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Signed Up With Google's 'Project Fi' (1 Viewer)

cstu

cstu

Footballguy
Finally got my invite today and signed up. Where I live cell signal is terrible - don't think I've seen it over two bars. Been using Ting but it's averaging $25-$30 a month even with not a lot of calls or data.

Here's the deal with Project Fi, starting with the biggest con:

- you have to buy a Nexus 6 for $499 (32GB version). I didn't really want this phone (would prefer Note 4) but it's an improvement over my current Note 2.

Pro's:

- $20 a month (plus taxes) plus sign up for data at $10 per GB. Great thing is you get the pro-rated amount back for the data you don't use.

- the phone uses wi-fi networks (no data use) whenever possible, only using cell when necessary

- unlimited domestic talk and text

- no charge for wi-fi tethering (other than your data use)

- no service contract (other than you just bought a $499 phone that probably wasn't your first choice)

International travel (this is what convinced me):

- it breaks down like this, you can use your cellular data internationally for the same $10 per GB and texting is free. Voice calls over cellular are 20 cents a minute, but get a load this, it's free to call the U.S. from whatever country you're in over wi-fi. For international calls over wi-fi (either in the U.S. or out) the price varies (free to Canada) but generally is less than 10 cents a minute between developed countries.

Now I know what you're going to say - wait a minute, cstu, I can do most of that international on Whatapp? Ok, fair enough, but is everyone you know on Whatsapp?

 
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I got my invite a few weeks ago but the single phone support is a dealbreaker for me, for now. I'll revisit in a year or so.

 
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Short Corner said:
How often are you within range of unlocked wifi?
Click to expand...
I would think that most people as within WiFi range like 90% of the time? I guess if you have a long commute thatight bring that down, but between work, home, and the various free, unlocked WiFi at many bars/restaurants/gas stations/retail, etc.
 
the moops said:
Short Corner said:
How often are you within range of unlocked wifi?
Click to expand...
I would think that most people as within WiFi range like 90% of the time? I guess if you have a long commute thatight bring that down, but between work, home, and the various free, unlocked WiFi at many bars/restaurants/gas stations/retail, etc.
Click to expand...
IME, even the unlocked ones force you to agree to their T&Cs. Abroad they are pretty rare to find.

 
Link to Google Fi info

I just requested an invite the other day. I am a google whore so I have no qualms about using them for my provider or buying their device, the Nexus 6 looks about as good as any phone on the market.

The reason you are required to use this specific device is because the phone uses both Sprint and Tmobile LTE networks. It basically toggles back and forth between Sprint and Tmobile (or wifi) depending where the strongest signal is. This sounds pretty cool in theory, it will be interesting to see how well it works in the real world.

The monthly charges are not bad either, if you are single. I can't imagine you will find a no contract, unlimited talk/text/3GB data plan on one of the big 4 carriers for less than $50/mo. Please direct me there if those plans are available (not counting MVNO's). No family plans are available for Fi.

The wifi will only work on unlocked networks when "roaming" around, but you can save passwords for your home,work,friend's house,favorite restaurant/bar, etc. Once the password is saved these networks will automatically be used when available. This obviously won't work for places with splash pages to login. All data transferred over wifi networks is sent through a VPN as well.

The Nexus 6 is currently $499 up front but they also have a zero interest finance option at $21/mo for 24 months through google.

This program "sounds" great for people with individual plans, crappy service at home/work, international travelers, and people looking for a Nexus 6 anyways. Keep us updated CSTU, I'm very interested in how this works out.

 
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When they do hit cellular who's towers are they on? Many of the other cell phone services use sprint & tmobile which suck compared to Vz & att.

