iFixit - Answers With Device "Fairphone"

Fairphone 4: What is the component labeled with a heart?

Thu, 22 May 2025 02:54:29 -0700

I can't find anything online about it, please help

Fairphone 4: Fairphone 4 cannot receive network

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 12:25:07 -0700

My Fairphone 4 cannot find any networks. I've tried multiple simcards which all work in other phones but in the Fairphone 4 they cannot find any network. Could this be a problem with the antenna? Or a software problem? I think the antenna is included in the rear camera module, so I could replace that, but I would like to know for sure if this is the problem before I do.

Fairphone 4: Hotspot system is not working well? Help please!?

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 15:34:05 -0700

I try to activate my hotspot from my FairPhone 4. It my laptop is not get the internet signal from my FairPhone 4.

Help?

⟐ Commented June 18, 2023 at 15:34 MST

Fairphone 2: (Almost) no reception during calls, calls don't reach me

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 03:53:19 -0700

Dear all, I hope you can help me…

(English) for months now, I have had a serious problem with my fairphone. Whenever I try to call someone, the reception indicator switches from 4G (or whatever good reception it showed before) to H or worse & then my calls rarely go through - often my phone just tells me “call ended”, because the reception was too bad. Calls from other people rarely reach me - they just get a notification that I’m not available & I don’t even get notified that they tried to reach me. All this happens in areas where everybody else has regular reception without problems… Interestingly, the internet isn’t affected at all, I can surf anywhere without problems.

My initial thought was that the antenna within the phone (which goes from the bottom to the top) must be broken or slipped out of its mounting. However, I’ve now finally found the time to open the phone & unscrew the tiny screws around the antenna to have a look & everything seems fine. Do you have any ideas what I can do?

Thank you!

(German) Ihr Lieben, ich hoffe, ihr könnnt mir helfen…

schon seit Monaten habe ich ein ernsthaftes Problem mit meinem Fairphone. Immer wenn ich versuche jemanden anzurufen, schaltet die Anzeige für den Empfang von 4G (oder was da sonst an gutem Empfang angezeigt wurde) zu H oder schlechter & dann kommen meine Anrufe einfach nicht durch. Oft sagt mir mein Handy einfach “Call ended“, weil der Empfang zu schlecht war. Anrufe von anderen Menschen erreichen mit kaum - sie kriegen dann einfach eine Nachricht, dass ich nicht erreichbar bin & ich kriege noch nicht einmal mit, dass sie versucht haben, mich anzurufen. All das passiert in Gegenden, wo alle anderen ganz normalen Empfang ohne Probleme haben. Interessanterweise ist das Internet nicht davon betroffen, ich kann ohne Probleme überall surfen.

Zuerst dachte ich, dass die Antenne im Handy (die ja von unten nach oben geht) irgendwie gebrochen oder aus der Halterung gerutscht sein müsste. Ich habe aber jetzt endlich die Zeit gefunden, das Handy auseinanderzunehmen & auch die Halterung um die Antenne auseinanderzuschrauben & alles scheint dort in Ordnung zu sein. Habt ihr irgendeine Idee, was ich noch machen kann?

Danke!

Fairphone 2: I can hear the people talking to me on the phone but they can't hear m

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:11:09 -0700

People can't hear me talking on the phone. Tried the check up tool and that's the only part of the module that does not work. Is there any other way to fix the issue or its only replacement that's going to work?

⟐ Answer edited February 03, 2020 at 0:11 MST

Fairphone 2: Lock button unresponsive - when locked often does not wake the screen.

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 04:55:25 -0700

If I lock the phone and then try to unlock it there are periods where the screen is totally unresponsive. I know the phone is on as I receive notification sounds, but even getting notifications does not turn on the screen as it should (ambient display is on). It happens even when the phone is fully charged or charging

Fairphone 2: Accessing / using files folder.

Fri, 01 Feb 2019 18:09:19 -0700

With my previous smartphone (Samsung Galaxy mini running on android) it was possible to search for files in the traditional folder mode. I can't find the same option in my Fairphone 2, nor do I seem to be able to drag/drop files onto the phone from a laptop. Are these options just not available?

Fairphone 2: changing settings / dialing during active call

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 12:09:12 -0700

During ONE call, the flashlight turned on, phone called another contact, powersaving mode was activated and the other calling party didn't hear me all the time.

Can this be stopped by changing settings or is this a bigger issue?

Fairphone 2: Why can't I change the sound settings?

