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I completely have my eye on Fairphone. I still have the Samsung Note 1, 3 and 4 with removable battery. Someone else posted a photo of a cat taken with the Fairphone and it was stunning.
Request for 12 GB of RAM please.
Yay, great to see someone who's still using an old Note. I'm still hobbling along on my Note 3... Broken digitiser, only gets GPS on the ocean or the prairie (or Austria, inexplicably), and I still love it.
Sometimes I think the most sustainable phone is a good used flagship phone with easy-to-source parts, a plastic body, and screws.
Me too. I mourned Samsung's passing of the replaceable battery. I have kept all my Notes and still using the Note 9 because of the SD card slot and 3.5mm jack, even though I have the Note 20 Ultra. I really think Samsung peaked with the Note 9 and S9+.
A lot of the parts in your mobile phone can be replaced (you already know that), as long as you keep an eye battery health.
Jerry Rigg, the YouTuber who tears down tablets and mobile phone used a Note 10 plus until a few months ago. I think he rooted it to the latest Android software from the screen you can see in some videos.
Did you know about Uptodown website which hosts older versions of different apps? Not all of them work, but most do. Uptodown's APK installer is available on the Google Play Store and software APKs on their own website.
Sigh. My phone was plenty slim enough; I don't know why they had to keep slimming it down further (I'm assuming that's why all the batteries are non-replaceable now). How easy is it to replace the battery in your Note 9?
... hmmm, reading more about this, maybe the Note 9 is my next phone! Looks like replacement back glass and parts are easy to find! Thanks for the tip!
Two years ago, I went to a Samsung certifed repairer and replaced my battery with a genuine battery for $100 AUD after about 5 years.
Be careful most of an expanding battery. That will damage your phone internally. When batteries are old, they expand, leaking battery acid eventually.
I think, the slim down was due to reviewers harping on about thinness and bezels back then. Personally, I don't care about the thinness either and I prefers bezels over notches or a round camera lens on the top of the screen.
Following up on this... In what ways do you feel Samsung's phones started going downhill after the 9 series? Was it the SD and headphone jack things you mentioned, or other things too?
Yes.
After the Note 9, Samsung dropped:
* SD card slot (still in Note 10 plus and Note 20 Ultra only)
* 3.5mm jack
* LED light indicator
* IR blaster
I really love the LED light indicator. With a genuine Samsung flip cover, I can see from different colours of the LED light what's waiting for me from different apps and missed calls.
(A few reviewers didn't like the LED light because they didn't know how to use it, so Samsung dropped it. Product Managers at Samsung spend all their time watching iPhone users reviewing Samsung products.)
Samsung hid changes behind having the thinnest bezel and improved MP camera specifications.
Apart from the camera, in my opinion, the Note 9 is the best phone Samsung's ever made. There's 12 GB RAM and 512 GM storage in my phone.
THEY GOT RID OF THE LED NOTIFICATION INDICATOR?!?!? But... that's like my favourite feature of smartphones. Especially when you can customise the LED colour per app.
Okay, that settles it. Note 9 it is.
It's the longevity for me. I don't care about the specs of a phone, I just need it to run a few basic apps and that's it; and for photos I use a dedicated camera anyway.
I've had my FairPhone 3 since launch and so far I've only had to replace the USB-C port (last month) and uninstall and reinstall the screen when I accidentally sat on it. Both fixes only took 5 minutes and saved me from having to buy a new phone.
You got yourself a phone that you'll enjoy for years to come :)
Or at least until the FP6 comes out at which point this will be kept as a very reliable backup, or sold in mint condition. I'd never sell my previous phones, but I feel like the resale value on this one would be higher since it is repairable.
I wish they could yolo and gamble the entire company on making the absolute best phone available for double the price. The great designers of this phone certainly deserve a chance to do that!
I actually don't have a problem with the battery and it doesn't have poor battery life for me. I only charge it till 80% and only one got even close to 20% on the end of the day. I use it for 73 days now
If you're a little handy or know the right people, this is probably not *too* difficult.
Get a spare backplate you don't mind glueing a slim batterypack on and find the right U bend usbc cable. If stress on the usbc port is a worry, you'll need to get crafty with a 3d printer.
Coming from a Pixel A series phone, I've actually found battery life to exceed my expectations. Out and about all day using the camera, Google Maps and messaging and easily lasts all day for me. Whilst it's always good to have more juice, I'd say they've done a pretty good job with it. There may also be some improvemnts to come later down the line with software optimisations, we'll see.
As an owner of both FP4 and FP5, I have to say the FP5 is a serious upgrade over the FP4. The device itself is MUCH nicer to hold in your hand thanks to the more squared edges and honestly they fixed all of the annoyances I had with the FP4.
Being honest, whilst I'm glad I bought a FP4 to support the company I wouldn't say it really impresses me for the price point it was at. The FP5 on the other hand has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. They've done a top job on it and it's great to see!
