Subscription model to continue FP1 development

Not completely true: Fairphone does have access to the FP1 source code, but they are not allowed to publish it. In response to the other post: This also makes LineageOS near to impossible. (Someone has tried Lollipop and provides an in-depth explanation why it doesn’t work here.)


I’m sure you mean 4.2 because:

…is not possible because the latest alpha pre3 itself is Android Kitkat 4.4.2.

Unfortunately this “test build” hasn’t been released. So at the moment there is no 4.4.4 for the FP1.


Fairphone is thinking about these things, as a blog post from January 2015 reveals:

A follow-up blog post from August 2015 gives more details to circular-economy business models. I think the latest blog post on the topic is this one from October 2016, but unfortunately it doesn’t feature information about Fairphone’s current approach. My guess is that at the moment they leave the field to the mobile operators.


I hope that my screen won’t fail me too soon! :astonished: (It hasn’t needed to be replaced.) And, judging from the Market and even when FP1-users have their phones longer than average, I’m sure that there aren’t 60,000 working FP1s left.

1 Like

You are right, because a damaged display of a Fairphone 1 makes the device inaccessible, so it has been sorted out - “unplanned obsolescence”?

1 Like

Not necessarily. I see many people on the street or in the tram using a phone with a so-called “spider app” on the display.

1 Like

That really is true.

I love your sense of humour, makes my day! :grin:

1 Like

A post was merged into an existing topic: Fairphone 1 end of life options (newsletter)

Without entering the blame game, it seems apparent that we’ve already reached end of support… no updates in quite a while, and no more spare parts. FP1 is good as long as nothing breaks, and as long as we’re fine with using an unpatched OS (I’m still using it).

I take this mostly as a chance to share a brilliant short novel, which is available online at this address: The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang, which somehow reminds me of some of the discussions I have read here.

1 Like

this is a really interesting, & important, discussion. i’m also a FP1 owner, & am feeling a little dismayed at the thought of having to think about a new phone in the near future. i don’t know whether a subscription model is the answer, but we really have to find a way out of built-in obsolescence & crappy hardware. technology shouldn’t be “old” after only a few years, we should be able to keep using things as long as they are working. televisions & fridges used to be built to last for decades, we need to do the same with the hardware of our phones & computers.

i see that in #market at the moment there are quite a lot of FP1s or parts of FP1 for sale - i hope Fairphone is buying/taking back as many as possible for spare parts …

6 Likes

A post was merged into an existing topic: Fairphone 1 end of life options (newsletter)

My wife purchased an iPhone 5 about six months prior to me getting my hands on my first batch FP1. Her iPhone still functions perfectly fine and she’s still totally happy with it. On my FP1 I can’t install new versions of some apps I’ve used for years and other new ones not at all. I’d love to carry on using my FP1 longer, and had hoped that it would outlast an Apple product. FP are obviously not comparable to Apple, but they are a company often criticised in the media for their policy of planned obsolescence. I’m not saying that I want to keep using the phone until I die, but at least until the hardware and not software is the reason I have to give up on it.

2 Likes

Don’t worry, Apple is already working on a fix for that problem :wink: .

6 Likes

Thanks so much cschl for your constructive thinking. I fully support your proposal. My husband and I will join a subscription like that.
And as an additional idea: why not buy back all the FP1 devices that people are discarding at the moment (and will do in the future) for a reasonable price and keep them as a spare part reservoir?

Let’s keep this initiative alive and pull it through as far as possible. I cherish my FP1 as an electronic device that holds hope for a fair and sustainable future.

1 Like

Because that would mean additional impact and cost due to shipping, storage and logistics as opposed to the existing Market.

2 Likes

At this moment we do not know if Fairphone 1 will ever see an Android (Fairphone/Lineage) OS that provides the latest security patches. The effort to achieve such a goal could be very counterproductive to the future of any smartphone manufacturer…

I just want to leave this here in case I’m not the only one:
I’m studying and working in IT and while all my fellow acquaintances bury themselves in shiny new technology, I still use a laptop from 2011 and my FP1 from 2013. One reason for this is that newer electronics become more locked up with every generation, glued-in non-removabe batteries, soldered-on HDD & RAM in laptops, HW whitelists, disastrous repairability etc, a development which I do not want to support and which keeps me from new purchases.
I am in the fortunate position to have some spare money left at the end of the month, with monthly donations going to various non-profits. I would see myself sparing an extra 10-20€ per month to support the FP cause, to spread the message and to help reduce the mountains of electronic waste. So if there were such a subscription model, count me in. As for the purpose, I don’t care, like Brackmeister put it, “whatever helps most and can be addressed by simply throwing money at the problem.”

7 Likes

Really interesting discussion. I have learnt a lot from the above why supporting hardware and software for longer is difficult and expensive for small numbers of phones. Nevertheless, like others here I am disappointed at the thought that my FP1 may not last much longer than the 3 years I have had it so far. It really is a failure from my perspective. I hate all this junking of stuff.

3 Likes

I have just purchased a FP2, and agree that a subscription model makes sense (assuming hardware availability/compatibility).

FP can’t provide infinite support based on a one time charge.

Does anyone know what lessons were learned between FP1 and FP2 in this respect?

Or maybe the issue arose too late in the FP2 cycle and can only be considered for FP3?

Right now, I’m worried that my FP2 may not last as long as I had hoped. I would hope to see a subscription option for extended FP2 support (best effort basis, refunded if support ended).

1 Like

Many:

  • FP2 was designed by Fairphone
  • FP2 is modular
  • FP2 is produced by a different manufacturer

All that and probably a lot more leads to FP having more control over spare parts production and more flexibility when a certain component for a module isn’t produced anymore.

Moreover FP2 is produced on a rolling basis while FP1(U) was produced in pre-ordered batches. So the probability of FP2 spare parts actually running out any time soon is very low.

Why? ( → This should probably continue in a different topic).

5 Likes

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Fairphone 3 - Interview of Bas from FrAndroid

Hello to all of you!
That´s a great idea! Thanks a lot for your good ideas!! I see the same problems and like your proposed solution!! I had to let my FP1 power / USB socket be repaired 3 or 4 times now. (But I am also guilty, because I lost my fairphone one night outside in the rain!)
PLEASE, Fairphone-company, help that the FP1 can be used as long as possible! To save natural ressources and avoid ecological damage! And the same for the FP2! But I have to admit that it is a very complex, difficult matter!
Best wishes to all!
momo :wink:

4 Likes