Software Update: Android 11 for Fairphone 3 and 3+

Which alternative camera app are you using? I am having the exact same problem with my SD card/default camera app, so will need to use a different one until this issue is resolved. Thanks!

Not sure what you mean as I think it was explained earlier that there is nothing to fix.

After Android 10 Google do not permit storing on externally formatted SD cards unless there is a specific flag set, as is done in Open Camera.

See the image in Software Update: Android 11 for Fairphone 3 and 3+ - #61 by amoun

It isn’t available in the standard google or android cameras, i.e. not in the default Fairphone version or the Google offshoots GCams

So there is no issue to fix, apart from removing the now defunct option in the default Fairphone camera. I doubt Fairphone will override the Google specs as they are bound by a license from Google.

It may be worth noting that as photos get more demanding it is quicker for the phone to store to internal memory, which does not include formatting an SD card as Internal.

So the best all round option is to use any camera and then move the images to the SD card, regularly, and out of the internal memory.

1 Like

The problem is that the camera app tells us that the ‘SD card is full’ and doesn’t want to take a picture, even if it is set to store the picture on the phone (not to mention that the SD card is far from full, but that’s beside this point here)

EDIT: turns out that even though the camera app warned me about the SD card, the actual problem was that the phone’s internal memory was too full. Once I emptied that a bit, it was fine taking pictures.

Might this info be useful to @Leonie ?

2 Likes

We have Google Wifi and this doesn’t allow the splitting of the 2.4GHz and 5 GHz signals, so this workaround won’t work for us. Thanks for trying though! The fundamental problem is the FP3, well mine at least, wifi connection is unstable. The previous fix of tying it to 2.4GHz worked as I think it was flicking between the two signals, but now it just repeatedly drops out for no apparent reason. Other A11 phones may not allow wifi freq selection, but they will not have this annoying glitch I imagine. It’s just frustrating that FP can’t provide a decent product along with the environmental credentials

1 Like

Thanks for the hint. The internal memory is not full, but I will try to make some more space and see If that helps. I use OpenCamera now, but probably that is not of interest anymore.

1 Like

I’m in the same situation. This seems to occur only with AVM routers as documented extensively here. No other devices have this problem connecting to AVM routers. I and others have contacted support many times to no avail, they’ll just throw standard text blocks at you.
I too will probably get another phone. I don’t want to (mis-)configure my own router just to make it compatible with the FP3’s broken WiFi implementation. Also I often connect to other AVM router networks and I certainly won’t ask the owners of these routers to change their configuration for me.
I was planning to keep my FP3 until it stopped being supported. But I won’t keep using it if such an important part of its functionality is not working.

@RuthiB @Leonie

You may find that even 6GB is not enough.

As mentioned this is not an FP3 issue but an Android 11 one. You can downgrade to Android 10 if you like.

You may find others have already adapted and almost certainly will if they don’t like the Android 11 set up. :slight_smile:

Of course there’s always a possibility that Fairphone will introduce this older feature, but it is exactly that now ~ an old feature.

Not sure if you can only blame Fairphone even if other devices (with A11) have no issues with AVM router. I have no issues at all and never had with neither the FP2 nor the FP3, the difference is, I dont use an AVM Router.

The AVM router I use is a FritzBox 7530 and is fine.

As mentioned: before this update of Android 11 I had set each band to a different SSID and never had a problem since, with A10 or A11

Yes we all understood I guess and the difference is that some dont want to split SSIDs and I dont have split SSIDs and still never had any issues also not with Android 11 what I use already since a longer time on the FP2. I neither never told the FP3 to only use one Band in the FP settings. So the issue itself that FPs are often unstable when used with AVM Router has nothing todo with A11 and google remoevd a setting to easily deal with this issue

There is an issue about interference and power usage.

The interference on 2.4Ghz is well known as it can be impacted by Bluetooth etc. which is why I separated the 2.4G and 5G

I can then switch off the 2.4GHz transmitter in the router and save electricity, which in my off grid situation can be critical sometimes.

This hopefully can apply to the phone, though I don’t know if it does.

By switching off 2.4Ghz I would hopefully save some battery energy, and reduce heat, something I don’t imaging Google really care or think about.

I don’t have the update yet, but I have a question about the WiFi discussion going on here: Do I understand it right, that the complaints are about the fact that the phone is toggling between 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

If this is the case: This is usually intended behaviour between modern phones and modern routers.
The FP3+ supports IEEE 802.11k, which enables phone and router to talk about the best possible connection; especially important if you have “repeaters” (nowadays: intelligent mesh networks). This standard is called Radio Resource Measurement.
Also the FP3+ supports IEEE 802.11v, which allows the router to tell the FP3 how to behave (which frequency bands to use, switching to another band, going to energy save mode, switching to another AP, etc.)

