shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Fairphone?

Visiting from the US? - fairphone.com

Depends. Buy it if you keep phones for years, repair things yourself, and care about supply-chain ethics. Skip it if you want flagship camera, top speed, or seamless US carrier support.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources: hands-on reviews, owner forums, security discussions, and pricing listings.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$650

Fairphone (Gen. 6+)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo

Best for

  • People who keep phones 5+ years
  • DIY repairers
  • Ethical/supply-chain-first buyers
  • De-Googled OS users (/e/OS option)

Not for

  • Camera-first and mobile-gaming buyers
  • US buyers wanting carrier subsidies or financing
  • Anyone needing fastest Android security patches
  • Impulse buyers unwilling to order spare parts

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Security patch delays documented: owners report missing Android patches

medium

Older models reach end-of-life (FP3 in Aug 2026); verify spare-parts commitments first

medium

US buyers call the price high; no carrier subsidies or financing mentioned

medium

Support quality is mixed; forum threads document slow resolutions

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Most repairable phone available; modular parts extend lifespan
  • Eight-year security-update promise on Fairphone 5
  • Now officially sold in the US, shipping to every state
  • Privacy-first /e/OS variant available via Murena
  • $650 with Android 16 undercuts most flagships

Cons

  • Security patches lag Google and other OEMs
  • Camera and performance trail flagships
  • Priced high for mid-range hardware, say US buyers
  • Fairphone 3 hit end of life August 2026
  • A past update bricked some Fairphone 4 phones

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/27/2026 - 10 sources - No breaches found; repeated criticism that Android security patches ship late versus peers.

official x1review x4security x3news x2
  • Slow security patch delivery, Owners report missing Android security patches despite large upstream Android releases.
  • CVE-2023-45779 exposure, Android APEX privilege-escalation flaw affected multiple OEMs including Fairphone devices, per SentinelOne.
  • Update bricking incident, A Fairphone 4 update reportedly bricked some owners' phones.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $650

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Mid-range specs at $650; buyers split on worth
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Reviewers call it a viable mid-range phone
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Modular repairability stands out; camera and speed trail flagships
  • Support quality: 3/5. Mixed: forum complaints, Trustpilot says decent
  • Security posture: 2/5. Criticized for slow security patch delivery
  • $650 Gen 6+ price 12GB/256GB, ships with Android 16
  • 8 years Update promise Security updates on Fairphone 5
  • €49M Funding Raised to date, incl. impact funds
  • Aug 2026 US availability Ships to every US state

Pricing

Fairphone (Gen. 6+)

$650

  • 12GB/256GB, modular, unlocked
  • Ships with Android 16
  • Sold via US store and Amazon

Security

No breaches found; repeated criticism that Android security patches ship late versus peers.

  • Slow security patch deliveryOwners report missing Android security patches despite large upstream Android releases.
  • CVE-2023-45779 exposureAndroid APEX privilege-escalation flaw affected multiple OEMs including Fairphone devices, per SentinelOne.⁷
  • Update bricking incidentA Fairphone 4 update reportedly bricked some owners' phones.

Alternatives

Compare Fairphone with each alternative.

  • Murena Fairphone 6 (/e/OS)

    Same hardware, privacy-first de-Googled OS preinstalled

Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources: hands-on reviews, owner forums, security discussions, and pricing listings.

Great repairable 8-year-update phone; wrong pick if you want top camera, speed, or US carrier deals.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources: hands-on reviews, owner forums, security discussions, and pricing listings.

Sources

  1. Fairphone 6 review: cheaper, repairable and longer-lasting (Guardian)theguardian.com
    review
  2. Fairphone 6 review — interesting, viable mid-range phone (Dedoimedo)dedoimedo.com
    review
  3. The Fairphone (Gen 6+) Review: Finally in the US (Wired)wired.com
    review
  4. Fairphone 6+ costs $650, ships with Android 16 (CNET)facebook.com
    news
  5. Fairphone is dangerously insecure (Hacker News)news.ycombinator.com
    security
  6. Devices lacking standard privacy/security patches (GrapheneOS forum)discuss.grapheneos.org
    security
  7. CVE-2023-45779: Android APEX privilege escalation (SentinelOne)sentinelone.com
    security
  8. Fairphone 3 end of life August 2026 (/e/ Foundation community)community.e.foundation
    news
  9. The Fairphone (Gen. 6) — official product pagefairphone.com
    official
  10. r/fairphone owner discussionsreddit.com
    review

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