cross-posted from: https://alien.top/post/231430

The headline says it all - and no, I’m not memeing the last post, just riding the hype.

Let’s start with my reason for still using the FP3: it hasn’t fallen apart yet (although barely so). That’s it, you really don’t need more.

Major flaws

Camera quality

It’s literal garbage. The plus upgrade is slightly better, but honestly, even the FP5 quality is bad compared to alternatives. I’ve accepted it to just be the sacrifice you make for having a Fairphone. If you want to make decent pictures, just get yourself a DSLR.

Repairable?

In theory the Fairphone 3 is very repairable and a great sustainable option. In practice, the sustainably tends to show its limits about 4 years in.

I’ve so far replaced almost every component I can and I’ve started notice that even the screw mounts are starting to come off at this point, preventing you from screwing the components on. Luckily, there are enough mounts left per component that it all still stays in one piece when screwed together.

The cost is another whole beast though. Replacing the screen of new phone for just €90 sounds pretty good, but replacing the screen of a 4 years old phone for… still €90? Well, at that point I’d rather just buy a new phone. (Not the mention the €25 for the back cover, which is mostly just a piece of plastic…)

Lastly, we arrive at the massive unrepairable hunk that is the motherboard. I had my GPS die on me a little while ago, which prevents you from using any kind of navigation whatsoever, as location services are not accurate enough. As it’s on the motherboard, I had no hope of replacing that one, so I did what any sane person would do. I bought a VK-162 USB GPS-receiver and hook it up to my phone whenever I need to navigate anywhere. As an added bonus, now I can have GPS on my laptop as well!

Upsides

Software

I can’t believe this phone still has extraordinarily good software support at this stage, and switching to a LineageOS fork (iodéOS) didn’t even turn my phone into a glitchy/outdated brick. You’d never see this with any other phone.

Headphone jack

Headphone jack.

Sturdy

I complain a lot about how many components have died on me, but honestly, this phone should not have survived as long as it did. With the amount of water, salt, power surges and impacts this phone had to endure, it’s amazing that it still turns on at all. I’ve had some slight discolouration along one edge of the screen after getting my phone wet (too many cracks to be even remotely water resistant at this point), but it’s all gone by now.

Verdict

After the GPS issue I really started eyeing the release of the FP5, but honestly, I’m so high on copium that I’m riding this ethical train straight to its last breath. The phone still works, and honestly, it still actually does its job too. The battery (replaced after the first got too fat) still holds out throughout the day with medium use, and I’ve got a second one for when it doesn’t. Messing with a USB cable whenever I need GPS is not quite ideal, but it does the job and if anything is at least heaps better than any tiny build-in receiver (after it has had the chance to warm up…).

If you don’t mind the lack of a modern feel like smaller bezels, better screen, a fingerprint scanner that isn’t bipolar and the ability to keep more than a few apps open, the FP3 still does a very good job at being your pocket companion. We’re past the point where phone specs double every year and if you don’t mind the static pricing to keep your phone going, it can definitely help you sleep at night for quite a while.