Latest news with #Fairphone
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Android Authority
Android 15 is bricking some Fairphone 5 devices, and here's how you can avoid it
Damien Wilde / Android Authority TL;DR The Android 15 update is causing some Fairphone 5 phones to become bricked, but only if the fingerprint sensor is broken. A Fairphone rep confirmed stricter hardware checks in Android 15 are to blame. A fix is in the works, but for now, users with faulty sensors should avoid the update. For phone geeks like us, an OS update is usually exciting, but it doesn't always go smoothly. Multiple reports suggest that the Android 15 update is causing some Fairphone 5 handsets to become bricked, but only if they already had an existing biometric fault. According to a user and several respondents on the Fairphone Community Forum, the update is freezing some Fairphone 5 devices on the boot screen and making them unable to start. In each case, the phone gets stuck partway through the Fairphone boot animation, displaying only a green 'I' on a blank screen. The only way to recover appears to be rolling back to a previous Android version or wiping the device entirely. A Fairphone representative in the thread confirmed the root cause: The issue only affects Fairphone 5 units with broken fingerprint sensors. Android 15 introduces stricter hardware verification during startup, and if the fingerprint sensor isn't functioning properly, the phone won't boot. That diagnosis is backed up by user comments on the forum. Many who experienced the boot failure said their fingerprint sensor had already stopped working before the update. Some even said they attempted the update in hopes it might resolve the fingerprint issue, only to find their device bricked instead. The company says a fix is in the works that would allow Android 15 to boot even if the fingerprint hardware is broken, though the sensor itself would remain unusable. For now, affected users can either send their phone in for fingerprint repair or stick with Android 14. If your Fairphone 5's fingerprint sensor is already broken, updating now is a risk you probably don't want to take until a patch is released. Fairphone suggests either sending in your device for fingerprint sensor repair or repeatedly force-rebooting (up to eight times) to get back into Android. If you're still stuck, contacting customer support is your best bet. Follow
GSM Arena
05-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Fairphone 6 aces repairability test
Vlad, 05 July 2025 The Fairphone 6 launched last month with an expanded modular design, a better chipset, and a larger battery compared to its predecessor. This is still no flagship Android smartphone, but its key selling point isn't performance or battery life, it's repairability. Thus, you might be interested to find out what the folks over at iFixit have to say about it - after all, they've been championing people's right to self-repair their devices for years, and Fairphone itself is also all about giving people that option. It's all good news for the Fairphone 6, as iFixit has found it to be the most repairable handset yet. So, it was awarded a perfect 10 out of 10 repairability score, something that mainstream smartphone brands can only dream of, but have never achieved. Fairphone has already made parts and repair manuals available for the Fairphone 6, which it promises will get at least seven major Android updates and at least eight years of security patches. That's important because a phone being easy to repair is kind of pointless if its software isn't supported past a year or two. The entire phone uses only T5 Torx screws, so one screwdriver is enough to get to any component. Speaking of which, obviously all of the various bits and pieces are very easy to replace - this includes the battery, cameras and the screen as well as the USB port. There's no glue anywhere inside, which makes repairs a breeze but means it can only be IP55 rated for dust and water resistance. Fairphone 6 256GB 8GB RAM $ 870.00
GSM Arena
05-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Fairphone 6 aces repairability test
The Fairphone 6 launched last month with an expanded modular design, a better chipset, and a larger battery compared to its predecessor. This is still no flagship Android smartphone, but its key selling point isn't performance or battery life, it's repairability. Thus, you might be interested to find out what the folks over at iFixit have to say about it - after all, they've been championing people's right to self-repair their devices for years, and Fairphone itself is also all about giving people that option. It's all good news for the Fairphone 6, as iFixit has found it to be the most repairable handset yet. So, it was awarded a perfect 10 out of 10 repairability score, something that mainstream smartphone brands can only dream of, but have never achieved. Fairphone has already made parts and repair manuals available for the Fairphone 6, which it promises will get at least seven major Android updates and at least eight years of security patches. That's important because a phone being easy to repair is kind of pointless if its software isn't supported past a year or two. The entire phone uses only T5 Torx screws, so one screwdriver is enough to get to any component. Speaking of which, obviously all of the various bits and pieces are very easy to replace - this includes the battery, cameras and the screen as well as the USB port. There's no glue anywhere inside, which makes repairs a breeze but means it can only be IP55 rated for dust and water resistance. Fairphone 6
