Hey there,
im currently thinking about upgrading my FP3 to a FP5.
The problem is that the fp3 was for me softwarewise such a disappointment that i didn´t want to buy another Fairphone ever again but giving the current state of the market im considering it once again.
My main Problem was and is that the software/firmware side of the phone is just…well garbage.
Bluetooth isn´t realy working reliably
getting a whatsapp call mutes the microphone ( a software bug thats been around for years and just isn´t getting a fix)
Fingerprint sensor is fidgety and often not recognizing
Phone network connection has issues like not reconnecting automaticly to the nearest tower
don´t get me started on wifi…
That aside the hardware is solid
the display just won´t crack (it fell down straight to concrete and stone so many times and yet not a single crack)
the battery held up like 3-4 years without any problem
It was never a fast phone but it also didn´t slow down
My questions is (for the one´s who had older fairphones and are currently using the new ones)
if the problems were solved or if i´d still lose bluetooth randomly, had to restart my phone after a whatsapp call or if is still have to build my wifi around the smartphones needs?
I have a Fairphone 5 at the moment and also had the 3 before that. I can say that it is a good phone I never encountered Bluetooth or call issues (but the Fairphone 3 has a terrible Bluetooth connectivity). And the microphone works flawlessly. The only problem for me is the very poor battery life.
However, due to the current support situation, I cannot really recommend a Fairphone at the moment. If you have a problem, you are either waiting for a very long time (over a month) or you have to solve it by yourself. Also due to bad communication habits, it is not clear for me if they hold their promisses on software support and longevity.
If you can hold out for 3-6 months, then chances are that the Fairphone 6 will be launching soon. Fairphone releases a new phone every 2 years, so it’s time.
A user on Reddit claims the customer support asked if he wanted to hold out until June or if he wanted a replacement device right away, and since everything on Reddit is true then clearly they are planning on releasing something good soon.
Yeah forgot about that there will be most certainly a new Fairphone this year. I would say the battery life of the 5 is even poorer than that of the Fairphone 3. And because nearly everbody agrees it is not because of an individual problem with my battery. If you don’t use it much during the day, it lasts certainly the whole day but if you use it frequently you might need to charge it during the day.
Yeah i just read that to. So ill probably wait but tbh after Reading some reviews they really need to Up their Game in Terms of Firmware and quality of Life. I want them to be successfull but right now the only thing they excel at is the repairabily and (which makes the first Part irrelevant) reliability in Terms of Hardware lol
I have a three-year-old FP4 and haven’t had any of the problems you mentioned (although I don’t use Whatsapp).
I don’t know what that is about a bad battery, mine lasts for three days, two if I use the phone a lot. Having said that, I’m not using FairphoneOS, I have LineageOS with the Google apps removed. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it, but I’ve felt that the fingerprint reader works better if you add two fingerprints instead of one.
I agree with you on the display! I think it’s better than Apple’s stuff, it’s very resistant to smudges or scratches.
I can confirm this, at least on FP3: a few years ago it didn’t always recognise my finger correctly. After reading somewhere on this forum that it might help to add the same finger several times (as if they were different fingers), I have done it and now it almost always unlocks my phone on the first try (if my fingers are clean ).
The weird thing is that in my experience it doesn’t have to be the same finger. I set up two different fingers (which is actually quite handy (no pun intended) when gripping the phone in different ways with different hands) and the reader seems to work fine whereas if I only have one fingerprint set up it’s a bit hit and miss
getting a whatsapp call mutes the microphone ( a software bug thats been around for years and just isn´t getting a fix)
I haven’t heard of this. My mic often seems to disappear – just when I’m trying to recognise bards in the woods. Ist there any way to reactivate it without rebooting the phone?
Why would i have too? Its Not a cheap Phone i can live with the fact irs around 200 Euros more expensive than a Phone with the same or better Performance but i can expect it to run without having to rely on Something like that.
).
