How to manually install Android on your Fairphone
If you're not able to update your Fairphone using our regular steps, or want to revert to Fairphone's stock OS (Android) from an alternative operating system, you can install Android manually.
Warning: These steps are recommended for advanced users only. If you're unsure about proceeding, start with our regular steps: Check and update your software version.
- Before you start
- Step 1: Choose your preferred method of installation
- Step 2: Find and download your package
- Step 3: Install the software
Before you start
- Charge your Fairphone to at least 80%.
- Create a backup before making any changes. The following steps may permanently delete any data stored on your device.
- Turn on Developer options:
- Go to Settings → About phone.
- Scroll to the bottom, and tap the Build number at least seven times.
- If you have a PIN or password, enter it to turn on developer options.
- Turn on USB debugging:
- Go to Settings → System → Developer options.
- Under Debugging, tap USB debugging to turn on USB debugging.
- Make sure you have access to a computer and a USB-C certified data cable.
- Remove any SIM or microSD cards.
Step 1: Choose your preferred method of installation
There are two ways to manually install Android on your Fairphone:
Flashing with fastboot
- Your data is always wiped.
- More steps, may be challenging for beginners.
- Works regardless of what version you are on, and can be used to downgrade to an older version (for example: Android 13 → Android 11).
Keep in mind: If you install an OS with an older security patch level than your previous OS, locking the bootloader might brick your device (more information). - Can be used to return to Fairphone OS from a custom ROM.
OTA Sideload
Important: OTA sideload is currently only possible for the Fairphone 3(+).
- Does not wipe your data.
- Fewer steps, easier for beginners.
- Does not work for downgrading, and can only be used to go from older to newer software versions.
- Can not be used to return to Fairphone OS from a custom ROM.
Step 2: Find and download your package
Because each package is different depending on your device and preferred method of installation, it's important to choose the right one. We keep the two most recent factory packages for the current Android version, and the final factory package released for older Android versions.
We aim to provide the package download links as quickly as possible once a software update begins rolling out. However, package availability may be delayed by a couple of days, so we encourage you to check back soon if the link is not immediately available.
You can find your device and preferred installation package below:
The Fairphone (Gen. 6)
Android 16
[Current] FP6.QREL.16.69.0.20260430160633_WS1B-factory.zip
Version: FP6.QREL.16.69.0
Release Date: 26 May 2026
Security Patch: 05 May 2026
SHA256 Checksum:9090cf4bbfa3010b6101990d36f992f226b785aaa85587f00dd5389ff24b29d4
FP6.QREL.16.61.0.20260401182351_WS19-factory.zip
Version: FP6.QREL.16.61.0
Release Date: 28 April 2026
Security Patch: 05 April 2026
SHA256 Checksum:01ceb47b8bf90efe12fbb5c6070b62b9b05f8188781840aa5ec540a77ce7455e
Android 15
FP6.QREL.15.178.0.20260204144956_VS22-factory.zip
Version: FP6.QREL.15.178.0
Release Date: 05 March 2026
Security Patch: 05 February 2026
SHA256 Checksum:85ea44178af4cd0385cce45a8204000665436a70207a9261465ef43846206692
Fairphone 5
Android 15
[Current] FP5-VT2R-factory.zip
Version: FP5.VT2R.C.095
Release Date: 18 May 2026
Security Patch: 05 May 2026
SHA256 Checksum:4003084c086577a2369be3b215059bdcee8c4725629484872025c9b464ce759c
Version: FP5.VT2Q.C.092
Release Date: 20 April 2026
Security Patch: 05 April 2026
SHA256 Checksum:23d66926d955dd1c3533a897047df57f3d8efd80718c6428c46fc15a0b473858
Android 14
Version: FP5.UT2Q.B.125
Release Date: 23 June 2025
Security Patch: 05 June 2025
SHA256 Checksum:ccef09f6ffd48f0d14bf87297af5756d51fe68ec1a5b710af8f7052a3dde6564
Android 13
Version: FP5.TT4H.A.162
Release Date: 26 June 2024
Security Patch: 05 June 2024
SHA256 Checksum:38f5cded3cceca25cbf7c9d42ad664ec232a9b1446f3ae17053fe97d7110da01
Fairphone 4
Android 15
[Current] FP4.QREL.15.16.1.20260220155828.user-factory.zip
Version: FP4.QREL.15.16.1
Release Date: 30 March 2026
Security Patch: 05 March 2026
SHA256 Checksum:bf09120713930f03311e65acdf4f75c2e873abeebbc65836fe3a0e67eff12f2e
FP4.SREL.15.14.4.20251229152255.user-factory.zip
Version: FP4.SREL.15.14.4
Release Date: 06 January 2026
Security Patch: 05 January 2026
SHA256 Checksum:bb441102ccabfb1c2df083b9bf2aa87d1337f2207bac3397aca22dd83a1353d9
Android 13
Version: FP4.TP31.C.0143
Release Date: 03 October 2025
Security Patch: 05 September 2025
