Welcome! Introduce yourself here!

I love this :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I’ve just realised I had never formelly introduced myself either after all these years: I’ve joined in October 2015, before even receiving my first Fairphone :sweat_smile:

I’m Antoine, 32 years old, from France, I now live in Montpellier (South of France) but grew up in the Parisian suburb, lived 5 years is Paris, where, after some video editing studies, I also studied teaching, which both didn’t quite fit me, so I became animator for children in schools and daycare centers for almost 10 years, with a world tour inbetween : I’ve travelled through South-East Asia, Australia and New-Zealand for almost 2 years.
When I came back to France, I didn’t really want to settle back in the expensive, polluted and grey Paris, so I settled in Montpellier the year after, where I had some family to host me at first, still working as a daycare animator for children. But now I start to really be fed up with the precarity of the job (it’s almost impossible to decently live with it if you’re not official, which is rare and getting harder and harder) and now with COVID19, I want some more change, so I’ll try different jobs, starting by helping with the pandemic situation.

As for hobbies, I love going to the cinema - my teenage’s sagas and blockbusters (Titanic, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbeans…) are always in my head - and making short films with groups of kids and teenagers (with some basic special effects, they love it), I’m fond of playing theatre - especially improvisation - and videogames - especially Nintendo’s : I grew up with Pokémon, absolutely loved Kid Icarus Uprising on 3DS, became fan of Zelda (playing Zelda BOTW for more than 400h (!) now, but also Mario Kart, Ring Fit Adventure…), I love dreaming, philosophy, talking about politics! Imagining a fairer world while watching the stars in summer until very late…

About Fairphone, a friend from improv’ theater talked about it to me, and a few years after, that’s when I was in Auckland, working in door-to-door fundraising for Amnesty International that I received in January 2016 my first FP2, which I had pre-ordered 6 month earlier!
So I’ve owned a FP2 from launch - several actually, if we consider the 3 swaps due to technical issues, and I’m not even mentioning the numerous modules received under warranty :sweat_smile: The joys of being “one of the first 17,418”…
But tired by all the issues that remained that tested my patience and commitment to the Fairphone cause - the battery length, the bugs, random reboot and slooooow photo taking - I’ve given it to my father (whose it’s the first smartphone, so he doesn’t bother much) when FP3 came out last year and decided to give Fairphone another chance… So I now own an FP3 - also from day 1 - and except for falling letters of the back cover and a small issue with the privacy filter protective glass, the phone’s working like a charm!
Being a follower of Fairphone for all these years made me want to imply more on the forum, and in real life, so I’ve become an Angel, even if my lack of technical knowledge pulled me from organising events, but I’ve just decided to move forward and launched the Montpellier community topic a few days ago.

I try my best to act ecologically, sustainably, responsibly, even if it is hard in this overconsumption society, which is why I really enjoy watching companies like Fairphone grow from a baby activist company to a bigger social entreprise. I enjoy watching more and more people getting to realise social injustices or about the environmental crisis… In other words: getting conscious of our impact. Better late than never! I like to learn about similar companies and social and ecological activism, so if you get to know any new similar company, feel free to let us know in the forum! :blush:

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This is my cue! Born French, spent 10 years in Ethiopia, now I call Lower Saxony/Germany my home. Intent on encouraging freedom, be it either human rights, data ownership or communication. Being a technical noob, this implies I spend huge amounts of time on using non-mainstream systems without really mastering them. But I love it. So for me Fairphone is just the natural must-have which was called for. Nothing is perfect but to move things on a good path is a source of satisfaction. I am deeply grateful to all those technically versed co-fairphoners who enable my stumbling efforts :slight_smile:

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Hallo ihr alle,
ich bin T.S. Spivet (das ist natürlich nicht mein richtiger Name, aber ich bin lieber vorsichtig, den mit Fremden im Internet zu teilen, obwohl ich nichts schlechtes über euch denke…)
Ich bin 15 Jahre alt und wohne in Deutschland, ich kann also Deutsch und Englisch sprechen. Ich habe Mitte letzten Jahres ein Fairphone 3 bekommen und zum Glück noch fast keine der hier im Forum vielbeschriebenen Probleme damit gehabt. Ich interessiere mich einerseits für Technik/Elektronik/Reperaturen und wie dieser ganze Kram funktioniert und andererseits für Sicherheit/Privatsphäre/FOSS usw. (Und natürlich für Umweltschutz und Nachhaltigkeit)
Schön, dass ich mich hier mit anderen Leuten austauschen und diskutieren kann und hoffentlich Antworten auf eventuelle Fragen finde.
Einen schönen Tag euch allen,
T.S.

