My God the fairphone is nice
Just got a fairphone 4. It feels so much more solid than my old pixel 6a. Its battery lasts for almost 2 days. Same performance that I can see. Spare parts for cheapish on the site.
Anyways just wanted to share.
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If you get it direct from the distributor then it just runs basic Android so there's no reason it shouldn't.
That's the best part, it can run Linux
It does run Linux in all cases
Technically correct is the best correct :D
It runs standard android (Fairphone OS), /e/OS with open source implementation of Google services, LineageOS completely without Google products, Linux and probably more.
Maybe you were thinking about pipephone?
I read that as "can you run baking apps" and was very confused why you shouldn't be able to look at recipes 😅
As weird as it is, one of the better recipe books I've tried was a usermanual for a cheap ass bread machine. Just ignore the machine instructions and instead knead it by hand, rise for at least 4 hours, and bake it until some parts of the crust start to darken (about 25 minutes at 425F or 35 or more minutes at 350, or for sweets 290 for 50 minutes but every oven is a little different so aim low).
LINK HERE
Yeah, though I'm using LineageOS instead of /e/, my bank apps work.
It worked. I only use it from time to time. But 90% of the time its online rather than mobile.
I don't want to mess with big $$ on my phone. Seems like a recipe for disaster.
Fairphone with normal Android is just like any other android phone. The only difference for a normy would be the transparent back that you can pop open.
Doesnt everybody Need a banking app?💀
No. Most banks have websites, and most of them do most of the the things most people do with their bank. The only thing I think my bank's app does that the website doesn't is deposit a check by taking a picture of it. I use that feature about once a year.
I'm sure some people need banking apps, but I would bet it's fewer than think they need banking apps.
My bank mandates a mobile app for 2FA. I can't do anything without my smartphone, sadly.
I believe it's possible to buy a physical device that uses your debit card and a PIN to generate your TANs. The process is cumbersome though. I'd rather use their app (which works without Google services, thankfully).
They are very secure because they cant connect to the internet and you need your physical card and PIN. But I want to be able to perform transactions when im not at home while not carrying my card and reader everywhere.
My bank refuses to play ball with Graphene, so I have to use the website. Which is ok, but I have to put in a 2fa code sent via SMS every. damn. time.
I have to put in TWO passwords, then still have to authenticate with that code. I'm convinced it's because they want me to use the app.
Depending on location, you need the app for QR-pay services. Very handy if it's available.
In most of Western Europe (where Fairphone's target audience lives) - banking apps are a necessity. You'd find it very difficult to bank without these apps. Not impossible, but still a big hassle.
a big hassle, like using the web browser? is that what you mean? oh, not the browser, not again! I need my banks app!
You don't have a frigging clue what you are talking about. It's more than simply a web browser.
Depending on location, you need the app for QR-pay services. Very handy if it's available.
there's the confusion. nobody needs it. it's not a necessity. it's a convenience.
By that logic, nobody needs banking websites either.
I never use a banking app. I just go to the website if I need to do something.
I doubt the banks in the UK have decent or even functional websites for mobile screens. I couldn't really deal with the frustration of using a half-baked website for banking, given that most of the apps themselves are half-baked too.
Convenience wins for me, I'm afraid.
To each their own. My only point was to count that who i replied to who implied everyone has to use a banking app.
I personally refuse to use apps and if I can ONLY use a service via a smartphone app then I will simply not use the service.
Most of them are OK, I've not encountered any that are unusable though
Off the top of my head I can name one banking institution that solely exists through a mobile application and more and more banks are moving in the same direction, making their conventional websites less functional.
I don't know any bank that actually enforces stock firmware although it's common in the ToS.
Most are ok, but you can check for specific ones
https://github.com/PrivSec-dev/privsec.dev/blob/main/content/posts/android/Banking%20Applications%20compatibility%20with%20GrapheneOS.md
I don't do anything important through the app, but it's convenient for
My bank's web interface does both of those things.
You joke but being unable to deposit checks without going to a branch can be a dealbreaker.
