Spare Parts

[agent008 208]

After about 20 days use, today my Pro1 got its first "baptism". I dropped it on to the ground outdoors.

I was standing on a concrete floor with a rough patch nearby. Needless to say, Murphy's law at work, the phone hit the rough patch .

Nothing broke (phew!) but the aluminium back case got two ugly dents.

I'm thinking of ordering a spare back shell for a future replacement (later on when it's more damaged from daily use). A screen replacement (Elephone U pro) is on the plans too, just to be a bit future proof, and if I found a battery I'd get one too.

Does anybody know if Fxtec is already supplying spare parts for the Pro1? If so, how should I go about ordering. Via Customer Support? Thanks

[Hook 1,379]

1 hour ago, agent008 said:

After about 20 days use, today my Pro1 got its first "baptism". I dropped it on to the ground outdoors.

I was standing on a concrete floor with a rough patch nearby. Needless to say, Murphy's law at work, the phone hit the rough patch .

Nothing broke (phew!) but the aluminium back case got two ugly dents.

I'm thinking of ordering a spare back shell for a future replacement (later on when it's more damaged from daily use). A screen replacement (Elephone U pro) is on the plans too, just to be a bit future proof, and if I found a battery I'd get one too.

Does anybody know if Fxtec is already supplying spare parts for the Pro1? If so, how should I go about ordering. Via Customer Support? Thanks

Nothing yet about spare parts from F(x) Tec.  My guess is they can't get into the spare parts biz until they catch up on orders and have stock on hand.  You can certainly try asking them, because anyone here is just guessing.

Nice that you escaped your potential disaster with minimum consequences.  🙂

Edited August 27, 2020 by Hook

[Rob. S. 491]

Also, there is still hope that the different kinds of keyboards will be available to buy as parts at some point.

[EskeRahn 3,590]

42 minutes ago, Rob. S. said:

Also, there is still hope that the different kinds of keyboards will be available to buy as parts at some point.

I hope so too. And I can say that it is quite easy to swap.

[Slion 844]

5 hours ago, Rob. S. said:

Also, there is still hope that the different kinds of keyboards will be available to buy as parts at some point.

As I ordered my X directly from FxTec rather than through IGG I also asked them if they could bill me a few extra keyboard prints but they refused saying maybe later on.

[Rob. S. 491]

18 hours ago, Slion said:

As I ordered my X directly from FxTec rather than through IGG I also asked them if they could bill me a few extra keyboard prints but they refused saying maybe later on.

Yes, as of now it doesn't seem possible. I asked them about the option, too, when changing my order from QWERTZ to QWERTY since there were no QWERTZ devices available at the time, and got a similar response. My impression was that they hope they'll be able to offer spare keyboards later, which I guess means when or after the X is in full production.  

[EskeRahn 3,590]

2 hours ago, Rob. S. said:

Yes, as of now it doesn't seem possible. I asked them about the option, too, when changing my order from QWERTZ to QWERTY since there were no QWERTZ devices available at the time, and got a similar response. My impression was that they hope they'll be able to offer spare keyboards later, which I guess means when or after the X is in full production.  

I too had hopes for extra keyboards, and really wonder why they do not offer them. I mean if we pay before they are ordered from production, what have they to loose?

But am surprised of the quality they have.... Having used mine as a daily driver for over a year, I do not see even the slightest sign of wear where more white are exposed.

The keys on my Lenovo X1 Yoga Thinkbad (20FQ) usually last about three months(!) before the paint have been worn through on Ctrl and arrow keys, and as it looks like the same principal idea on the Pro1 (Transparent  key, a white layer, and an almost fully covering black layer on top exposing the white layer as the symbols)
So I pessimisticaly feared that the durability of the Pro1 could be similar, And as clearly not an issue, the paint quality must be quite good!
If I use a magnifying glass it could look like FxTec have even added an additional transparent layer, for increased durability (it is thinner or not present on the early preproduction unit though, so might not be the same for all Pro1s out there)

...Hmm we are leading this thread astray, I better look for a spare part thread we can move this to....

