this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2023
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Technology

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21
Fairphone 4—the repairable, sustainable smartphone—is coming to the US (arstechnica.com)
submitted 1 year ago by AstronautOlympian@partizle.com to c/technology@beehaw.org
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[–] Safeguard@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

So I'm from the Netherlands. My wife and I have this phone. We also have the framework laptop and "repeat audio" headphones (https://repeat.audio/, which are also repairable)

After owning and breaking a few phones and apparal that I could not fix, was hard to get serviced, and got stuck with repair bills I was done. Plus, I'm in a well-paying job (IT) so I figured; if anyone is capable of voting with my money, it's me.

I did install lineageos, and I use Linux on my frameworks. But the phone is simply wonderfull! I have an extra battery in my nutsack (https://nutsac.com/) so when I need it, I can swap battery's in like 10 seconds and continue my day with a full battery (https://shop.fairphone.com/shop/fairphone-4-battery-22?category=4#attr=)

My wife already broke the screen ;-) which was a 5 minute job to switch with simple tools. Absolutely wonderfull

[–] r3nder@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you for sharing your nutsac. I've been looking for a good one to play with for a while now and I just know I'm going to have fun with this one! My kids are gonna love this!

[–] Safeguard@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

My wife cannot say enough good things about my nutsac. Holds everything we need while on the road.

I've got the larger 13" nutsac, which does impress everyone who sees it.

[–] nixnoodle@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

About the extra battery, I've considered getting one myself, but it sounds a bit like a hassle having to turn off the phone while swapping them out? Or can you connect it to a power source while swapping to keep it on?

[–] Safeguard@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

No it turns off as soon as you take the battery out ;-) All in all no more then 20 seonds, including starting back up (10 seconds for just replacing the battery). I don't mind it. Especially since now I do not have to carry a larger powerbank and cable.

[–] Dave_r@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago

Interesting - they sell not only repairable phones but OEM phones with the /e/ os (degoogled Android).

[–] Caffeinated_Capybara@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

While I won't be getting it as I don't really need a new phone any time soon, I really hope they take off in the US. I like to think I'll start owning more repairable tech down the line.

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

Hopefully this will extend to Canada as well.

[–] storksforlegs@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Has anyone tried using it? What was your experience?

The phone is such a good idea, I really hope it is compatible with carriers here in Canada.

Honestly, just last night I was trying to replace the battery in an old Samsung phone, an A5. (For my son to play with, for making lego stop motions, videos etc.) So I bought a battery and repair kit. How hard could it be?

I'm sure it was designed to never be repaired or opened. Replacing the battery required me to totally dismantle my phone, then hopefully reassemble correctly. However the whole thing was so filled with glue and this proved to be impossible.

It was a really nice little phone. So ticked off with how stupid and disposable the design ended up being.

[–] myfavouritename@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

I purchased the Fairphone 4 a couple of months ago to use in Canada. It works great with my carrier here.

The phone I purchased runs stock Android, not the /e/ OS. And yeah, it's super easy to open up and repair. I purchased an extra battery and an extra camera module. I have no idea what stock will be like 5, 6, or 7 years from now, but that's how long I typically run each of my phones before switching to something new and I wanted to make sure I could keep the thing running regardless of how the company performs.

[–] supercriticalcheese@feddit.it 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I was considering this some time back, but the fact that this sustainable phone doesn't have a 3.5mm jack irks me.

I understand that it's the trend nowadays but it's still an extra dongle people will loose and need to buy again and again.

[–] snowbell@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Not to mention charging and listening to music at the same time...

[–] gaael@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Bought an FP3 for that reason (and because I'd rather be as late as I can to the moronic 5G-party).

[–] myfavouritename@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago

I've been using my Fairphone 4 for a couple of months now and I really like it. It wasn't easy to get it in Canada, but it works great with my carrier here. Getting my hands on some spare parts and a wallet case here wasn't easy either.

But now I have a repairable phone with an extra battery and an extra camera module. I should be able to run this hardware for years to come regardless of wear and tear or the longevity of the company. I'm hoping to get 6 years out of it. I ran my previous LG phone for 7 before switching; had to replace the battery twice, which was easy because that model had a removable battery.