cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/43965516
It is worth noting that both the hardware and software of Fairphone is heavily dependent on a Chinese company T2Mobile.
For those looking to avoid both US and Chinese companies, then the Jolla phone is the way to go.
I got my gen 6 a few days ago with /e/os installed. I definitely don’t regret it.
Same
Nice. How does it work compared to Android? Do all apps work (bank, government, shops and so on)?
I have eOS on the fairphone 5, and I have had zero problems with banking apps and the like.
That doesn’t mean you won’t have problems though, I don’t use many of those kinds of apps other than a bank authentication app, and a few others for public transit tickets, etc. I also live in europe, milage may vary elsewhere.
Keep in mind that eOS IS android, just with google telemetry removed. You can add a google account if you want/need to, at which point any android app should work as expected. That of course defeats the purpose somewhat, but even then eOS will still help you stay as private as possible by informing you about app trackers and using alternative services for location, etc.
Fairphone 6
My bank app will install, but I can’t login unless I also install Google Play Services. The website works fine without.
No issues with other apps. I do prioritise installing from F-Droid whenever possible.
I use a different open source OS. Have you tried microG? Or is that already on e? Even if you have it, some parts might need configuring.
Yes, microG is on /e/OS by default. I believe my bank uses some of the security features from Play Services that aren’t in microG.
I’m not 100% sure that it can’t be fixed, but it’s such a minor nuisance that I don’t think it’s worth my time to investigate.
Not /e/OS user, but it is Android - just degoogled. Uses microG as a replacement for Google services if I’m not mistaken.
As for apps, I recommend checking out an app called Plexus on Fdroid - it’s an app where people report how apps work on alternative ROMs with either microG or fully degoogled. It’s pretty neat.
Thanks for the info and I am going to order a Fairphone this week.
Surely without Google services it’s AOSP. Android is trademarked by Google.
/e/ (also known as /e/ OS and /e/OS, formerly Eelo) is a fork of LineageOS, an Android-based mobile operating system,
My bank app worked. I was very happy about it. My metro pass app also installed without issue and transferred my pass. Even government apps worked. Microg is useful for sure.
same, but installing a different launcher is sadly mandatory as the default is ass
I didn’t know you could use different launchers until a few weeks ago. I’m so much happier with Lawnchair.
Not a big deal for me as I customize every phone that I own anyway, so for me I’m just using Lawnchair and that works perfectly for me even on this phone so I don’t see an issue with it.
Are tutorials to do this available?
Installing a new launcher? Just install it from the app store and then activate as your default launcher in androids app settings. It’s just that simple.
Do you use Google Play? Any (banking) apps that don’t work?
Apps from the play store can be downloaded using the app store on the phone which can pull from the play store. My bank app worked using microg. Download the plexus database to see the rating https://f-droid.org/packages/tech.techlore.plexus
Got mine with Android and now wish I’d gone for /e/os instead - looks to be a mega faff to change it now
Avoiding Chinese companies is a factor for me, BUT if the choice is between a Chinese company that wouldn’t comply with a five-eyes data request vs one that would, then I would definitely prefer my data be stolen by a foreign country that doesn’t see me as a sovereign risk
Chinese company who has to comply with the CCP is a problem for me, and my work.
What’s your work?
Stuff I and my employer doesn’t want the CCP to know.
We have come a long way, to be finally more concerned about our government spying on us than about a foreign nation.
They have a “fair labor” agreement with China so that it is as ethically sourced as possible. People can’t just get anything somewhere else. They are at least trying.
the Jolla phone is the way to go
Are there any downsides to this? There has to be, right.
Edit: https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-phone-sept-26
I mean the downsides are it’s Linux. That’s not without it’s upsides but the downsides are huge.
Would a phone have that many downsides? I would think that a computer would have much more. Maybe the phone companies don’t play nice? I 100% don’t know what the downsides would be.
From my research, the phone part of the “phone” doesn’t work very well. Which is a pretty big caveat.
I have one. It has no issues with calling, video, ect…
It works in the states as well. And all apps too. I guess my only complaint is parts are getting hard to come by for fairphone 4. Which is why i bought the phone, to be repairable.
We were discussing Jolla, not fairphone
Oh wait sorry for some reason the interface didnt load the first comment. I dodnt see the context. Woops!
Where did you get that from? I have been using one for the past 6 months without any calling issues.
It was a common complaint I caacross when researching a few different Linux devices.
I guess if you’re not having issues I must be wrong, because everyone’s experiences should mirror yours exactly.
It has improved a lot through subsequent releases. It also depends on which phone it is running on. On my Xperia XA2 with licensed SailfishOS at the latest version, there are no issues with calls and SMS. It does not support VoLTE, but it is a non-issue in Europe.
That’s the main thing you’re buying it for…
Well, are you? I can’t remember the last conversation I had over phone.
Yes. Especially with work, although not necessarily with my personal phone, it does happen.
Also, it’s a 650 Euro, £562, device….i don’t want to buy it and some parts don’t work.
I’m with you - I’d pay extra for a phone that doesn’t take calls just so I can force everyone to just send it as a text.
could you not just get a data-only SIM?