Hello everybody,
I’m T.S. Spivet (that’s not my real name of course, but I’d rather be careful sharing that with strangers on the internet, although I don’t think anything bad about you guys…).
I’m 15 years old and live in Germany, so I can speak German and English. I got a Fairphone 3 in the middle of last year and fortunately have had almost none of the problems described here in the forum. I am interested in technology/electronics/repairs and how all this stuff works on the one hand and security/privacy/FOSS etc. on the other hand. (And of course for environmental protection and sustainability)
Nice to be able to share and discuss with other people here and hopefully find answers to any questions I may have.
Have a great day everyone,
T.S.

Partly translated with the help of www.DeepL.com/Translator

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Hi, I am José from France (Troyes)
I am expecting to buy a FP 3+ by the end of this year :).

I am a Free/Libre and Open Source Concept fan. Software, hardware, …
And I am expecting to promote Fairphone :slight_smile:

Feel free to contact me if you are located near Troyes :slight_smile:

Best regards, jrd10 - José


Bonjour, je suis de Troyes (France).
Je pense acheter un FP3+ d’ici la fin de la l’année.

Si vous êtes des environs de Troyes, n’hésitez pas à me contacter :).

J’ai vu que le FairPhone était vendu dans les boutiques Orange ?!
Je l’achèterai sur le site FairPhone.com :slight_smile:

Amicalement, José jrd10

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Dear Fairphone community, my English knowledge not the best, so I asked my friend translate :slight_smile:

Please allow me to share my story with you.

I consider myself to be an eco-conscious, green person. I had heard about Fairphone for a while, and planned to buy one, although it’s not too cheap. Last September, I ended up buying a used Fairphone 3. With the phone change, I bid farewell to the Google world at the same time, I removed Android from the phone. I installed an /e/OS system instead, which I am happily using ever since, even though it has some room for improvement and it is not meant for an average user just yet. I got used to the new mobile OS, that there is no cloud saving etc. Fairphone worked out very well for me, and I decided to get another one for my wife, as our earlier phones are more than 2 years old and are noticeably ageing.

One day, I saw an advertisement about a used but fairly new Fairphone 3+. I got excited as it is very rare to see such an advertisement here in Hungary. The only disappointing thing was the roughly €450 price tag, so I passed. A month later, the price was lowered to about €320. I called the seller, and it turned out that there is no warranty on the phone, but it is functional. I then wrote to Fairphone support to ask if there is any warranty based on the IMEI number. They soon replied that a payment receipt is required for a warranty, but also that this IMEI is reported to them as a stolen or lost phone. I called the seller with the updates, and he said they are aware of it, they are specialised on selling devices which are lost or get stuck at the post office. I told him I am still interested nevertheless, so we agreed on a discounted price of €180. It was apparent that this phone was rather a burden for them, people weren’t interested in buying it, and they had no clue about the values and spirit of Fairphone. I, on the other hand, was attracted to it for precisely this reason. They sent the prepayment request and the bill, and I transferred the money.

A few days later, the seller called me that they are going to refund me as the phone is not turning on, it is only vibrating. I got disappointed, but I asked him to send me the phone anyway, as I already have a similar phone so I could use this other one for spare parts, like the battery or the microphone, not to mention the front and rear cameras of the 3+. They did send me the phone and I enthusiastically got to disassembling it with a screwdriver. However, someone totally damaged the head of one of the 13 screws, making the disassembling impossible. I called the seller again to tell that I am not interested in a phone in such a state and would send it back, and requested a refund. He told me I shouldn’t send the phone back, I can just throw it away, and that they will refund me regardless. I texted them that I can still make use of the battery, but they didn’t care any more, they refunded the entire €180 price. At least I got myself a free battery, I thought.

But then, I brought this broken phone to my friends at a computer repair shop, who drilled out that one broken screw.  So I disassembled my own phone, and was very nervous not to break the screen so that I try out the new phone with it. And this way, the Fairphone 3+ turned on.  I thought I’d check if there are any other issues with it, and it turned out the phone was used by a German person before. I could only reset it by unlocking the screen, but I had no idea about the unlock pattern. I hardly believed it myself but I unlocked it with the 3rd attempt. (It was not a complicated pattern, and I strongly suggest everyone not to start their pattern with the digit 1 on their phones.)

