Where to mend in my small town

Forgive if I’m in the wrong place. My four year old FP2 has had a brainstorm. I’m happy to replace with FP3 if necessary as 4 years is a good innings. BUT I have approached the 3 phone repair shops in my town and none of them have heard of it and aren’t prepared to touch it. I love the idea of a repairable phone but what to do if nobody will repair it when out of warranty

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What is wrong with your phone?

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for a while the screen has been erratic, yesterday it lost all touch response and the phone was randomly opening and closing pages, turning the torch on , rapidly scrolling up and down and no response to screen touch at all. the only way to stop it running wild was to take the battery out and reboot. the moment i tried to do anything it would go manic again.

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Hi @jeni :slight_smile:

This sounds like crazy touch inputs. There is very long topic about this, maybe it can help you. Also, try to disassemble your display, clean the contacts and assemble it again.

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thanks but not chance. being disabled my coordination sucks, i can hardly insert a sim without breaking it. my question really is what to do about repairs when none of the local phone shops will touch a FP

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Sounds like a contact error like it happens when something is lying on your computer keyboard (possibly the touchscreen).
I am not exactly a techie, but this might be the display, or - worse - the core-module.
Is there one of the #fairphoneangels in your area or within your reach? (You could locate them on the communitymap as well: https://map.fairphone.community/
Or do you know another Fairphoner?
Then you could try swapping the display to find out, if this is at fault.

Another chance for repair might be one of the repair cafes or for Germany as well reparatur-initiativen; but I am sure, there are more initiatives like those in other EU countries as well.

Can you ask some friends or relatives to do it for you? :slight_smile:

Btw the repair shops in your area seem to be extremely incompetent, we literally had a five-year-old repairing a FP2 at a booth some years ago…

there are 3 repair shops in my town and none of them will touch it.

there are 3 repair shops in my town but none of them will touch it. i have ordered a FP3 as i think 4 years is a good lifespan. just interested in what happens with a modular phone when out of warranty if nobody will repair it

very small market town in uk

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That’s not true. Just because the repair shops in your town are run by idiots doesn’t mean you have to throw a working phone away :wink:

I’m sure there are plenty of people you could ask to repair it for you. Taking off the display is very easy, you don’t even need a screwdriver.
Also, have a look at the topic I mentioned earlier, maybe it will fix your issue without even needing to take the phone apart :slight_smile:

Repair cafes are not repair shops.
They are kind of social initiatives, that do repair all kinds of stuff, that noone else will mend (old radios, toasters, etc.). There are able people, that help and guide others. Since you are handicapped, they sure would help you out.

So, you might want to look if there is any such initiative in your area anyway; since they are not for smartphones only. :wink:

Edit:
According to the map on the homepage, there are 1138 repair-cafes in the UK.
So, maybe one really is within reach; just enter the name of your hometown.
https://repaircafe.org/en/visit/

And you could even work as promoter for Fairphone. :wink:

thanks BertG but nothing for over 100 miles.

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Your issue is caused probably by a loose connector that needs to be tightened. If you cannot fix it, I suggest to ask another person to do it. I do not think consulting a repair shop would be necessary to work on it. The FP3 can be (dis)assembled that easy a technically adepted person would be rather overqualified for it.

thanks. but for those who don’t know anybody we would rely on a phone repair shop. if the phone repair shops wont touch it seems a waste

But that’s not the fault of Fairphone, but of the repair shops.

It is highly unlikely that someone can’t repair it by themselves (for any reason) and doesn’t know anyone who could help them and doesn’t have one at least decently competent repair shop in their area. If one is not able to handle a screwdriver, then they should probably not open a repair shop. There even are video tutorials on how to disassemble the display.
I would encourage you to go to the repair shops in your area and ask them why they are unable to unclip the two blue clips at the bottom of the phone. Anyone who has only watched someone building an IKEA chair has more than enough knowledge to do this.

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Well, most likely, they never heard of Fairphone and therefore they even don’t know, that it’s got a modular design.
And - to be honest - from the outside there is no clue, that the phone is so special.
So, one can not expect them to know, that it’s just two plastic locks.

@jeni
You could take a printout of the iFixIT page with the teardown of the FP2 with you to the repair shop, to show them, that they only have to change modules. That should be even more easy than changing the battery in most phones, as it does not take any soldering.
They just have to get the modules or you order them and take them with you to the shop.
Switching the modules should be really cheap then. But better talk to them first, if they are willing to do it. :wink:

(Of course it’s a bit academic now, that you already ordered a FP3. Maybe you can keep your FP2 this way for emergency. Other solutions would be to sell it for spare parts here on the forum or to recycle it via the Fairphone recycling program.)

EDIT:
I just saw, that Fairphone - on the page of all the spare parts - has a link to printable repair instructions.
E.g. for the FP2 display module:


It’s the iFixIT guide though; but printerfriendly formatted.
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now that’s fab info. thanks very much

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