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Review: Fairphone 4 with /e/OS privacy operating system

Allan Tépper

In this targeted review, I will cover everything that makes the modular Fairphone 4 with /e/OS my favorite mobile hardware and software to date. This review will also cover the very few things I would like to see improved in each. First, I will cover a few of the rare features & benefits of the Fairphone 4 hardware compared with most other smartphones in 2024. Later, I will clarify why —under very specific circumstances— I classify /e/OS as the «Goldilocks» solution among the three de-Googled Android privacy-oriented operating systems I have tested to date, from the perspective of security, privacy and practicality. This article also includes the two relevant sidebars: The role of smartphone cameras in 2024, from the perspective of a video professional and the other one: The need for both unlockable and relockable bootloaders when considering privacy-oriented operating systems.

The above image is courtesy of Fairphone and Murena.

Scope of this targeted review

This targeted review does not regurgitate every spec found on the manufacturer’s and developer’s websites. Instead, it will point out rare features and benefits, some of which are not even emphasized in those sources, but I find to be essential to appreciate the hardware and the operating system.

This article is divided into eight sections:

  1. The Fairphone 4 hardware
  2. Sidebar: The role of smartphone cameras in 2024, from the perspective of a video professional who is also privacy-conscious
  3. Sidebar: The need for both unlockable and relockable bootloaders when considering privacy-oriented operating systems
  4. The /e/OS privacy & security-oriented operating system
  5. US distribution, warranty and mobile service compatibility
  6. What I’d like improved from Fairphone 4 hardware and firmware
  7. What I’d like improved from /e/OS and from Murena Mobile
  8. Conclusions

This targeted review only touches the surface of privacy & security issues and best practices I am covering in my upcoming book Get phone privacy (illustrated above) and Privacidad telefónica (illustrated below).

 

PART 1, THE HARDWARE

 

Fairphone 4’s rare features and benefits (hardware)

Side-addressed fingerprint reader

Security and privacy experts have vetted the use of biometrics as a safe security method, either by itself or used together with passkeys, since the fingerprint information never leaves the device. (I have covered passkeys in other articles.) As a person who has used fingerprint readers in the rear (Google Pixel 4), in the front-built into the screen (Google Pixel 7) and on the side, I prefer either the back or the side. I found the front one in the Pixel 7 to be the least convenient and the least reliable. That’s why I greatly appreciate the side-addressed one in the Fairphone 4.

User-replaceable battery

In my opinion, if you can’t change the battery of your smartphone yourself, you don’t really own the device.The only required «tool» to remove the rear back of the Fairphone 4 to swap a battery is your human fingernail. Say goodbye to extra cost, hassle and privacy invasion when going to a repair shop to melt the glue on your phone with a heat gun to open it, just to replace the battery. Also, say goodbye to buying a new smartphone just because of the battery.

This image is courtesy of Fairphone and Murena.

 

The original battery for the Fairphone 4 (shown above) is available from Fairphone.com for the European market for under €30 or for the US market from Murena.com for under U$30.

User-replaceable anything else, in under 5 minutes

The above image is courtesy of Fairphone and Murena.

Although I have no intention of disassembling my Fairphone 4 if not required, other reviewers have proven that it can be done in under 5 minutes using a single screwdriver for everything. Available replacement parts include:

Unlockable and relockable bootloader

Ahead in this article, I’ll explain why it is essential for a smartphone to offer both an unlockable and relockable bootloader. For now, I’ll clarify that the current Fairphone models are among the few smartphones on the market to offer both.

 

PART 2 (relevant sidebar): The role of camera smartphones in 2024, from the perspective of a video professional who is also privacy-conscious

 