Just delete all your phone apps and then you won’t get anymore phone calls. Bing bang boom.
I’m on the phone all day. Believe it or not some people are different from you 🤯
Goes both ways, I’d be happy if more calls would simply fail midway.
“What a shame, better write an e-mail.”
It also isn’t as performant for the price, or so I’ve heard. They’re working on it, but it isn’t up to par with big name companies.
What does that mean to you? I hear people say this all the time about various devices but I haven’t come across anything my phone couldn’t run in over a decade. I haven’t had a flagship or top tier phone in that whole time either. Are you talking about actual functionality issues or just theoretical stuff and benchmarks?
Like Android you mean?
What about it?
Android is technically doing just fine.
Are there any downsides to this? There has to be, right.
SailfishOS userland is proprietary software. AOSP is more open than SailfishOS. The Android compatibility layer of SailfishOS is based on AOSP, so the stack to get the most important 3rd party apps working relies as much on AOSP as any Android ROM.
Upside of SailfishOS: There is a decent chance that the upcoming Linux ARM version of Steam + Proton will run directly on that device.
SailfishOS userland is proprietary software
I don’t see it really as a downside compared to Android, since no OEM is running clean AOSP.
I don’t see it really as a downside compared to Android, since no OEM is running clean AOSP.
This article is about Fairphone with /e/OS, not some other OEM with a proprietary Android variant.
Then you are off-topic as well.
/e/OS is based on LineageOS. AOSP alone has very little “userland” still actively maintained.Then you are off-topic as well.
No. Pelespirit asked about Jolla which is mentioned in the article. I gave context for Jolla’s Android compatibility. It’s 100% on topic.
/e/OS is based on LineageOS.
And: “The Android compatibility layer of SailfishOS is based on AOSP, so the stack to get the most important 3rd party apps working relies as much on AOSP as any Android ROM.”
I think I bought one, but I’m not sure. I might have been very drunk back then.
On the first one there were limitations on the android emulation stack. Not sure how they managed afterwards on later OS releases or how it will go with newer ones.
There will always be limitations unless massive changes occur such as Google open sourcing their Play Services as part of AOSP. MicroG has limited resources to implement compatibility.
I’ve been using a CMF Nothing with /e/OS installed by Murena for a year now and I can say it’s been a breeze.
Let’s hope the growth means the software improves. I’ve never owned such a buggy phone. I would never be able to recommend anyone I know actually buy one and it’s pretty difficult to keep using it myself. I’m really hoping the upcoming Android 16 release fixes a lot of bugs but if past Fairphones are anything to go by I’m not expecting much.
I’ve been using a FP6 for over a month and I have no idea what you could be referring to
Yeah, same here. If I had to highlight a negative, its the poor placement of the volume keys, esp, because I’m left handed… But the positives far outweigh the one annoyance. I love this thing. I fwwl like it’s actually mine, and not just locked down.
Interesting, I would have guessed that being left handed would make the placement better. I’ve heard people don’t like the button placement but it doesn’t bother me. I have an iPhone for work as well and as far as I can tell the buttons are in the same place so 🤷
I keep hitting the volume key with my thumb and somehow getting the sound on mute. But its about learning new muscle control :) It would be cool if their were a software update where it would require a double click to activate the sound.
Sometimes after using the camera, the taken photos will just disappear.
Often my screen will freeze up and the ohone becomes entirely unresponsive until I turn the screen off and on again.
Sometimes the screen won’t even turn on at all and will then suddenly unlock and register every single swipe and tap I made on the off screen registers at once.
Then sometimes when idle the phone will just randomly crash and reboot.
A genuinely awful experience I have to say.
Weird. Which model and OS is this happening on?
Fairphone 6, stock Android 15.
Fairphone 5 for ~ 1 1/2 years. Not a single bug encountered…
I keep reading comments like this though. Are people just expecting too much?
I don’t think it’s expecting a phone to not crash constantly and actually save the photos I’m taking.
It sounds like a faulty device to me. I recommend reaching out to customer support at a minimum.
I agree with you on that. But I’m either reading that the phone is shit or it’s perfect. Makes it very hard to decide if I should be spending 600 quid on one.
You can install iode on a Fairphone. I was using iode for years without issues. I would be surprised if it had many bugs specific to Fairphone.
That’s awesome to hear! I’m currently running iode on a OnePlus11 and the built-in firewall and metwork monitoring is awesome! I don’t even use the paid version. Maybe I’ll give fairphone a try next.
I might have to give it a try. I used CalyxOS on my old Pixel 7 and loved it so I’m hoping that will be an option once they’re back up and running.
Slab phone is solved tech already and this is the time where we can vote for more ethical solutions without really losing anything. The newest fairphone is basically just a standard android flagship.
This is exactly what we need: profound economic warfare, and lawfare against the sources exploiting us. We need to organize and support the groups that fight the forces leading to us getting exploited.
Our problems are fundamentally human sourced, and we need to take action to stop being vulnerable to exploitation and coercion.
All other problems CAN be resolved with time and work.
