Thank you very much Amoun! That was very clear and helpful. It took me a while, as I need to translate all the used options into my own language, but I got there. Thanks again! I will now check the comment by Pilo11.
I have the same problem.
See photo. Sorry for the blurryness.
It says:
Android Recovery
Fairphone/FP3/FP3
11/8901.4.A.0016.6/gms-f0c20986
And then some user instructions.
I only get 2 options:
- Try again
- Reset to factorysettings
When trying again (and again and again and again…) I am able to startup my phone normally (enter pincode etc.) and it seemingly starts. Only to crash again after 30-90 seconds (the time varies with every try).
I used to get another error message, about LocationServices stops every time (literal translation), but that message has disappeared after I removed my SD card. Other than that, the problem still persist and I can still not start my phone.
I’ve also tried with a removed SIM card, and still the same problem.
I truly hope this can be solved without having to reset to factory settings.
Any help will be greatly appreaciated.
Thanks!
Thanks @anon9989719 for all your ideas and contributions - much appreciated! Unfortunately not a sec quicker in safe mode. Strangely even slower in loading the list of apps…
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You are most likely hit by this issue, so I moved your post here, please read above
I was fast enough to click uninstall the Google Play services, but then I see for a sec “Can’t uninstall the update” and the phone rebooted. 
Can it be blocked by smth?
Thanks @Jonibhoni! My phone gives me max. 8-10sec between unlocking and rebooting. Even hard training doesn’t bring me to the Google Play Services in the given time…
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I must and can confirm that the downgrade of the Google Mobile Service + disable of the Google Play Store has been the working transitional solution for me consistently for 2 days now. It is not necessary to completely remove the Play Store. But without disabling the Play Store after the downgrade, the whole “fun” starts all over again.
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What if you follow my precise steps mentioned here ?
It’s the same thing as @formerFP.Com.Manager wrote just with some shortcut.
a) You can save some seconds by don’t making a detour over the launcher / home screen. You can unlock the phone right by pressing the settings icon in the quick settings drawer. This way you don’t need to wait until your apps and widgets are painted on the home screen…
b) Sometimes you can even reach the Google Play services app info by a long (long!) press on the “Nearby Share” quick toggle in the quick settings drawer (kudos to @vyacheslav). It strangely doesn’t work every time though. Sometimes you will also reach the Nearby Share settings instead, but once I pressed “back” there and also arrived at Google Play services app info.
Also, I guess the issue will return as long as you don’t deactivate Play Store. I am quite sure just deativating updates won’t be enough. But I’m experimenting with that at the moment.
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Also, people, mind the old thing that just “removing” some app’s icon from the homescreen is not uninstalling or deactivating it. See here for how to deactivate it properly.
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Yes @Oliver81 , for example if you are using “Find my Device” by Google, you cannot uninstall the Play services update from your phone (without it booting before). You can find out by checking if the “DISABLE” button in Google Play services app info page is greyed out.
If so, then only possibility is really the ADB procedure or waiting for a Fairphone update/final fix.
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Thanks again! All shortcuts considered - but I really just have 8-10 sec between unlocking and rebooting. Giving up in frustration for now and wait for a proper solution from Fairphone …
Last comment before final frustration 
Now managed to reach the Google Play Services just in time to uninstall updates. But then an “unable to uninstall” message appears…
I keep on thanking you Amoun! I tried this and it gave me like a half second more, which was just in time to confirm I wanted to Uninstall the update. Great!!
For the moment I am still left with messages from different apps and my Google Play Store is not showing up anymore in my programs, so I cannot disable the automatic updates as suggested by Rae from Fairphone. At the same time I am to much of a noob to figure out the instructions by Pilo11. HOWEVER I am able to use Whatsapp and Signal again, which are my reasons to have a phone, so I consider this a temporary win!! THANK YOU 
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Maybe these instructions in German run through Google Translate can help you fix the problem with a Mac. The instructions assume that you managed to activate developer mode and have USB debugging enabled.
Are you familiar with https://web.whatsapp.com/ - i.e. through that site you can use WhatsApp from your computer’s browser instead of relying on your phone. Instructions here: https://faq.whatsapp.com/834124628020911/?cms_platform=web
You need your phone to authenticate against it; so it’s worth doing that whilst your phone’s working.
WhatsApp Web talks to your phone to authenticate you (i.e. I believe your phone and computer have to be on the same wifi, as well as having done the one off QR code piece mentioned above). However; you don’t need to use anything on your phone to authenticate; so don’t have to enter your pin; so even with the phone in its semi-broken state you can continue to use WhatsApp on your computer. Hopefully that’s helpful for if your phone hits this issue again (e.g. if updates aren’t disabled).