After unlocking, I had the digital life of a German guy in my hands. This made me thinking. I did not put a SIM card in the phone, I did not connect to the Wi-Fi, I only saw that many of his accounts like Facebook, email or WhatsApp are connected to this phone.

I was thinking what to do, as I could simply reset the phone now, but what if the original owner has an important photo or document on the phone he might need? I slept on it, and wrote him an email the next day in which I explained the situation, that I acquired his device with a screen fault, I could turn it on using the screen of my own phone, what would he like me to do? Should I send it back to him in Germany? If he sends me the postal fee I’m happy to do it. Or should I backup the contents of his phone and share it with him online? As for me, my intention would be to buy a screen to replace the faulty one, and then give the phone to my wife.

I haven’t got any reply to my email so I looked for a German-Hungarian interpreter, whom I asked to help me call a frequently used contact from the call list. We tried but all we managed was to leave a message on voicemail.

By the evening however, I did got a brief email from him in which he asked me to wipe everything from the phone, and wished me all the best. 

Thus, I order a new display for my wife together with a recycled phone case, which arrived shortly. I swapped the screen, and moved my wife from her previous phone to the “new” Fairphone 3+, and she is now a happy user of a phone saved from almost being trashed. 

Since I do not live a life in social media (deliberately), I didn’t want to share this story there, but a friend of mine suggested to share it with the Fairphone community as a positive story in the modern days.

To finish my story with a quote commonly attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Peace & love,
Gonzo

Hungarian version:
Kedves Fairphone Közösség!
Megosztanám Veletek történetem.

Környezettudatos, zöld embernek tartom magam. Már egy ideje hallottam a Fairphone-ról, s tervezetem, hogy vásárolok egyet, csak hát nem olcsó. Tavaly szeptemberben vásároltam egy Fairphone 3-as telefont használtan. A telefonváltással együtt elbúcsúztam a google világától is, a telefonról is töröltem a Google Android rendszert, s feltettem egy e/OS/ rendszert, amit megelégedéssel használok, bár van hova fejlődnie, s nem is átlag felhasználónak való egyelőre. Megszoktam az új operációs rendszert a telefonon, hogy nincs felhőbe mentés, stb. Nagyon bevált a Fairphone telefon, s elhatároztam feleségemnek is szerzek egyet, hiszen korábbi telefonjaink több mint 2 évesek, s öregednek.

Egy nap láttam egy használt hirdetést, melyben új Fairphone 3±as telefont hirdettek. Megörültem neki, mivel nagyon ritka itthon, Magyarországon az ilyen telefon, hirdetés. Csak hát kb 450 euróért árulták, így hagytam a dolgot. Egy hónap elteltével az árát lentebb vitték, s már 320 euró körül hirdették. Felhívtam őket, s kiderült, hogy garancia nincs a telefonra, de működőképes. Ekkor írtam a Fairphone ügyfélszolgálatnak, hogy IMEI szám alapján van-e garancia, amire hamar kaptam egy választ, hogy garancia csak vásárlás igazolás alapján van, viszont náluk ez az IMEI számú telefon be van jelentve mint lopott vagy elvesztett telefon. Felhívtam az eladót a fejleményekkel, mire közölte, hogy tudnak róla, ők ilyen postán beragadt, elveszett eszközöket árulnak. Jeleztem, hogy érdekel a telefon így is, s megegyeztünk egy alacsony árban (180 euro), mivel nekik érezhetően nyűg volt a telefon, senkit se érdekelt, nem tudták mit jelent a Fairphone, illetve a szellemisége. Hát engem meg pont ezt érdekelt. Küldtek előre számlát, díjbekérőt, a pénzt átutaltam. Majd pár nap után felhívtak, hogy visszaküldik a pénzt, mivel a telefon nem kapcsol be, csak rezeg. Csalódott voltam, de mondtam nekik, hogy küldjék el így is, mivel van egy ilyen telefonom, s alkatrésznek tudom hasznosítani a telefont, ha tényleg hibás, pl: akkumlátor, mikrofon, nem is beszélve a 3±os elő- és hátlapi kameráról. El is küldték a telefont, s nagy örömmel álltam neki a csavarhúzóval, hogy szétszedem. Csakhogy a 13 csavarból az egyiknek a fejét valaki teljesen tönkretette, így nem lehetett szétszedni. Felhívtam az eladót, s mondtam neki, hogy ez így nem érdekel engem, visszaküldöm, s utalja vissza az árát, mire mondta nem kell visszaküldeni, dobjam kukába, visszautalja az árát. Írtam nekik sms-ben, hogy az akkumlátort tudom használni, de ez már őt nem érdekelte, visszautalta a teljes 180 eurót, így ingyen lett egy akkumlátorom, gondoltam.