  1. With very few optical limitations which affect very few productions, modern smartphones have indeed become a feasible tool for professional video productions. In fact, there have been feature films shot on smartphones. Apple’s most recent press video was shot on an iPhone.
  2. If you are very serious about shooting video of either non-repeatable events or those which involve a cast and crew, forget about using the same smartphone you use as your general communication device as your «camera». Otherwise, you won’t be able to maintain communication with the world while your camera is mounted on a tripod and you are getting your shot and lighting perfect. You must have a dedicated smartphone (or more than one) to serve as your camera(s), and those dedicated smartphones should be without any telephone service, although perhaps data only.
  3. Given point 2, and given the fact that two free Australian apps released in 2023 are still unparalleled on Android as of publication time of this article, the iPhone or iPad has unquestionably taken over the role of the dedicated smartphone camera or tablet camera (without any telephone service). The two Australian apps are RØDE Capture and Blackmagic Camera. RØDE Capture uses the two cameras (front and rear) of the smartphone to substitute two independent cameras for interviewer and interviewee, offering either ISO recording or «live to drive» with either picture-in-picture or split screen. The Blackmagic Camera app allows for single or multiple cameras to send motion pictures to an editor at a TV station using DaVinci Resolve editing software, via Blackmagic Cloud. Blackmagic Camera first sends lightweight proxies and then later sends the heavier high-quality versions, automatically via 5G or wifi. (See my two articles: RØDE Capture app for 2-cam recording, ISO or baked-in effects and Blackmagic Camera app for iPhone revolutionizes ENG and more for details.

This article is not about which is the best dedicated camera smartphone (although I did summarize that above). This article is about what for many may be the ideal smartphone for your general communication, when you care about being able to replace your own battery and when you care about privacy and security. In other words, you can use a Fairphone with /e/OS as your general communication device, and an iPhone with the aforementioned apps (without telephone service) as your professional dedicated camera. Fortunately, those apps don’t demand the latest models and can allow you to consider at least three models back if your budget doesn’t allow for the latest iPhone, although some specific features will be model-dependent.

Now, we return to our main topic.

 

PART 3 (relevant sidebar): The need for both unlockable and relockable bootloaders when considering privacy-oriented operating systems

A bootloader is a macro-program that is responsible for booting a computer, including a smartphone or tablet. Installing an alternative operating system on an Android smartphone or tablet requires it to have the capability of unlocking the bootloader. There are many alternative Android operating systems that are capable of being installed on the many smartphones that offer unlocking the bootloader. Sadly, most smartphones that allow unlocking the bootloader don’t allow for relocking the bootloader after installation of a new operating system.

Because many banking and other financial apps refuse to run (for security reasons) if the bootloader is unlocked, I only consider (and only recommend you consider) the very few smartphones that offer both unlocking and relocking the bootloader. Beyond the Google Pixel phones I used previously (before acquiring my Fairphone 4 with /e/OS), the current Fairphone models are among the few remaining ones on the market that allow both unlocking and relocking. Together with that, I also only consider (and only recommend considering) smartphones and those alternative operating systems that allow for relocking the bootloader after installation. Both the Fairphone 4 and /e/OS offer both!

PART 4: The /e/OS privacy & security-oriented operating system

Common advantages among privacy-oriented operating systems compared to standard Android or iOS

Standard Android and iOS constantly report the device’s location to either Google or Apple respectively (many times per hour) even when location services are supposedly deactivated by the user. In fact, Google recently settled the lawsuit about this by agreeing to pay U$93 million. Fortunately, this is not the case with the three privacy-oriented systems I have tested. System apps with a standard Android or iOS receive VIP special access, even though the user believes location services are inactive. To prove this yourself, try Find my iPhone or Find My Device on your computer when you supposedly deactivated location services on your phone. You will still discover your device’s approximate location. By truly blocking your location app-by-app with a privacy-oriented system, you not only get more privacy, but also get better autonomy (battery duration per cycle).

Specific privacy features I like with /e/OS

  1. In addition to sharing your location specifically for each app, never, once or only when the app is open (i.e. with riding services like Lyft and Úber), /e/OS also allows you to block your IP with specific apps, if and when desired.
  2. Even though privacy experts have vetted the use of biometric login options like fingerprint readers, there are times when we must enter in a numeric code, i.e. when you first restart the phone or perform a cold start. You may know that sometimes when in a public space, malicious people attempt to see your numeric code. In fact, a recent video from the Wall Street Journal showed a case where a woman lost a fortune of money when an assailant was able to see the numeric code on her iPhone, and then immediately grabbed her phone and disappeared. Minutes later, about U$10,000 was stolen from her bank accounts, in addition to thousands of dollars charged to her Apple Card. In the video below, you’ll see and hear the details.

 

Photo courtesy of Milena García Hernández

There is an optional /e/OS feature which scrambles the numbers on the keypad (as shown above) differently each time the keypad is invoked, so — based upon the location of the digits, the malicious individual will very likely get the incorrect numbers. (This optional feature also exists with GrapheneOS.) I personally use and recommend this feature to use whenever not able to use the fingerprint reader.

