Return Policy

This Return Policy is part of our Sales Terms and Conditions. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Return Policy shall have the meanings assigned to them in the B2C Sales Terms and Conditions. In the event of any conflict between this Return Policy and the B2C Sales Terms and Conditions, the terms of this Return Policy shall prevail regarding return matters.

It applies exclusively to Products purchased directly via the official Fairphone Online Shop.

• Third-Party Purchases: If You purchased Your Product from a Reseller, this Return Policy does not apply. Please refer to that specific Reseller’s terms, conditions, and return policies.
  
• B2B & Commercial Partners: This framework does not apply to Products distributed or purchased for resale, business, or professional activities. Sales Partners should reach out to their Fairphone contact directly regarding their specific account agreements or terms of sale.
  
• Second-Hand Purchases: Return, repair, and warranty services require an original proof of purchase issued directly by Fairphone Inc. or a Reseller. Documentation from second-hand peer-to-peer platforms is not recognized as valid proof of purchase.

1. Corporate Identification & Definitions

Corporate Identification

The Fairphone Online Shop is operated by:

• Our Customer Support contact page
• Our Fairphone Repair Request Portal
• Our returns page
• Our virtual assistant Tin
• By post: FairPhone Inc. c/o Thorelli & Associates Three First National Plaza 70 West Madison Street, Suite 5750 Chicago, IL 60602. (Only for mail correspondence).

Definitions

• "RMA" (Return Merchandise Authorization) means the unique digital tracking number and authorization document required for any package sent back to our designated US Service Center.

2. Territorial Scope & Logistics Restrictions

Fairphone operates and delivers exclusively within the Covered Territory.

Fulfillment & Address Rules

• Territory Limits: We only ship to the 48 contiguous United States and D.C. We cannot deliver to Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories, or international addresses.
• Billing Address: Your billing address must be located within the United States.
• No Address Modifications: Once an order is confirmed, You cannot change Your delivery address or contact details. If you made an address error, please use the link in your order confirmation email within two hours of purchase, to cancel your order before it is dispatched.
• Ownership: The Product is yours once you pay in full. From that moment, you are responsible for any loss or damage, unless there is a manufacturing defect covered by our Limited Warranty.

Non-Contiguous U.S. Territories & Out-of-Territory Constraints

• Warranty Logistics Only: If a Product is located within a Non-Contiguous U.S. Territory (for example, if purchased from a Reseller who ships there, or if You relocate the Product there after purchasing it within the Covered Territory), all return and warranty operations—including the issuance of return labels, collection of defective goods, and shipping of replacements—will still only be conducted to and from a valid address within the Covered Territory.
• Logistical Gap Responsibility: You are solely responsible for providing a valid transit address within the Covered Territory, or otherwise paying all shipping, customs, or handling fees required to deliver the Product to the Covered Territory and to receive the repaired/replacement Product back from the Covered Territory. Fairphone will only provide prepaid domestic return labels and ship serviced Products back to addresses located strictly within our Covered Territory.
• International Constraints: If You choose to transport or use a Product outside of the United States of America, You are entirely responsible for all cross-border logistics, shipping costs, tracking, customs clearances, and import tariffs required to return the Product to a valid address within the Covered Territory.

3. Return Categories & Service Rights

A. 14-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

If You change Your mind about Your purchase, You have a voluntary commercial right to return Your Products within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of physical delivery. If Your order consists of multiple items delivered separately, the 14-day window begins the day You receive the final package.

• How to Initiate & Costs: To return a Product, You must contact customer support or use our digital portal to obtain Your required RMA and shipping instructions. Fairphone covers the cost of return shipping, provided You use Our official prepaid shipping label. If You choose to return the Product using an independent carrier, You must pay all shipping costs upfront, and they will not be reimbursed.
• Return Deadlines: Your package must display an active RMA number before shipping, and You must hand over the Products to the courier no later than 14 days from the day You initiated Your return request. Shipments sent without an active RMA or delivered directly to corporate offices will face severe processing delays or warehouse rejection.
• Refund Timelines & Delivery Costs: We will issue a refund for the purchase price plus standard outbound delivery fees within 14 days of receiving the items at our warehouse or receiving verifiable carrier tracking proof of delivery.
• Payment Method Allocations: All refunds are issued strictly to the original payment method(s) used at checkout.
• Condition of Returned Products: You have the right to open, turn on, and inspect Your Product to ensure it functions correctly, equivalent to a standard in-store retail inspection. However, items must be returned complete and in the best possible condition. To receive a refund, you must return the Product with all of its original components, modules, accessories, and premium packaging. Because our systems cannot process partial or diminished value deductions, incomplete returns cannot be processed, and no refund will be issued if Products, original packaging, or components are missing or damaged.
• Partial Returns & Discount Bundles: You may return individual items from a multi-Product order, but original outbound delivery fees are non-refundable if You keep part of the order. If an item was purchased as part of a promotional bundle or multi-buy discount, Your refund will be adjusted to reflect the standard standalone retail price of the items You choose to retain. Free promotional gifts must be returned alongside the core Product to receive a full refund.
• Exclusions: 
• • Personalized or custom-made items are non-refundable. Due to health protection and hygiene standards, in-ear audio Products (such as earbuds) cannot be returned if their protective hygiene seal or outer packaging wrap has been broken or tampered with after delivery.

