Fairphone

The fairphone 3 breaks before a year passes by. The phone is full of bugs: it restarts while you are in the middle of a call, you can't make calls, … And they are serious bugs that won't let you do the most basic thing (calling and recieving calls).

But that's not the worst part of it. The customer care will deny everything and will make you go through a nightmare before they even look at it. There is no actual warranty because they do everything in their hands to deny the problem.

You realize the company and phone are really a bad choice when you see they are not remotely interested in knowing if you are happy with the phone or nor, or even if you are happy with the support. No survey, nothing, they already know they are one of the worst options worldwide in any category.

A bad phone coupled with the worst customer care ever. A scam with no doubt.

I am very pleased to say that my Fairphone 3 works beautifully and looks great too. The camera is good and the casing v protective. It is so impressive to see a company that is more socially ethical and environmentally conscious. Highly recommend renting it via the Phone Coop too!

Support is a shame. The concept is great, if the phone would work normally, but i had a lot of problems and now i want to send it back, to get some money back or to reapair it and use it as a loaner. Its not what it stands for, but i just want a functional phone. I hear nothing from the support team since 1 week.

I have made a really expensive mistake and bought a Fairphone 3. It is not at all user friendly and has a really bad camera. But worst of all is the sound quality. A pretty basic requirement for a mobile phone is to be able to hear callers and for them to hear you. The loudest thing I can hear when I use my phone is the echo of my own voice coming back at me. I have tried all the online tests that Fairphone put you through and the end result was "Congratulations – your speaker is working". Duh? Yes, sound comes out. But sound so distorted that you wouldn't want to listen to it. As well as their basic microphone recording and playback tests, I also tried their music tests. Again, Fairphone think that just hearing something coming out of the speaker is sufficient. Awful, awful quality and, thus far, nothing in the way of support.

Like everyone else, I really love the ethical idea of fairphone and really wanted to like it. Unfortunately they are selling an expensive phone that just doesn't work. They're not as fancy as other smart phones, but that is ok with me. I don't need it for anything particularly fancy, just casting Netflix to my chromecast, texting on Whatsapp and reading websites. I've only been using it for about four months but have been having problems since the very beginning. Firstly the battery is terrible. It takes about three hours to fully charge but what's worse is how fast it loses battery. It drains so fast just from using basic functions. Starting with 100% charge, it can fall to about 60% after only one hour of basic use. It also gets very, very hot when on charge which is at best worrying and at worst dangerous. It doesn't just become a little warm, but actually hot. Another thing is that it doesn't come with a charge cable, which is good. It uses a standard cable that comes with many electronic items. This helps to reduce electronic waste. For some reason though it is very hit and miss whether it works with mine (I have about six). They all work perfectly with my old Samsung phone and other devices so I know it isn't an issue with the cables themselves. Another issue is how slowly it seems to work. It's almost like the touch screen is too slow to catch up with what your fingers are pressing, whether it's typing to send a text or searching sites on Google. My apps also frequently crash. I'll be using something like Google, YouTube, Facebook, or anything else and it will just close down what I've been looking at making me lose whatever I'm doing. It has also completely rebooted the whole phone on a few occasions. Also if I search something on Google and click through to a site, when I press the back button it doesn't take me back to my Google search results, just a blank screen and I have to repeat the search. It also happens on some websites, it just freezes up when I click the back button and I have to restart the browser. I don't know why this happens but all my software and apps are completely up to date and it has never happened on any of my old phones. I haven't used customer support yet but when searching the forums for answers you just come across many angry customers having similar problems without any real answers. I also think the idea of bringing out newer models kind of goes against what the company should stand for. Encouraging people to upgrade to a newer model just promotes electronic waste, which is what they say they are trying to reduce. It doesn't make any sense. Like I said, I really wanted to like this phone. I love the concept and the ethos but this company should not be allowed to sell these expensive phones until they have created a product that actually works every time for everyone. I now have to get a new phone if I want one that will actually work, only four months after starting to use this one. A complete waste of over 拢300. If you're thinking of getting a fairphone I would urge you to think again, carefully. Although it is an attractive concept for people who are conscious of the ethics of the industry it is not very ethical to sell a terrible product. There are so many bad reviews, many people experiencing problems that they cannot resolve, why would you want to take the risk? Save yourself the hassle and get a refurbished phone. One that actually works!

Lasted a month before it broke, it's been more than a month trying to resolve (current headache is trying to ship back to them) I bought the phone for work. A month with a rubbish Nokia I bought because I needed something is less than ideal.

Ticket responses every 24 hours and often not answering the question asked so it takes 3/4 days in reality even appear to have read the issue raised.

