|
Google has put it's foot in the ring for telecoms.... sort of. Project Fi is Google using a new technology to combine access to both T-mobile and Sprint networks (as well as Wifi). It currently is supporting the Google Nexus 5X, 6, and 6P (It's rumored the LG 4 works on Google Fi but not confirmed) The plan starts at 20 dollars a month plus 10 dollars per gigabyte of data. (You sign up for a certain amount of data per month) You are refunded (in the form of credit to your bill) for any data you don't use. Example: I sign up for 1 GB of data but only use 600 MB. I am refunded 4 dollars to my account. Coverage map - https://fi.google.com/coverage It also will work in 120 countries, you must purchase Roaming overseas data (the same charge as domestic and you're refunded what you don't use as credit on your bill), but cellular use is 20 cents per minute outside the U.S. FAQ is here - https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#network-and-coverage Darkpriest667 fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Oct 30, 2015 |
![]() |
|
![]()
|
# ? May 6, 2024 02:03 |
|
I'm curious about it. One question I have is roaming: I've had Sprint for years and when I go out to the boonies, I roam onto other networks (used to be Verizon, but I'm not sure if they still have those agreements). Does that work for Project Fi too? (Ie, if I go somewhere T-Mobile/Sprint don't normally service, do I get pushed onto whatever roaming networks they have too?) Also wonder if you get throttled data speeds vs. normal T-Mobile/Sprint customers... I want a 6P anyway, so might eventually give in to try it.
|
![]() |
|
I'm switching from the T-Mobile nerd plan to this when my 6P gets here.Darkpriest667 posted:It also will work in 120 countries, data is free Sub Rosa fucked around with this message at 12:36 on Oct 24, 2015 |
![]() |
|
I looked through the FAQ and didn't see mention of it, with their invite system can you start a plan with multiple lines or does each person need a Project Fi invite?
|
![]() |
|
Munnin The Crab posted:I looked through the FAQ and didn't see mention of it, with their invite system can you start a plan with multiple lines or does each person need a Project Fi invite? Each needs their own invite.
|
![]() |
|
I'd really like to try it. I'm already on T-Mobile (which has increased its coverage area big time in my area this past year), so why not have Sprint's network thrown in there too. But...I subsidized my Nexus 6 through T-Mobile, and still have 500 dollars or so left on it. I have the invite, Google should just pay off my bill, or give me a 6P what the hell! I highly doubt I could sell my 6 for anything close to whats remaining on it, and this isn't a good time of year to blow cash on a new phone unfortunately. I barely use 3gb/Mo, so I'd probably save money on Fi's plan.
|
![]() |
|
I, too, am unable to justify upgrading my Nexus 5 to one of the newer models. I'd love to but ~$5-10 a month savings is marginal
|
![]() |
|
I've been on Project Fi (Nexus 6) since late July. I'm based in Texas but travel frequently - 5 countries so far (Mexico, Spain, England, France, Ireland - Republic and Northern) plus Colorado and up and down the East/West coasts. Yes, I fly a shitload for work. I switched from AT&T for comparison. Obviously this is all anecdotal and as unscientific as it gets but I thought I'd share anyway: Local/US: Day to day use at home - when I'm there - is about the same if not a little better, but that's because AT&T had poo poo coverage around my house. WiFi calling is very nice. Signal strength outside it has generally been very good, there have been some spots, like in LA, where I remember having good AT&T coverage and on Fi it's been spotty but that is pretty rare. Data speeds in the US are, overall, just as good for me as on AT&T - I tether it to my Surface quite a bit in airports. and it's quite decent for browsing/etc. I've done a few speed tests in different spots to confirm LTE and while I haven't stacked them up head to head vs. when I was on AT&T I can say if there is a difference I don't notice it. I have yet to notice any issues with switching between networks - it is incredibly seamless. You have to dig in (there's an app, I forget what it is called) that I had at first that would tell you what you were on but it doesn't really matter, your calls/data will go from one network to another, even WiFi, without you noticing. It seems to roam wherever Sprint and T-Mobile roam, the few times I have been in the serious boonies, but I can't really confirm this. I'll try to check next time. I haven't noticed any particular data throttling but I don't use a ton of mobile