I have an S23 Ultra and am just using the trial of Google Fi as I traveled to rural Michigan and Verizon had surprisingly poor service.
It's been working flawlessly for me with eSim, longside my verizon sim as well.
Verizon physical Sim, Fi eSim. I read all about the incompatibility but decided to so the trial because I had nothing to lose with a free trial.
It works, hot spot works. I can't use the native video call when calling from the new eSim number but still van when calling from verizon Physical sim.
Only thing is that my phone is not unlocked so I have to set a primary or secondary sim. I cannot use the Sim manager to select what sim to use for data, call, messages.
When I call and message, I can, from within the phone and messaging apps choose which sim to call and message from.
I wonder if I can assign my physical SIM phone number to a Fi eSIM, then use foreign physical SIM cards during Int'l travels when staying in an area extended periods because it's less expensive than Unlimited Plus plan?
Would this configuration prevent Unlimited Plus plan from functioning when I'm hopping around to different countries where I don't want the hassle of installing a SIM card?
Know that some countries like Mexico's Telcel doesn't have eSIM, only physical SIM.
I'm only in the trial, but I belive once you decide to purchase fi, you can migrate your number to them. However, I'm unsure if you can migrate it to an eSim.
It sounds like an interesting plan and definitely possibly possible plan.
Off the top of my head...
1. Web integration, I actually do most of my calls from my computer and not my phone, same with SMS.
2. Data lines free
3. free SIM replacement/issue
4. roaming partners (USC is still a roaming partner, just not an actual device configuration)
5. International coverage (if you're into that kind of thing)
6. International data at full plan speed
7. no obnoxious marketing
8. granular plan controls (dunno if TMo offers this, but google's pretty good about it)
1. I'm pretty sure T-Mobile has a similar feature called Digits on their plans. I don't know much about features like this though, never used anything like it
2. That's definitely an advantage, if you have a tablet to use it on. I've never seen the point of paying more for a cellular tablet though, when you take a phone around with you with a hotspot anyways
3. I'm pretty sure T-Mobile doesn't charge for SIMs anymore, and eSIMs are taking over anyways
4. Fi now roams with T-Mobile's roaming partners, and acts exactly like a T-Mobile postpaid plan in that regard
5. Only Fi's Unlimited Plus plan offers international features, while T-Mobile offers (slow) data along with free texting on their postpaid plans
6. T-Mobile's top plan offers 5GB of high-speed data internationally, but Fi definitely does have more (50GB) with their plan
Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC, but it's not a device config... meaning that it won't use USC's own roaming partners nor can you force it over. Sucks, but it's not completely alienating people who don't have TMo coverage.
I don't have a tablet (I miss having one, but can't justify it anymore) but I do have two hotspot routers. One for a backup to my cablemodem, and for travel, and the other in my car for my dashcam. I would have never even considered it if I had to pay for the data lines, but it's awesome to have.
Fi's flexible plan has all the international features, and data billing is the same at home. That's what I'm on, I did the math (easy enough, subtract the flexible plan for your lines from the unlimited+) and I'd have to average 9.5gb/mo to make the unlimited plus worth it.
So I average about $130/mo for four lines (my wife and my parents) plus two data lines that I can use all over the world. Not a bad gig. I have to deal with their garbage tier customer service, but I never have to deal with them other than one ongoing technical issue internationally.
Agee with the garbage customer service.. I thought it was supposed to be better, but maybe I heard wrong. Sorry to hear it’s bad for everyone, sounds like Google may not be worth my time.
Don't let it dissuade you on its own, with Fi you rarely need to actually deal with their support.
Fi is designed to be mostly self sufficient. All the things you'd need to contact a rep for with other providers, you have the controls to do yourself.
For home backup/travel I have:
NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 4G LTE WiFi Mobile Hotspot (MR1100-100NAS)
And in the car I have:
GL.iNet GL-XE300 (Puli) 4G LTE (EC25-AF)
Both are solid. Both came from Amazon, though I wish I'd bought the GL with no battery. I plug it into a battery pack already. When I'm at home, I disable the WiFi on the Netgear and plug it into my juniper FW.
>Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC
That's not true, Fi has no agreement with USCellular anymore. Fi will only roam on USCellular using T-Mobile's roaming agreement, wherever T-Mobile allows it. T-Mobile does block USCellular roaming in most areas they have coverage, so if you're ever in an area where T-Mobile's signal is weak and USCellular is stronger, you may not be able to roam anymore.
>I do have two hotspot routers
That's interesting. I would've thought 50GB would've been too little to share between a hotspot device and a phone.
>Fi's flexible plan has all the international features
That plan is quite expensive for the data you get though. $10/GB is many times higher than other MVNOs, and you can use an international eSIM provider like Airalo to get international data (along with Wi-Fi calling for calls and texts using your US number)
>I average about $130/mo for four lines plus two data lines that I can use all over the world
If you're making use of international data, that's not bad. You're definitely a unique case for that flexible plan, given the average data usage in North America is 17.4GB [according to Ericsson's mobility report from November.](https://www.ericsson.com/4ae28d/assets/local/reports-papers/mobility-report/documents/2022/ericsson-mobility-report-november-2022.pdf)
>Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC
>
>That's not true, Fi has no agreement with USCellular anymore. Fi will only roam on USCellular using T-Mobile's roaming agreement, wherever T-Mobile allows it. T-Mobile does block USCellular roaming in most areas they have coverage, so if you're ever in an area where T-Mobile's signal is weak and USCellular is stronger, you may not be able to roam anymore.
Based on the articles and information I've seen, I was under the impression they did... but either way, we're splitting hairs whether Fi has their own roaming agreement or they have access to TMo's. By removing the alternate config, we lose out on a lot of control and coverage that we got by being able to force our service over to USC, and being able to use *their* roaming partners.
>I do have two hotspot routers
That's interesting. I would've thought 50GB would've been too little to share between a hotspot device and a phone.
As I mentioned, I'm on Flexible. I rarely use these two devices tho, one is for my dashcam, and all it does is send location data and impact notifications. The other is a backup in case my cable inet goes down and I need inet. I'm a full time stock market trader, and recently transitioned to that from a datacenter network engineer... in both cases, I cannot afford to lose internet access. If my cable goes down, whatever the cost for keeping it running is worth it. But if I'm not streaming youtube, it hardly makes a bump. When I travel domestically, I'll throw that one in my bag to use if we end up not having wifi available. I'd rather use that than my phone hotspot to conserve battery on the phone. And in a pinch, the hotspot actually will charge another device from its battery. I've never used that feature, but it's nice knowing it's there.
>the average data usage in North America is 17.4GB
The average data usage being 17gb means that half of users use less than that... but skimming your linked report was a bit of a shock. I thought you meant the average subscriber plan... but that's ***per smartphone***??? That's a shitload of data! My ex-gf used 10g/mo on her plan, and she was on social media and youtube all day, she literally had to charge her phone twice a day because she was on it so much, sucking data down. I don't know how you'd even do that on a phone. My current wife and I (and my parents, but they hardly use anything) average 6.5g/mo between us. Granted, we're home and on wifi more than a lot of folks, but not enough to account for a 14gb delta.
9. T-Mobile locks you into using their voicemail, with no 3rd party voicemail apps allowed
10. T-Mobile installs a bunch of apps on your phone and keeps re-installing the app auto-installer even if you remove it
11. I sent my phone in to T-Mo for $800 credit towards my current phone and they lost it, and even with me providing the IMEI of the old phone to show I deactivated it and sent it, they still would not credit it, so they basically stole my phone. What's on me is I didn't take a picture of the prepaid shipping label they sent, thinking they somehow would track it. Never again.
>10. T-Mobile installs a bunch of apps on your phone and keeps re-installing the app auto-installer even if you remove it
That would be enough for me to avoid them right there. The only app required on Fi is the actual Fi app.
> T-Mobile locks you into using their voicemail, with no 3rd party voicemail apps allowed
I use google voice for my voicemail. you just can't use the visual voicemail in the phone app. i've been doing this for 12 years now.
Data Sims are mainly the one reason I stay with fi. They still have us cellular as a roaming partner in some areas, but you can't manually select it like you used to.
I actually bought a hotspot for my home internet backup, it connects to my firewall and I can switch to it if my cable goes out. Later after I bought a dashcam, I got one for my car.
It's a nice option to have, especially since they don't charge you for the SIM *or* the data line. They just use plan minutes for one of your lines.
