diff --git a/extmod/vfs.c b/extmod/vfs.c
index 2799622b38..be1a82d404 100644
--- a/extmod/vfs.c
+++ b/extmod/vfs.c
@@ -312,7 +312,7 @@ mp_obj_t mp_vfs_open(size_t n_args, const mp_obj_t *pos_args, mp_map_t *kw_args)
     #if MICROPY_VFS_POSIX
     // If the file is an integer then delegate straight to the POSIX handler
     if (mp_obj_is_small_int(args[ARG_file].u_obj)) {
-        return mp_vfs_posix_file_open(&mp_type_textio, args[ARG_file].u_obj, args[ARG_mode].u_obj);
+        return mp_vfs_posix_file_open(&mp_type_vfs_posix_textio, args[ARG_file].u_obj, args[ARG_mode].u_obj);
     }
     #endif
 
diff --git a/extmod/vfs_fat_file.c b/extmod/vfs_fat_file.c
index 537101d00f..ebf36fc397 100644
--- a/extmod/vfs_fat_file.c
+++ b/extmod/vfs_fat_file.c
@@ -151,72 +151,6 @@ STATIC mp_uint_t file_obj_ioctl(mp_obj_t o_in, mp_uint_t request, uintptr_t arg,
     }
 }
 
-// Note: encoding is ignored for now; it's also not a valid kwarg for CPython's FileIO,
-// but by adding it here we can use one single mp_arg_t array for open() and FileIO's constructor
-STATIC const mp_arg_t file_open_args[] = {
-    { MP_QSTR_file, MP_ARG_OBJ | MP_ARG_REQUIRED, {.u_rom_obj = MP_ROM_NONE} },
-    { MP_QSTR_mode, MP_ARG_OBJ, {.u_obj = MP_OBJ_NEW_QSTR(MP_QSTR_r)} },
-    { MP_QSTR_encoding, MP_ARG_OBJ | MP_ARG_KW_ONLY, {.u_rom_obj = MP_ROM_NONE} },
-};
-#define FILE_OPEN_NUM_ARGS MP_ARRAY_SIZE(file_open_args)
-
-STATIC mp_obj_t file_open(fs_user_mount_t *vfs, const mp_obj_type_t *type, mp_arg_val_t *args) {
-    int mode = 0;
-    const char *mode_s = mp_obj_str_get_str(args[1].u_obj);
-    // TODO make sure only one of r, w, x, a, and b, t are specified
-    while (*mode_s) {
-        switch (*mode_s++) {
-            case 'r':
-                mode |= FA_READ;
-                break;
-            case 'w':
-                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_CREATE_ALWAYS;
-                break;
-            case 'x':
-                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_CREATE_NEW;
-                break;
-            case 'a':
-                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_OPEN_ALWAYS;
-                break;
-            case '+':
-                mode |= FA_READ | FA_WRITE;
-                break;
-            #if MICROPY_PY_IO_FILEIO
-            case 'b':
-                type = &mp_type_vfs_fat_fileio;
-                break;
-            #endif
-            case 't':
-                type = &mp_type_vfs_fat_textio;
-                break;
-        }
-    }
-
-    pyb_file_obj_t *o = m_new_obj_with_finaliser(pyb_file_obj_t);
-    o->base.type = type;
-
-    const char *fname = mp_obj_str_get_str(args[0].u_obj);
-    assert(vfs != NULL);
-    FRESULT res = f_open(&vfs->fatfs, &o->fp, fname, mode);
-    if (res != FR_OK) {
-        m_del_obj(pyb_file_obj_t, o);
-        mp_raise_OSError(fresult_to_errno_table[res]);
-    }
-
-    // for 'a' mode, we must begin at the end of the file
-    if ((mode & FA_OPEN_ALWAYS) != 0) {
-        f_lseek(&o->fp, f_size(&o->fp));
-    }
-
-    return MP_OBJ_FROM_PTR(o);
-}
-
-STATIC mp_obj_t file_obj_make_new(const mp_obj_type_t *type, size_t n_args, size_t n_kw, const mp_obj_t *args) {
-    mp_arg_val_t arg_vals[FILE_OPEN_NUM_ARGS];
-    mp_arg_parse_all_kw_array(n_args, n_kw, args, FILE_OPEN_NUM_ARGS, file_open_args, arg_vals);
-    return file_open(NULL, type, arg_vals);
-}
-
 // TODO gc hook to close the file if not already closed
 
