Phone reboots when dropped slightly - should i contact support?

[Dave_M]

A few weeks ago, my fairphone 2 (Fairphone Android 1.4.2) started rebooting everytime on slight shocks, e.g. when I dropped it from 5 cm onto a wooden table. Lately it also started rebooting even from just taking it out of my pocket or putting it on a table. Every 5 or so reboots, the “Android is Starting” “Optimizing App x of xxx” shows up, which makes the phone basically unusable.

I could not figure out what it could be, it did not start after an update or a heavy drop (I handle my phone carefully). The sudden reboot is reproducable reliably by droping it (from 1 cm) vertically on one of the edges. Very early after I recieved the Fairphone, I noticed a really slight noise when shaking it, like a loose part, might this issue be connected to the reboots?

What I have tried so far (Following advice of these pages: General Troubleshooting, Random Reboots )
Took out all sim and sd cards
Performed a Hard Reset
Opened FF2, took out all the modules and put them back in (in case there was a loose connection)

none of it made any difference. It seems to me that it’s a hardware issue.
should I contact support? can I try something else?

Thanks for your help.

[Jon1]

If it still reboots without the SIM card in it I’d contact support.

[Spielmops]

@Dave_M

Opened FF2, took out all the modules and put them back in (in case there was a loose connection)

This didn’t solve the issue, so you have to send the phone back and get a new one.

Spielmops

[BeMiGro]

I remember posts in the forum that report a slightly loose battery which led to reboots. In some cases stabilizing the battery (or rather filling the gap) with a sheet of paper seemed to help.
For sure not what you’d call an elegant solution but maybe a temporary workaround which might be worth a try.

[Peter974]

I’ve the same problem.
Any new ideas or feedback from the support?

[Dave_M]

@BeMiGro This fix seems to work! Thank you so much for saving me a LOT of trouble (waiting for support, sending the phone in etc)!!

Note: I remember that I might have bent the battery connectors too much when I took the mainboard out and put it back in. So this is my own fault, not a design flaw of the Fairphone 2.