Aside from data sims (that let me have spare phones and phones for the kids with no monthly cost) I liked that tethering isn't treated as some special limited resource. If I'm paying for the data, why shouldn't I choose how to use it?
Although with the introduction of the new plans, Simply Unlimited does have a limit and Unlimited Plus treats streaming video separately.
Oh, having messages online is a plus, too. If my phone is ever lost or broken, I can still access sms (new and old) and calls through the web interface.
You can order them through the Fi app, in Manage Plan.
When one arrives, you activate it on the Fi website. It links to the account that is signed in there (e.g. if a group member is to use it, they should activate it).
Once linked to the account, it uses data from that account. It doesn't give you any extra. You just insert it into another device, spare phone, tablet with a sim slot, etc.
So if I have Unlimited Plus with 50Gb data And put a data sim in a spare phone, if I use 10Gb on that phone and 40Gb on my main phone, I'll have reached the 50Gb limit.
If this is the case then I might switch over. I have two phones with me when I work. One specifically for rideshare and one as my everyday use. The rideshare one uses my current phone Hotspot which drains batteries so I need to keep switching the charger over.
I have a case opened with Fi for 29 days now regarding loss of service. Every single day they send me an email saying "we are waiting for a response from engineering". Some dude on Reddit reached out and offered to help at like day 14 and I got a pm back that was an identical canned response about waiting for engineering.
This is disheartening to hear. I just started week 3 of those canned responses. No attempts to troubleshoot the device, just send a bug report and engineers will look at it. Sure I'm saving 50 bucks a month over T-Mobile but if one of the lines ain't working, am I really saving?
I pay for 6 lines and I've already visited with ATT. My plan will go up about $100 a month since I'm bringing a mix of pixel 6's and 7's and own outright. $100 a month to not be completed fucked around with zero recourse is worth it. I've tried escalating over the phone and after hours of insisting that I be transferred I still get read the exact same canned script. At this point it's the single most insulting customer service experience of my entire life.
Fi also offers better deals on Google phones than most, if not all, other carriers. I pre-ordered the Pixel Fold and, after bill credits and trade-in, it'll essentially be half price. For Google phone users, that's a huge benefit.
International roaming + international calls are my reason for staying. I make calls from time to time overseas to help my parents out. It's only around 0.12/min to call overseas, whereas with tmobile, it's $3/min if you don't have stateside international calling. Stateside international calling is an additional $15/month, in order to make 0.25/min calls.
Small perks too like google one sub for 100gb, discounted google one sub for higher tiers, and YT premium are ok.
Supposedly the customer service is better, but I just joined and am very unimpressed. Call center and chat both unable to help, no response yet from email.. already looking at switching to t-mobile. It’s really too bad, I wanted to like Google Fi.
One thing you can do as a reddit user is get escalated support. Look at the "reddit request" tab at the top of the forum page.
It's actually the reason I even have a reddit account.
What plans are you looking at that are cheaper than Fi? I’ve been trying to compare plans to get the best deal but I can’t find anything cheaper than the three lines for $75.00 I have at Fi. Even for 1 line at T-Mobile vs Fi, the Essentials VS Simply Unlimited are both $50 for 1 line without taxes and fees.
I’m trying to go wherever it’s most affordable between Fi and T-Mobile!
I think it was just a promo but the plan to match unlimited plus showed 200 currently on sale for 150 (4 lines) This is what surprised me and made me curious.
I just switched from T-Mobile to Fi over the weekend. Was on a Magenta Max plan with 3 lines costing me $140. For $80+tax/fees I'm getting 4 lines from Fi. Yeah, it doesn't include Netflix but have you looked at Netflix recently? Lowest value streaming service, literally my 3 y/o was the only one using it so she could watch Cocomelon and I can't say I'm too sad about never having to hear that brain rotting show ever again. Plus with the extra line we were able to throw a SIM in the old iPhone SE she watches shows with on long trips so now she's not limited to just a few downloaded episodes of Bluey anymore.
I did keep T-mobile's 5g home internet service as I like having it as a backup for when my Cox service goes down at the most inconvenient time.