B. Dead on Arrival (DOA)

If your Product has a defect right out of the box, we want to get a working device into your hands as fast as possible. A Product is classified as DOA under this policy if an inherent hardware or manufacturing defect appears within thirty (30) days of your original delivery date.

• If your claim is approved as DOA, and you choose a replacement as your preferred remedy, Fairphone will ship you a replacement Product of the identical model and specification (subject to stock availability). If the identical model or specification is out of stock or discontinued, we will offer you a comparable equivalent model or a standard repair.
• To qualify for a swap, you must return the Product in its entire original retail box, including all original inbox accessories, modules, chargers, and manuals. If you return only the device body without its original packaging and inbox components, we cannot process a DOA swap, and your claim will be handled under our standard repair and warranty terms.
• The Rules to Qualify:
• • Report It: You must notify Fairphone customer support of the defect or submit a request through our digital Self-Service Return Portal within thirty (30) days of your physical delivery date. Once your request is approved, we will issue you a unique Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number along with your prepaid shipping label.
  • Ship It: You must hand the complete retail package over to the designated carrier within fifteen (15) working days from the date your RMA was issued (before your shipping label and RMA code expire). 
  • If You Miss the Window: You do not lose your warranty coverage! If you report the issue or your package is shipped after the designated limits, your claim will automatically fall back to our standard In-Warranty Service Return pathway. Your phone will then be repaired or replaced under standard warranty terms (which may include the use of refurbished parts and standard repair turnaround times) rather than a swap.
• User-Damage Exclusion: If technical diagnostics at our Service Center reveal that the issue is due to user-induced damage (such as physical drops, liquid exposure, accidental impacts, or unauthorized software modifications) rather than a manufacturing defect, the DOA swap will be denied, and the device will be handled as a paid Out-of-Warranty repair.

C. Limited Warranty Service Return

Products that experience hardware failures or operational malfunctions due to defects in design, material, or workmanship within the specified Fairphone Limited Warranty period are eligible for free repair or replacement.

Warranty Exclusions: Our Limited Warranty does not cover normal wear and tear or expendable parts, including but not limited to batteries, charging cables, ear tips, and other consumables, which are expected to degrade over time.

Federal Consumer Notice Regarding Warranties

Our voluntary Limited Warranty is intended to comply fully with federal warranty laws, including the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and applicable state laws. It gives You specific legal rights, operating independently of, and in addition to, any implied warranties or consumer protection remedies granted under Your state's Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are limited in duration to the duration of our express written warranty, except where prohibited by state law.

• Upfront Shipping Obligations: If You reside in a Non-Contiguous U.S. Territory, You are responsible for all logistics, customs, or transit costs required to bridge the gap to and from the Covered Territory.
• Reimbursement Rules: For valid warranty claims in the Covered Territory, Fairphone will provide You with a pre-paid shipping label. If You are in an unsupported location or a Non-Contiguous Territory and paid upfront, Fairphone will only cover or reimburse logistics costs to and from an address within the Covered Territory
• Data Loss Warning: When a Product is processed for repair or replacement, a complete factory reset is performed. All data, third-party applications, personal files, and custom operating systems will be permanently and irreversibly deleted. Products are returned running exclusively the official Fairphone operating system. You are solely responsible for executing a full personal backup prior to sending in Your Product.
• Property Transfer: All malfunctioning parts or components replaced during warranty service automatically become the legal property of Fairphone Inc. If a defective Product cannot be successfully repaired after a reasonable number of attempts or within a reasonable timeframe: (i) For California residents, in accordance with the California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, You have the right to elect between a replacement or a refund of the purchase price, less any reasonable deductions for use as permitted by law; (ii) For residents of all other states, Fairphone will provide a replacement or a full/partial refund based on Your usage duration, as permitted by applicable law.

