I just wanted to share my experience with Murena and Fairphone after years of using an iPhone.
I purchased a Fairphone 6 with e/OS on October 6th, as I was genuinely excited about the product. It arrived by post shortly after. I installed all the apps I use, and most worked perfectly. However, I encountered issues with shared bike service apps and my banking app, for which I filed a complaint with my bank. There is an alternative to Apple Pay by installing Curve, but it’s far from ideal.
The phone worked flawlessly for four days. At the end of the fourth day, it simply refused to turn back on.
I submitted a complaint to Murena on Monday morning (October 13th). As of today (October 16th), I have not received any response. Therefore, I have requested a refund this evening.
While the concept is appealing, the phone is expensive, of poor quality, some apps do not work properly, and Murena’s customer service is lacking. I also contacted fairphone directly. They answered straight away but told me to contact Murena first.
For these reasons, I cannot recommend either Murena or Fairphone. In fact, it is probably more eco-friendly to buy a second-hand phone and install e/OS on it.
What did you expect ? iOS on the Fairphone ? Murena or other AOSP’s team don’t have the same budget from Apple or Google, you can expect the same thing, the same OS.
Did you try what users suggested you. Holding power button? You can also hold all 3 buttons for 20 seconds to force a shutdown.
I find it very hard to believe that the phone doesn’t give any signs of life. I would even have tried buying a new battery and try my luck but I am not everyone.
everyone here wants user autonomy on mobile devices to succeed, but a newly bought device not turning on is reason to ask for a refund. Consumer rights are a good thing. A helpdesk response with things-to-try can avert this if it is a known and fixable software issue, thus reassuring, but it has to be timely.
Neither the current website copy nor long forum lists do prepare a mainstream consumer adequately for how things are when stepping outside the duopoly. It will break expectations. Some embrace it, some don’t, but it’s wrong to blame the naive buyer. Tough market for Murena.
Of course you can ask a refund and it’s normal when you bought a product who doesn’t work.
I’m just saying that before writing and complaining that certain apps don’t work, you should check the forum and find out about the product.
If I know that a car has a fault with its airbags, I’m not going to buy that brand.
Anyway, I don’t know, first find out about it, and if the problems encountered by others, which will surely happen to you, don’t bother you, then yes, go ahead, but otherwise I don’t understand.
even if a buyer understands the need to research app compatibility (the website copy isn’t too forthcoming about it), it is difficult for outsiders - despite well-meaning efforts.
e.foundation page used to have a search field for app availability at cleanapk. Something similar for App AOSP / microG compatibility could fill that void.
