Fairphone

Alternative to smartphones that are glued shut, get few years of updates and are replaced every two or three years

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Description

Fairphone is a Dutch company from Amsterdam that makes smartphones built to be repaired and kept for years, with a larger share of fairly sourced materials. The battery, screen, cameras, USB-C port and other parts can be swapped at home with a screwdriver, and the current models come with a five-year warranty.

Founded in January 2013 as a social enterprise, it has been a certified B Corporation since 2015 and sold 145,259 phones in 2025. In November 2026 the Fairphone (Gen. 6) cost €599 and the Gen. 6+ €649, or €699 with the Google-free /e/OS. Fairphone promises software support and spare parts until 2033; a new battery costs €39.95 and a screen €89.95. The Gen. 6+ has a repairability index of A, and Fairphone cites a 10/10 score from iFixit.

By weight, 51 % of the phone comes from fair or recycled materials, across 15 materials including Fairtrade gold, and the company says it has paid €1.25 million in living-wage bonuses to factory workers since 2019. For each phone sold, it takes one back for reuse or recycling. It sells in about 30 countries in Europe and in the United States. Its co-founder admitted in 2017 that a 100 % fair phone was not yet possible, and the company lost €14.3 million in 2023 before returning to profit in 2024.

Strengths

  • Twelve parts the user can replace, with spare parts sold until 2033 at published prices.
  • Software support until 2033 and a five-year warranty.
  • More than half of the phone by weight from fair or recycled materials, and bonuses paid to factory workers.

Weaknesses

  • More expensive than phones with similar features, at €599 to €699.
  • The camera and performance are good, not top of the range.
  • Sold in about 30 countries only, and the Blue Angel label was still pending in November 2026.

Who it is for

Anyone who wants a phone to keep for five years or more.

Sources

  • Commown

    Commown is a cooperative from Strasbourg that rents out electronics chosen to last: Fairphone smartphones, laptops from Why! and HP, desktop PCs, Repeat headphones and refurbished devices. The…

  • Envie

    Envie is a French network of work-integration companies that collect used household appliances, repair them and sell them again with a two-year warranty valid in all its shops. The first opened in…

  • iFixit

    iFixit is a free online repair manual with tens of thousands of illustrated, step-by-step guides for phones, laptops, consoles, household appliances and more, written by the company and its community…

  • Repair Café

    A Repair Café is a free meeting where volunteers help people repair their own broken things: toasters, lamps, clothes, bikes, toys, laptops. It is an alternative to throwing away a broken appliance…

  • Telecoop

    Telecoop is a French cooperative mobile operator, founded in 2020, whose plans encourage people to use less data and keep their phone longer. It uses Orange’s 4G network, and it is an alternative to…