 
Quez said:
When they do hit cellular who's towers are they on? Many of the other cell phone services use sprint & tmobile which suck compared to Vz & att.
Click to expand...
Yep. I have the t-mobile 30 dollar a month plan, which is a fantastic deal for unlimited data, but man, once I leave the city, I am screwed around here. I get zero reception while my ATT and Verizon friends get decent coverage,

 
Sounds great until I head "Sprint and TMobile". Where I live, Sprint is so horribly bad. I used to have them and ended up having to file a FTC complaint to get out of my contract when they "upgraded" their towers here. Went from decent service to not being able to make a phone call cleanly. Someone told me that Sprint leased their towers and lost those leases. Were forced to build a bunch of towers around us in a hurry and did a terrible job. Don't know if that was true or not, but I'd rather pay 2x as much for Verizon than EVER deal with that again. Was paying about $50 less a month for our family plan with unlimited data that I couldn't use. Not really a savings..

 
Quez said:
When they do hit cellular who's towers are they on? Many of the other cell phone services use sprint & tmobile which suck compared to Vz & att.
Click to expand...
That really varies by location. Around here, Tmobile >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ATT.

I've been a customer of all 4 -- verizon is clearly the best. I think its universal that sprint sucks, but as long as they're only being used as a supplemental then no harm done. They do have some spots were they're ok.

 
I've been using it for just about a month. It's been phenomenal for me. Here's why:

1. I'm a cheap ###. I was on a Sprint SERO plan with a five year-old EVO, unlimited data/text, 500 minutes. Cost me $50 a month.

2. The Nexus 6 is a great device. I love it.

3. Right now, I probably will be at about 400 or 500 MB this billing round cycle. I've got Wi-Fi at home and work, and usually just read on the bus on my commute home. So I use very little data. Did have a business trip to Chicago, and those two days ate up about 100 MB. So that means my total bill (Phone+Fi) will be around $45. Cheaper than my previous plan and includes a great phone. Oddly, I was usually at 1-2 GB when I was with Sprint. I think I'm down partially because I care and partially because Android makes saving data pretty easy (Chrome can save data, you can turn off background data for apps, you can download Google Music songs to your phone and save the bandwidth if you're on cell, etc.)

4. I'm in the Twin Cities and T-Mobile and Sprint both have decent coverage everywhere I've been. I doubt I'll get it up at the lake, but I've got LTE most of the places I travel. I think I saw 3G on 494 down by the mall, but that was the only time I haven't been on LTE. Usually I'm on T-Mobile and their speeds have been really good. As good as Verizon? Probably not, but it's not noticeable to me.

5. Got some freebies from Google thrown in for being a "beta" tester - a Fi-branded case, headphones and an external battery pack.

6. The customer service is phenomenal. Sprint sucked. Really really bad. I've heard the same about every carrier. I've had two questions - hopped on a chat with someone that was very knowledgeable. Then, sent an email (because I had a text outage) that was answered in five minutes (turns out T-Mobile had a text outage and that's the service Fi uses). Which is surprising to me - Google is not known for their support. They seem to be doing a great job on Fi. That could change as more unwashed masses come aboard, but right now the support is great.

On the downside, I've encountered very few open Wi-Fi connections that my phone will use Google's Wi-Fi Assistant on (which means they'll automatically connect to it via a Google VPN). Got one at MSP and the Union Depot in St. Paul also connected me.

That said, I see the larger play Google is making. They're putting in free Wi-Fi hotspots in New York, I expect cities where they are installing Google Fiber will have tons of Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. They're going to try to transition as much traffic to wi-fi as they can. If they are ever able to get Comcast to open up their wi-fi to Fi users, it'd be a gamechanger. Open Comcast Wi-Fi is everywhere. Even their Project Loon stuff may eventually connect to Fi.

That's my take on it one month in.

 
Been using it for a few days and I'm impressed by the sound quality - wi-fi calling may be clearer than Sprint.

Google included a case, headphones, and portable charger.