D. Out-of-Warranty Service Return

Products are handled under out-of-warranty terms if the original limited/extended coverage period has expired, or if the technical failure is user-induced (including liquid exposure, physical drops, accidental impacts, or unauthorized modifications).

• We provide ongoing repair options throughout the supported lifecycle of our Products. We will supply You with an itemized repair estimate detailing diagnostics, component parts, labor, and return shipping costs before performing any work.
• If You reject the proposed repair estimate, Fairphone reserves the right to charge You for standard diagnostics handling and return shipping costs, or You can opt to have our Service Center recycle the Product free of charge.

E. Abandoned Property

If a Product sent in for service cannot be successfully delivered back to You due to an invalid shipping address, outdated contact details, or explicit refusal of delivery, we will issue three consecutive email reminders to Your registered contact address. If You fail to respond or provide a valid domestic shipping address within three (3) months of our first message, the Product is legally deemed abandoned. Ownership transfers fully to Fairphone for secure data erasure and environmental recycling, and You remain responsible for any accrued storage or custody charges.

4. Step-by-Step Return Process

All returns must follow this standardized digital sequence:

• 1. Initiate Your Request: Open our digital Self-Service Return Portal or submit a formal request to customer support to instantly trigger Your unique RMA tracking number and Your prepaid domestic shipping label. Please note that Your online account dashboard solely displays Your Online Shop purchase history and does not track external repair or service center history.
• 2. Hardware & Data Preparation: Before handing Your Product to the carrier, You must independently complete the following preparation tasks:
• • Back up all personal profiles, media, and data.
  • Execute a full factory reset to permanently delete all personal accounts and stored files.
  • Remove all physical SIM cards and external micro-SD storage cards.
  • Disable all active security pins, lock screen patterns, and biometric data access.
  • Remove all protective cases, external mount attachments, and third-party accessories.
  • Note: Fairphone is not liable for lost data, left-behind SIM cards, or unapproved third-party accessories, and we are unable to provide data retrieval services.
• 3. Packaging: Place Your item securely inside a rigid shipping container. Print out Your official RMA confirmation sheet and place it inside the box. Affix the generated prepaid shipping label securely to the exterior of the package.
• 4. Drop-Off: Drop the package off at Your nearest designated authorized courier location. Automatically generated RMA shipping labels expire after fifteen (15) working days from the date of issuance. The package must be scanned by the carrier before expiration to avoid warehouse tracking rejection or extensive processing delays.

5.  General Handling Guidelines & Refusal Criteria

Returns will be delayed or rejected  if they meet any of the following operational refusal criteria:

• Insufficient Packaging: Products must be returned either in their original premium packaging or alternative shipping containers that provide an equal degree of structural protection. Items that arrive at our warehouse with physical damage caused by inadequate padding, flimsy boxing, or improper sealing will be rejected entirely, and no refund will be issued. Any rejected items will be handled in accordance with our unannounced deliveries and abandoned property terms.
• Undeclared Items & Grace Period: You must accurately declare every individual module, component, or item included in Your digital RMA request. Fairphone accepts no operational liability for items sent by mistake or left undeclared. We provide a thirty (30) day grace period from the date of warehouse receipt for You to reclaim an accidental item, which will be shipped back entirely at Your own expense. After sixty (60) days, unclaimed property is deemed legally abandoned and recycled.
• Incomplete Products: Bundled hardware sets or multi-part Products must be returned complete (for example, wireless earbud configurations must include both the left and right earpieces alongside the original charging cradle).
• Identification Integrity: Products must feature an intact, completely legible, and unaltered IMEI label, serial number, or part number sticker that matches the digital RMA record.
• Unannounced Deliveries: Shipments sent without an active, approved RMA number or missing a verifiable Online Shop proof of purchase will face severe processing delays, and the sender will bear any associated logistics or warehouse handling fees.
• No Fault Found (NFF): If a Product sent in for an in-warranty repair functions perfectly upon technical diagnostic testing, or if the failure is determined to be a software configuration issue or user error, Fairphone reserves the right to charge You a standardized fee to cover technical diagnostics handling, labor costs, and return shipping.

V 1.0 Valid from 10th of August 2026