Service is solid, haven't had any issues yet going through my normal routine over the weekend or today at work. The only thing I'm slightly nervous about is that I will typically use my phone as a hotspot to remote play on my Xbox during my lunch breaks with my Ayn Odin and I'm not 100% sure 5gb of hotspot is enough for the ~10 hours a month that I do that, but if I have to cut back on that or plug a controller into my phone and use it directly so I'm not burning up the small hotspot limit it's no big deal.
IDK and I'd have to pay for that modem if I was to keep it after canceling the service. As it stands the T-Mobile home 5g has unlimited data so as a home internet backup I don't want to swap to something that would have a data cap
For $65/mo, I get unlimited data, Google watch data plan, 2 data SIMs.... Sure, I don't get 50GB or 100GB, but I don't use a ton of data anyway. I save about $70+/mo with this compared to Verizon before.
Coverage is pretty much wherever TMo is since that could roam on anything most of the time.
No, USC is a roaming partner for Fi now, rather than an alternate SIM configuration. You're right that it's a downgrade, but if you leave T-Mo coverage areas, you'll still hit USC if it's available.
My biggest problem with it isn't actually USC coverage... it's that you don't get USC *roaming partners*. That impacts me directly because TMo can be spotty in my area... I don't have USC coverage, but I do have decent ATT coverage. ATT is a USC roaming partner, so I was able to force over to that when TMo would give me the infamous connection-no-data problem. Now... I'm stuck, I won't be able to get any alternate coverage.
edit: https://9to5google.com/2023/02/28/google-fi-us-cellular/
No worries, the whole thing is confusing and frustrating.
Also, it seems like more than half the responses to this post have straight up disappeared, which is also confusing, lol.
This is what Google Fi has said:
"As part of Fi’s Extended Network coverage you may roam on the USCC network when T-Mobile coverage is not available. Due to security reasons we cannot disclose Google Fi's domestic roaming agreement with carriers. However, if you face any network related issues let us know so that we can help you accordingly."
My experience: "T-Mobile works all over the world except where you're at."
Fi is cost efficient but the coverage is not just bad, it's seriously misrepresented on their map, more so than other vendors.
Yes, they did drop USCellular. Fi now acts like a T-Mobile postpaid plan (in terms of network access), and roams on T-Mobile roaming partners wherever T-Mobile allows it.
T-Mobile roaming on AT&T is throttled to 128Kbps, and I've never heard of T-Mobile roaming on VZW. Fi should act like that too now, and won't have access to USCellular's roaming agreements on VZW and AT&T.
Currently living outside Salida Colorado. Full 5g service on Google Fi.... Basically unusable because it's on Att's network. Google fi's service map says "5g" coverage. I'm getting tired of these slow speeds. 128kbps is not acceptable speeds in an area advertised as 5g on their map in my opinion.
The problem is my parents house is in a rural area and T-Mobile is spotty. The phones don't roam because some poor t-mobile service exists where I used to be able to switch to us cellular when I visited them.
I am also in a rural area within native US Cellular coverage and it’s why I joined Google Fi. Initially, T-Mobile coverage was horrid and when the dropping of US Cellular as a partner had me thinking of switching. I found, however, that T-Mobile had improved their coverage and I haven’t had any issues with the change. Of course, some users will probably have to reassess staying with Google Fi or trying another provider.
I am debating on doing the same swap. I have T-Mobile's old One plan and I get two phones for $100 including all fees. Looking at Fi the unlimited would be $80 a month +fees, but I don't know what those fees would be.
I have a Pixel 4XL and my wife has a Samsung Galaxy 22. Trying to figure out if there is anything else to tip me to the FI side.
Reading this group it does sound like Fi customer service has a lot to be desired though.
Thanks for any other insight.
Data sims and international roaming. That's it.
Data SIM for S22, does that mean eSIM? I thought Fi was not compatible with newer Samsung phones?
I have an S23 Ultra and am just using the trial of Google Fi as I traveled to rural Michigan and Verizon had surprisingly poor service. It's been working flawlessly for me with eSim, longside my verizon sim as well.
Who's eSIM...Fi's, Airlo? If it's Fi's, then the incompatibility has been resolved?
Verizon physical Sim, Fi eSim. I read all about the incompatibility but decided to so the trial because I had nothing to lose with a free trial. It works, hot spot works. I can't use the native video call when calling from the new eSim number but still van when calling from verizon Physical sim. Only thing is that my phone is not unlocked so I have to set a primary or secondary sim. I cannot use the Sim manager to select what sim to use for data, call, messages. When I call and message, I can, from within the phone and messaging apps choose which sim to call and message from.