Checks? Do they still exist?
Americans skipped adoption of Chip and PIN, and they were like a decade late with contactless payments. Their payment systems are laughably outdated.
Ah, that's likely why there are lots of comments about using the website. I pretty much only use the banking apps for cash transfer and contactless payments. Handier to verify by fingerprint than transcribe SMS or other authentication in a browser. I wish it wasn't and websites could be just as handy and I could remove apps. I also wish PayPass wasn't tied to google.
in America
They can be pretty handy. I've paid for a parking ticket with one (skipping a credit card transaction fee), got paid for a car I sold with one, and paid for a scooter with one. Aside from paying rent with checks.
I'm glad it works for you, but it seems not very handy of you have to carry them to use them and from memory, they expire. So I'd imagine if you don't use often, when you go to use them, you'd need to reorder a new check book.
Generally here, it's no cost to pay by bpay, a bank transfer system. And for paying people, transfer between digital accounts is instant.
Of someone wanted to pay for a car/scooter by check, they're not getting the car from me until the money has clear which would be days later.
I suppose it's handier than carrying large amounts of cash but there are much more convenient methods nowadays.
I've been running Lineage OS for quite a while now. No issues with my banking app, and it just took Magisk for the Wallet to work.
Do you have wallet working now? Mine was fine until about a month ago when Google messed with it and now keeps complaining about security requirements.
Yeah, it stopped working for me a little while ago, then I clicked some more stuff and it worked. I'm running Lineage OS release
22.2-20250808. In Magisk I haveMagiskHide Props Config,MysticBlaze347 Presents:Xposed-HiddenCore, andPlay Integrity Fix. I don't know that all of those are needed, but it's what I run. Under Settings->Configure DenyList, I have both Google Play... and Google Wallet checked. When it wasn't working, I clicked on both of those and just made sure the sub-check settings were clicked as well. There are only like 2-3. After that it worked like it used to.Thanks, I've got PIF but it seems like that's abandoned and the replacements don't seem to work.
Nice to know it's still possible though, I'll have to keep poking it.
Why do you feel the need to have a banking app? They tend to be super invasive and can’t do much you can’t do online.
Paying friends, verifying online payments.
Eh, when people say they're 'super invasive' what they usually mean is that they can't run it on their rooted android phone running LineageOS or have to go through various hoops to get it to work. Turns out, banking is pretty important to keep secure so yeah these apps will have checks in place to make sure you aren't faking your location or using a modified APK that they can't detect. I'm pretty happy with that restriction given the convenience of being able to manage payments etc in a decent-enough native app. 🤷🏻♂️
Whatever man. I read the TOS.
Seems like a good phone indeed. I would like a tablet from them
Soo jealous! Would love to gett one but I'm not from Europe
I got the us one. But yeah I hear you.
Mint/T-Mobile works well in my area so that's a plus.
Wait there's a fairphone for the US? I'm not from there either, but definetly more accesible than EU lol, I'm gonna check that out
they're sold by morena
+1
https://murena.com/america/products/smartphones/
In the US they offer phones that you can get with mobile service piggybacked on T-Mobile’s network. Prices seem fair if not pretty decent for even their unlimited data plan.
I just threw mint on top with a cheaper plan. Works well in my area.
Nice. Hard to beat mint’s prices, especially if your area has good coverage/service. Thanks for sharing about fairphone (didn’t know they were a thing before this haha)!
might be a stupid question, but why wouldn't you be able to use it in the US, or any other country?
Different countries have different providers, use different radio frequencies, etc and thus have different hardware and so on. Phones made for a particular market might not function well (or at all) in another market. This has historically been a barrier to cross-border adoption, though it has gotten a bit better in recent years.
Different radio channels are often used in different regions to get the bits from phone to tower and back. Software-defined radio only goes so far, at some point the hardware RF filters and the like have to be compatible.