SHA256 Checksum:7404233c93f281948134d114247a7dc4cd31466a64ea91f71c76df0f1aad6535
Android 12
Version: FP4.SP2K.B.089
Release Date: 03 October 2023
Security Patch: 05 August 2023
SHA256 Checksum:485df357646fe96561bc6d1e7c2f7db8f9f4760ef1a7336ab4581968a79939a3
Android 11
Version: FP4.FP4K.A.179
Release Date: 03 February 2023
Security Patch: 05 January 2023
SHA256 Checksum:1f019c4fdd27b6e57086cea11acf4f81f19888efb47869200cb332812b09e510
Fairphone 3(+)
Flashing with fastboot
Android 13
[Current] FP3-6.A.040.2-gms-d33dc62f-user-fastbootimage.zip
Version: 6.A.040.2
Release date: 16 March 2026
md5sum: 31ee77970b8564fc90be3906b3fcc956
sha256sum: ee8fbcadc666df622d360eaed25568a623c4377db82253db7692753d61f8bc89
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
FP3-6.A.039.7-gms-44ba459b-user-fastbootimage.zip
Version: 6.A.039.7
Release date: 22 December 2025
md5sum: 5d1d6aabef136ab55843d8630d3f0f8d
sha256sum: 615b58bdc9eeeb0e67e20b0a24547b773cc90c6b9aac2af866677dfd0f1fc9e6
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Android 11
FP3-8901.4.A.0028.1-gms-6fba2dc6-user-fastbootimage.zip
Version: 4.A.0028.1
Release date: 29 February 2024
md5sum: 8ae52d36a3082e692fa45ecc4fcbf4af
sha256sum: acf4a5faaa04d5bd812691450eea9a6cfa04deae44b71824bf59b9d3744de452
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Android 10
FP3_legacy_FP3-REL-Q-3.A.0136-.gms-7c69ec7e-user-fastboot-factory.7z
Version: 8901.3.A.0136
Release date: 22 March 2022
md5sum: 38fc990f243fcd9406d97cdb4564ef85
sha256sum: 8de015d33e66b29c39fb9f4d4f50baa1a4b0146ccab2f61b196f135c40f96d39
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Android 9
FP3_legacy_FP3-REL-2.A.0134-20200703.120010-user-fastbootimage-v2.zip
Version: 8901.2.A.0134
Release date: 30 July 2020
md5sum: b078dadf03d336bf087a49b6e0b96e0c
sha256sum: 82fd71a60465e4534c1f535056283785aafd7117ed6a0c2c36987a64e6b6492b
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
OTA Sideload
Android 13
Build 039.7 → 040.2 (A13)
Software release Build 039.7 → 040.2 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.040.2-gms-d33dc62f-user-ota-from-6.A.039.7-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 31e2c8fdcec5043ee2286d56e093605e
sha256sum: 872c2f3600e6f73e538a1f878b2ff54a8d447f17e23f76e89e64a3b4b90e1af7
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 039.4 → 039.7 (A13)
Software release Build 039.4 → 039.7 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.039.7-gms-44ba459b-user-ota-from-6.A.039.4-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 58e9194256a45e45a49459c377ac288a
sha256sum: d42e92ae211d3e4d28f147e82307c2a4a83c99acb78393803289eec5d5d395fb
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 035.5 → 039.4 (A13)
Software release Build 035.5 → 039.4 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.039.4-gms-2f612659-user-ota-from-6.A.035.5-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 049b46297975106bc5cc9290f7ae07fc
sha256sum: 5f9b0c8dc55317bcf72e727428ce78037f8b8c30539fb53481f790467c25cc1d
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 035.2 → 035.5 (A13)
Software release Build 035.2 → 035.5 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.035.5-gms-921df471-user-ota-from-6.A.035.2-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: d2186b50bd9d9ceeeaf85a3c03d624c8
sha256sum: d1e3bc2e0097c44485ea96b1df74a263101aa97c27008e4e2da72177ca3e4e3a
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 031.8 → 035.2 (A13)
Software release Build 031.8 → 035.2 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.035.2-gms-691ff58c-user-ota-from-6.A.031.8-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: d4921eb5d4cba55288c7988af434e9e5
sha256sum: 73d46166700875172bd18024c3f99afecf748ef36445733994bd9efe9c71a64b
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 031.7 → 031.8 (A13)
Software release Build 031.7 → 031.8 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.031.8-gms-b70b9be7-user-ota-from-6.A.031.7-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: f569d86ce711af7fb5051ce62a7403d8
sha256sum: 2105f19d587c9113d0d99a7442f3f1d47b284f1a88ee741e32653f4e2bf45602
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 031.5 → 031.7 (A13)
Software release Build 031.5 → 031.7 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.031.7-gms-f31c7748-user-ota-from-6.A.031.5-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 2b65c80a55e9e0aeca32a87d77ab204d
sha256sum: f9176004a04cbb282b9601de7331e9d7532677950673ea42dc7222e001bfa2aa
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 031.2 → 031.5 (A13)
Software release Build 031.2 → 031.5 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.031.5-gms-fa7632b5-user-ota-from-6.A.031.2-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 089d79dbc64194c7eb90f1cb995f32df