What are /e/OS, Murena and the e foundation?

With the slogan, «Your data is YOUR data!», the e foundation is the group that created the wonderful /e/OS we are covering in this article. Most (if not all) deGoogled Android operating systems (including /e/OS) are a variant of the free AOSP, where AOSP stands for Android Open Source Project. Specifically, /e/OS is a variant of LineageOS (the successor of CyanogenMod). I never paid much attention to LineageOS, since to my knowledge, none of its implementations allowed for relocking the bootloader. That fortunately changed with /e/OS and, to my knowledge, /e/OS is the only variant of LineageOS that allows relocking the bootloader after installation (when the device permits it).

Murena is the associated European company that not only sells their own manufactured phones, but also sells Fairphone devices with /e/OS preinstalled in Europe and more recently in the United States too, with inexpensive shipping from within the United States. Murena is authorized to sell the Fairphone in the United States with an extended warranty at no extra charge. Even more recently, Murena began offering its Murena Mobile telephone service in the United States, an MVNO which uses the T-Mobile network. If a purchaser from the United States prefers, s/he can purchase either devices from Murena.com or telephone service from Murena Mobile services anonymously. Even though it does not specifically state so on the website, Murena’s friendly public relations department confirmed that they accept payment with Vanilla prepaid cards which may be purchased with cash in the United States in stores like CVS and RiteAid, and no social security number is requested by Murena Mobile or Murena.com. I am delaying doing a complete review and comparison of Murena Mobile until the public relations department answers some yet unanswered questions.

What are the special circumstances where I recommend /e/OS

Although there are approximately 25 brands of smartphones that are compatible with /e/OS, only a few of those brands allow for relocking the bootloader after installing /e/OS. Among that short list of phones that allow relocking the bootloader after installing /e/OS, current Fairphone models are in addition, the only ones I know that are modular and allow the user to replace the battery without heating the device with a heat gun, and also support eSIM. My general statement is that I highly recommend /e/OS on any compatible smartphone which allows relocking the bootloader after installation, unless you are absolutely positive you don’t care about installing any banking, other financial or other type of app which demands a locked bootloader. Now that you know that, you are hereby prohibited from complaining to the wonderful creators of /e/OS because your app won’t run on some smartphone which is incapable of relocking the bootloader.

Why I say that /e/OS is the «Goldilocks» choice among practically usable privacy-oriented options

Before using /e/OS on the Fairphone 4 for the past few months, I used CalyxOS and GrapheneOS for about a year each, with two different Google Pixel models. Of course, I used one of the very specific variants that allow for unlocking and relocking the bootloader, since not all variants of Pixel phones do that. In addition to using those two de-Googled operating systems, I also have two friends who did the same thing, although those two friends are much less technologically oriented. Even though CalyxOS and GrapheneOS worked fine for me (since I am very techie and constantly research the relevant issues), typical users are often not. That’s why the reasons listed below involve those typical users:

  1. Most typical users who previously used either a standard Android or iPhone expect it to be extremely easy to transfer contacts and calendar appointments from their old Android or iPhone to their new privacy-oriented one, where they are no longer going to be logging into Apple or Google. Many typical users are either incapable or unwilling to do the transfer manually or to set up a private NextCloud installation for both initial migration and continuous backup to a much more private cloud with a company not officially working with PRISM. (HINT: Apple and Google cooperate with PRISM. Murena is a European company and does not.) With my two friends who used CalyxOS or GrapheneOS, I helped them with the process. However, for me, that is not easily scalable for the masses. Although I could offer a similar service on TecnoTur.us (since we do web hosting anyway), when I saw Murena Cloud with its amazing free and paid offerings, I decided not to offer any such services on TecnoTur.us. Instead, I decided to recommend most typical users to use Murena Cloud (with its European servers) for both their migration and continuous backup of contacts and calendar data, as well as photos, even though so far, for my personal usage, I created a private NextCloud installation. Typical users will have a smoother experience than what I get and will achieve it without adding any extra apps to the /e/OS installation, since integration with Murena Cloud is built into /e/OS, although optional to use.
  2. Most typical users expect to have an app store already installed and certain standard apps preinstalled too. With CalyxOS, there is a «now or never» option during installation to include or exclude MicroG, which is something that really confuses typical users. Then, they must learn which app stores to download, i.e. Aurora Store for certain apps and another for FOSS (free and open source) for others, and which to use for different situations. With GrapheneOS, there is an option to install sandboxed Google Services and the Google Play Store. Typical users want a much simpler experience and not all have direct access to someone who knows the ins and outs. Fortunately, /e/OS includes many usable apps, including one for contacts, one for calendar, one for weather and one for navigation/GPS. In addition, /e/OS comes with its App Lounge app store which combines access to both traditional apps (typically found on the Google PlayStore) and FOSS apps. The App Lounge makes it easy to search in one section or the other and currently allows downloading and installing virtually any app available on the Google PlayStore which does not require initial payment.
  3. Because the current Fairphone devices and /e/OS allow for a locked bootloader, all banking and other financial apps I have tried to use work perfectly and without any issue. This is the case whether you install /e/OS by yourself or purchase a Fairphone from Murena.com with /e/OS preinstalled.