Sorry, not sure what you're trying to say. I tried saying "a fairphone from the US would be more accessible than from EU because of shipping. I live closer to the US".
that makes perfect sense, thanks for the explanation.
we use different frequency ranges for our cellular networks than most regions
Yeah and it works. 4/6.
How is the situation with the boot loader? And when will it be real Linux compatible?
If answers are “can be unlocked” and “Soon™️”, I gotta get one
Uh.. yeah, kinda the point.
Bootloader is easily unlocked, and it runs ubuntu touch at least... Although I run with /e/os for practical reasons.
No idea. Although I would probably just get a USB mobile connection with a pi or something if I wanted gnu/Linux running. Just my opinion.
Postmarket is available for the FP4 but seems to be not really usable judging from the table:
https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
I'm running Calyx (😭) on the FP5 atm, unlocking the bootloader seems to work for FP4 - 6:
https://www.fairphone.com/en/bootloader-unlocking-code-for-fairphone
Looks like Ubuntu Touch is also working on the FP4:
https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/fp4/
I dont know if you're all 6'10" giants.... But modern phones (including ALL fairphones) DO NOT FIT in my pants pockets....
Make Small Phones Great Again!!!
I agree with what you are saying but you are totally getting downvoted for the make small phones great again part.
But my god my little hands need a little phone again. I would like to reach across single hand texting
You need military type pants. I have no issues with phone sizes, I can fit four bottles of beer in my pants leaving the hands free to carry something when going down the stairs.
Batteries must get smaller first. Two days of smart phone usage is a battery bank ma fren. Alternative is to use a lower tech option but hard to find a middle ground.
Fuck big phones. Just got a nothing 3a and I fucking hate it's ungodly width.
Does it run e/os/?
Yeah. Personally its OK. Does its job.
Murena sells a version with it pre-installed.
Nice!
How is the camera? The biggest thing locking me into Samsung is that every cheaper phone I've tried even cheaper fucking Samsungs, the camera is just pure ass slow sluggish, crashing.
FP4 camera is nothing to write home about. FP5 and FP6 are better, but still mostly mediocre quality.
Damn... 😕
I'm using a Ulefone armour 4 (I think), coming from a Samsung Note 10+ and I have found the camera to be a big downgrade. However, I have found that alternative camera apps can make a surprisingly large difference. The stock camera app was bad enough that it often didn't feel worth it to even try taking a photo. I'm currently using OpenCamera from fdroid, and performance is far better now (though the quality is still a downgrade from before).
It's annoying because I don't care about fancy features and high end cameras, I just want something that will allow me to capture spontaneous photos
How does the camera compare to other phones with good cameras?
Looks the same as the 6a. I can't tell the difference.
Edit: I just read that OP is talking about FP4 not 6, which was released 4 years ago and had considerably worse camera performance compared to the new one. Also support for it will end next year.
~~There are reviews online about it that are better prepared than someone's anecdote. Looks like it is about the same as many other midrange phones. Most probably not as good as a 6a, but the difference is not as big as in the past and they both lack telephoto lens. ~~
Did you really get a FP4 or did you mean 6?
Its much cheaper and parts are easier to find so appealed to me.
I want one. I just can't justify the expense while my old phone still works.
Yeah I hear you. I waiting until my 6a had a cracked screen, battery needs charging multiple times a day, and the case is messed up as well.
Running LineageOS on mine. By the way things have been going for the last couple of years, it's probably the first phone I'll be using for as long as my old Nokia brick, even though I don't like its gigantic size.
I do see a future problem in there being no aftermarket components available, but maybe that will change and official manufacturer spare parts are still better than no spare parts.
Camera is most important feature to me and it doesn't even come close to the pixel sadly
Personally I would just get a camera at that point. They look tremendously better than the pixel line.
I shoot professionally and my pixel is my sidearm. These raw files are incredible and not even iPhone comes close
Some of my best paid photos are from a phone haha
If you're wanting to max out your new phone you should purchase motioncam. Get raw video from your sensor like a cinema camera. Apple users could only dream of this
I will use my current smartphone until it dies but then i would love to try the fairphone gen6!
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