- Unlock bootloader (depending on vendor, you have to do an online verification),
- flash a recovery.img,
- load into recovery mode (which, depending on the phone, might need extra work)
- wipe some caches,
- select new os/rom image,
- pray it doesn’t brick your phone.
You’d think someone would’ve learned a thing or two from the easy graphical installations linux and even windows have been offering since the late 2000s.
i have the FP4, and there are definetely some small things. but the major ones all get patched in a couple of weeks. the smaller issues might be bunched into a larger update. there was also the issue of ghost touch with my model, but after contacting support they sent me a replacement screen to swap in.
if you are aware of a certain issue and want to wait until they fix it, they have a changelog for every model. here’s the one for the FP5: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/18682800465169-Fairphone-5-OS-Release-Notes
that notification thing is really annoying, but i’m certain they are aware of that and are trying to fix it ASAP. if linus is complaining about your product, that’s a lotta bad press.
edit: forgot to answer your questions. volumes are fine and adjustable. although the loudspeaker isn’t as loud as i would expect it sometimes. auto brightness works well, but it does sometimes stay bright after going into a dark room. usually i just nudge the brightness down, and it’ll work after that.