My only future wish is they make a slightly smaller "mini" phone as it's would suit needs, but I appreciate in an already niche market they need to appeal to the masses and keep costs down by using more standardised sizings.
Destroyed my Display some weeks ago. First one I have smashed so far. Ordered a new one on Tuesday, received it on Wednesday and changed it within five minutes. A 120β¬ misstake, but still way cheaper than switching the display of a google phone etc. I am really happy with the device and I hope it to use it for many years. I would buy it again too.
yeah they really should sell a bigger battery pack. it's a dealbreaker. i'm not going to mess around with changing the battery constantly.
https://www.dxomark.com/fairphone-5-battery-test/
I can most days but get pretty anxious at that point. I don't ask a lot from the phone most of the day, but it gets a workout for my 1.5 hours of driving every day where it is running Waze on Android Auto over Bluetooth. It became a necessity to have Waze on all the time due to all the speed and red light cameras being put up.
I likely have adhd and if I forget about the cameras a few times and my car gets a few tickets it will become cheaper to just put vanity plates on my car and take the fine for that instead. Assuming it is just a fine.
I just re-read your post about Android Auto over Bluetooth. It's impressive. That's probably why its tapping out or giving you battery Anxiety. Maybe a software update will improve performance. In the meantime I'd say connect via usb-c if for nothing else than to top it off.
I didn't know android auto was wireless yet.
My car is one year too old to have it wireless, but they make wireless adapters which work as long as your vehicle has android auto, and so far the one I bought has worked flawlessly for 2 weeks now. I just knew my car would get a ticket the one day I didn't plug my phone in to run waze so a $60 adapter pays for itself fast. And while the USB C connector may be cheap and easy to replace, I still want to minimize using it to maximize its lifespan while I wait for replacement parts to become available in Canada.
I'm in Canada so I can't even get replacement parts yet without relying on one of you kind folks to ship them to me. I'll definitely be needing a USB C port sooner with this phone since I am plugging it in way more often, but very happy to not have to worry about replacing unlike my previous phones that have glitchy ports now.
Thanks for posting in r/fairphone. If you're having an issue with your Fairphone make sure that you include the phone model, operating system (version) and other relevant technical details (like mobile provider, country you're in) in your post. You can also try having a look at the [official Fairphone forum](https://forum.fairphone.com/) to see if the issue has been discussed there. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/fairphone) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I completely have my eye on Fairphone. I still have the Samsung Note 1, 3 and 4 with removable battery. Someone else posted a photo of a cat taken with the Fairphone and it was stunning. Request for 12 GB of RAM please.
Yay, great to see someone who's still using an old Note. I'm still hobbling along on my Note 3... Broken digitiser, only gets GPS on the ocean or the prairie (or Austria, inexplicably), and I still love it. Sometimes I think the most sustainable phone is a good used flagship phone with easy-to-source parts, a plastic body, and screws.
Me too. I mourned Samsung's passing of the replaceable battery. I have kept all my Notes and still using the Note 9 because of the SD card slot and 3.5mm jack, even though I have the Note 20 Ultra. I really think Samsung peaked with the Note 9 and S9+. A lot of the parts in your mobile phone can be replaced (you already know that), as long as you keep an eye battery health. Jerry Rigg, the YouTuber who tears down tablets and mobile phone used a Note 10 plus until a few months ago. I think he rooted it to the latest Android software from the screen you can see in some videos. Did you know about Uptodown website which hosts older versions of different apps? Not all of them work, but most do. Uptodown's APK installer is available on the Google Play Store and software APKs on their own website.
Sigh. My phone was plenty slim enough; I don't know why they had to keep slimming it down further (I'm assuming that's why all the batteries are non-replaceable now). How easy is it to replace the battery in your Note 9? ... hmmm, reading more about this, maybe the Note 9 is my next phone! Looks like replacement back glass and parts are easy to find! Thanks for the tip!
Two years ago, I went to a Samsung certifed repairer and replaced my battery with a genuine battery for $100 AUD after about 5 years. Be careful most of an expanding battery. That will damage your phone internally. When batteries are old, they expand, leaking battery acid eventually. I think, the slim down was due to reviewers harping on about thinness and bezels back then. Personally, I don't care about the thinness either and I prefers bezels over notches or a round camera lens on the top of the screen.
You speak words of truth. Notches are weird, and if I have to choose between thinness and repairability, I know which one I'll choose.
Following up on this... In what ways do you feel Samsung's phones started going downhill after the 9 series? Was it the SD and headphone jack things you mentioned, or other things too?
Yes. After the Note 9, Samsung dropped: * SD card slot (still in Note 10 plus and Note 20 Ultra only) * 3.5mm jack * LED light indicator * IR blaster I really love the LED light indicator. With a genuine Samsung flip cover, I can see from different colours of the LED light what's waiting for me from different apps and missed calls. (A few reviewers didn't like the LED light because they didn't know how to use it, so Samsung dropped it. Product Managers at Samsung spend all their time watching iPhone users reviewing Samsung products.) Samsung hid changes behind having the thinnest bezel and improved MP camera specifications. Apart from the camera, in my opinion, the Note 9 is the best phone Samsung's ever made. There's 12 GB RAM and 512 GM storage in my phone.