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 14:24:50 -0700

Hello,

My phone is stuck in ‘alarms only' mode for sound, and when I pull the top menu down the button simply doesn't respond. All the other options there, inc Bluetooth, brightness, hotspot etc all work fine but the sound doesn't work.

Why is this, and is there anywhere else (ive searched through sound settings and can't see anything) that I can change it to total silence or to loud?

Thanks

Cait

Fairphone 1: updating Payconiq impossible recently

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 23:13:43 -0700

I was a frequent user of Payconiq, but recently this app stopped updating. I get the message 'your device isn't compatible with this version'. How can I solve this problem? My Fairphone updater sais my phone is up-to-date. (I'll ask this question to Payconiq too.)

Fairphone 1: I need to free up space to download apps. What action do recommend?

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 05:35:04 -0700

Dear Support,

I need to free up space on my Fairphone 1 to download new applications. For an unclear reason I am not able to manage this properly. Do you have instruction and/or suggestions I can follow to clear my phone memory with out of date information. And can your explain how to make better us of the SD-card on my phone, as I purchased it to overcome the capacity problem.

Thanks in advance for your time and willingnes to find a solution for me.

Regards,

Peter Burgers

Fairphone 2: Why are my apps crashing?

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 17:45:52 -0700

Everytime I open an app that contains videos (YouTube, facebook, instagram, twitch), the app crashes after a while, making sometimes the whole phone reboot. Does anyone know where can this problem come from ? How can i fix it ? I already tried to change my SIMcard and to totally reset my fairphone. Thank you for your help !

⟐ Commented December 19, 2017 at 17:45 MST

Fairphone 2: Why can't apps (even the camera one) connect to my rear camera?

Mon, 20 Nov 2017 03:21:05 -0700

I've had my Fairphone 2 for less than a month and the rear facing camera will no longer connect to any apps. I can't use it at all. When I try to use it I get a message saying that the app cannot connect to the camera and the screen shows coloured stripes where the picture should be.

The camera worked great when I first got the phone. The front facing camera is fine.

Fairphone 1: Getting data from broken motherboard (memory access)

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 06:13:31 -0700

The display got smashed and the guys at the store say that the motherboard is broken, too. So they cannot access any data (notes, contacts, pictures). Is there any possibility to do that?

Fairphone 2: My phone won't restart to finish the update. Why?

Sat, 15 Jul 2017 12:45:02 -0700

I am currently trying to change from Android with google applications to the open version of android, which fairphone is supporting. They call it fairphone open and it is an alternitiv open source versuon of fairephone os. So what I do is, downloading the update from this page:

https://code.fairphone.com/projects/fp-o...

Then I open it with updater and install it and finally my phone asks me to restart to compleat the update, but when I push the button it won't restart. Am I doing something wrong? Does anybody has some tips, because I really want the open version?

Fairphone 1: I replaced Fairphone motherboard - now the touch screen doesn't work

Mon, 29 May 2017 10:05:37 -0700

Hello,

I needed to replace the motherboard on my Fairphone 1 due to a broken USB power port. Now the power (and apparently everything else) work very well, but the touch screen will not respond.

Any help much appreciated!!

Fairphone 2: Why is my display having issues when scrolling

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 05:49:15 -0700

I recognized that my fairphone 2 is sometimes having issues displaying scrolling in a smooth way. It looks like it is lagging a little bit behind.

This does not occur all the times and does only apply to the left part in the lower third of the display.

Anyone experiencing similar problems?

Fairphone 1: Phone is dead after I dropped it. What do I do?

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 08:46:24 -0700

I dropped my Fairphone, and it is now dead. What could be the fault and how do I know what to look for?

It was the battery. Replaced it, phone fixed. Never is it usually that easy.

⟐ Edited by author April 22, 2016 at 8:46 MST

Fairphone: Sim1 broken. Are there repair options?

Tue, 23 Feb 2016 10:20:19 -0700

Hi unfortunately I used a micro sim holder to host my existing nano Sim. In the process the sim fell out leaving the chip holder in the sim1 slot. Consequently in order to get it out the metal strips connecting the sim were damaged. Now the sim1 slot no longer registers any sim when one is inserted. this looks like a more complex repair however is this something I can do myself or do I need more professional support?

Fairphone 1: Damaged or deficient loading plug

Wed, 13 Jan 2016 05:52:28 -0700

Hi,

I have a fairphone model 1 and the loading plug is damaged. Is it posible to replace it?

Kind regards

Vincent Perot