data, usually I am under 3GB and get credit back. Overseas: It worked really well in the 5 countries I visited, I often got LTE speeds in major cities (Barcelona, London) and in general things were pretty seamless. WiFi calling is nice overseas in particular; as long as you are on, say, hotel WiFi, or a local hotspot, you can essentially call back to the US for free (or vice versa). I don't make many voice calls that aren't for work and of course there's always Skype/etc. but I found it handy all the same. The best part about using Fi overseas is it is cheap and reliable - you don't have to worry about ridiculous overage charges, or calling ahead and paying for expensive one-time "trip fees", or paying for an international plan every month you don't use that often. It Just Works. Billing: A lot of people miss that you get credited back amounts you don't use/spend - After a two week overseas trip it was $60 (that was my total bill for the month, i.e. $10 more) for example because I had previous credits, and that's with using a few $10/GB overages. One month my bill was $26 due to back credits. Fi has so far worked out to be far, far cheaper than AT&T ever was, particularly when overseas packages are factored in. To the poster above - it depends on your circumstances (current carrier and plan) and what Fi plan you choose, of course (I am on the $50 one) but I save far more than $5-10 a month. Overall I like it a lot. So much so that it is pretty much the only reason I am sticking with the Nexus phones - I have never been a huge fan of the Nexus 6, and the new ones don't have wireless charging which is annoying to me, but I'll need to upgrade to one or the other anyway. Edit: Updated to add stuff on billing. Ixian fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Oct 25, 2015 |
![]() |
|
Ixian posted:I've been on Project Fi (Nexus 6) since late July. I'm based in Texas but travel frequently - 5 countries so far (Mexico, Spain, England, France, Ireland - Republic and Northern) plus Colorado and up and down the East/West coasts. Yes, I fly a shitload for work. Thanks, that's really helpful. Sounds tempting...
|
![]() |
|
I'm tempted to switch. I'm with Sprint on a SERO 500 plan, contract is up this coming summer. Currently on a Nexus 5, I could pay $100 and exchange it for a Gflex2 :p I'd rather exchange it for a G4 - if it could work on Fi someday, or ideally a Nexus 5X. I rarely go over 1GB of data per month, although for some strange reason I'm sitting at 1.7GB this month. Still, affordable either way.
|
![]() |
|
I was tempted to switch from T-Mobile, but I ran into two things which were a dealbreaker for me: * I couldn't port my Google Voice number. When I asked some random person at Google Support about this, they claimed it was because the area code the number was from (319 - Southeast/East Central Iowa) didn't have both T-Mobile and Sprint service. Most of Iowa outside Des Moines doesn't have 'proper' T-Mobile coverage, it's through a separate regional carrier called i wireless, they aren't an MVNO, they just have a roaming agreement with T-Mobile. This leads into the next big problem. * You apparently have to be in an area with both Sprint AND T-Mobile coverage for Fi to 'work'. This didn't make sense to me and I asked the Support person to confirm this multiple times. It just seems really stupid as the primary use case would be that you were somewhere that didn't have one carrier coverage or the other. This especially doesn't make sense when Ixian explained how it works internationally. Does anyone here with experience have any explanation for the above two?
|
![]() |
|
Tatsujin posted:
I don't think that is the primary use case though - for Google, anyway. I think they require service coverage in both areas because the entire basis of the agreement they worked out with the carriers is the service wouldn't be exclusive to one or the other. It's supposed to mix. So it's either contractual with the carriers - because if you were in an area with just Sprint coverage, you really wouldn't be getting Fi, you'd be getting Sprint resold at a different rate by Google - or it's a Google thing. By the latter, I mean you have to consider what Fi is - one of Googles little experiments. I seriously doubt they care about the revenue this generates. The bigger picture is more about if/how they can achieve a kind of "meta carrier" status. Also consider what Google is: A data collection/analytic company. With that in mind, having customers who were in "home" areas with only one carrier would do them no good, because they wouldn't get good data on network switching (other than WiFi, which lots of carriers do now) etc.
