i used this phone for a year. the phone is a bit bulky and heavy, but not much more than a flagship phone with a case on it. i never needed a case because of the metal build, and the back is this rubber/plastic material that’s really nice. no stupid glass that will crack if u drop it.
the back comes off nice and easy and everything is removable with a screwdriver. the battery doesnt require a screwdriver to remove if i recall correctly. the replacement parts are available on fairphone’s website. the bootloader is unlockable so you can change the OS if you wanted to aswell. the stock OS isn’t so comfortable so i do recommend trying out alternatives, i had good experiences with /e/ and CalyxOS.
the fairphone marketing is a bit gross in my opinion. removing the headphone jack right as they release their own wireless accessories. having the hardware inside the phone for a second SIM, but making it inaccessible to end-users. promising 5 years of warranty and software support despite using old hardware that will not have 5 years of firmware updates, let alone security updates down the line. they base this on their long-term updates to fp2 and fp3 which also lack these critical components.
the phone’s specs are nothing special. which is fine when you consider that the premium you’re paying is for your own ethics; NOT the quality of the phone. but remember, fairphone are no stranger to misleading marketing and greenwashing. if you care about security updates, this isn’t a 5 year phone as they’re promising it to be.
i ended up installing grapheneOS on a used pixel, that’s my phone now. it’s a much, much better experience and i get to know that it will hold this quality of life for a long time to come. i do miss the removable battery, though.
to also note, we shouldn’t make Good the enemy of Perfect.
if the fp4 fits your needs, even knowing everything in this thread, then it’s still a massive leap forward and a future that NEEDS financial support to ever exist. i regret buying my FP4, but i would have still donated to fairphone either way. however, we shouldn’t blindly accept their misleading marketing either.
FP has supported previous models for many years. I certainly agree with you about many things. The “eco conscious” tech thing is peculiar. Hard to make a decision. There are some companies that guarantee phones for 5 years and provide 10 years of replacement parts but they aren’t available globally.
I very nearly bought the FP4 but decided not to based on the specs.
the problem isn’t that they dont “support” older models, it’s that the support is purely for show. they aren’t receiving the chip OEM updates and they also aren’t rolling out support for android releases. even the FP4, which launched right before android 12 launched, was stuck on android 11 for a worrying length of time. CalyxOS, a group of FOSS developers, ended up making the android 12 port for them. fairphone shouldn’t be taken seriously on their product support length claims. you will not be receiving some of the most important updates. this should be important to any of security conscious readers.
Great to know. Thanks for the info. I had a phone before that was stuck for 8 months without security or Android updates. It was frustrating and that company specifically promised 3 years of updates…they made it to 1 year on that device. I feel like there are lots of tech conscious people that jump on the FP without doing enough research and then they are severely disappointed.
Why is it peculiar to say that a modular phone you don’t need to entirely toss away is eco-conscious? Reducing consumption is a good thing, right? Of course the fact that they can’t actually support that hardware is another thing…
it’s exactly the lack of support that becomes an issue. they make these claims of ‘eco-consciousness’ on false grounds.
if fairphone claimed to be a modular phone (even if they had never hinted at being upgradeable 🤦♂️) with a couple of fairtrade gold status sourced parts, open schematics and a kind team, this could be a different story. but they promise years of support that they can only partially provide (and even then often fail to), removed the headphone jack while pushing their own unrepairable wireless accessories and they – worryingly often – can’t even keep their devices on the most recent android version.
running out of software support should be the end of life for your device. pushing people to buy unrepairable wireless accessories. these are directly contributing to e-waste. fairphone’s claims of being eco-conscious are disingenuous at best, and exploitative at worst. i think it’s just greenwashing.
I’m interested in the next generation of fairphone whenever that comes out. For me it isn’t about ethics as much as longevity. I want a phone with a replaceable battery because that’s the main reason why I find myself replacing my phones.
the hardware itself should last. just make sure that the replacement parts are available on the website and buy some early, i had issues before part availability.
the repairability of the fp4 is awesome. the back comes off with just your fingernail, the battery isnt screwed in, and some of the components most likely to be damaged are easily replaced (assuming stock availability on the website). there’s also a cool crowd called fairphone angels, volunteers that will repair phones for people for free if you trust them enough. i think it’s awesome. fairphone also provides all the design schematics if that’s important to you. as an ethical thing, it’s important to me.
fairphone support also seem really down-to-earth from my experience with them in case you have any issues.
of course, the hardware will likely last. if the specs are enough for you, then it’s not a bad phone at all. like i said above, fairphone have an awful track record with software updates and misleading advertising so this should be a concern if you are conscious about security.
Replacement battery is all I would need in order to keep a phone for longer than I currently do. My previous phone was still fine in all aspects except for battery life and OS updates.