sha256sum: da01722cb6be28333545e76a7a216c2767d3df48523455e61c74f0a47be7ca09
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 030 → 031.2 (A13)
Software release Build 030 → 031.2 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.031.2-gms-880ae2f6-user-ota-from-6.A.030.0-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 9304b973efa67428691d935a373695ee
sha256sum: d36e411cf7563d2a39d90db5a475095a6fed5a0360faede2613c5424a4e2adb1
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 029 → 030 (A13)
Software release Build 029 → 030 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.030.0-gms-d57debf7-user-ota-from-6.A.029.0-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: c79862b17541660cbaa78b184beaefb6
sha256sum: bfd8ec4dedc8e6ea565ca029054095b59a20899c428bf903cc9b4e150738bc62
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 028 → 029 (A13)
Software release Build 028 → 029 (A13)
File name: FP3-6.A.029.0-gms-d294663c-user-ota-from-6.A.028.1-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: ef03ca8c94fdb0511dcb6e3cdd37e257
sha256sum: 0467a4ed38b8c7da99454836c3b7f93777817875d62ae8f0658ce896b538fe9f
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Android 11
Any A11 version → 027 (A11)
Software release any A11 version → 027 (A11)
File name: FP3-8901.4.A.0027.1-gms-ba81c0e7-user-ota-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: eb030b0b7d71ab835ed3d20f9e8ac706
sha256sum: 8f224d13ef866326df6b742d4900389dacff1a652b31d49928297a9b4580326f
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 027 → 028 (A11)
Software release Build 027 → 028 (A11)
File name: FP3-8901.4.A.0028.1-gms-6fba2dc6-user-ota-from-8901.4.A.0027.1-manual-sideload
md5sum: aad8b235aac8470b791f20f45502d708
sha256sum: 2a206990c9caa4801809d9a3ca565f9f4b5f1b0d638ecec124dc3fcd1eaf7a46
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 026 → 027 (A11)
Software release Build 026 → 027 (A11)
File name: FP3-8901.4.A.0027.1-gms-ba81c0e7-user-ota-from-8901.4.A.0026.1-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: dddf2bbcad615309536b2faae6a0d068
sha256sum: bac88cfebbeaef13dd68c4d43cf17aad30edcfcdb5d073c8380ad1d6b8ec1e71
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Build 025 → 026 (A11)
Software release Build 025 → 026 (A11)
File name: FP3-8901.4.A.0026.1-gms-94cd6c9f-user-ota-from-8901.4.A.0025.0-manual-sideload.zip
md5sum: 988958a5f3df7ae5a8dc4fb3d047c4bf
sha256sum: a5ddd266ff173425c4002703aa79cdf70f32d7cefe5496a88f347da5be6a212e
Not sure what these are for? Click here to learn more.
Step 3: Install the software
Select your chosen installation method to see detailed steps.
Flashing with fastboot
- Unlock your Fairphone's bootloader:
How to unlock and re-lock the bootloader - Make sure your Fairphone:
- Is in fastboot mode;
- Has an unlocked bootloader;
- Is connected to the computer;
- On your computer, extract the archive file you downloaded before.
- Open the extracted folder and locate the right installation file.
- The name of the file will start with something like "flash_fp3" or "flash_fp4".
- For Windows, use the .bat file.
- For macOS, use the .command file.
- For Linux, use the .sh file.
- Now that you've found the correct file, double-click to open it and begin the installation.
Note about macOS permissions
If a similar error message appears:
- Click on OK.
- Go to the Apple menu (top left corner of the screen) → System Settings.
- Click on the icon Privacy & Security.
- Scroll until you reach the Security tab.
- Click on Open Anyway.
- Continue from where you left off.
OTA Sideload
The following steps are designed exclusively for the Fairphone 3(+). Do not attempt this process on any other models.
- Connect your Fairphone to your computer using a USB data cable.
- Extract the Fairphone OS .zip you downloaded above and move the unarchived folder to your desktop.
- Open a Command Prompt (Windows) or a terminal (macOS/Linux).
- On Linux, type the command
cd ~\Desktop\platform-tools_r34.0.4-windows\platform-tools
and press Enter ↩. - Important: The exact name of the platform tools folder may be different from the example above.
- On Linux, type the command
- Put your Fairphone in Recovery mode:
- Power off your Fairphone.
- Press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons at the same time.
- When the phone vibrates, release the Power button. Keep holding Volume up.
- After a few seconds, you should see the Android Recovery screen:
- Use the Volume buttons to navigate to the option Apply update from ADB. Press the Power button to select the option.
- On the Command Prompt or terminal window, run
./sideload_update.command