|
![]() |
|
Ixian posted:I don't think that is the primary use case though - for Google, anyway. I think they require service coverage in both areas because the entire basis of the agreement they worked out with the carriers is the service wouldn't be exclusive to one or the other. It's supposed to mix. That makes sense, and it explains why they would have trouble porting my Google Voice number, as Fi is probably operating as an MVNO for both Sprint and T-Mobile at the same time, and using custom radio firmware to make that distinction more transparent (you probably wouldn't know if you were on a Sprint or T-Mob tower at any given time without diagnostic tools). I guess the only thing holding me back at this point is the GVoice number, but I guess I felt especially burnt by that since the whole reason I moved to using a Google Voice number several years ago was to avoid changing numbers and worrying about porting when going from carrier to carrier.
|
![]() |
|
Ixian posted:I don't think that is the primary use case though - for Google, anyway. I think they require service coverage in both areas because the entire basis of the agreement they worked out with the carriers is the service wouldn't be exclusive to one or the other. It's supposed to mix. It makes less sense if Google doesn't care which carrier you're using while on Fi. If they don't have any kind of internal metric for kicking you off if you're using 90% of tmobiles service all the time, why would they care at sign up? It just seems like an odd contractual based obligation. If there's only 90/10 TMO/Sprint in Iowa, and I sign up in NY and then move to Iowa or visit, google doesn't care? I just can't create an account in Iowa? I'd be a little confused at that too. It sounds more like the third party supplying tmo in that state is probably charging more for usage then tmobile directly so you can't sign up, but current users can still use service there at that cost to google...unless project fi just straight up stops working in that state. They can stand to be a bit more clear about this kind of thing...that and if they will support multi band phones other then nexuses at any point (just a simple yes or no would be great guys) Tatsujin posted:
Waitttt, so you can't port the number back to google voice after? They offer that for 20 bucks..Now I'm even more confused. I figured the only thing you lose is the voice app, which has everything in hangouts anyway functionally. You "port" your number to fi, lose google voice app access, but then could port the number back to voice if you cancel fi, and then port it over to a carrier later...am I wrong? zer0spunk fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Oct 26, 2015 |
![]() |
|
zer0spunk posted:Waitttt, so you can't port the number back to google voice after? They offer that for 20 bucks..Now I'm even more confused. I figured the only thing you lose is the voice app, which has everything in hangouts anyway functionally. You "port" your number to fi, lose google voice app access, but then could port the number back to voice if you cancel fi, and then port it over to a carrier later...am I wrong? This is literally what I see when I try to sign up for Fi: ![]()
|
![]() |
|
Sub Rosa posted:I'm switching from the T-Mobile nerd plan to this when my 6P gets here. Isn't it way more expensive than the nerd plan? The t-mo nerd plan is $30/mo for 5GB of data, that same amount of data would be $70/mo on Fi if you actually use your 5GB of data data every month. If you use less, I see Fi being a better deal, but it seems like a huge no-go for those who use >2GB/mo of data.
|
![]() |
|
Twerk from Home posted:Isn't it way more expensive than the nerd plan? The t-mo nerd plan is $30/mo for 5GB of data, that same amount of data would be $70/mo on Fi if you actually use your 5GB of data data every month. Some people actually talk on the phone. Also being usable overseas and working on more than one carrier are pretty useful for a lot of people.
|
![]() |
|
Endless Mike posted:Some people actually talk on the phone. Also being usable overseas and working on more than one carrier are pretty useful for a lot of people. I thought that the nerd plan was unlimited voice / text + 5GB data? I can see the international stuff being invaluable, for sure. I'm on a giant T-mobile family plan with some 10 or 15% discount, with the end result being 6 lines of unlimited talk / text / 2.5GB data for $135/mo including all taxes and fees. I'd like Fi, but I can't see it being cheaper.
|
![]() |
|
Twerk from Home posted:I thought that the nerd plan was unlimited voice / text + 5GB data? I can see the international stuff being invaluable, for sure. It's 100 minutes, unlimited SMS, and 5/GB. I guess it's OK if you only use 1-2 GB a month and need unlimited minutes. Otherwise you could do Cricket for $45 with autopay for 5gb and be on AT&T which is generally a better network. If you are traveling internationally nothing is stopping you from using Fi for a month...
|
![]() |
|
Twerk from Home posted:I thought that the nerd plan was unlimited voice / text + 5GB data? I can see the international stuff being invaluable, for sure.