If you don’t care about gaming, any phone has good enough specs to last you for 5+ years without any issue.
i used this phone for a year. the phone is a bit bulky and heavy, but not much more than a flagship phone with a case on it. i never needed a case because of the metal build, and the back is this rubber/plastic material that’s really nice. no stupid glass that will crack if u drop it.
the back comes off nice and easy and everything is removable with a screwdriver. the battery doesnt require a screwdriver to remove if i recall correctly. the replacement parts are available on fairphone’s website. the bootloader is unlockable so you can change the OS if you wanted to aswell. the stock OS isn’t so comfortable so i do recommend trying out alternatives, i had good experiences with /e/ and CalyxOS.
the fairphone marketing is a bit gross in my opinion. removing the headphone jack right as they release their own wireless accessories. having the hardware inside the phone for a second SIM, but making it inaccessible to end-users. promising 5 years of warranty and software support despite using old hardware that will not have 5 years of firmware updates, let alone security updates down the line. they base this on their long-term updates to fp2 and fp3 which also lack these critical components.
the phone’s specs are nothing special. which is fine when you consider that the premium you’re paying is for your own ethics; NOT the quality of the phone. but remember, fairphone are no stranger to misleading marketing and greenwashing. if you care about security updates, this isn’t a 5 year phone as they’re promising it to be.
i ended up installing grapheneOS on a used pixel, that’s my phone now. it’s a much, much better experience and i get to know that it will hold this quality of life for a long time to come. i do miss the removable battery, though.
please correct me if im wrong on anything.
to also note, we shouldn’t make Good the enemy of Perfect.
if the fp4 fits your needs, even knowing everything in this thread, then it’s still a massive leap forward and a future that NEEDS financial support to ever exist. i regret buying my FP4, but i would have still donated to fairphone either way. however, we shouldn’t blindly accept their misleading marketing either.
edit: clearing up a vague sentiment
FP has supported previous models for many years. I certainly agree with you about many things. The “eco conscious” tech thing is peculiar. Hard to make a decision. There are some companies that guarantee phones for 5 years and provide 10 years of replacement parts but they aren’t available globally.
I very nearly bought the FP4 but decided not to based on the specs.
the problem isn’t that they dont “support” older models, it’s that the support is purely for show. they aren’t receiving the chip OEM updates and they also aren’t rolling out support for android releases. even the FP4, which launched right before android 12 launched, was stuck on android 11 for a worrying length of time. CalyxOS, a group of FOSS developers, ended up making the android 12 port for them. fairphone shouldn’t be taken seriously on their product support length claims. you will not be receiving some of the most important updates. this should be important to any of security conscious readers.
edit: grammar fix
edit 2: got the android version wrong 🤦♂️
Great to know. Thanks for the info. I had a phone before that was stuck for 8 months without security or Android updates. It was frustrating and that company specifically promised 3 years of updates…they made it to 1 year on that device. I feel like there are lots of tech conscious people that jump on the FP without doing enough research and then they are severely disappointed.
me :p
Why is it peculiar to say that a modular phone you don’t need to entirely toss away is eco-conscious? Reducing consumption is a good thing, right? Of course the fact that they can’t actually support that hardware is another thing…
it’s exactly the lack of support that becomes an issue. they make these claims of ‘eco-consciousness’ on false grounds.
if fairphone claimed to be a modular phone (even if they had never hinted at being upgradeable 🤦♂️) with a couple of fairtrade gold status sourced parts, open schematics and a kind team, this could be a different story. but they promise years of support that they can only partially provide (and even then often fail to), removed the headphone jack while pushing their own unrepairable wireless accessories and they – worryingly often – can’t even keep their devices on the most recent android version.
running out of software support should be the end of life for your device. pushing people to buy unrepairable wireless accessories. these are directly contributing to e-waste. fairphone’s claims of being eco-conscious are disingenuous at best, and exploitative at worst. i think it’s just greenwashing.
I’m interested in the next generation of fairphone whenever that comes out. For me it isn’t about ethics as much as longevity. I want a phone with a replaceable battery because that’s the main reason why I find myself replacing my phones.
the hardware itself should last. just make sure that the replacement parts are available on the website and buy some early, i had issues before part availability.
the repairability of the fp4 is awesome. the back comes off with just your fingernail, the battery isnt screwed in, and some of the components most likely to be damaged are easily replaced (assuming stock availability on the website). there’s also a cool crowd called fairphone angels, volunteers that will repair phones for people for free if you trust them enough. i think it’s awesome. fairphone also provides all the design schematics if that’s important to you. as an ethical thing, it’s important to me.
fairphone support also seem really down-to-earth from my experience with them in case you have any issues.
of course, the hardware will likely last. if the specs are enough for you, then it’s not a bad phone at all. like i said above, fairphone have an awful track record with software updates and misleading advertising so this should be a concern if you are conscious about security.
Fairphone 5 is rumoured to come out this year.
https://www.androidauthority.com/fairphone-5-3336135/
Greenwashing is a pretty strong word to use. What makes you say this?
Replacement battery is all I would need in order to keep a phone for longer than I currently do. My previous phone was still fine in all aspects except for battery life and OS updates.
If you don’t care about gaming, any phone has good enough specs to last you for 5+ years without any issue.