this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2024
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[–] Pattyice@lemmy.ml 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)

here's hoping the next Fairphone finally launches new in the US.

Really would love to finally use one.

[–] Jax@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Wait, why don't they launch in the U.S.?

[–] oeightsix@lemmy.nz 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The US market has three big gatekeepers named Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. They charge huge money to certify devices to work on their networks. No certification and phones won't work properly for mission-critical stuff like VoLTE, VoWiFi, and in some cases 5G. Without these features, no-one will buy the phones.

You also need to be selling a big number of those phones to eat the cost of all that certification. And what do you know, the telcos operate the stores that sell the lion's share of phones in the US market.

All that adds up to niche handsets only working on 1 or 2 of the telcos, or only partially, and only selling direct to consumer or on Amazon or Best Buy or wherever in negligible numbers.

And that's why you can't buy a Fairphone at retail in the US.

[–] szczuroarturo@programming.dev 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Ok i never understood this. But can i ask wtf is there a certification required for using volte or vowifi ( particulary VoLTE )?

[–] oeightsix@lemmy.nz 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's easy to forget that our pocket computers are also telephones, and thus emergency calling devices. These are regulated with good reason. The operator/their partners have to test the device on their network to ensure it is compliant and emergency calls can be made as expected; they also need to build the VoLTE/VoWiFi/IMS settings for that specific network into the handset's software before it will work - VoLTE has many complications, it is not one size fits all. Accordingly, some operators allow BYOD, while others will only whitelist the specific hardware and software combination they have tested and signed off on.

[–] szczuroarturo@programming.dev 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So why exatcly 3g or 2g never had this problem. Also why is that then that i can use 4g internet but somewhow making a phone call on the same network is not allowed?

[–] oeightsix@lemmy.nz 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Over 2G and 3G, voice calls are circuit switched. VoLTE and VoNR are packet switched, over IP, VoIP. Totally different. VoLTE is not as standardised as it may seem from the outside whereas 2G and 3G voice calls were.

Internet access is not regulated as an emergency service.

[–] szczuroarturo@programming.dev 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Does the 5g have the same problems or did they improved it . Because right now that may be a collosal problem if my country ever wanted to turn off 2g ( which to be fair likely wont happen for a long time ).

[–] oeightsix@lemmy.nz 1 points 7 months ago

5G NSA does have the same problems since it's 4G with a 5G hat on, although the handset-side software stacks for IMS settings are slowly improving. 5G SA is still too new really.

5G theoretically replaces 2G for low-power machine-to-machine operations like connected power metres, which is the main reason 2G still exists, but of course requires new hardware.

The many joys and customer issues that happen when an older network tech is retired and the spectrum refarmed to the new standard (e.g. shutting down 2G/3G and using the bandwidth for 4G/5G) are well-documented and a smart operator can do it with comparatively minimal friction, it just takes a long time to do it right.

[–] Pattyice@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

I'm not sure, I assume due to the lock in to carrier stores in the US? Or just expenses of doing business. I can't even order those earbuds to the US.

there is the fairphone 4 on Murena with e/os/ but they don't even have fairphone 5 😭

[–] Ruthalas@infosec.pub 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They sell an official version with US antennas through Murena!

[–] Pattyice@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

they sell the fairphone 4 not the 5. And while I'm not against e/os/, that's kind of neat for me I think it'd be awesome if they sold the original model with android with all of Google Spyware lol

[–] illectrility@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago

The bootloader is open so you could throw Fairphone's Android on there no problem. I think they provide the files for that (didn't check so don't know for sure)

[–] Ruthalas@infosec.pub 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is true. Hopefully they will soon sell the 5! I tossed lineageOS on mine, and have felt pleased with it.

[–] Pattyice@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Did you buy it from fairphone or are you saying you got the fairphone 4 with e/os/ from Mureno?

[–] Ruthalas@infosec.pub 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I bought the 4 from Mureno with e/os/ on it.

[–] Pattyice@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm curious what made you not like e/os/. I'm interested to try it if they do the fairphone 5

[–] Ruthalas@infosec.pub 2 points 7 months ago

I didn't have strong feelings about it, and had extensive experience with LineageOS. I just stuck with what I knew.