|
![]() |
|
zer0spunk posted:It makes less sense if Google doesn't care which carrier you're using while on Fi. If they don't have any kind of internal metric for kicking you off if you're using 90% of tmobiles service all the time, why would they care at sign up? It just seems like an odd contractual based obligation. If there's only 90/10 TMO/Sprint in Iowa, and I sign up in NY and then move to Iowa or visit, google doesn't care? I just can't create an account in Iowa? I'd be a little confused at that too. If there's one thing I am sure of, it's that they won't be any more clear on this ![]() I know what you mean - certainly, you could sign up in one area then end up moving to another where only one service was available, or find some address workaround I guess if you didn't care about area codes (who does these days?) and were really committed, but I'm betting they view those as corner cases not worth fretting over. Clearly, they intend for the service to be available only where both carriers have a presence. None of us are privy to the contractual details, but given the typical MNVO model, Google is undoubtedly buying unused capacity from both carriers, and being Google probably has some incredibly complicated, big-data view of how to balance it all out, all the time. Flat out offering service in areas where only one carrier or another exists doesn't fit what they are trying to do...whatever it is, with Fi. Yes, if someone moves to such an area it might throw off their data - I doubt they will cut you off - but I suspect that is just a statistical blip to them.
|
![]() |
|
zer0spunk posted:
From their website: https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6242352?hl=en&ref_topic=4596517 ![]() So if you want to change your number back to Google Voice if you don't want Project Fi, you can.
|
![]() |
|
Sub Rosa posted:I'm switching from the T-Mobile nerd plan to this when my 6P gets here. OP fixed thanks good catch that wasn't really communicated well. ---EDIT Has anyone gotten their hands on a 6P yet? I am wanting to order but have reservations about ordering directly from Huawei. I wanted to order from Google I sure as hell won't order it from Sprint. Any experience with this? (I wish I had pre-ordered now) Darkpriest667 fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Oct 27, 2015 |
![]() |
|
Twerk from Home posted:Isn't it way more expensive than the nerd plan? The t-mo nerd plan is $30/mo for 5GB of data, that same amount of data would be $70/mo on Fi if you actually use your 5GB of data data every month. And in addition I get unlimited voice and the ability to use the Sprint network in the non-trivial amount of places near me where T-Mobile doesn't have coverage.
|
![]() |
|
Silly Burrito posted:From their website: There's one caveat on this. Apparently some GV numbers are ineligible to pull back straight to GV. IIRC the issue is that some of the number prefixes were transferred from Bandwidth.com (GV's VOIP provider) to other carriers. If your number is affected by this, when you go to cancel Fi you are not given the opportunity to move the number back to GV. Some Google tech on Reddit mentioned this applies to about 10% of GV numbers. My ancient GrandCentral number was among it. It looks like if this affects you, you might be able to actually do a straight out port, but you'd have to port your number from Fi to some other carrier, then port that back into GV.
|
![]() |
|
I'm still confused about the phone numbers. Right now I have my carrier number and my Google Voice number. I've used both for a long time for different purposes and I want to keep both. Is this possible?
|
![]() |
|
Just FYI, if you get a Nexus phone and you're going to use Google Fi with a Google Voice number, you better allow some time for the number transfer. I got my 5X on Thursday of last week and I STILL don't have phone service yet. When they say it takes up to 5 days to transfer a Google Voice number to Project Fi, it takes 5 WHOLE DAYS.
|
![]() |
|
Tots posted:I'm still confused about the phone numbers. Right now I have my carrier number and my Google Voice number. I've used both for a long time for different purposes and I want to keep both. Is this possible?
|
![]() |
|
I asked this in the android thread, but how does the switching to wifi spots work in Fi? Is it pretty seamless? Does it make a difference in terms of data use? I'm going to sign up tonight- the cost will likely be a wash, but I'll be able to upgrade my Nexus 4 and wife will replace her Nexus 5, so it's worth trying, I think. I'm wavering in whether to get the 6p or not...form factor and the amoled screen potential for burn-in are making me pause.