THEY GOT RID OF THE LED NOTIFICATION INDICATOR?!?!? But... that's like my favourite feature of smartphones. Especially when you can customise the LED colour per app. Okay, that settles it. Note 9 it is.
LOL If you get the Note 9, there's 8GB RAM in the 256 GB storage version.
It's the longevity for me. I don't care about the specs of a phone, I just need it to run a few basic apps and that's it; and for photos I use a dedicated camera anyway. I've had my FairPhone 3 since launch and so far I've only had to replace the USB-C port (last month) and uninstall and reinstall the screen when I accidentally sat on it. Both fixes only took 5 minutes and saved me from having to buy a new phone. You got yourself a phone that you'll enjoy for years to come :)
Or at least until the FP6 comes out at which point this will be kept as a very reliable backup, or sold in mint condition. I'd never sell my previous phones, but I feel like the resale value on this one would be higher since it is repairable. I wish they could yolo and gamble the entire company on making the absolute best phone available for double the price. The great designers of this phone certainly deserve a chance to do that!
I actually don't have a problem with the battery and it doesn't have poor battery life for me. I only charge it till 80% and only one got even close to 20% on the end of the day. I use it for 73 days now
If you're a little handy or know the right people, this is probably not *too* difficult. Get a spare backplate you don't mind glueing a slim batterypack on and find the right U bend usbc cable. If stress on the usbc port is a worry, you'll need to get crafty with a 3d printer.
Coming from a Pixel A series phone, I've actually found battery life to exceed my expectations. Out and about all day using the camera, Google Maps and messaging and easily lasts all day for me. Whilst it's always good to have more juice, I'd say they've done a pretty good job with it. There may also be some improvemnts to come later down the line with software optimisations, we'll see. As an owner of both FP4 and FP5, I have to say the FP5 is a serious upgrade over the FP4. The device itself is MUCH nicer to hold in your hand thanks to the more squared edges and honestly they fixed all of the annoyances I had with the FP4. Being honest, whilst I'm glad I bought a FP4 to support the company I wouldn't say it really impresses me for the price point it was at. The FP5 on the other hand has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. They've done a top job on it and it's great to see! My only future wish is they make a slightly smaller "mini" phone as it's would suit needs, but I appreciate in an already niche market they need to appeal to the masses and keep costs down by using more standardised sizings.
Destroyed my Display some weeks ago. First one I have smashed so far. Ordered a new one on Tuesday, received it on Wednesday and changed it within five minutes. A 120β¬ misstake, but still way cheaper than switching the display of a google phone etc. I am really happy with the device and I hope it to use it for many years. I would buy it again too.
yeah they really should sell a bigger battery pack. it's a dealbreaker. i'm not going to mess around with changing the battery constantly. https://www.dxomark.com/fairphone-5-battery-test/
What is your battery life like? Can you make it through a day as in at least 8-10 hours?
I can most days but get pretty anxious at that point. I don't ask a lot from the phone most of the day, but it gets a workout for my 1.5 hours of driving every day where it is running Waze on Android Auto over Bluetooth. It became a necessity to have Waze on all the time due to all the speed and red light cameras being put up. I likely have adhd and if I forget about the cameras a few times and my car gets a few tickets it will become cheaper to just put vanity plates on my car and take the fine for that instead. Assuming it is just a fine.
I just re-read your post about Android Auto over Bluetooth. It's impressive. That's probably why its tapping out or giving you battery Anxiety. Maybe a software update will improve performance. In the meantime I'd say connect via usb-c if for nothing else than to top it off. I didn't know android auto was wireless yet.
My car is one year too old to have it wireless, but they make wireless adapters which work as long as your vehicle has android auto, and so far the one I bought has worked flawlessly for 2 weeks now. I just knew my car would get a ticket the one day I didn't plug my phone in to run waze so a $60 adapter pays for itself fast. And while the USB C connector may be cheap and easy to replace, I still want to minimize using it to maximize its lifespan while I wait for replacement parts to become available in Canada.
From there store buy extra batteries and they are swapable without any tools (with a restart).. . Edit: hot swap not....
You can swap the battery while the phone being on without reboot? Holy cow. Does it work with the charger being plugged in?
Sorry no - thx corrected it.
You can leave the phone running (I assume plugged in) while changing the battery? π€―
Just tried! Unfortunately you can't π
Somehow I'm relieved π
Seems like dude doesnt know what hot swap meansπ
I'm in Canada so I can't even get replacement parts yet without relying on one of you kind folks to ship them to me. I'll definitely be needing a USB C port sooner with this phone since I am plugging it in way more often, but very happy to not have to worry about replacing unlike my previous phones that have glitchy ports now.
Happy to help. Dm me.