Software quality is terrible and every OS version upgrade brings a new grab bag of worse bugs.
- A11 had some annoyances like quick toggles turning black or non-working screen after importing settings from an OLED phone with always-on-display
- A12 had bugs that broke important functionalty: Screen can only go to 30% maximum brightness if it’s slightly warm outside, Hotspot and Tethering don’t work, GPS sometimes doesn’t work when Android Auto is used, Screen sometimes goes black for a few seconds if you receive a notification and a few other issues
- A13 straight-up bricks the phone on a failed update and freezes/reboots if you dare to use 5G
These bugs usually don’t get fixed until the next OS upgrade happens where Google rewrote that part of the software.
The hardware has a few hardware errors, like the touch not working correctly (ghost touches/unresponsive) or the speakers rattling like a snaredrum. Shouldn’t be much of an issue, the phone is modular so it shouldn’t be hard to fix the flaw and offer the fixed version of that component in their shop (or if they really had integrity, replace these parts on warranty). Instead, they keep selling the broken parts! And their warranty is not worth much at all either.
Support is basically inexistent. Of all the times I wrote them to report bugs, not a single time did they have any response other than “our experts will look into it”. Even if I give them a working bugfix, they just ignore it and don’t fix the bugs.
This is the first time ever that I wouldn’t be sad if my phone dies a tragic death.
you could sell it and buy another used phone that you actually like, right?
i have none of these issues. your phone is defective. send it back for repair.
I sometimes have the same feelings. I try to keep in mind that they are a really small enterprise with big goals. But at the same time I had periods where the phone frustrated me so much (FP3)
Since ecology takes a big place in my decision making these days I will not change phone before this one dies, but sometimes I feel like I have sacrificed a lot - Will probably go with a refurbished phone next time
However I still really like fairphone and their projects and objectives 🙂
Unfortunately I’m beginning to feel that their business model and ability to support the device is compromised by the “value stacking” of trying to create an ethical phone that’s also repairable. It’s expensive (because of the ethics) so we have high expectations, those expectations are compromised by features inherent in the repairability, and they’re not able to devote the staff necessary to support the device. A focus just on repairability with off-the-shelf components would have resulted in a more reliable product that can be supported better, better parts availability, a cheaper device, and a fair part of the positive impact.
Interesting idea. I don’t know. I suppose they know their market and that one of those two niches will not sell well enough to be a reliable market now? Or maybe they are well known for both and dropping one will be seen as bad for buyers.
Which phone are you talking about?
I guess the FP4. Honestly, a lot of the stuff you describe didn´t occur with my fp4, so either you´re unlucky, or I´m lucky.
on A12, hotspot and tethering did work, iirc. screen going just black didn´t occur. Sounds like an app interfering here, honestly.
a13 - works without a problem, didn´t brick it. but you´re not the only one reporting this issue, so it would be interesting why A13 works for some, and not for others.
5G i can´t test anymore, because i terminated my 5g contract; was simply not worth the money and battery drain.
speakers don´t rattle… are they loose?
support on technical issues is bad, thats true. i HOPE it gets better again after the initial workload from the release of the fp5 is down a bit.
after all, why don´t you save your data, do a complete reset and try again OR switch to another brand if you´re that unhappy? you can always sell the fp4, they still fetch a good amount of money used.
LineageOS?
I use it with lineage- No bugs till now.
I’ve just replaced my FP4 with Google pixel 8 pro, the reason was like you said the software, it kept freezing when I got a phone call, camera quality was nothing to shout about, painted sides wore while being a case and so many more software bugs and the amount of them is insane.
I love the idea of fairphones It’s just not there yet and the only reason why I got the pixel 8 was because Google said they will support it for 7 years.
I have a FP3 and I got very burned with the whole Android 13 fingerprint sensor fiasco, plus with Fairphone’s continued hostility towards the 3,5 mm audio jack. The fingerprint issue was the last straw that broke my trust in Fairphone’s software support promises: I could have dealt with slower updates, but such a big hit to the user experience and the communication blunders are not acceptable.
I’ve seen some of your contributions to the Fairphone community and maybe you’ve done even more than what the company deserves at this point. I don’t believe that I’ll be looking at a Fairphone device any more in the future, between a slow down in the smartphone market and the small but present increase in options that might be more ethical and repairable than the past I believe that Fairphone will soon lose its marketing edge and will be overtaken on technical merits because they refuse to fix their longstanding issues.
I’m using the FP4 with /e/OS and I’m very happy with it.
I’m fed up of mine. The random bugs I get haven’t occurred with any other phone I’ve had. It’s all well and good telling me go and trawl through this forum and the other but I shouldn’t have to regularly waste my time doing that. My eight-month old phone should just… work. I’m a physicist that works in climate science, I’m far from technologically inept but I don’t want to spend my life e.g. researching a new OS.
I really, really wanted it to be worthwhile and was willing to compromise on performance for it. Not quality. Sometimes I feel like Fairphone relies, in an almost cult-like manner, on the people who buy it to be willing to put up with anything. And it’s worked, because on principle I will not just chuck it in and get a new one, I will persevere to avoid the waste. I feel ripped off though.
Actually that was what kept me from picking the FP5 to upgrade from my Pixel 4A. The software is really lacking and the updates are slow. Yes they come but they are extremely slow.
I do understand like Framework (a laptop brand I own), is small, in fact, their BIOS updates for the Intel 12th Gen has yet to come after at least a year. But at least I can swap the mainboard out for a new one when I need it (probably looking at Meteor Lake vs Phoenix) and use the mainboard as a secondary PC for a relative or something. So I can still swallow the price.
What’s more the Pixel 8 offered for 655 after discount with taxes+shipping vs 810 before taxes and shipping. I was surprised that I considered Samsung S23 and iPhone 15 base too. I really realised how important software is on a phone now.
Be it using a phone or using Ubuntu instead of many more distributions, sometimes, we just want things to work and less tinkering. We want the option to tinker when we feel the need/for fun, but the baseline is that it must work for all applications we are using the device is for.
I had that top speaker rattle/sound breaks problem. But all I had to is clean the grill of ear dirt. Haven’t had any of of the other problems.
Principles ain’t free
What bugfix did you share with them, can you elaborate?
The one about the reduced screen brightness when the CPU reaches >40°C.
And also one for the screen not working when importing settings from a phone with always-on-display.