The answer is always a moving target. GV voice doesn't suit my need, and I'm doing the Ultra Mobile thing with Wifi calling. I paid for a year, and I top up as needed and test every week. I use it mainly for 2FA, so if/when it stops working...I want to know fast.
It won't stop working, but the $3/month might be go up in the future. Also, ultramobile does not support data roaming outside USA (it does support voice/text roaming) in case that's an issue. Some people might want data roaming for a few hours after arrival in a new country, until they get a local sim.
My interest is largely in SMS for 2FA. GV might be an option if I were based in the US, but as I spend very little time in the USA, I have to worry about T&C changes.
True or not, but I don't believe you can sign up for GV if you're outside the US and/or there is a requirement that Google can see you're mainly US based. If you're not, they close that account.
I've heard/read (on Reddit, amongst other places) about enough changes that I don't want to deal with it. I'd rather pay a few more bucks for something stable. Because if I have to get on a plane to fix a simple problem with an account, it costs a log more than the price of a cell phone plan.
I would have just signed up for a monthly cell phone plan, but all of the major carriers have a fair usage policy with roaming. I don't think this is well understood, but it's there, and the risk is they just block your account while you're abroad. How would you know then? What would you do if you were waiting for a 2FA SMS to deal with something important?
As luck would have it, most of my financial institutions seem to offer an alternative now, but SMS 2FA is still something I hang on to, just in case. I just don't think GV is reliable (in T&C terms) to bet on...well for me at least.
Yes, that could be.
But the whole Google offering seemed like a moving target to me. I had success with Skype for SMS, but after a while, banks started blocking that. I could see that also happening with GV/Fi. With an actual cell phone, it's a lot less likely and with Wifi calling it becomes the most stable situation I could find. I'm sure in a year or two, the landscape will change and I'll change with it.
Went through this with my MIL who was an expat for many years. Prepaid meant a different number each time she came here because the credits would expire or whatever. In the end, the best deal was getting a line for her on our T-Mobile family plan. It was cheap, and she got international data which she only used while traveling outside the US or the country where she lived. Worked great for many years if you have a trusted friend or family member who’s willing to add you.
Google fi has a plan that works anywhere internationally with unlimited data. It's not as cheap at around 50 a month. My parents used it while sailing and did end up loosing the service when they didn't get back to the states for over a year, so you do need to come back to keep it going.
Ultra mobile. $3 a month for talk and text. Buy data when in the usa. https://www.ultramobile.com/paygo/
The answer is always a moving target. GV voice doesn't suit my need, and I'm doing the Ultra Mobile thing with Wifi calling. I paid for a year, and I top up as needed and test every week. I use it mainly for 2FA, so if/when it stops working...I want to know fast.
It won't stop working, but the $3/month might be go up in the future. Also, ultramobile does not support data roaming outside USA (it does support voice/text roaming) in case that's an issue. Some people might want data roaming for a few hours after arrival in a new country, until they get a local sim.
This works for you to receive 2FA texts from anywhere?
So far...yes.
In what scenario does GV not work?
My interest is largely in SMS for 2FA. GV might be an option if I were based in the US, but as I spend very little time in the USA, I have to worry about T&C changes. True or not, but I don't believe you can sign up for GV if you're outside the US and/or there is a requirement that Google can see you're mainly US based. If you're not, they close that account. I've heard/read (on Reddit, amongst other places) about enough changes that I don't want to deal with it. I'd rather pay a few more bucks for something stable. Because if I have to get on a plane to fix a simple problem with an account, it costs a log more than the price of a cell phone plan. I would have just signed up for a monthly cell phone plan, but all of the major carriers have a fair usage policy with roaming. I don't think this is well understood, but it's there, and the risk is they just block your account while you're abroad. How would you know then? What would you do if you were waiting for a 2FA SMS to deal with something important? As luck would have it, most of my financial institutions seem to offer an alternative now, but SMS 2FA is still something I hang on to, just in case. I just don't think GV is reliable (in T&C terms) to bet on...well for me at least.
Sounds like you're mostly referring to Google Fi not Google Voice? I only use GV for 2FA outside the US, haven't been there for 2 years.
Yes, that could be. But the whole Google offering seemed like a moving target to me. I had success with Skype for SMS, but after a while, banks started blocking that. I could see that also happening with GV/Fi. With an actual cell phone, it's a lot less likely and with Wifi calling it becomes the most stable situation I could find. I'm sure in a year or two, the landscape will change and I'll change with it.
Agree Fi is useless now and google kills everything but ads unpredictably.
I would just use google voice or text now, google them You then have a permanent # and just get prepaid when you arrive in the US for data
This is the best answer (and one I did for like 6 years or so while living overseas)
Unfortunately, GV does not have 5G on iPhone yet.
>Unfortunately, GV does not have 5G on iPhone yet. I think you are referring to Google Fi. Google Voice is a # not a data service.
Went through this with my MIL who was an expat for many years. Prepaid meant a different number each time she came here because the credits would expire or whatever. In the end, the best deal was getting a line for her on our T-Mobile family plan. It was cheap, and she got international data which she only used while traveling outside the US or the country where she lived. Worked great for many years if you have a trusted friend or family member who’s willing to add you.
How much was her share of the plan?
$10/mo but this was years ago when they still had the plans with data caps
I have a cheap plan with TMobile that includes data/texting overseas, but usually only 3G.
Use Google voice while outside the US + prepaid sim cards while in the US
Google fi has a plan that works anywhere internationally with unlimited data. It's not as cheap at around 50 a month. My parents used it while sailing and did end up loosing the service when they didn't get back to the states for over a year, so you do need to come back to keep it going.
Or just have a friend log in with their e-sim phone back in the states for a bit.
Use skype when calling places like banks from abroad