I was using my Fairphone 3+ 3 years and now I send it to France for repair (via official Fairphone repair company). The costs of repair is now 260 euros (replace of core module). But If I look on the website, they support modules for this phone till 2024 (bottom and top are now not available). Also the fingerprint issue (not big one) on Android 13 is something what I don’t like. So if I repair it, how long will it supported by Fairphone? I dont like to buy a new one after 2 years, for example…
Soon Fairphone 5 is coming, so this is my question: Should I repair or should I buy the new Fairphone 5 (or 4)? Because of better and longer support?
Unless there are very specific reasons to stick with the FP3+ and its specifications (e.g. the audio jack which the FP4 doesn’t have and the FP5 certainly won’t have either), the necessity of a core module replacement would most likely make me change to a new Fairphone. The extended warranty on the FP4 and most likely also the FP5 is probably increasing the chance to avoid such a costly “heart transplant” repair bill like the one needed on your FP3+.
On the question what to do with the defect FP3+, you could consider offering the parts still fine and working in the forum’s unofficial marketplace. Every once in a while, people are even looking for parts not available on Fairphone’s official spare parts shop like the rear module (I only just sold one, I hope it’s arrived by now or arrives soon). The camera+ module is also a module other Fairphoners might be interested in, both the top module+ and the speaker module (little known: the FP3+ speaker module is a bit louder than the original FP3 speaker module, although I doubt if that has an effect when combined with an original FP3) and last but not least the bottom module. The battery is better just traded locally or nationally because of legal restrictions to shipping a battery.
And if you don’t care about making a bit money by selling the modules, you could donate them to the nearest interested Fairphone Angel.
If recently leaked British prices are any indication, it might cost up to 700 EUR (although we would have to wait for EU shop leaks or for the launch to know any better).
Worth considering.
If you want to run Android 11 on it, Fairphone will deliver updates as long as Android 11 gets security updates from Google, judging by prior Android versions this is likely to stop early 2024 …
Android 13 support will go further, either a little further or much further …
From today’s point of view Android 13 is likely to run out of Google security updates in early 2026, so now that Fairphone brought on Android 13, they could stick with it until then, of course.
The price of 700 € seems to be for 8 GB RAM with 256 GB disk if i can trust BT page. So we can expect a better price if there is another with lower specifications (6 GB RAM and 128 GB disk).
Thanks for your thoughts (all of you in this thread).
After some thinking (and your comments), I’ll be going to a new Fairphone (I’ve also the money to upgrade to this) - FP4 / FP5. Depending on specs / support. But most likely for now: Fairphone 5.
My old FP3 I will refuse repair and discard by Fairphone. I know that some people looking for parts (or in the future). But it costs almost 40 euros to ship it back. And maybe with the sell of the parts, I will be able to cover this, but it will be not that profitable. Hopefully they will reuse the parts for others for repairs (or maybe, resell in the future as second hand parts).