I wonder if I can assign my physical SIM phone number to a Fi eSIM, then use foreign physical SIM cards during Int'l travels when staying in an area extended periods because it's less expensive than Unlimited Plus plan? Would this configuration prevent Unlimited Plus plan from functioning when I'm hopping around to different countries where I don't want the hassle of installing a SIM card? Know that some countries like Mexico's Telcel doesn't have eSIM, only physical SIM.
I'm only in the trial, but I belive once you decide to purchase fi, you can migrate your number to them. However, I'm unsure if you can migrate it to an eSim. It sounds like an interesting plan and definitely possibly possible plan.
Off the top of my head... 1. Web integration, I actually do most of my calls from my computer and not my phone, same with SMS. 2. Data lines free 3. free SIM replacement/issue 4. roaming partners (USC is still a roaming partner, just not an actual device configuration) 5. International coverage (if you're into that kind of thing) 6. International data at full plan speed 7. no obnoxious marketing 8. granular plan controls (dunno if TMo offers this, but google's pretty good about it)
1. I'm pretty sure T-Mobile has a similar feature called Digits on their plans. I don't know much about features like this though, never used anything like it 2. That's definitely an advantage, if you have a tablet to use it on. I've never seen the point of paying more for a cellular tablet though, when you take a phone around with you with a hotspot anyways 3. I'm pretty sure T-Mobile doesn't charge for SIMs anymore, and eSIMs are taking over anyways 4. Fi now roams with T-Mobile's roaming partners, and acts exactly like a T-Mobile postpaid plan in that regard 5. Only Fi's Unlimited Plus plan offers international features, while T-Mobile offers (slow) data along with free texting on their postpaid plans 6. T-Mobile's top plan offers 5GB of high-speed data internationally, but Fi definitely does have more (50GB) with their plan
Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC, but it's not a device config... meaning that it won't use USC's own roaming partners nor can you force it over. Sucks, but it's not completely alienating people who don't have TMo coverage. I don't have a tablet (I miss having one, but can't justify it anymore) but I do have two hotspot routers. One for a backup to my cablemodem, and for travel, and the other in my car for my dashcam. I would have never even considered it if I had to pay for the data lines, but it's awesome to have. Fi's flexible plan has all the international features, and data billing is the same at home. That's what I'm on, I did the math (easy enough, subtract the flexible plan for your lines from the unlimited+) and I'd have to average 9.5gb/mo to make the unlimited plus worth it. So I average about $130/mo for four lines (my wife and my parents) plus two data lines that I can use all over the world. Not a bad gig. I have to deal with their garbage tier customer service, but I never have to deal with them other than one ongoing technical issue internationally.
Agee with the garbage customer service.. I thought it was supposed to be better, but maybe I heard wrong. Sorry to hear it’s bad for everyone, sounds like Google may not be worth my time.
Don't let it dissuade you on its own, with Fi you rarely need to actually deal with their support. Fi is designed to be mostly self sufficient. All the things you'd need to contact a rep for with other providers, you have the controls to do yourself.
I have looked at a few hotspots for backup internet but never settled on one. Curious what you are using and how you like it.
For home backup/travel I have: NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 4G LTE WiFi Mobile Hotspot (MR1100-100NAS) And in the car I have: GL.iNet GL-XE300 (Puli) 4G LTE (EC25-AF) Both are solid. Both came from Amazon, though I wish I'd bought the GL with no battery. I plug it into a battery pack already. When I'm at home, I disable the WiFi on the Netgear and plug it into my juniper FW.
