Hello there,
i sucessefully flashed sailfish OS 5 alpha on my FP5. But how can i go back to the stock android firmware? I can‘t boot into the fastboot mode anymore.
Installing alternative OS should’nt impact your access to fastboot.
How did you try?
This method is working for me:
- shutdown your phone
- press volume Down and plug a USB cable
Hello Sailfish OS / Jolla team,
first of all: thank you for Sailfish OS.
I recently installed Sailfish OS on my Fairphone 4 after experimenting with postmarketOS and Ubuntu Touch on other devices. I really like the overall concept, the UI, the gesture-based navigation, and especially the idea of creating web apps directly from the browser (similar to Ubuntu Touch, but in some ways even better).
However, during daily use I ran into several serious limitations of the Sailfish Browser that currently make the device only partially usable for me.
- Missing / incomplete JavaScript support
Several modern websites do not work correctly or fail to load at all. In some cases the page loads visually, but functionality is missing, or the site gets stuck in an endless loading loop.
A concrete example:
- Bitwarden Web Vault (https://vault.bitwarden.com) loads the login page, but then keeps spinning indefinitely and never completes authentication.
From forum posts and documentation, it appears that this is related to missing or incomplete JavaScript features (WebCrypto, modern JS APIs, storage handling, etc.). There is no option in the browser settings to adjust or enable these capabilities.
- No alternative browser available
As far as I can see, there is currently no way to install an alternative browser on Sailfish OS without Android AppSupport. This means users are completely dependent on the built-in browser, even when certain websites are not compatible.
This becomes a real limitation when essential services are affected, such as:
- password managers
- banking websites
- documentation and forums
- Translation / accessibility issues
Most Sailfish OS documentation and forum discussions are in English. The browser seems to offer some translation capability, but it is unreliable and often does not work consistently.
There is no browser add-on system and no reliable built-in full-page translation feature. This makes it difficult for non-English speakers to read documentation, participate in forums, or report issues.
- Positive note – the browser concept itself is good
I want to emphasize that the browser is well designed in many aspects:
- web apps / pinned sites work nicely
- UI and gesture integration are clean
- performance on simple pages is good
The issue is not the concept, but missing web compatibility.
- Sailfish OS license / account question
During setup I registered a Sailfish OS account directly from the phone and was able to access the Jolla Shop. I noticed that a Sailfish OS license extension is available for around 24 EUR.
It would be helpful to clarify:
- whether license extensions can always be managed via the same account
- how this affects long-term usability, especially if core browser functionality remains limited
Conclusion
I am happy with Sailfish OS and installed it intentionally as a privacy-respecting alternative system. At the moment, however, due to browser JavaScript limitations, I can realistically use the device mainly for:
- phone calls
- SMS
- a limited subset of websites
- Email go
I hope this feedback helps document real-world browser issues and contributes to future improvements.
Thank you for your work and for listening.