For example: if there is a PC doing a big download, the router will tell the PC to switch to 5GHz if SNR is ok to do that. And it will tell the FP3+ to switch to 2.4GHz to keep the band as free as possible for the PC.
And even if there is no other device demanding traffic, the router will often tell the phone to switch to 2.4GHz, especially if there is a bit of distance. The router knows that the FP3 is a battery powered device, it knows that there is (let’s assume) not much traffic going on, it knows that SNR is maybe not that good on 5GHz, so it tells the FP3+ to switch to 2.4GHz.
On the other hand: With traffic that needs low delay and high bandwith, the router will tell the FP3+ to switch to 5GHz - if this band and channel has enough ressources and it sees an advantage to use this band.

All these logics are especially important when using a mesh network (as supported by all modern routers). In this case there is not just connections between AP and devices, but also between APs, which need a wireless backbone channel which is dynamically controlled by the overall bandwidth in respective channels and bands in the whole network.

Unlike 10 years before, these standards are much more complex nowadays. By simply separating the bands (eg. naming the SSIDs different), most of these advantages are not working anymore.
Of course, you can do whatever you want with your router, but from a technical point of view, it makes all these logics impossible, which are needed nowadays in crowded (mesh) wireless networks.

So maybe I get the discussion wrong (please correct me!) but if it is about the FP3 switching WiFi bands without any obvious reason: That’s how these IEEE standards work.

1 Like

Yes you are correct and your details may help ‘comfort’ some with the issues.

The two points are

  • In Android 10 it was possible to select a band (2.4 or 5) so giving extra control, that is removed in Android 11

  • Even so using A10 I went without the auto switching as
    a) I was at home and could control the routers SSID and
    b) It was necessary so as not to interfere with other and older systems that could only use 2.4Ghz
    c) Further separating 2.4 from 5 now has to be done on an SSID basic, so clearlt isn’t available often when out and about. Before it was a simple choice 2.4 o5 or both. Now it’s a fussy SSID game to play, not really any improvement, and clearly not appreciated by some.

There is a problem in that it isn’t happening seemlessly for some, so being able to select either 2.4 or 5 resloves that.

Thanks for your input.

The problem for me and others with WiFi is the following:

  • The FP3 has major problems with higher 5 GHz WiFi channels (106 and above I think) when connected to AVM routers, with basically unusable connections. Many examples for this here. These routers are very common in Germany, a lot of people have one at home and you will encounter them all the time when travelling. I have found no reports of other devices that have this problem with AVM routers, which are generally very reliable and receive frequent updates (even models more than 10 years old).
  • The only viable workaround on an FP3 with Android 10 is to completely disable 5GHz WiFi connections. Other approaches like disabling automatic channel selection or using different SSIDs for 2.4Ghz and 5GHz are a nuisance when you control the router and impossible when you don’t.
  • The option of disabling 5GHz WiFi on the FP3 is no longer available with Android 11. So, unless you manage to completely avoid AVM routers, WiFi is more or less broken.
1 Like

The problem is the channel range on 5 GHz and implementation obviously being a mess in general.

If you search the internet you should be able to find that there are other devices out there having problems with channels 116 and upwards, and there are even devices out there only able to use channels up to 48 or something.

Any of these devices will potentially run into the same problem when connected at 5 GHz Wi-Fi to an AVM box as soon as the AVM box decides to use a troublesome channel, either because the box is allowed to choose automatically (= default setting), or because it evades a manually fixed troublefree channel and goes to a troublesome channel (because of supposed interference on the manually fixed channel) without timely returning to the fixed setting.

Wi-Fi Alliance :man_shrugging: Fairphone :man_shrugging: AVM :man_shrugging: … brilliant 21st century tech.

3 Likes

Ok, I see. I have an AVM router, too (7590), but everythings works very fine.

We all know about the problems with some channels in the 5GHz band because of weather radar, or to be more precise: Because of DFS.
Most affected are the three bands 120 and up. Wikipedia is wrong by saying these are the only bands affected by DFS, I suggest the official documentation instead (document by German authority, in German language).

So when living nearby a weather station, airport, etc. it could be helpful to limit the AP to channels not affected by DFS.

I don’t see that the FP3 is more irritatet by these mechanisms than other phones. Maybe I am just lucky, maybe Fairphone is not to blame and AVM is not to blame.
In general it was a baleful decision by European authorities to open frequency bands for WiFi which are already used by other services.

Very true! Interferences and trouble guaranteed.

3 Likes

I have a crash in the camera app as well, but no warning about memory. Both drives have plenty of available space.

Edit: Quick check on clearing app cache and contents does not fix the issues.

Hi. Are you referring to the default camera?

How much memory do you have as given the default camera can only use the internal memory I imagine that’s the only one that matters, assuming the SD card is formatted as External.

1 Like

I have 48 of 64 GB internal space occupied and 84 of 256 external memory.

Previously, my SD card was formatted as external (I think? the option that did not cause issues. I cannot see any option to change this or check it in the current settings) and indeed was the save location for my pictures. There was no issue with saving there before.

I can give further information about the problem. It seems to be related to my rear camera. I hear an audible click as it tries to focus the camera. Shortly after the click the app crashes. This does not happen with, say butchercam.

Edit: The camera focusing was a false alarm. After clearing settings of the app again and managing to briefly switch to the front camera, the issue persists and the camera app crashes shortly after starting.

1 Like