Igen ám, de a rossz telefont elvittem egy számítógép szerelő boltba a barátaimhoz, akik kifúrták nekem a 13 csavart :blush: Így a saját telefonomat szétszedtem (nagyon izgultam a kijelző levételén, nehogy eltörjem), s a kijelzőt áttéve bekapcsolt a Fairhone 3±os telefon :blush: Gondoltam kiderítem van-e más baja a telefonnak, s bekapcsolás után kiderült, hogy egy német valaki által használt telefont tartok a kezemben. Resetelni a telefont csak úgy tudom, ha belépek a telefonba, viszont a feloldó mintázatot nem tudom. Szinte magam se hittem el, de 3-dik próbámra feloldottam a telefont (nem volt bonyolult mintázat, amit ezúton javaslok, hogy senki se az 1-estől kezdje a mintázat megadását saját telefonján).

Feloldás után ott volt egy német srác élete a kezemben… ezen elgondolkoztam. Nem tettem bele sim kártyát, nem léptem fel vele wifire, csak azt láttam, hogy facebook, mail, whatsup, minden más fiók hozzácsatolva a telefonhoz.

Gondolkoztam, hogy mit tegyek, hiszen tudom resetelni a telefont, de akié a telefon, vajon van-e neki olyan fontos képe, dokumentuma a telefonon, amire szüksége lehet? Aludtam rá egyet, s másnap írtam neki egy emailt, amiben leírtam, hogy hozzám került a kijelzőhibás telefonja, a saját telefonom kijelzőjével be tudtam kapcsolni, s mit szeretne mit csináljak a telefonjával? Küldjem vissza németországba? Ha utal nekem postaköltséget, intézem. Vagy mentsem le a telefon tartalmát, s fájlmegosztón keresztül küldjem el neki? Magam részéről azt tervezem, hogy rendelek hozzá egy kijelzőt, s miután kicseréltem, feleségemnek ajándékozom a telefont :blush:

Pár napig nem kaptam választ mailemre, így kerestem egy német-magyar tolmácsot, s kértem hívjunk fel egy telefonszámot a kontaktjai közül, akivel gyakran beszélt. Meg is tettük, de hangpostára tudtunk csak üzenetet hagyni.

Estére viszont jött Tőle egy email, amiben röviden kérte, töröljek a telefonról mindent, s minden jót kívánt :blush:

Így megrendeltem feleségemnek az új kijelzőt, hozzá egy újrahasznosított tokot, ami gyorsan meg is érkezett. Kicseréltem a kijelzőt, feleségem átköltöztettem a régi telefonjáról az „új” Fairphone 3±osra, s így feleségem örömmel használja a kukából megmentett telefont :blush:

Mivel nem élem a közösségi média világát (szándékosan), ezért oda nem is gondolnám, hogy helye lenne ennek, viszont egyik barátom javasolta, osszam meg a Fairphone közösséggel, mint pozitív példát a mai világban.

Gandhi idézetével zárnám soraim: Te magad légy az a változás, amit látni szeretnél a világban!

Peace & love
Gonzo

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Hi & Goodbye - I am leaving the Fairphone community forum! It was a pleasure. Take care.

Hi!
Been using a FP3 with /e/ OS for a long time and I´m been really happy with the device.

Bought a FP3+ when they came out for my wife and she accidently broke the screen this summer.
No worries, ordered a new screen and it was easy to replace, just checked iFixit webpage for teardown instructions and voila!

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Welcome to the forum @Lembritt and thanks for sharing the good vibes

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Hi!

Big fan, first time caller… I’m quite hyped by the rumors of the Fairphone 4. I now have a Google Pixel 3, which is a great phone. But the support ends by the end of this year. Using custom ROMs is an option. But the monthly security fixes I enjoy from Google also include closed-source blobs from e.g. Qualcomm. Which fix nasty security issues with e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth and other things like that. These updates often are not well maintained in custom ROMs. Security is something I value a lot since it’s your private life on that phone.

So I feel the urge to update to either a Pixel 6 or a Fairphone 4.