[VaZso 1,066]

1 hour ago, EskeRahn said:

If I use a magnifying glass it could look like FxTec have even added an additional transparent layer, for increased durability (it is thinner or not present on the early preproduction unit though, so might not be the same for all Pro1s out there)

At some point in time (before production), they wrote something about improving the durability of keyboard, if I remember well. They did not write details but maybe this is one of the differences, or the difference itself. 🙂

[Rob. S. 491]

13 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

I too had hopes for extra keyboards, and really wonder why they do not offer them. I mean if we pay before they are ordered from production, what have they to loose?

My guess would be that it's simply a matter of supply. Somehow it looks as if Fxtec managed to source the best smartphone keyboard hardware they could get, but now they're somehow at the supplier's mercy with regard to availability and quantities.  And I can see why they wouldn't want to stock a lot of spare QWERTZ keyboards while a few people are still waiting for their QWERTZ phones...

[EskeRahn 3,590]

1 hour ago, Rob. S. said:

My guess would be that it's simply a matter of supply. Somehow it looks as if Fxtec managed to source the best smartphone keyboard hardware they could get, but now they're somehow at the supplier's mercy with regard to availability and quantities.  And I can see why they wouldn't want to stock a lot of spare QWERTZ keyboards while a few people are still waiting for their QWERTZ phones...

Ah yes, I had not considered that the supplier might not be able to deliver enough to both cover the demands for the phones and additional user requested spare parts. If that is the case the phones should obviously have the highest priority.

[milp 18]

Hi there,

is it possible to order things like fingerprint sensors, screens or screw-sets for the pro1 should the need arise?

[david 790]

It has been a while since I've been on the forums.  I looked around, but couldn't find anything indicating new information on sourcing parts, so I'm posting a new topic.

Do we have a source for replacement batteries yet?

Do we have a source for replacement USB ports yet?

I don't *need* the battery now.  I'm getting close to needing a USB port.  It could be anything, but it seems like a problem with the connections on the tab in the port not making proper contact with the cable end.  I can sometimes get it to work better if I flip the cable upside down or tilt the cable connector up or down.  This is on multiple, different brands of cables.

If we don't have a 3rd party to source these from, has anyone managed to get Fxtec to send them the parts?  I'm in the USA, so not I'm not really fond of the idea of sending my phone all the way to the UK, especially with shipping issues during COVID.

[VaZso 1,066]

11 minutes ago, david said:

Do we have a source for replacement batteries yet?

Do we have a source for replacement USB ports yet?

Battery and replacement screen are currently available at their their Indiegogo page, however, I don't know for how long.

I also hope these parts will be available to purchase soon directly from them, especially the USB panel... and maybe the keyboard.

[david 790]

Just now, VaZso said:

Battery and replacement screen are currently available at their their Indiegogo page, however, I don't know for how long.

I also hope these parts will be available to purchase soon directly from them, especially the USB panel... and maybe the keyboard.

Thanks VaZso.  I've seen the battery there (the Indiegogo page), but wanted to know if we've found a source of parts other than fxtec.  For instance, we can get the screens through various chinese websites, and those are more reasonably priced than the fxtec screens, I believe.

Regarding the Indiegogo page, has anyone received replacement parts that they ordered through there?  I know the phones aren't ready yet, but I'm wondering if some of those other packages of parts have been sent out.

[Hook 1,379]

The parts are also "scheduled" for March delivery (estimated).  I'm guessing the spare parts are ordered at the same time as the parts for all the phones.

[david 790]

I sent support an email explaining the situation with my USB port and asking if I could get a replacement sent to me.  I'll report back if/when I hear from them.

[david 790]

On 1/12/2021 at 1:09 PM, EskeRahn said:

But am surprised of the quality they have.... Having used mine as a daily driver for over a year, I do not see even the slightest sign of wear where more white are exposed.

Mine has the paint worn off on the J key (QWERTY layout), where the horizontal, raised surface is for touch typing.  The paint on the F key's raised area is still there.  No other degradation that I can see anywhere else on the keyboard. 

Edited 17 hours ago by david