For Signal it looks like a similar solution’s available; though I barely use the phone app and have never used the desktop app, so can’t comment… Worth investigating if you rely on it though.
Hope that’s some use.
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Hi all,
Let me share a recap of my situation and a couple of questions & thoughts:
Last night I finally managed to temporarily fix the issue on my FP3, thanks to the workarounds found in this thread (Many many thanks to @Pilo11 , @masalew , amoun, Jonibhoni and others!)
- activating ‘Developer options’ in the Settings took me tons of unsuccessful tries, as I first had to train to do it EXTREMELY fast before the next spontaneous reboot would start…
- enabling the USB debugging was even harder (I think I’ve reached Olympic levels of speed
) - I installed this file: com.google.android.gms_22.02.21_(150408-428111784)-220221039_minAPI30(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a)(480dpi)_apkmirror.com.apk
- then I fully disabled Google Play Store (not Services)
So far, so good. (Most important to me: I’ve retrieved all my pics and videos!)
Next:
- I would leave the ‘USB Debugging’ ON (enabled), just in case. Although I don’t know if this could be harmful or anything…
- Google notifications now keep telling me that my data are not saved. My pics & videos are now stored on a local HD so it’s Ok, but I’m still concerned about my OTHER data (contacts, apps data, …). Can I simply resume backups on my Google account (without triggering the whole ‘reboot’ dilemma again)?
For the step forward (and discussion): any news on an official fix?? Has anyone heard of other phone brands having experienced the same issue, or is this a FP specific problem? Who could (be ready to) fix an issue that only affects such a small community?
Just questioning. Many thanks again!
Cheers
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I would leave the ‘USB Debugging’ ON (enabled), just in case
As long as you have only allowed your own computer a trusted connection, the computer and the smartphone at the same time do not fall into foreign hands and your Fairphone has a lock pattern or password, there are, in my view, no relevant security concerns that make it worse than before.
Google notifications now keep telling me that my data are not saved. My pics & videos are now stored on a local HD so it’s Ok, but I’m still concerned about my OTHER data (contacts, apps data, …). Can I simply resume backups on my Google account (without triggering the whole ‘reboot’ dilemma again)?
That’s strange. I observed the same behaviour on my smartphone when I deactivated the GMS, but not when I reactivated it and deactivated the Google Play Store. The Google Play Store is also not actually responsible for backups.
Has anyone heard of other phone brands having experienced the same issue, or is this a FP specific problem?
Not yet. It seems to be a problem of the Fairphone-specific Android operating system in connection with the Google Mobile Service. This also happens with other manufacturers, but it’s a bit annoying because Fairphone updates have led to other problems more often lately.
Who could (be ready to) fix an issue that only affects such a small community?
The community is bigger than you think 
For the step forward (and discussion): any news on an official fix?
I don’t think so. someone else feel free to improve me. It will also be a bit difficult to rollout a fix Update when every “infected” smartphone is continuously rebooting… In addition it’s not easy to find such a problem… We need to help ourselves at first and then hope for a good plan.
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Thank you JohnLBevan! I will definitely reach to that if the need arises (again)!
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I was hoping that they can rollout a hotfix while the phone is on and kind of stable in lockscreen…?
Do you think that this is a vain hope?
I received an email from Fairphone. Could @clabalde or @Pilo11 add this to their pinned posts describing workarounds, so that all solutions are centralized? The adb steps have to be taken first, then follow the steps below.
FROM FAIRPHONE CUSTOMER SERVICE:
In the meantime, the following workaround should resolve the issue in the short term:
Upon receiving the prompt to “Try again” or “Factory reset data” from your device, please chose “Try again”.
Once your device has been rebooted, follow the steps below - you may have to do so fairly fast before the prompt appears again.
Deinstall recent Google Play Services updates
- Go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > See all XX apps
- Find Google Play Services
- Tap the 3-vertical-dot button in the top right corner
- Tap Uninstall Updates
- Tap OK
Disable automatic Google Play Services updates
- Open Google Play Store >Tap on your profile picture > Settings > Network preferences > Auto update apps > Don’t auto-update apps.
- Open Google Play Store >Tap on your profile picture > Settings > Network preferences > App download preferences > Ask me every time.
Note: The only data being removed is the updates to the Google Play Store.
Please rest assured that we are doing our best to have this resolved permanently as soon as possible. Once we have released a permanent solution, we will inform you right away and instruct you to reinstall all Google Play Services updates.
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