Mastodawn

hey i just bought a @Fairphone 5, to follow my iphone 13 mini. before that i had a fairphone 3+. some reasons:
—fed up with lightning cables, usb-c please
—company is more aligned with my values
—public schematics available
—battery and other parts easy to change
—microsd slot
—relatively small team (well, much bigger than us) that i could contact if things go bad (or good!)
—i understand how hard it is to make indie devices and am interested in the tradeoffs
—potentially less addictive device

Justine Smithies Jan 25, 2025

Nice! I have a Fairphone 4 and love it. Are you keeping stock Android or flashing something else ? Do keep us updated with how you're getting on with it later and if you'd recommend.

CC: @[email protected]

Lucie / minute Jan 25, 2025

@justine stock android at first, will let you know here how it goes after a while of use

Dr. Yurii Radiev Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn @justine I just upgraded last week too! So far I want to stick to the stock android, although Fairphone lets you disable all Google apps, which I did after replacing them with open source apps fron F-Droid (in particular after receiving a message from Google's Gemini chatbot in their default Messenger app. No sir, thanks.😁)

mitscherdinger Jan 26, 2025

@mntmn @justine Recommending /e/ from murena. Looks like iOS in Android, which is not the point recommending it.
You get a (extendable) nextcloud webspace and Google-freeness for free...
(They had a hard time keeping up their services but 90% is working okay, again.)

Etam Jan 26, 2025

@mitscherdinger
My thoughts on /e/ OS: https://im-in.space/@etam/110846337870684807
@mntmn

Btw, I run https://lineage.microg.org/ on FP4 and it's awesome!

Etam (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] I actually have some experience with #eOS and it's not positive. (I bought FP4 for my wife earlier, when Lineage was not ported yet, so I used /e/OS). - It comes with popular apps forked and preconfigured for their murena.io cloud service. If you have your own NextCloud server, you must install normal apps manually as usual. - Their app store has some apps from google play, but not all, so I had to install aurora anyway. - Their homescreen app is weird. I ended up installing Lawnchair from IzzyOnDroid (https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/app.lawnchair), which is the closest to default one I could find. So I just prefer plain LineageOS instead.

I'm in Space

Archivarius Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn @Fairphone

congratulations on your purchase)

May I ask what OS you use? Have you tried degoogling, and what was your experience?

I’m currently struggling to choose between a Pixel with GrapheneOS or an FP5 with LineageOS.

By the way, will you attend #fosdem ?

I AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn I haven't been able to pick up a Fairphone yet, due to timing and finances last time I needed a phone replacement. One (non-tech) woman I know did buy on my recommendation, and she contacted me since to tell me how happy she was with it, like it was fundamentally a different experience. Maybe moreso than even I expected.

Thalass Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn
@Fairphone

I wanted a Fairphone, but they weren't available in Canada at the time my oneplus 6 finally became unusable. Made the mistake of getting a cheap motorola to tide me over and boy was that a poor choice! 🥴
Hopefully once this thing dies Fairphone will be an option here!

georgebcrawford Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn
I go between, though this time Android is likely to stick, in no small part due to Symfonium. Apple has moved on from lightning, though of course that requires more recent phones, few of which have come onto the second hand market.

I'm curious as to how your new device might be less addictive though?

morl0ck Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn I have a fairphone 5 as my only phone since it's release. I'm happy with it, the only thing that's not working is filming in loud environments (like concerts). Lots of clicking in the video.
The rest works really good

Deadly Headshot Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn I'm sticking with my @Fairphone 3+, since I thought the point was not to have to replace them?

[Edit: Not sure why they keep releasing new models TBH.]

Better than an iPhone though

James Munns Jan 25, 2025

I *just* replaced the battery on my Fairphone 4, which I got in ~September of 2021. Still pretty happy with it, especially now that my battery is back to lasting >1 day instead of like 1/2 day :D

@mntmn @Fairphone how much did you pay it?

sleepy62🍁🛠️ 🖥️ 🔬 🌞Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn @Fairphone

I love this kind of thing. Sadly this one is not available in Canada.

The price is actually competitive as far as new hones go....

Juanjo Crespo Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn @Fairphone Got mine ~8 months ago. Very sturdy device, awesome screen. I use it without a case... which does not bode well with the aluminium frame, since it gets scratched very easily. Otherwise, pretty happy with it!

Louis Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn I’m also an iPhone 13 mini user, after many years of android phones. The main reason for my switch was privacy. Iirc there are good options for privacy-focused software for Android but they require a non-trivial amount of setup and maintenance. I’ll be curious to know how the switch back went for you :)

DrYak Jan 25, 2025

@mntmn you intend to keep it running it's original OS? Or test one of the alternative OSes? (SailfishOS community edition? PostmarketOS? Ubuntu Touch?)

rwa Jan 26, 2025

@mntmn May it serve you as a durable and reliable companion.
I really like my FP5 (switched from a Pixel 5) a few weeks ago. It's powerful enough for my use cases (i.e. no "gaming") and the repairability is a big pro. I hope to use it atleast until 2030.

But i opted for CalyxOS, tried the stock rom but the nagging of various google apps in setting up an account was disgusting.

drd_77_Jan 26, 2025

@mntmn @Fairphone speaking of leaving Apple ... is there a decent Linux based tablet that could replace both iOS and Android devices?

Andy Wootton Jan 26, 2025

@mntmn @Fairphone We no longer seem to be able to trust billionaires.