Replacement screws?

Has anyone had any luck finding replacement screws, Brought some screws that were close from eBay but I’d still like to get exact replacements


Photo attached: Left screw is a M1.4x4mm screw, center screw is a FP3 screw and the right screw is an M1.4x3mm. The 4mm screw works ok but bottoms out in some holes (a hair too long) and the 3mm screws feel like they only engage a few thread so I don’t know how strong they’d be.
The slightly bigger screw heads don’t seem to be a problem.

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Sounds suspiciously like the M1.4 x3.8 as used in Lumia 930 would fit and will report back when have had a chance to investigate. Can confirm that provided a T5 Torx screwdriver is available that this Nokia/Lumia screw albeit 3.8mm as opposed to 3.5mm of FP3 screw appears to be a perfect fit especially upon the periphery of the device; although have not tried all thirteen locations.

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Those Lumia 930 screws are about £3 a pop, I’ve found some M1.4x3.5mm Philips screws on eBay much cheaper, I’ve ordered some lets see how we get on.

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Slightly OT as it’s about the FP2 and not the FP3: some time ago I bought one hundred M1.4x5mm screws off eBay. They’re exactly the right type, even though the heads look a bit different (I may have ordered button heads instead of flat heads). Here’s a comparison shot, FP2 screw on the left and eBay screw on the right.

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Brought some M1.4x3.5mm screws from eBay, total failure they barely measured 3mm in total.

So I brought some more M1.4x3.5mm and these measured 3.9mm total length, this is a hair shorter than the standard FP3 screws (4mm total length)

FYI: the M1.4 is the diameter of the thread and the x3.5mm is the length of the thread not the total length of the screw.

This is the screw in the picture on right with the FP3 screw on the left.
NOT A SPONSORED LINK - BUYER BEWARE

One day fingers crossed Fair Phone just start selling official screws

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@formerFP.Com.Manager: Could Fairphone please consider this?
If people are supposed to take the plunge and unscrew the screws … some screws could get lost, the heads could get worn out so they couldn’t be handled with confidence anymore, the coloured Nylon (?) layer to keep the screws from unscrewing themselves could disappear over time, etc. … would be nice to have a reliable source for the exact same screws.

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@formerFP.Com.Manager
I’d even go further: perhaps you could also include some spare screws when selling the phone (10 I’d say) in case one loses some. It would even show further your will to allow the user to repair his phone easily. And I believe it would really be appreciated by many who just lost one screw and have to buy hundred without being they will fit perfectly.

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Replacement screws, that hardly anyone will ever use? And should they be needed, they most likely will be lost.
It might be my fault, for taking my own experience for an example, but I really doubt, that many people will need those screws.
Doesn’t seem very sustainable to me. :wink:
Selling some seems more like the way to go. But handling and shipping costs have to be way lower of course.

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Maybe just ship some spare screws when people buy the spare part.

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At some point I badly damaged a screw on my FP2 in such a way that it was stuck. I wasn’t able to unstuck it. I contacted support for a replacement, and received multiple (IIRC about 6), it just took a while (~2 months). A few months later, the stuck screw was unstuckable. Kinda weird…

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Could just file off a little

Hi,

I will need replacement screws for my FP3 very soon.
This post is helpful to pick the right size, but the screws you are showing do not have pre-applied threadlocker (the blue “glue” in the threads).

I think the threadlocker is important. It is used to prevent loosening of the screws due to vibrations (normal life vibrations, like having the FP in the door pocket of the car).

I think if we don’t pre-apply threadlocker we will risk having some loose screws after some time. That’s why selling official screws would be great, they would come in the proper size and with the proper products applied.

On the meantime, my best guess is that this product would work: Loctite Threadlocker 242. It’s blue and is used for screws that need to be disassembled eventually.

Beware: The product I’m suggesting is a best guess. I don’t know anything about electronics… We normally use this for big machines. Would be great to get Fairphone feedback here!

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Hi for replacement screws please see

Hi,

that’s a great suggestion but it will work only once your screw is already damaged.

I’d love to prevent this from happening. I know how difficult it can be to remove a worn out screw.

However, the link to the other topic is relevant. I think there’s a way of indicating similar topics on the forum. It would be great if some forum admin would link both topics.

What exactly do you mean? You can use tags to find similar issues, e.g. Topics tagged screw

I mean this (highlighted in black):

I just picked a random topic, btw.

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Ok, I see. These links are automatically generated by Discourse. So the link is already there (in the other topic):

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I recently tried to dissasamble a FP3 and the srews are really a bit tricky. Although I was quite careful, I managed to damage 2-3 screw heads. As I’m not very confident I can unscrew those multiple times without damaging completely I ordered M1.4x4mm raised head screws. They are a bit longer and therfore do not fit in all screw holes (see picture, left will hardly go in, right does not look to bad, but back cover will not close properly). I did not try to replace all 13.
As normally not all 13 break at once, I think they are still a good fit. As I have 100 screws now, I’m happy to sell some, in case anyone needs some.

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Srews the second: I also ordered a set of different screws in eBay. The M1.4x4mm screws in this set actually seem to be a perfect fit and 4mm is the total length or the other are longer (I have nothing to properly measure)

Awful picture picture but I think still visible

Left second try, middle original, right first try

And here the links to the screws

https://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemDescV4&item=313427396402&category=180976&pm=1&ds=0&t=1587370210000&ver=0&cspheader=1

https://minischrauben.com/mini-0-6-2-5mm/schrauben-ab-0-6mm/metrisches-gewinde-ab-0-6mm/linsenkopf-ab-1-mm/din-7985/ph-kreuzschlitz---2193_2217_2218_2707_2708_2709.html

Danke @urs_lesse :upside_down_face:

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May be an idea to include a spare screw as Framework has done.