Such a shame – a nice idea, but the product is terrible and I was warned but gave it a try.
the worst thing is the customer service – unbelievably bad – they just don't answer your emails – it takes literally weeks to get a fobbed off cut and paste answer – I am months into my complaint.
sent the phone back months ago – been using an old iphone which is technically better.
such a shame – a great ethical idea. but wait for a better ethical phone and a company that treats you ethically and not like rubbish

I really wanted to like this, but its such a shame the design is so bad. Its not even a money thing – I understand its stupid-expensive for what it is, which is why I'm having to buy it on contract, but you swallow that to try to help the otherwise maltreated employees in the supply chain, and the planet itself. It's the design choices. The power and volume are on the left – they take some force to press in an unnatural way which gives me pain in my wrist which my old phone didn't (I have mild arthritis). The speaker is completely blocked by my thumb joint/fingers at the bottom left when holding it normally in either hand. The system contols are so pared down & simplistic that you can't customise or control your phone in the way you normally can on android. And the Google taskbar – well you're stuck with it right across the home screen whether you like it or not. And I very much do not. Why does a so called Fairphone want to prop up a company like google when it's not what customers want? Sending it straight back to Phone Coop.

EDIT: I'm aware it's ironic to criticise google with a name like Google User. It is meant to be, because they banned people from leaving annonymous reviews as 'google user' (which there are many legit reasons for doing so) a while ago, because they DO NOT WANT YOU to have any privacy online. However they did not prevent me changing my name to Google User. It's very strange the number of 100% positive reviews this phone has in the press.

I was sent a faulty phone that I was never able to use. It's been 3 months of emails with customer service, which has been appalling. They don't accept calls and don't call me either. They refused to send me a new handset and, as a result, I have been asking to return the phone for a refund for many weeks now. Customer service is absolutely appalling!! I wanted a Fairphone for years and I'm so disappointed! I was surprised how poor their customer service is, given that they claim to be an ethical company!! Due to the costs of the phone and how they are dragging their feet, I may need to seek legal advice to ensure I get a full refund. I totally regret buying a Fairphone and will never consider it again in future.

In general I am really satisfied with my Fairphone 3!

It麓s working very well, it seems robust and made of good quality, the battery capacity is amazing. I only have to load it every 3 days and within an hour it麓s loaded again.
I also like the style of the phone.

I gave only 4 stars, especially caused to one problem:
Always when I put earphones in, after putting them out again there isn麓t coming sound while calling or watching videos etc. Then I always have to restart the phone or use earphones again. This is really annoying, because every time I use earphones I have to restart the phone. This means that I sometimes restart the phone 5 times a day..

With the exception of late delivery, everything was fine.

Sad that the FF3 is not finished nor tested properly. charging not supporting UBS C standard cables, and frequent Random reboot, too bad to make it usable.

Fairphone 3. Love it
Works very well. I'm no connoisseur in mobile phones. Easy compatibility from previous phone. Loads of storage. Decent camera and feels sturdy if you like that retro feel. Love the idea that parts are replaceable but hopefully it should last a few years and shouldn't encounter and planned obsoletion from the makers like other brands. Well done.

Thank you for your commitment to sustainable manufacturing and trading.
Thanks also for the open and honest communication about the late delivery and for not doing a large field test at the customer.

The shipping deadline couldn't be confirmed but the phone arrived earlier than expected. Other than that, responsive and pleasant personnel. In today's world, we are constantly conditioned to consume whatever the cost. With my personal evolution in trying to lead a more holistic and conscious life, it can be difficult to find things that fulfill or encourage these principles. Having worked in the IT industry a long time ago, I do understand the issues that surround it. Whether we like it or not, huge enterprises will always put revenue before anything else. Hence, the displacement of the majority of manufacturing facilities of basic electronic components to countries with emerging economies. That is a factor that we can't ignore. Personally, I've been following Fairphone for quite sometime before making my first ever smartphone purchase and usage. They seem to be genuinely working to make a difference no matter how small and maintain the balance between social ethics and economic equilibrium amidst the global situation that I've shared. Now that's something that should be at least recognised even if we don't want to support the cause. Some people who've purchased FP3 complain about the weight or thickness of the phone, the Android OS, dependence on Google, bugs, broken parts and many more. While I can't discredit their claims, I can however talk about my own experience. I've had this phone since November 2019 and I've not yet had any problems. Maybe I'm lucky (or just very careful) but for a first time smartphone user, I'm contented with my purchase. Plus, FP3 costs between 50 to 60% less than the leading giants. Yes, Fairphone is not perfect but they've never claimed that they were, are or will be. They just try to make things better for everyone in the chain while running an enterprise that creates employment. They're even in the midst of creating a newer version of their own OS for FP3 that the FP2 customers have. In my opinion, having people who try to make a difference little by little and supporting them is definitely better than having none and doing nothing.

I realy like the idea of this Phone. Only the focus of the camera doesn't work properly.

Just a little bit too large, that thing.

Great product and support

All in all a great phone. The only thing I don't like is, that it is a bit chunky and didn't have the back and home button physically.

great phone. easy to handle. good performace.

very good, much better than FF2

There was a slight delay but the team was very helpful and responsive.

Fast delivery. Package very good. Undamaged.

Happy with this fair phone. Durable, repairable, and a battery with endurance

My phone is a Fairphone
Bought my first Fairphone, and it is everything I hoped for. No problems and no bad surprises. In my opinion it is a very good phone. The whole concept of a modulebased eco-friendly and and focus on a fair production made the choice easy. I would do it again.