix it in 30 days you will return it for a refund as per legislation.
All the best
I think that 2 calls working are not enough to say that changing SIM helps. One of the characteristic of the issue is that it comes and goes.
That is one of the reason why I found the support dishonest. Depending on if you have time and the cultural resources (such as law school) to complain, you will get better treated or not. Getting a working Fairphone is not a lottery but a matter of consumer law.
@ExFairphoneUser
You have to ask several times in a raw that you want your phone to be swapped.
We are now 2 people that had their phone “fixed” by a unit swap. (“fixed” but not fixed, see details in my previous post)
If it follows the same scheme as me, it will take you 3 weeks, and 1 email every few days.
Point out that you have done all the tests they asked you to perform, and that it doe not help.
Also say that it is their responsibility to provide a working unit, because you already fulfilled your part of the deal, that is paying theme.
Well as I have stated, it’s not quite appropriate to ask for the phone to be swapped, the procedure is to ask for a repair and if that cannot be achieved then it is Fairphone’s obligation to supply a replacement. The user of the duff phone is not required to request a working phone, it is Fairphone’s obligation to do that within the 2 year warranty period if they cannot fix it and the fault is not of the users making ~ which can be difficult to prove 
For some background info and insight take a look at this actual posting:
So @Peter_Hofinger seems right. My wife starts to reproduce the problem: she knows that when she sees a specific ad in the “Polygram” app, she will have no sound and won’t be heard then. I’ve seen it repeated twice. I’ve asked her to screenshot the ads when she sees it.
For me, it seems like it’s a software bug, not a hardware. It seems triggered by some really specific ads doing god-knows-what whith the android API 
In the meantime, Fairphone engineers seem to have an incoming fix: An update from our CEO: Reported software issues and our next steps - Fairphone . Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
(in any case: ping @formerFP.Com.Manager because you seem to have ways to report to tech team that the problems comes from some specific ads)
Edit: it seems like the famous add stays in the task manager, even if you have closed the game it appeared in. See the capture below
I’m having the exactly same problem with my FP3+ and already contacted the support. So far only with the response that they will get back to me soon (one month ago!)
Now I’m reading this thread with big astonishment. A thread which is ongoing since 2019 still without a working solution. I will wait until the announced update beginning of March. Sad, that I had to look it up in the community myself instead of being informed.
Sure that I won’t be able to recommend to anybody to buy a fairphone. Waiting 3 years for essential updates is just inacceptable. A pity!