 STATIC const mp_rom_map_elem_t vfs_fat_rawfile_locals_dict_table[] = {
@@ -247,7 +181,6 @@ const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_vfs_fat_fileio = {
     { &mp_type_type },
     .name = MP_QSTR_FileIO,
     .print = file_obj_print,
-    .make_new = file_obj_make_new,
     .getiter = mp_identity_getiter,
     .iternext = mp_stream_unbuffered_iter,
     .protocol = &vfs_fat_fileio_stream_p,
@@ -266,7 +199,6 @@ const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_vfs_fat_textio = {
     { &mp_type_type },
     .name = MP_QSTR_TextIOWrapper,
     .print = file_obj_print,
-    .make_new = file_obj_make_new,
     .getiter = mp_identity_getiter,
     .iternext = mp_stream_unbuffered_iter,
     .protocol = &vfs_fat_textio_stream_p,
@@ -274,15 +206,58 @@ const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_vfs_fat_textio = {
 };
 
 // Factory function for I/O stream classes
-STATIC mp_obj_t fatfs_builtin_open_self(mp_obj_t self_in, mp_obj_t path, mp_obj_t mode) {
-    // TODO: analyze buffering args and instantiate appropriate type
+STATIC mp_obj_t fat_vfs_open(mp_obj_t self_in, mp_obj_t path_in, mp_obj_t mode_in) {
     fs_user_mount_t *self = MP_OBJ_TO_PTR(self_in);
-    mp_arg_val_t arg_vals[FILE_OPEN_NUM_ARGS];
-    arg_vals[0].u_obj = path;
-    arg_vals[1].u_obj = mode;
-    arg_vals[2].u_obj = mp_const_none;
-    return file_open(self, &mp_type_vfs_fat_textio, arg_vals);
+
+    const mp_obj_type_t *type = &mp_type_vfs_fat_textio;
+    int mode = 0;
+    const char *mode_s = mp_obj_str_get_str(mode_in);
+    // TODO make sure only one of r, w, x, a, and b, t are specified
+    while (*mode_s) {
+        switch (*mode_s++) {
+            case 'r':
+                mode |= FA_READ;
+                break;
+            case 'w':
+                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_CREATE_ALWAYS;
+                break;
+            case 'x':
+                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_CREATE_NEW;
+                break;
+            case 'a':
+                mode |= FA_WRITE | FA_OPEN_ALWAYS;
+                break;
+            case '+':
+                mode |= FA_READ | FA_WRITE;
+                break;
+            #if MICROPY_PY_IO_FILEIO
+            case 'b':
+                type = &mp_type_vfs_fat_fileio;
+                break;
+            #endif
+            case 't':
+                type = &mp_type_vfs_fat_textio;
+                break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    pyb_file_obj_t *o = m_new_obj_with_finaliser(pyb_file_obj_t);
+    o->base.type = type;
+
+    const char *fname = mp_obj_str_get_str(path_in);
+    FRESULT res = f_open(&self->fatfs, &o->fp, fname, mode);
+    if (res != FR_OK) {
+        m_del_obj(pyb_file_obj_t, o);
+        mp_raise_OSError(fresult_to_errno_table[res]);
+    }
+
+    // for 'a' mode, we must begin at the end of the file
+    if ((mode & FA_OPEN_ALWAYS) != 0) {
+        f_lseek(&o->fp, f_size(&o->fp));
+    }
+
+    return MP_OBJ_FROM_PTR(o);
 }
-MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_3(fat_vfs_open_obj, fatfs_builtin_open_self);
+MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_3(fat_vfs_open_obj, fat_vfs_open);
 
 #endif // MICROPY_VFS && MICROPY_VFS_FAT
diff --git a/extmod/vfs_posix.c b/extmod/vfs_posix.c
index 1ada596d13..9b00365817 100644
--- a/extmod/vfs_posix.c
+++ b/extmod/vfs_posix.c
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ STATIC mp_obj_t vfs_posix_open(mp_obj_t self_in, mp_obj_t path_in, mp_obj_t mode
     if (!mp_obj_is_small_int(path_in)) {
         path_in = vfs_posix_get_path_obj(self, path_in);
     }
-    return mp_vfs_posix_file_open(&mp_type_textio, path_in, mode_in);
+    return mp_vfs_posix_file_open(&mp_type_vfs_posix_textio, path_in, mode_in);
 }
 STATIC MP_DEFINE_CONST_FUN_OBJ_3(vfs_posix_open_obj, vfs_posix_open);
 
diff --git a/extmod/vfs_posix_file.c b/extmod/vfs_posix_file.c
index 837c5489b0..795ad7bbd9 100644
--- a/extmod/vfs_posix_file.c
+++ b/extmod/vfs_posix_file.c
@@ -111,17 +111,6 @@ mp_obj_t mp_vfs_posix_file_open(const mp_obj_type_t *type, mp_obj_t file_in, mp_
     return MP_OBJ_FROM_PTR(o);
 }
 