 
3. Right now, I probably will be at about 400 or 500 MB this billing round cycle. I've got Wi-Fi at home and work, and usually just read on the bus on my commute home. So I use very little data. Did have a business trip to Chicago, and those two days ate up about 100 MB. So that means my total bill (Phone+Fi) will be around $45. Cheaper than my previous plan and includes a great phone. Oddly, I was usually at 1-2 GB when I was with Sprint. I think I'm down partially because I care and partially because Android makes saving data pretty easy (Chrome can save data, you can turn off background data for apps, you can download Google Music songs to your phone and save the bandwidth if you're on cell, etc.)
Click to expand...
I paid for the phone upfront so I'm looking at $25 a month including taxes if I don't use any cellular data (so far I haven't). Even a $1 per 100 MB of cellular isn't horrible if I really need it.

 
cstu said:
dickey moe said:
$10 per GB is a ripoff.
Click to expand...
You're only paying that when wi-fi isn't available and it's more like $1 per 100 MB because they refund what you don't use.
Click to expand...
I have the nexus 5 - the stupid google tools that are preloaded use a ton of data always. If you are not connected to wifi all day don't underestimate how much data you are going to use. I am technologically challenged so i no custom roms for me. I just have to eat the cost.

 
sbonomo said:
cstu said:
dickey moe said:
$10 per GB is a ripoff.
Click to expand...
You're only paying that when wi-fi isn't available and it's more like $1 per 100 MB because they refund what you don't use.
Click to expand...
I have the nexus 5 - the stupid google tools that are preloaded use a ton of data always. If you are not connected to wifi all day don't underestimate how much data you are going to use. I am technologically challenged so i no custom roms for me. I just have to eat the cost.
Click to expand...
I turned off cellular data to see how much I need it. Haven't turned it on yet.

 
sbonomo said:
cstu said:
dickey moe said:
$10 per GB is a ripoff.
Click to expand...
You're only paying that when wi-fi isn't available and it's more like $1 per 100 MB because they refund what you don't use.
Click to expand...
I have the nexus 5 - the stupid google tools that are preloaded use a ton of data always. If you are not connected to wifi all day don't underestimate how much data you are going to use. I am technologically challenged so i no custom roms for me. I just have to eat the cost.
Click to expand...
No you don't.

And you don't need custom ROMs either. Just go to your settings, go to data, and you will see a list of apps that are eating your data starting with the highest consumer on top. If there are apps that you don't really use that often eating up a lot of data just press the app and check the box, "Restrict background data". Either this will dramatically cut down on your data usage, or you are simply consuming that much data based on how you use your phone and you need to find a plan that fits your needs.

I use my phone for text/email/audio(downloaded on wifi NOT streamed) about 90% of the time and I never exceed the 500mb that freedompop gives me for free. Haven't had a cell phone bill for more than a year now. Of course I also don't have flipboard and facebook and the rest constantly sucking data all day long either. I am stuck with Sprint towers though and the ability to switch reception between different towers would be a benefit. Once you get off the cell-merry-go-round and have a phone that works with no bill it's kind of tough to try something else though... at least for me.

I am for anything that shakes up Verizon and ATnT, for now I hope this google offering is successful. I was really hoping the Amazon phone would resemble freedompop but with the ability for Amazon to push ad's to your phone based on your shopping history and require you to be an Amazon Prime customer. Just push everyone onto Prime for their shopping and cloud storage/streaming needs. How could they NOT make money using that model in the long run!?

 
CSTU, how are you liking this after using it for over a month? Any tips, complaints? How do you like the Nexus 6? My invite just came in and I'm debating pulling the trigger.

 
chauncey said:
CSTU, how are you liking this after using it for over a month? Any tips, complaints? How do you like the Nexus 6? My invite just came in and I'm debating pulling the trigger.
Click to expand...
When I get to work later I'll give you my full thoughts on it.

 
FWIW, according to rumours, Google is about to release a new Nexus 5 and Nexus 6. I presume both will work with Google Fi, so if you're about to buy the current gen N6 to use Fi, it might be worth waiting until the end of the month.

Also, I have TMobile -- its plans are pretty awesome, and competitive with Fi. Canada and Mexico are part of the US from a usage perspective (text/calls/data). Free international (slow) data roaming. WiFi calling (like Fi) with select devices (including iPhone 6/6+) which mimics the international calling feature of Fi.

 
Update:

Happy with the service, average bill is a shade under $34 with about 1 GB of cellular data use. Best feature - being about to make and receive calls at home.

Nexus 6 is a great phone - not happy that it dropped from $500 to $300 right after I bought but great deal for people who get it now.