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
Fairphone 6 lands a perfect 10 for repairability
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. Dutch company Fairphone continues to lead the charge on consumer- and planet-friendly electronics, proving that a great phone doesn't have to be impossible to repair or environmentally unsustainable. The Fairphone 6 has just been released, coming two years after the last generation of the phone built to last. The folks over at iFixit wasted no time in conducting a teardown of this new entry to see how it stacks up against previous generations. The Fairphone 6 scored a perfect 10 out of 10, like every generation of Fairphone bar the very first. Fairphones are modular, and have been designed with easy repair in mind, but there is one change from the previous generations that makes things harder. Whereas the last few Fairphones have used hard batteries that could be flipped out with your fingernail, the new handset packs a soft-pouch cell that's thinner than its predecessors. That's slimmed the phone down, but it does mean the battery is now held in place with five screws. It's the same with every other component on the handset, since none of the components are held in with glue. The lack of adhesives does account for the phone's IP 55 rating, which is lower than the rest of the industry. But given you can't exactly get Samsung to send you a video guide telling you how to open your phone with nothing more than a T5 Torx screwdriver, so there's give and take. iFixit is quick to point out that the Fairphone 6 isn't a bleeding-edge smartphone, nor is it intended to be. It's designed from the ground up to be as sustainable and repair-friendly as possible, and this means some trade-offs compared with flagship devices. The Fairphone 6's use of USB 2.0, a less pixel-dense screen, and only 8GB of RAM are all necessary design choices when built with longer life cycles in mind. Nevertheless, this almost certainly won't affect the day-to-day use of the handset for most consumers, and owning a device you can truly repair yourself just might be worth it.
Engadget
04-07-2025
- Engadget
Fairphone 6 lands a perfect 10 for repairability
Dutch company Fairphone continues to lead the charge on consumer- and planet-friendly electronics, proving that a great phone doesn't have to be impossible to repair or environmentally unsustainable. The Fairphone 6 has just been released, coming two years after the last generation of the phone built to last. The folks over at iFixit wasted no time in conducting a teardown of this new entry to see how it stacks up against previous generations. The Fairphone 6 scored a perfect 10 out of 10, like every generation of Fairphone bar the very first. Fairphones are modular, and have been designed with easy repair in mind, but there is one change from the previous generations that makes things harder. Whereas the last few Fairphones have used hard batteries that could be flipped out with your fingernail, the new handset packs a soft-pouch cell that's thinner than its predecessors. That's slimmed the phone down, but it does mean the battery is now held in place with five screws. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. It's the same with every other component on the handset, since none of the components are held in with glue. The lack of adhesives does account for the phone's IP 55 rating, which is lower than the rest of the industry. But given you can't exactly get Samsung to send you a video guide telling you how to open your phone with nothing more than a T5 Torx screwdriver, so there's give and take. iFixit is quick to point out that the Fairphone 6 isn't a bleeding-edge smartphone, nor is it intended to be. It's designed from the ground up to be as sustainable and repair-friendly as possible, and this means some trade-offs compared with flagship devices. The Fairphone 6's use of USB 2.0, a less pixel-dense screen, and only 8GB of RAM are all necessary design choices when built with longer life cycles in mind. Nevertheless, this almost certainly won't affect the day-to-day use of the handset for most consumers, and owning a device you can truly repair yourself just might be worth it. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
