Radboud University selects Fairphone as standard smartphone for employees

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

University choice & IT/MDM considerations

  • Commenters see standardizing on Fairphone as making in‑house repair practical: IT can stock parts, swap modules like batteries, screens, charging ports, and treat phones like laptops.
  • Alternatives (sending to manufacturer, using local shops, or reimbursing staff) are viewed as costly and bureaucratic at scale.
  • Some think the phones are only for staff who formally “require” a device, not every employee.
  • There’s speculation this ties into broader moves to Microsoft 365/Teams and/or mobile-based MFA and MDM, where institutions must provide managed devices rather than require use of personal phones.
  • Others link it to Dutch academia’s push for “digital sovereignty” and reducing dependence on US tech vendors.

Repairability, parts, and real-world experience

  • Many praise Fairphone’s modular design: easy battery and screen swaps, long-term spare-part sales (noted even for Fairphone 2 and 3), and quick self-service repairs.
  • Positive anecdotes: simple USB‑C port, screen, and earpiece replacements; buying Fairphones second‑hand and keeping them running.
  • Negative anecdotes:
    • A model discontinued after ~4 years with key parts no longer available.
    • Months-long unavailability of a charging-port module, leaving an unusable device.
    • No replacement module for a scratched fingerprint/power button; requirement to send the phone to Fairphone’s own center, wiping the device.
    • Local repair shops sometimes refuse Fairphones or consider the company hard to work with.
  • Some conclude availability of parts and repair infrastructure matters more than theoretical ease of repair.

Sustainability vs second-hand and cheap phones

  • Strong view that reusing existing hardware (second-hand or refurbished mainstream phones) is usually more environmentally friendly than buying new “ethical” devices.
  • Others argue Fairphone shines when you’re accident-prone: repeated screen/port/battery fixes instead of multiple full replacements.
  • Debate over whether modular phones can compete with very cheap Android devices, where replacing the entire phone can cost little more than a battery swap.

Software support & security

  • Concerns that Fairphone devices lag on firmware/driver/security practices (e.g., bootloader/AVB key issues), making them unsuitable for hardening projects like GrapheneOS.
  • Limited major Android version upgrades mean some critical apps (especially banking) drop support even while security patches continue.
  • Counterpoint: for typical university staff not targeted by high-end attackers, these risks may be acceptable compared to the ethical and sustainability benefits.

Alternatives, OSes & regulation

  • Discussion of /e/OS, GrapheneOS, Sailfish/Jolla, and Linux-based devices as ways to escape Apple/Google ecosystems, with disagreement over how “de-Googled” Android can ever be.
  • Calls for regulation mandating easily replaceable batteries/screens, unlockable bootloaders, and minimum support lifetimes; EU battery rules are cited, with worries about “waterproofing” loopholes.

Form factor & feature complaints

  • Multiple commenters want a smaller “Fairphone mini” with a headphone jack; current models are considered too large.
  • Others lament missing features like optical zoom and USB 3 + DisplayPort, especially given the SoC technically supports them.