PART 5: US distribution, mobile services compatibility and warranty

As indicated earlier, Murena.com is in charge of the sales and distribution in the US. When I ordered my Fairphone 4, it was shipped from New Jersey, United States and the shipping price was very reasonable. The delivery time was less than a week.

The Fairphone 4 sold by Fairphone or by Murena.com is carrier unlocked from the factory. For ideal use and compatibility in the United States, the Fairphone 4 works best with any carrier which uses the T-Mobile network.

Regarding the Fairphone 4 warranty when purchased from Murena, they state:

«The majority of smartphones are covered by a 2-year warranty by default. With Murena Fairphone 4, we can offer to cover your new phone for up to 5 years at no additional cost. It includes the standard 2 years plus an additional extension on your hardware. This warranty extension is offered by Fairphone, the hardware manufacturer and is calculated based upon your purchase date.»

Duration of the warranty (after online registration)

Date of purchase Total Extended Warranty Period
09.30.2021 – 12.31.2023 5 years
From 01.01.2024 3 years

PART 6: What I’d like improved from Fairphone

The above image of the TCL 40 NXTPAPER  is courtesy of TCL.

 

  1. The option of a display that is perfectly and pristinely matte (aka «antiglare») from the factory, like the TCL 40 NXTPAPER. Although it is certainly not truly electronic paper or eink, the TCL 40 NXTPAPER indeed rivals actual eink in user experience since it has such low light reflection and features full color and a high refresh rate like an LCD (but not the multiple-week battery life of eink devices). Fairphone should make pristinely matte display versions of current Fairphone models available both when ordering a new phone and when offering replacement displays, for current users to upgrade their experience by purchasing the matte version online from Fairphone.com or from Murena.com. This will eliminate the need for users to purchase an imperfect after-market matte screen protector and struggle to install it. Please do it, Fairphone!
  2. If possible via a firmware update, please allow the dual SIM option without deactivating the 5G mode, be it in the hybrid mode (physical SIM + eSIM) or two eSIMs actively accessible simultaneously. Apparently, the Fairphone 5 is already capable of this, but the Fairphone 5 is more costly, still scarce in Europe and unavailable in the US as of publication time of this review. I do hope to review the 5 in the future.
  3. Please promote your current Fairphone models with more manufacturers of wallet cases.

PART 7: What would I like improved from /e/OS and from Murena Mobile

  1. A fairer listing of the Castilian (castellano) language within the settings. Even though Google still lists it incorrectly, /e/OS can do it better!
  2. A clear answer about whether the Murena Mobile service in the United States includes or does not include Conditional Forwarding. Unlike unconditional forwarding, Conditional Forwarding can allow forwarding under certain conditions, i.e. forward if busy, forward if not answered and/or forward if out of reach. My testing with the Fairphone 4 with /e/OS over the past months has been with Mint Mobile, an MVNO officially supported by both Fairphone and by Murena for the Fairphone 4.

Conclusions

I am extremely happy with the combination of the Fairphone 4 with /e/OS. I am glad we now have options in the United States to get such a sustainable piece of modular technology, together with a privacy & security oriented operating system which is quite practical too. I look forward to reviewing other models from Fairphone and Murena in the near future. For more information, visit Murena’s website.

Lee este artículo en castellano

Reseña: Fairphone 4 con sistema operativo privado /e/OS

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FTC disclosure

Neither Fairphone nor Murena is paying for this review. Allan Tépper paid full price for his Fairphone 4 and its accessories to Murena. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.

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