Why buy a FP3 rather than a standard 175€ mobile phone?

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Keep in mind that your fair phone will be supported for 5 years (same as Apple) – most Androids are supported for around 3 years, after which your device is no longer secure.

The parts may seem expensive, but you can replace them yourself without the need to pay for an expert (try replacing a cracked screen, battery or camera lens on any other phone).

That’s not even including the ethical considerations.

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Hello everybody,

I’m a FP user and backer from the beginning. The first batch FP lasted 3 years after suddenly died on vacation (not so good). I bought with discount a FP2 what was a descent phone, but after 3 years my phone was low on battery and off after approx 12h. I panicked and bought a Motorola G7 power for 200€ because i was going to the US for vacation last year. For me, i made a choise to buy a unfair phone because i needed one at the time. I’m sceptical about the battery life of the FP3. Now my phone last for 3 days without recharging. Plz do not lecture me, i’m well aware off the specs of an FP. Just my opinion…

Aw :frowning: … just when it was so tempting :slight_smile: .

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I know i bought an unfair phone. But, i hope FP3 has a good battery…

It’s not about the new phone … well ok, there’s that, too … but you didn’t say why you didn’t just get a new battery when it would have been so easy to exchange … or a powerbank :wink: .

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I’ve got a second battery, and powerbanks. But it drained also so fast. I contacted the always nice people of the costumer group, but i think it was a hardware problem.

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At least it is replaceable. I’m on the verge to panicking on my Pixel and replacing the battery involved either paying 150€ or more sending it to a repair shop and taking all the risk of damage to the phone myself. Including the complete reset of the device, so my data is not leaked.

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That’s the part i love FP. To replace the parts, and so making the phone more durable

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FP3 has an excellent battery: it easily lasts a day and a half in good use of the device, or a full day in intense use.

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I asked my friends and they told me to get the FP3. :wink:

More seriously: My second choice would have been the Mi A2 because the Hardware is good enough and I suspect it will be supported by alternative OSes (I don’t plan to use Google services). It’s ~160 Euro atm.

What made me decide for FP3:

  • Giving money to Fairphone feels better than supporting Xiaomi.
  • FP showed that they are serious about long-term support.
  • Replacement parts directly from the manufacturer. My phones usually break before they are stolen or obsolete.
  • The hope that Google-free OSes will run on FP3 soon.
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  • I always wondered why I can buy fairtrade food even at my local supermarket, but not electronics. Now I can.

  • 90 % of “those” phones have a built in battery now, so they are designd to be thrown away after 2 years. Or maby spend ~ 100 Euros for a repair, or hope to be successful with a youtube tutorial. And often “features” like a missing headphone connector, possibility of sd cards …

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I have a Nokia Lumia 630, almost 5 years old and still working fine. I could use it another 2 -3 years easily, but more and more apps that I really need for my work and private do not work anymore on WindowsPhone. It is a shame, becaus WindowsPhone is by far the most user friendly Phone I have ever seen, and I can use it fully without Google, Apple or even Microsoft account. I love it. But, the WindowsPhone platform is now really at its end of life. That is why I bought the FP3.

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as someone from a poor family (i grew up in a ‘bijstandsgezin’) this is a pretty shit comment. you gotta have money to save money. the fact that there is no room to save for more expensive, more durable, products makes life more expensive constantly.

so yeah, you are right, it is better to save up for higher quality products than to buy the cheap stuff that falls apart and is often in the end more expensive. but it’s an impossibility that shames a lot of people who are less fortunate.

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True, it can be very rough.

In such situation the question arises: do you need a smartphone? Do you need a new smartphone? Would a (combination of) cheap, non-fair, second hand, less patched/secure smartphone be suffice? Would a feature phone be suffice? The answer is probably: Yes.

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You’re quite right; the less money you have, the more the system is rigged against you. Getting your hands on fair products shouldn’t be a matter of having to spend more money - but it is, and it’s a damn shame.

I agree that it’s very counterproductive and even demeaning to tell people who don’t have the means to get an FP that they should just save their money harder - and it’s even worse to tell them that well, hey, they don’t really need an FP2 anyway, so just get an old clunker or unfair device to tide you over until the money train comes in. It reminds me of something Terry Pratchett wrote in one of the Discworld novels:

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

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I think my fairest phone is a used Galaxy S3 in burgundy a could buy for ~70€. It’s working great with LineageOS. And you can buy a new battery for <10€.

So, yes, I think the fairest phone is a used one and you can buy a great phone for 175€. (Same for me with used business laptops an Linux).

I bought a new FP2 because of the modularity and that I can easily install other OS than Android like Ubuntu Touch or Sailfish OS and because they try to use fair components. Apart from that I would always try to buy a used mobile phone, laptop etc. for little money.

Just my 2 Cents. :upside_down_face:

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My wife said, the FP3 is too expensive. Then she dropped her Samsung A?2017; the screen cracked, and turned black. Repair costs: at least 100€ (repair shop in town). So she decided to buy a new phone, the 2019 version. So, she paid about 2*250€. If you drop the FP3 and the screen cracks, you order a new one for 89,95€ and fix it yourself. So, my wife said, that I am allowed to buy a FP3 (for Christmas) :slight_smile:

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explaines pretty well who have the word @home :wink:

I think you’re right! I got a used Galaxy S5 for € 80,–, where I installed GApps, because I wanted a handful of apps from PlayStore. But on this phone you find no contacts, phone numbers, messengers or other private stuff. This is found on my second phone, an even older Galaxy S2 (!) for € 50,–, which is gougel-free. Both are happily running LineageOS with no problems. And as soon there’s an OpenOS for my (already ordered) FP3, I will replace the good old Galaxy S2…