 
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Thus far extremely happy with it. The transfer from Verizon went through in about a minute (I was shocked). It took about an hour for texting to catch up perfectly. Since then zero issues. Last week I had to drive from Philly out to Harrisburg via the PA Turnpike and I was on the phone for about 90% of it. I had zero issues with service . :thumbup:

 
Buddy Ball 2K3 said:
Thus far extremely happy with it. The transfer from Verizon went through in about a minute (I was shocked). It took about an hour for texting to catch up perfectly. Since then zero issues. Last week I had to drive from Philly out to Harrisburg via the PA Turnpike and I was on the phone for about 90% of it. I had zero issues with service . :thumbup:
Click to expand...
That is a tricky stretch coverage wise, nice. How was your Fi coverage in the Harrisburg area once you got there?

 
How does the constant switching/searching for towers/WiFi affect battery life? Seems like that would be a drain, always searching for the best signal.

 
Just watched the video on Fi... looks pretty awesome. The monthly bill for the wife and I would be approx what we pay each now on Verizon.

I just wish the networks they used weren't T-Mobile/Sprint. Almost half of upstate NY is a dead spot for those two networks.

 
strykerpks said:
How does the constant switching/searching for towers/WiFi affect battery life? Seems like that would be a drain, always searching for the best signal.
Click to expand...
Doesn't seem to use much battery. It has been on standby since after work on Friday and it's still at 12%.

 
If you go out of area can you get roaming coverage or does it just not work there? If it roams how much does that cost?

Most of the area w/o coverage I would only need in case of emergency, I'd be ok with a charge, but it would obviously be bad if there was no service at all.

 
KiddLattimer said:
If you go out of area can you get roaming coverage or does it just not work there? If it roams how much does that cost?

Most of the area w/o coverage I would only need in case of emergency, I'd be ok with a charge, but it would obviously be bad if there was no service at all.
Click to expand...
There's no roaming fee, but if there's no Sprint or TMobile service then you're SOL.

Here's the coverage map.

 
cstu said:
KiddLattimer said:
If you go out of area can you get roaming coverage or does it just not work there? If it roams how much does that cost?

Most of the area w/o coverage I would only need in case of emergency, I'd be ok with a charge, but it would obviously be bad if there was no service at all.
Click to expand...
There's no roaming fee, but if there's no Sprint or TMobile service then you're SOL.

Here's the coverage map.
Click to expand...
Damn, I was hoping there was some kind of roaming even if it was expensive. Giant dead spots not far from me, albeit in areas I don't go to very often.

 
strykerpks said:
How does the constant switching/searching for towers/WiFi affect battery life? Seems like that would be a drain, always searching for the best signal.
Click to expand...
Batter life on the Nexus 6P has been great. We are both extremely happy with Fi thus far and it looks like our bill will drop about $20-30 each per month

 
You could save some money by purchasing the Nexus 6 from Amazon for $339 instead of buying directly from Google.

 
KiddLattimer said:
Buddy Ball 2K3 said:
strykerpks said:
How does the constant switching/searching for towers/WiFi affect battery life? Seems like that would be a drain, always searching for the best signal.
Click to expand...
Batter life on the Nexus 6P has been great. We are both extremely happy with Fi thus far and it looks like our bill will drop about $20-30 each per month
Click to expand...
That looks like a pretty sweet phone. I wish it was 5X sized though.
Click to expand...
Got the 6P for my wife as well. She was rather worried about the size because of her elf like hands. After a day or two of getting use to it she is absolutely in love with it. She still uses her small work iphone and now hates it even more.

 
MaxThreshold said:
KiddLattimer said:
Ive heard rumors the Nexus 6 will be discounted on Black Friday/Cyber Monday
Click to expand...
I was going to sign up today but now I think I'll wait.
Click to expand...
This is where I read it ... https://www.androidpit.com/black-friday-deals

With the Nexus 6 already dropping in price to around US$400 / £300, we don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that it'll be available for around US$300 / £200 on Black Friday 2015. This seems particularly feasible given that the Nexus 5 could be found for roughly US$300 during Black Friday 2014.
Click to expand...
 
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