-STATIC mp_obj_t vfs_posix_file_make_new(const mp_obj_type_t *type, size_t n_args, size_t n_kw, const mp_obj_t *args) {
-    static const mp_arg_t allowed_args[] = {
-        { MP_QSTR_file, MP_ARG_OBJ | MP_ARG_REQUIRED, {.u_rom_obj = MP_ROM_NONE} },
-        { MP_QSTR_mode, MP_ARG_OBJ, {.u_rom_obj = MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_r)} },
-    };
-
-    mp_arg_val_t arg_vals[MP_ARRAY_SIZE(allowed_args)];
-    mp_arg_parse_all_kw_array(n_args, n_kw, args, MP_ARRAY_SIZE(allowed_args), allowed_args, arg_vals);
-    return mp_vfs_posix_file_open(type, arg_vals[0].u_obj, arg_vals[1].u_obj);
-}
-
 STATIC mp_obj_t vfs_posix_file_fileno(mp_obj_t self_in) {
     mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t *self = MP_OBJ_TO_PTR(self_in);
     check_fd_is_open(self);
@@ -268,7 +257,6 @@ const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_vfs_posix_fileio = {
     { &mp_type_type },
     .name = MP_QSTR_FileIO,
     .print = vfs_posix_file_print,
-    .make_new = vfs_posix_file_make_new,
     .getiter = mp_identity_getiter,
     .iternext = mp_stream_unbuffered_iter,
     .protocol = &vfs_posix_fileio_stream_p,
@@ -287,15 +275,14 @@ const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_vfs_posix_textio = {
     { &mp_type_type },
     .name = MP_QSTR_TextIOWrapper,
     .print = vfs_posix_file_print,
-    .make_new = vfs_posix_file_make_new,
     .getiter = mp_identity_getiter,
     .iternext = mp_stream_unbuffered_iter,
     .protocol = &vfs_posix_textio_stream_p,
     .locals_dict = (mp_obj_dict_t *)&vfs_posix_rawfile_locals_dict,
 };
 
-const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stdin_obj = {{&mp_type_textio}, STDIN_FILENO};
-const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stdout_obj = {{&mp_type_textio}, STDOUT_FILENO};
-const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stderr_obj = {{&mp_type_textio}, STDERR_FILENO};
+const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stdin_obj = {{&mp_type_vfs_posix_textio}, STDIN_FILENO};
+const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stdout_obj = {{&mp_type_vfs_posix_textio}, STDOUT_FILENO};
+const mp_obj_vfs_posix_file_t mp_sys_stderr_obj = {{&mp_type_vfs_posix_textio}, STDERR_FILENO};
 
 #endif // MICROPY_VFS_POSIX || MICROPY_VFS_POSIX_FILE
diff --git a/py/modio.c b/py/modio.c
index 50af0b6a47..d44c1948ab 100644
--- a/py/modio.c
+++ b/py/modio.c
@@ -37,9 +37,6 @@
 
 #if MICROPY_PY_IO
 
-extern const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_fileio;
-extern const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_textio;
-
 #if MICROPY_PY_IO_IOBASE
 
 STATIC const mp_obj_type_t mp_type_iobase;
@@ -211,12 +208,6 @@ STATIC const mp_rom_map_elem_t mp_module_io_globals_table[] = {
     #if MICROPY_PY_IO_IOBASE
     { MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_IOBase), MP_ROM_PTR(&mp_type_iobase) },
     #endif
-    #if MICROPY_PY_IO_FILEIO
-    { MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_FileIO), MP_ROM_PTR(&mp_type_fileio) },
-    #if MICROPY_CPYTHON_COMPAT
-    { MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_TextIOWrapper), MP_ROM_PTR(&mp_type_textio) },
-    #endif
-    #endif
     { MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_StringIO), MP_ROM_PTR(&mp_type_stringio) },
     #if MICROPY_PY_IO_BYTESIO
     { MP_ROM_QSTR(MP_QSTR_BytesIO), MP_ROM_PTR(&mp_type_bytesio) },
diff --git a/tests/extmod/vfs_posix.py b/tests/extmod/vfs_posix.py
index 2a14fc2076..d193236696 100644
--- a/tests/extmod/vfs_posix.py
+++ b/tests/extmod/vfs_posix.py
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ f.close()
 # close on a closed file should succeed
 f.close()
 
-# construct a file object using the type constructor, with a raw fileno
-f = type(f)(2)
+# construct a file object with a raw fileno
+f = open(2)
 print(f)
 
 # file read