Referencing this thread (I'm Out (for now) - #2 by zash1958), but not wanting to hijack that thread, here’s why I’m sadly going to have to stop using my Librem 5 for now . . .
Firstly, at least from my experience, Purism have either no “Customer Service”, or no “Technical Support” department . . . Every time I contacted Purism prior to, and after purchasing my Librem 5, the staff members who replied were listed as developers on the website at the time.
I completely understand the project was and is a work in progress, and happily bought my L5 knowing that, along with the wait time for arrival.
Prior to purchasing in late 2020, since I’m in Australia some of the questions I asked via email were:
-
If the phone didn’t work here in Australia when it arrives would I be able to get a refund. I was told yes, I would be able to as per the refund policy on the site (at that time).
-
I noticed it said there were only US and UK, European plugs that came with the universal charger. So I asked if an Australian plug would likely be included by the time my phone at that time was expected to be shipped. Once again I was told yes.
Skipping ahead to mid last year when I received a notification email saying my L5 was to be shipped to me within ‘three weeks’, I replied to the email asking about the plug as it was still saying only US and EU UK plugs were available, and was told that no, the L5 is only shipped with the US UK and EU are shipped, and I was given a link to buy a AU plug online that would fit the charger.
I read the policy (which had changed since I bought the L5) and it clearly stated (in 4c at the time, now 5c that the warranty is void if a third party component causes damage. So, a Purism staff member knowingly recommended I needed to use a third party component to get my L5 working. So, reading that, I politely request a refund, and then like many others here have said, there was silence. I emailed every email address listed on the site at the time, still nothing.
One of the reasons listed a while ago that no refunds could be given once a L5 was ordered was because that money was used for parts for that phone. Makes sense . . . until an email announcing the Librem 5 USA, and I could upgrade to a L5 USA it would be arrive quicker (no discount offered other than a credit for what I had paid for my L5). Ahh, question. no refund on ther L5 due to monies paid on that used to pay for parts, but then why not the same for the L5 USA?
Then, changing tact, I started a new email chain to which a different staff member replied and after a bit of back and forth my L5 was to be shipped within a week with a tracking number. Two weeks later, no tracking number. Another email, and I was told that Purism no longer had stock of a SD card I ordered when I ordered in 2020 and my order was put on hold until it came in, but there was no time frame as to when that would be. No communication advising me of that delay until I followed up.
So, I asked if the SD card be swapped out for a second spare (I had already order a spare) battery. It was agreed that could be done.
First day turning my L5 on, and updating there were issues, which were thankfully resolved with help from members of this forum, and not from the support staff at Purism.
Reading through some of the issues people have faced with their L5 it seems the easy, and most common solution is to 'Reflash". Now, I’ve run Linux exclusively on my laptops since 2015, and reinstalling is usually the last resort when problems arise. In my time running Linux (three distros) on my laptops, I’ve only needed to reinstall once when issues arise.
When a L5 arrives it (should have) the most recent set of updates (as per date it was shipped), and user just needs to update. There should be no reason to have to reflash upon the first update.
Reading recent threads here, it appears that Purism are now focused on selling hardware. Great, but who is developing the software to go with that hardware because it’s no use having hardware with older unmaintained software to run said hardware. Oh wait, that’s right we should now pay more money to help fund software development, which should come from income from hardware, or it should be stated on the website that the software is Free (as in freedom), but paid, which is okay if stated on the site, which it doesn’t. In fact, it says, updates for life.
Imagine a person right now reading Purism’s page about the L5, and ‘thinking how great, that sounds perfect for my needs’ and goes and orders based on what is said (and not said) on the website, only to find out on arrival of L5 there are issues with the device, which needs to be reflashed, or even worse, the company is now focussed on hardware and selling shares rather than software development. I’m sure they would want a refund, only to be ghosted by the company.
Moving back to my reasoning for not using my L5 for now moving forward -
-
Answering calls when the phone is locked is hit and miss for me ( I don’t use the suspend feature).
-
Whenever I leave my home and therefor wi-fi I have to choose whether I want to receive MMS/SMS or be able to access the internet through my service provider as I can’t do both at the same time. (a basic feature of any smart phone). - I literally have to change the settings each time.
-
The lack (at least for the foreseeable future) of PureOS updates.
-
And, the reason I finally wrote this lengthy post - battery use or lack thereof. Today, as I do everyday, I unplugged my L5 from the charger after charging over night, and the battery was indicating 100% charge when booting at around 7am. By midday two approx 5 min calls, and four sms and three unsuccessful attempts to have the L5 camera read a QR code (it read the exact same QR code in the same wi-fi area yesterday), and the rest of the time in stand by mode by 3pm I had to plug the charger in as it was down to 7%. On days when the phone is fully in stand by mode the whole day, or I make or receive one call or a few text messages I usually recharge at around 5pm at around 12%.
Today was the final straw for me for now. What’s the point of having a freedom protecting phone/computer with phone if I don’t have the freedom to have basic features working on the device as I’ve mentioned above, with no sign of when updates/upgrades that fix these basic issues will be coming.
I read Purism’s recent blog boasting about now being in Profit. Any business can make a claim of finally being in profit if they sack a lot of staff, but is it really a profit if they now have no staff to continue to develop their own software to run on their own devices? Not really.
I love the concept of the L5, and if you read my first few posts here at the forum, I said the L5 was the best mobile phone I’ve owned. And, at the time it was. I loved it because there was reason to be excited about it and an implied enhancement coming soon.
Sadly, now, I’m going to look for other options, most likely a de-googled phone of some sort because I can’t keep using a phone that doesn’t have basic functions (I literally had a call as I’m typing that that I couldn’t answer with the screen lock).
Purism will never receive another cent from me - for the last few months I’ve been looking at a mini, but won’t be getting a Purism. I will no longer be recommending friends and family look at getting a L5 when they are looking at moving away from Android or Apple.
Okay, my rant is over.
I’d like to thank all the members of this forum who have helped me find solutions to challenges I had since July last year. You have all helped make this experience somewhat better for me, and I wish you all the best of everything when it comes to your Purism experience.
I will let you know what I come up with as a solution moving forward as I can not see myself ever going back to stock Android, and the only apples I’ve owned are the ones I eat 
