Fairphones for Education Consultants: durable, secure and still private to use
Not just new phones, but devices built to last, designed to be repaired and made with respect for people and the planet. And at the same time just as secure with Microsoft 365 as the laptops.
In short
- More than 30 Fairphone 6 devices, configured centrally instead of one by one
- Zero Touch: ready out of the box, shipped straight from the supplier
- A shielded work profile in Microsoft Intune, with room for private use
- Updates until 2033 and repairable with an ordinary screwdriver
The brief
Education Consultants was ready for new business phones. Not just any new phones: the foundation wanted devices that are environmentally responsible, built to last, repairable and made with respect for people and the planet. At the same time they had to work securely with Microsoft 365, just like the laptops. And staff wanted to be able to use their device privately as well.
Three wishes that in practice often get in each other's way. Sustainable usually means less powerful, and business management usually means a device you would rather not use privately. The choice fell on the Fairphone 6, and the brief came down to making those three things work together.
What is a Fairphone?
Fairphone is a Dutch company founded in 2013 with a single goal: to build the most sustainable and fair smartphone possible. That starts with the design. The devices are modular — screen, battery, cameras, speaker and USB-C port are separate modules you replace with an ordinary Phillips screwdriver. There is no glue inside.
That is why repair site iFixit has twice given the Fairphone a 10 out of 10 for repairability. The score says something very simple: when something breaks, you replace that one part instead of the entire phone.
Why that is better for the environment
Most of a smartphone's impact comes from manufacturing, not from use. The longer a device lasts, the smaller its footprint per year. Fairphone builds on that on purpose.
It starts with repair. Screen, battery, camera, speaker and USB-C port are separate modules, so a fault costs one part and a few minutes instead of a new phone.
On top of that, the Fairphone 6 receives software and security updates until 2033, with a five-year hardware warranty. For a business environment that is not a luxury: a device without security updates no longer belongs on your network.
The materials follow the same principle. Responsibly mined and conflict-free tin and tungsten, recycled copper and plastic, and Fairtrade gold. The Fairphone 6 contains fourteen recycled materials.
And the chain behind it counts too. Factory workers receive a fair wage plus a living wage bonus, and for every phone sold the manufacturer recycles another device or an equivalent amount of electronic waste.
To be honest
On specifications it is not a flagship, and Fairphone does not want it to be. For business use — email, Teams, calendar, authentication — the Fairphone 6 is more than enough.
What we did
Education Consultants ordered more than thirty Fairphone 6 devices through ICT Teamwork. We set up the configuration centrally in advance, so the devices were ready to use on delivery.
Zero Touch: ready straight out of the box
We registered the devices with the supplier in the Zero Touch environment and linked them to Education Consultants' Microsoft Intune environment. That way they could ship straight from the supplier to the customer, without a stop at our office.
A staff member unboxes the device, connects to wifi, signs in with the work account and the phone retrieves the configuration we prepared. No settings that end up slightly different on every device.
And if a device ends up in the wrong hands, it stays tied to the organisation even after a factory reset. There is little a thief can do with that.
A work profile in Intune, with room for private use
In Intune we chose a work profile on a corporate device. Business apps and data live in a shielded work profile that we manage, while the staff member uses the phone privately as usual.
That work profile holds the policies and business applications Education Consultants needs, with the same rules as on the laptops: mandatory screen lock, encryption and conditional access to Microsoft 365.
Because everything is set up centrally, we did not have to repeat the same steps thirty times, and a policy change applies to every device immediately. When someone leaves or a device is lost, we wipe only the work profile remotely. The private photos stay where they are.
What needed extra attention
Some of the staff came from an iPhone. Moving from Apple to Android takes some getting used to, and transferring personal data such as WhatsApp history in particular needs guidance. We made time for that, so nobody lost their conversations.
The result
For the staff it is a phone that works out of the box, with everything they need on it and room for private use. For the foundation it means control over every device from a single console, with management that scales without each new device turning into manual work.
And for procurement it is a device that outlasts the contract: repairable, supported with updates until 2033 and still tied to the organisation after a reset.
Fairphone in our portfolio
This project convinced us. Fairphone fits how we look at IT: built to last, easy to manage and no waste. That is why we now supply and manage Fairphones for all our customers, shipped directly through Zero Touch Enrollment and set up centrally with Intune — just as we did for Education Consultants.
Looking for a business smartphone that is good for your staff and for the planet? We are happy to help you get started.
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