My FP3+ stopped working a few days ago. Went black, no charging LED when plugged in, Battery was half full.
Had the same issue about a year ago and ended up sending it in for repairs because it was still covered under warranty.
But now i’d have to pay for a repair and it’s just not worth it.
However:
I discovered that if i bend and twist my phone a bit i will be able to get ist to boot. I was able to save my pictures stored on the phone but then the phone froze and i couldn’t save any more data.
Now i just have it on my work desk and sometimes give it a try: Take out and re-insert the battery, connect and disconnect from charger, twist, bend, long-press power button, long-press power and vol-down.
Sometimes it boots. Sometimes it just shows “Fairphone” for longer than usual and goes black again. Sometimes it just stays black. Sometimes ist gets stuck in boot-up (4blue dots freeze mid-dancing).
I already took it apart and cleaned the screen-connectors (with 97% alcohol). Should i take it completely apart, clean everything that even remotely looks like a connector?
Has anybody made the same observations (temporarily “fixing” an FP3+ by twisting it)? Or has anybody been able to repair an FP3 with these symptoms on his own?
Can i retrieve my daty if i manage to start the phone in recovery mode?
That means there is a bad contact somewhere. You should open it and check all connections, just unplugging and replugging everything might do the trick for another year…
You seem to be very certain about that!? Thing is: Even if the phone did boot up after some twisting and i make a point about not touching it at all it eventually froze again. Sometimes it even froze mid-boot-up.
I still think the twisting has an effect because just taking out and re-inserting the battery alone didn’t help. It only started after some twisting.
It would seem obvious to me to dismantle and reassemble, are you hesitant to do that?
If you do
a) get some isopropyl alcohol from cleaning
b) ensure enough downward force on each of the 13 screws so as not to burr the head.
when reassembling
ensure the pogo pins on the main board work.
clean the contacts on the display that meet with the springs on the steel cover, maybe even check the springs are out enough
You may even want to clean the charging port. As you have no warranty you can disassemble the bottom module for better cleaning.
There are lots of posts on this subject, do a search, try something and let us know how you get on.
I have a strong feeling that my issue is due to a bad contact. But there are so many of them.
As i said, i already cleaned the screen contacts (although not the earthing contacts) with isopropyl alcohol (97%). But i know from memory you have to be very sorough about that because a.: the dirt causing the issue may not even be visible and b.: you have to make really sure to tighten every screw around the display connector to keep it securely in place.
Thing is: Even if i manage to clean the right spot, there is still a possibility to screw up somethingh else in the process and just cause another failure.
That’s why i came here before i completely disassemble everything: I wanted to know if someone had the very same symptoms and maybe can point me to the part that’s most probably the culprit.
Quite. It’s the only reason a physical manipulation (twisting, bending) can influence the outcome. A software bug wouldn’t care if you twisted the phone into a curl.
The fact it does eventually freeze again, all on its own, can easily been explained by whatever contact had been made eventually straightening up and disconnecting again.
IMHO there is a bad contact somewhere between the modules. I don’t have a FP3 (FP4 owner), so I don’t know how it’s built, but AFAIK it’s several independent modules connected somehow, and your problem most likely is in one of those inter-module connections.
That is true, but to a point. I don’t know how agile you are with your fingers, but remember the FP has been built to be user-serviced. It’s not like you’re using a heat gun to pry glued-together loose components from each other…
Also, your title says something about “Death” so how much worse can it get?..
So your first priority will be to get it charging again. But that probably won’t happen until you’ve disassembled the phone, cleaned all the internal contacts, made sure the connectors are properly aligned or seated. Allow some time to dry after cleaning the contacts with isopropanol and before reassembling.
Also read this. It’s about a FP4 but valid for all models! Use the correct screwdriver and at least moderate pressure to unscrew. Lighter pressure when reassembling.
What was repaired and before twisting and bending and opening modules etc, why not contacting support to see what they say, i.e. in case the core module was defect and is now again, I would still ask them if they can do something and at least show some accomodation…
I did contact support. They told me that manufacturing warranty has expired. There doesn’t seem to be some kind of repair warranty.
I can send it in on my own cost - won’t happen because i don’t believe repair will be cheaper than buying any similar performing used phone.
Or i can recycle and upgrade - 20€ for my broken phone? Nope!
