Apologies if this has already been asked. I’m considering buying a FP5 and I’m looking at the replacement components to see what is available
I’ve noticed there’s no replacement motherboard/mainboard advertised for the FP5 or 4
I’m wondering what the process is to replace one then? I get that they’ve covered the most commonly damaged parts, but motherboards do get damaged and easy access to replacement would be important to me
Also, is there any plans for upgradable motherboards? From what I can tell an FP5 motherboard couldn’t be put into an FP4 to give it better performance
I’m not entirely convinced about going with an FP if this is the case. If I look at laptops from Framework for example, I can put the latest motherboard into the previous generation of laptop and even save the existing motherboard as a mini PC
I appreciate that laptops and phones are entirely different beasts, but it would be good to see some commitment to maintaining a certain form factor so hardware could be compatible across generations
The motherboard remains only replaceable by Fairphone’s repair contractor Cordon in France:
It is expensive, but given the higher total price tag of the FP5 (compared to the previous Fairphones), this might be becoming an option to consider more seriously now.
But given different form factors (of the boards themselves), it remains impossible to replace an FP4’s motherboard by an FP5’s (same with FP3).
Thanks Urs, appreciate the quick response and clearing up the motherboard situation
I’m still not convinced it’s the best approach from Fair phone, if they were able to commit to the same form factor across several generations then it would seriously improve the longevity of the product
I’ll confess I have second thoughts about the phone as a result. I think the company is doing good work in terms of repairability, but I’d like to see them go further
Hopefully as the models develop then it’ll become possible
Unfortunately the free modularity that the Phonebloks concept from 10-12 years ago dreamt of has proven very hard to implement.
The FP2 was highly disruptive, both in a good (all of a sudden a modular phone) as in a bad way (FP2 users can attest it was quite a bumpy ride to use it). Then the FP3 was a big progress in terms of operational stability (adding at least a dozen screws to ensure contacts were more reliable than in the FP2) while even increasing the number of replaceable parts by 1 (the speaker was now housed in its own module). The FP4 made repairing much easier by placing the display on the one side of the device and the other replaceable parts on the other (relieving the users of having to remove the display just for dealing with the other parts), plus a different, more reliable core-display connection method was introduced. The number of replaceable parts increased by another 1. Now the FP5 looks very much alike the FP4 on the outside, but again increased the replaceable parts count by 1. Usage patterns differ, but for me as a big fan of microSDXC cards, the newly replaceable card slot (1 physical SIM + 1 SDXC) is a big step forward – it used to be firmly soldered on the motherboard in all four previous generations.
So while interchangeability of modules between Fairphone generations has not been achieved, I can also see how the changes between models were necessary and beneficial. The device would not be viable anymore if it was still using the connection methods that plagued the FP2.