Fairphone offers smartphone with repair service as a subscription – Tablets and telephones – News

The Dutch smartphone manufacturer Fairphone will rent out its Fairphone 4 via a subscription with repair service. Users pay a monthly fee and must use the device with case and screen protector. It is not about installment purchase.

You can choose from a subscription period of 3, 12, 36 or 60 months. Prices range from 34 to 21 euros per month. A deposit of 90 euros must also be paid. The device will not come into the possession of the user after the subscription has expired. The phone must be returned and the manufacturer will reuse or recycle it.

During the rental period, users receive a Fairphone 4 on loan and access to a repair service. Users will receive a replacement device within 48 hours if there is a defect. They have to remove the SIM and SD card themselves and make backups of their files. The screen and battery can be replaced once a year if they are broken. There is no limit on other parts.

The device must be used in the supplied protective case and with the included screen protector to be eligible for exchange or repair. The rental only concerns the device and the associated repair service. Users have to arrange a SIM card and telephone subscription themselves.

Of Fairphone 4, which is offered by the manufacturer through the subscription, is a 256GB version with 8GB of ram. That device costs 649 euros separately. Other versions or models are not yet available through the rental structure.

In the long run, renting the telephone is considerably more expensive than purchasing the device separately. The cheapest 60-month subscription costs 21 euros per month. That equates to 1260 euros for five years of use of the device. For every year that the telephone is not damaged, subscribers receive a 2 euro discount on the monthly amount. After three years of renting without making use of repairs, the discount increases to 4 euros. With all discounts, the total amount thus comes to 948 euros.

According to Fairphone, the Fairphone Easy rental construction users to use their device as long as possible or to have it passed on by Fairphone to a new owner. The manufacturer notes that it is unclear what customers will do with the sale of smartphones when the phone is no longer used. “This does not fit with Fairphone’s sustainable mission of lifespan and circularity,” said the manufacturer.

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