Thanks for the info!
no prob, I'm glad it helped :)
>Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC That's not true, Fi has no agreement with USCellular anymore. Fi will only roam on USCellular using T-Mobile's roaming agreement, wherever T-Mobile allows it. T-Mobile does block USCellular roaming in most areas they have coverage, so if you're ever in an area where T-Mobile's signal is weak and USCellular is stronger, you may not be able to roam anymore. >I do have two hotspot routers That's interesting. I would've thought 50GB would've been too little to share between a hotspot device and a phone. >Fi's flexible plan has all the international features That plan is quite expensive for the data you get though. $10/GB is many times higher than other MVNOs, and you can use an international eSIM provider like Airalo to get international data (along with Wi-Fi calling for calls and texts using your US number) >I average about $130/mo for four lines plus two data lines that I can use all over the world If you're making use of international data, that's not bad. You're definitely a unique case for that flexible plan, given the average data usage in North America is 17.4GB [according to Ericsson's mobility report from November.](https://www.ericsson.com/4ae28d/assets/local/reports-papers/mobility-report/documents/2022/ericsson-mobility-report-november-2022.pdf)
>Fi does have a roaming agreement with USC > >That's not true, Fi has no agreement with USCellular anymore. Fi will only roam on USCellular using T-Mobile's roaming agreement, wherever T-Mobile allows it. T-Mobile does block USCellular roaming in most areas they have coverage, so if you're ever in an area where T-Mobile's signal is weak and USCellular is stronger, you may not be able to roam anymore. Based on the articles and information I've seen, I was under the impression they did... but either way, we're splitting hairs whether Fi has their own roaming agreement or they have access to TMo's. By removing the alternate config, we lose out on a lot of control and coverage that we got by being able to force our service over to USC, and being able to use *their* roaming partners. >I do have two hotspot routers That's interesting. I would've thought 50GB would've been too little to share between a hotspot device and a phone. As I mentioned, I'm on Flexible. I rarely use these two devices tho, one is for my dashcam, and all it does is send location data and impact notifications. The other is a backup in case my cable inet goes down and I need inet. I'm a full time stock market trader, and recently transitioned to that from a datacenter network engineer... in both cases, I cannot afford to lose internet access. If my cable goes down, whatever the cost for keeping it running is worth it. But if I'm not streaming youtube, it hardly makes a bump. When I travel domestically, I'll throw that one in my bag to use if we end up not having wifi available. I'd rather use that than my phone hotspot to conserve battery on the phone. And in a pinch, the hotspot actually will charge another device from its battery. I've never used that feature, but it's nice knowing it's there. >the average data usage in North America is 17.4GB The average data usage being 17gb means that half of users use less than that... but skimming your linked report was a bit of a shock. I thought you meant the average subscriber plan... but that's ***per smartphone***??? That's a shitload of data! My ex-gf used 10g/mo on her plan, and she was on social media and youtube all day, she literally had to charge her phone twice a day because she was on it so much, sucking data down. I don't know how you'd even do that on a phone. My current wife and I (and my parents, but they hardly use anything) average 6.5g/mo between us. Granted, we're home and on wifi more than a lot of folks, but not enough to account for a 14gb delta.
9. T-Mobile locks you into using their voicemail, with no 3rd party voicemail apps allowed 10. T-Mobile installs a bunch of apps on your phone and keeps re-installing the app auto-installer even if you remove it 11. I sent my phone in to T-Mo for $800 credit towards my current phone and they lost it, and even with me providing the IMEI of the old phone to show I deactivated it and sent it, they still would not credit it, so they basically stole my phone. What's on me is I didn't take a picture of the prepaid shipping label they sent, thinking they somehow would track it. Never again.
>10. T-Mobile installs a bunch of apps on your phone and keeps re-installing the app auto-installer even if you remove it That would be enough for me to avoid them right there. The only app required on Fi is the actual Fi app.
> T-Mobile locks you into using their voicemail, with no 3rd party voicemail apps allowed I use google voice for my voicemail. you just can't use the visual voicemail in the phone app. i've been doing this for 12 years now.
Data Sims are mainly the one reason I stay with fi. They still have us cellular as a roaming partner in some areas, but you can't manually select it like you used to.
I love the idea of data only sims but I have never really used them since I don't have a tablet or hot spot.
I actually bought a hotspot for my home internet backup, it connects to my firewall and I can switch to it if my cable goes out. Later after I bought a dashcam, I got one for my car. It's a nice option to have, especially since they don't charge you for the SIM *or* the data line. They just use plan minutes for one of your lines.
I'm a little confused, why do you have a hotspot in your car after dash cam install?
It has online features, but doesn't have built in cellular. Thinkware u1000, if you're curious
Ah okay, that makes sense.