Cons of a Pixel: Glued together mess. Rumors are saying that the Pixel 6 will get 5 years of software support. But the battery will likely need to be replaced within that lifetime. Which is problematic.

Pros of a Pixel: Strong security due to the Titan security chip and monthly updates. Even though the phone is not modular and you cannot upgrade e.g. the physical camera. You do get software updates, which improve the camera. My Pixel 3 has the same sensor and software as the Pixel 5 main camera. So in terms of camera there was no need to upgrade.

I really hope the Fairphone 4 will be great. I’m a sustainability advocate. So I should use a Fairphone. But camera quality is something I value a lot. They are snapshots of memories. They must be of great quality without thinking too much about it. It would be super cool if an open-source variant of a software defined camera was available. Then I would not even question the Fairphone. A Pixel allows me to make perfect pictures any time. The Pixel 6 is also made of recycled materials. But yeah, that might be just greenwashing their image…

Anyway… Thanks for being here, would love to become a true supporter of FP.

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In case you did not know, and probably in case the FP4 will come soon, there will be similar options

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The last and only time I joined a smartphone manufacturer forum was around 2013. It was for the newly created Oneplus forum (before they began selling them).
The reason why I joined then was its fresh approach and community involvement.
However, as many of you know, Oneplus has changed. They still produce great devices, but the Oneplus spirit no longer exits (FYI - I am an owner of oneplus 8 pro).
I was excited to come across the Fairphone site. I love the concept of being a social aware and self repaired phone :blush:
Although, I am not about to purchase a new device in the near future, I would defenitely be following Fairphone.
Being that these devices are meant to last for years. I personally would like to see a more premium model:

  1. Wireless charging
  2. Stereo speakers.
  3. IP rating.
  4. +90 screen refresh rate (not sure of the rate of the fairphone 4).
  5. Enhanced security.
  6. Global shipping.
  7. Frequent updates.

:slight_smile:

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Hi @Larrygold Welcome to the forum

This is not a ‘manufacturer’ forum but a ‘user’ forum, it just happens that the manufacturer has set the site up but they don’t moderate or read it.

Saying that Fairphone do look in from time to time and do notify of updates to the OS for example.

Hence 99.9%+ of the topics are by users as are 99.999% of the posts.

So if you want Fairphone to note your ideas or answer your queries you would be wise to contact support @ fairphone dot dah (.com)

The likelihood of a range of models is slim given the low sales figures, and the extra costs dealing not just with the concept of modularity and user repairability but more so the Fair wage and working conditions of the supply chain.

All the best.

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Hi, I’m new here. I’m browsing through the forum, getting to know Fairphone more as I anxiously wait for my FP4 to ship. :slight_smile: I can’t wait to be a Fairphone user.

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Hi,

I am Robert from Berlin. I love music, making music (especially electronic), my Fairphone and of course Amsterdam.

I am glad to have a community for all hints and stuff. That’s really cool!

Thank you and bye! :smiley:

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Welcome. It may be good to hear that you can also post here in German.
Posts in German have a German flag in front of the subject.

Herzlich willkommen. Es ist vielleicht gut zu wissen, dass Du hier auch auf Deutsch posten können. Deutschsprachige Beiträge haben eine deutsche Flagge vor dem Betreff.

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Thank you very much! Yes, I have already seen the german flag in front of some threads. I for myself prefer to write in English because of international audience.

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Hi,

I’m Ernesto from Porto, Portugal.

Love travelling, hiking, games (both video and board kind).

My current phone is on his last life so I pre-ordered the Fairphone 4.

Really like your vision about ethical, repairable and sustainable product.

Anything you want to ask feel free and if I can help in any way I will.

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Welcome to our community, Ernesto! :hugs:

It’s great to see people joining us also from the smaller European countries :slight_smile: And nice to see you already said hello in the Portugal topic. While you might have noticed there – apparently – hasn’t been continuous activity there yet, it’s important to add yourself to the topic as sooner or later it might reach the “tipping point” to that. You might have also already noticed our local community address book and the Fairphone Angels, so let me just add one more suggestion here: In “slow” topics like the Portugal one, I would set the “notification intensity” (at the bottom of the topic) to “Watching” so you will be emailed once a new Fairphoner shows up there :slight_smile:

grafik

Of course, this can be changed at any time and in any topic.

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Hi there,
Sam here. I’ve just purchased a new FP4. I’ve a background developing Android distros and look forward to working porting Lineage for the new FP4.

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