|
![]() |
|
Glass of Milk posted:I asked this in the android thread, but how does the switching to wifi spots work in Fi? Is it pretty seamless? Does it make a difference in terms of data use? It's seamless, and works with Android's "smart WiFi" feature they added a couple versions ago so that, for example, if you auto-connect to a captive portal that requires a login before giving you internet access, it doesn't switch you to it automatically. It also basically means free calls in your house/work/etc. for the most part (assuming you are US-US, or overseas calling to the US - if you have a US number and you use WiFi calling you still pay international rates if your end destination is international, of course). Makes a big difference in mobile data usage, depending on your access to WiFi.
|
![]() |
|
Glass of Milk posted:I asked this in the android thread, but how does the switching to wifi spots work in Fi? Is it pretty seamless? Does it make a difference in terms of data use? I'm kind of in the same boat. I'll save a couple bucks a month, maybe more if this Wifi thing is amazing, but ultimately I think Cricket would have saved me more. But then I remember I switched to T-Mobile three years ago because AT&T's service was so lovely near my house. I've moved like five times since then....and ended up two streets over from where I was back then. Maybe AT&T's network is better now but I'm a whore for Google so I wanna give this a shot. I went for the 6P (waiting for delivery) ultimately because the 5X only has 2GB of RAM and while that's probably fine now, I feel like in 2 years it won't be. Plus the price difference between the 32GB 5X and 6P is only $70 anyway (16GB is too small for me).
|
![]() |
|
My Sprint contact is up on the 20th and I'm pretty much set on trying Fi. Too bad the store is out of the 64GB 6p though. ![]()
|
![]() |
|
One other question- is there any point to setting a data usage amount? If you just set it to 1GB, for example, they're going to charge the regular rate if you go over, and if you're under you'll get a credit. I don't see the point.
|
![]() |
|
Glass of Milk posted:One other question- is there any point to setting a data usage amount? If you just set it to 1GB, for example, they're going to charge the regular rate if you go over, and if you're under you'll get a credit. I don't see the point. From what I've read, not really. The only drawback is that Google will send a ton of data overage alerts.
|
![]() |
|
Infidel Castro posted:My Sprint contact is up on the 20th and I'm pretty much set on trying Fi. Too bad the store is out of the 64GB 6p though. I believe the store is out of everything for the 6P in all colors? It was last time I checked. You can order direct from Huawei. http://www.gethuawei.com/nexus6p
|
![]() |
|
Infidel Castro posted:From what I've read, not really. The only drawback is that Google will send a ton of data overage alerts. They only send alerts every GB you go over. I went over a few times overseas and didn't get many at all.
|
![]() |
|
I gave in- nexus 5x for wife, nexus 6p for me. They won't start charging for service until I activate it right? Her phone ships in one day, mine in 4-6 weeks. I'd like to avoid having to break up my current service if possible.
|
![]() |
|
Braksgirl posted:Just FYI, if you get a Nexus phone and you're going to use Google Fi with a Google Voice number, you better allow some time for the number transfer. I got my 5X on Thursday of last week and I STILL don't have phone service yet. When they say it takes up to 5 days to transfer a Google Voice number to Project Fi, it takes 5 WHOLE DAYS. You might want to contact the Fi support people, because my GV number ported to Fi in about 10 minutes on a Nexus 6. Glass of Milk posted:I gave in- nexus 5x for wife, nexus 6p for me. They won't start charging for service until I activate it right? Her phone ships in one day, mine in 4-6 weeks. I'd like to avoid having to break up my current service if possible. That's correct. Once you get your phone and the Fi sim you'll go through the actual activation process at that time.
|
![]() |
|
boscoman posted:You might want to contact the Fi support people, because my GV number ported to Fi in about 10 minutes on a Nexus 6. I've contacted them 4 times and they just keep telling me to wait. Off I go to see what they say now that it's 10 pm on day 5.
|
![]() |
|
![]()
|
# ? May 6, 2024 02:03 |
|
boscoman posted:You might want to contact the Fi support people, because my GV number ported to Fi in about 10 minutes on a Nexus 6. Oh she has (for the last couple of days). She's on chat hold now. I'm waiting for my Nexus 6p, but I'll be transferring my number from AT&T, so I'm hoping that goes smoother.
|
![]() |