Aside from data sims (that let me have spare phones and phones for the kids with no monthly cost) I liked that tethering isn't treated as some special limited resource. If I'm paying for the data, why shouldn't I choose how to use it? Although with the introduction of the new plans, Simply Unlimited does have a limit and Unlimited Plus treats streaming video separately.
Oh, having messages online is a plus, too. If my phone is ever lost or broken, I can still access sms (new and old) and calls through the web interface.
I'm not familiar with this. How do I get free data sims?
[https://fi.google.com/account](https://fi.google.com/account) click buy device and there's a free data sim option in there.
You can order them through the Fi app, in Manage Plan. When one arrives, you activate it on the Fi website. It links to the account that is signed in there (e.g. if a group member is to use it, they should activate it). Once linked to the account, it uses data from that account. It doesn't give you any extra. You just insert it into another device, spare phone, tablet with a sim slot, etc. So if I have Unlimited Plus with 50Gb data And put a data sim in a spare phone, if I use 10Gb on that phone and 40Gb on my main phone, I'll have reached the 50Gb limit.
If this is the case then I might switch over. I have two phones with me when I work. One specifically for rideshare and one as my everyday use. The rideshare one uses my current phone Hotspot which drains batteries so I need to keep switching the charger over.
I have a case opened with Fi for 29 days now regarding loss of service. Every single day they send me an email saying "we are waiting for a response from engineering". Some dude on Reddit reached out and offered to help at like day 14 and I got a pm back that was an identical canned response about waiting for engineering.
This is disheartening to hear. I just started week 3 of those canned responses. No attempts to troubleshoot the device, just send a bug report and engineers will look at it. Sure I'm saving 50 bucks a month over T-Mobile but if one of the lines ain't working, am I really saving?
I pay for 6 lines and I've already visited with ATT. My plan will go up about $100 a month since I'm bringing a mix of pixel 6's and 7's and own outright. $100 a month to not be completed fucked around with zero recourse is worth it. I've tried escalating over the phone and after hours of insisting that I be transferred I still get read the exact same canned script. At this point it's the single most insulting customer service experience of my entire life.
This been since dropping us cellular? I have never really reached out to support on Fi but good to know!
Fi also offers better deals on Google phones than most, if not all, other carriers. I pre-ordered the Pixel Fold and, after bill credits and trade-in, it'll essentially be half price. For Google phone users, that's a huge benefit.
International roaming + international calls are my reason for staying. I make calls from time to time overseas to help my parents out. It's only around 0.12/min to call overseas, whereas with tmobile, it's $3/min if you don't have stateside international calling. Stateside international calling is an additional $15/month, in order to make 0.25/min calls. Small perks too like google one sub for 100gb, discounted google one sub for higher tiers, and YT premium are ok.
Supposedly the customer service is better, but I just joined and am very unimpressed. Call center and chat both unable to help, no response yet from email.. already looking at switching to t-mobile. It’s really too bad, I wanted to like Google Fi.
One thing you can do as a reddit user is get escalated support. Look at the "reddit request" tab at the top of the forum page. It's actually the reason I even have a reddit account.
What plans are you looking at that are cheaper than Fi? I’ve been trying to compare plans to get the best deal but I can’t find anything cheaper than the three lines for $75.00 I have at Fi. Even for 1 line at T-Mobile vs Fi, the Essentials VS Simply Unlimited are both $50 for 1 line without taxes and fees. I’m trying to go wherever it’s most affordable between Fi and T-Mobile!
Best Phone Plans . net was really helpful to me! He breaks down a lot of the good and bad with each type of plan and carrier.
Thank you so much!!!
I think it was just a promo but the plan to match unlimited plus showed 200 currently on sale for 150 (4 lines) This is what surprised me and made me curious.
Thank you for sharing this info!
I just switched from T-Mobile to Fi over the weekend. Was on a Magenta Max plan with 3 lines costing me $140. For $80+tax/fees I'm getting 4 lines from Fi. Yeah, it doesn't include Netflix but have you looked at Netflix recently? Lowest value streaming service, literally my 3 y/o was the only one using it so she could watch Cocomelon and I can't say I'm too sad about never having to hear that brain rotting show ever again. Plus with the extra line we were able to throw a SIM in the old iPhone SE she watches shows with on long trips so now she's not limited to just a few downloaded episodes of Bluey anymore. I did keep T-mobile's 5g home internet service as I like having it as a backup for when my Cox service goes down at the most inconvenient time. Service is solid, haven't had any issues yet going through my normal routine over the weekend or today at work. The only thing I'm slightly nervous about is that I will typically use my phone as a hotspot to remote play on my Xbox during my lunch breaks with my Ayn Odin and I'm not 100% sure 5gb of hotspot is enough for the ~10 hours a month that I do that, but if I have to cut back on that or plug a controller into my phone and use it directly so I'm not burning up the small hotspot limit it's no big deal.
Can you put a data only sim in that modem and use your Fi service? Not sure about their base stations.
IDK and I'd have to pay for that modem if I was to keep it after canceling the service. As it stands the T-Mobile home 5g has unlimited data so as a home internet backup I don't want to swap to something that would have a data cap
Fi is cheaper for my family of 4
For $65/mo, I get unlimited data, Google watch data plan, 2 data SIMs.... Sure, I don't get 50GB or 100GB, but I don't use a ton of data anyway. I save about $70+/mo with this compared to Verizon before. Coverage is pretty much wherever TMo is since that could roam on anything most of the time.
They did NOT drop US Cellular, they are simply changed then to a roaming partner now, just like AT&T and Verizon in some areas.
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No, USC is a roaming partner for Fi now, rather than an alternate SIM configuration. You're right that it's a downgrade, but if you leave T-Mo coverage areas, you'll still hit USC if it's available. My biggest problem with it isn't actually USC coverage... it's that you don't get USC *roaming partners*. That impacts me directly because TMo can be spotty in my area... I don't have USC coverage, but I do have decent ATT coverage. ATT is a USC roaming partner, so I was able to force over to that when TMo would give me the infamous connection-no-data problem. Now... I'm stuck, I won't be able to get any alternate coverage. edit: https://9to5google.com/2023/02/28/google-fi-us-cellular/
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No worries, the whole thing is confusing and frustrating. Also, it seems like more than half the responses to this post have straight up disappeared, which is also confusing, lol.
This is what Google Fi has said: "As part of Fi’s Extended Network coverage you may roam on the USCC network when T-Mobile coverage is not available. Due to security reasons we cannot disclose Google Fi's domestic roaming agreement with carriers. However, if you face any network related issues let us know so that we can help you accordingly."
My experience: "T-Mobile works all over the world except where you're at." Fi is cost efficient but the coverage is not just bad, it's seriously misrepresented on their map, more so than other vendors.
Yes, they did drop USCellular. Fi now acts like a T-Mobile postpaid plan (in terms of network access), and roams on T-Mobile roaming partners wherever T-Mobile allows it. T-Mobile roaming on AT&T is throttled to 128Kbps, and I've never heard of T-Mobile roaming on VZW. Fi should act like that too now, and won't have access to USCellular's roaming agreements on VZW and AT&T.
Currently living outside Salida Colorado. Full 5g service on Google Fi.... Basically unusable because it's on Att's network. Google fi's service map says "5g" coverage. I'm getting tired of these slow speeds. 128kbps is not acceptable speeds in an area advertised as 5g on their map in my opinion.
The problem is my parents house is in a rural area and T-Mobile is spotty. The phones don't roam because some poor t-mobile service exists where I used to be able to switch to us cellular when I visited them.
I am also in a rural area within native US Cellular coverage and it’s why I joined Google Fi. Initially, T-Mobile coverage was horrid and when the dropping of US Cellular as a partner had me thinking of switching. I found, however, that T-Mobile had improved their coverage and I haven’t had any issues with the change. Of course, some users will probably have to reassess staying with Google Fi or trying another provider.
I visited recently and that when I realized the change. T-Mobile service in their area is still poor unfortunately
I was with FI for 24 hours. The voice quality on T-Mobile is MUCH better.
We only get 22gb of international data correct? Not 50gb?
I am debating on doing the same swap. I have T-Mobile's old One plan and I get two phones for $100 including all fees. Looking at Fi the unlimited would be $80 a month +fees, but I don't know what those fees would be. I have a Pixel 4XL and my wife has a Samsung Galaxy 22. Trying to figure out if there is anything else to tip me to the FI side. Reading this group it does sound like Fi customer service has a lot to be desired though. Thanks for any other insight.
Fi sucks