Google Fi

[penguinz]

Anyone use the Google Fi service? Pros cons?

[Prison Bitch]

Never heard of it

[lawrenceRaider]

Yes. Works fairly well, including internationally.

If you have a friend who uses it, they do referals that get you and your friend a discount, $20 or something like that for the first month.

[Chazno]

I used it for a few years. If you are around wifi the majority of the time it works fine. When I wasn't I was always worrying how much data an app was using. If an app is using data in the back ground and you don't know it. That is on you. Once my daughter got a phone, I switched to an unlimited plan. I didn't want to be all over her all the time for just being a teenager using her phone.

If you are just asking about the phone service. Its the same as any other service. Its a good service if you are mostly a voice user, occasional data and want a cheaper bill. I would check you current service to see how much data you use monthly before switching.

[arrwheader]

I have it, pretty happy with it. Same or better than any other phone service i have had. They use like all towers, verizon, sprint, tmo so for me it seems I always have service.

As to going over on data, you top out at like 6 gigs or something like that so you won't ever get charged over that amount, your data will be throttled but I find it pretty hard to ever even get up to that amount.

10 bucks a gig up to i think 6gb after that no charge but data throttled. 20 base pay for single plan. My bill probably averages 40-50 bucks a month somewhere in there.

[Beef Supreme]

I use Google-fu. I'm a black belt.

[Indian Chief]

Pros: cheapest phone bill and the same voice and text service you get with anyone else

Cons: if you're a high volume data user

I use my phone for calls and texts and limit my app/internet usage to wi-fi. I pay <$50/mo for myself and the wife.

[BryanBusby]

I have it now and will be looking to switch soon.

Never received so much spam text prior to switching to Fi, doesn't seem as advantageous now that Sprint and Tmobile are one in the same and text messages are randomly ****ed up.

[arrwheader]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

I have it now and will be looking to switch soon.

Never received so much spam text prior to switching to Fi, doesn't seem as advantageous now that Sprint and Tmobile are one in the same and text messages are randomly ****ed up.

Turn the spam filter on maybe?

[Rain Man]

I've been trying everything to change my internet provider. I live right in the middle of a dense big city, and do you know how many companies can provide reasonably fast internet to us?

One.

And it's Xfinity/Comcast, which is the worst and most despicable company on the planet. If the Taliban started an internet provider in Denver, I would switch to them from Xfinity in a second.

Every other provider uses microwaves or satellite, and our tree cover apparently blocks us from getting a good signal. AT&T, which does not get good reviews, provides a dedicated line, but it's low-speed. So I'm stuck until someone can figure out how to end the monopoly, and I hate Xfinity more with every single inaccurate bill and added fee and phantom equipment charge that I get.

Hate them, hate them, hate them. If I was the president and a giant meteor was hurtling toward the earth, I would send astronauts up not to destroy the meteor but to deflect the course directly into Xfinity headquarters.

[theoldcoach]

Is it like a "woke" Semper Fi?

[Molitoth]

I used it back in 2016-2018 ish??? When it was limited to only certain phones such as the Moto G4/G6.

At $40 month it was fine, and I think they allow you to use any phone now...


However, I switched to MINT Mobile because nothing beats the cost.
I'm paying like $25 a month for 3GB I think.


3GB works great for me as I am around WIFI/hotspots all day.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I've been trying everything to change my internet provider. I live right in the middle of a dense big city, and do you know how many companies can provide reasonably fast internet to us?

One.

And it's Xfinity/Comcast, which is the worst and most despicable company on the planet. If the Taliban started an internet provider in Denver, I would switch to them from Xfinity in a second.

Every other provider uses microwaves or satellite, and our tree cover apparently blocks us from getting a good signal. AT&T, which does not get good reviews, provides a dedicated line, but it's low-speed. So I'm stuck until someone can figure out how to end the monopoly, and I hate Xfinity more with every single inaccurate bill and added fee and phantom equipment charge that I get.

Hate them, hate them, hate them. If I was the president and a giant meteor was hurtling toward the earth, I would send astronauts up not to destroy the meteor but to deflect the course directly into Xfinity headquarters.

Look at T-Mobile, they're rolling out 5G internet. You literally get a new phone number that's only used by their wireless router, so if TMobile has good service where you live, it should work fine.

I was in the exact same position... one choice was fast, but horrible reliability. A second choice was slow and makes you rent their router (and even has the audacity to say their router is special because their 5mbps connection is bleeding edge technology).

I got in at $50/month with TMobile internet with a free router (and free shipping if you send it back)... unlimited data and it's a pretty consistent ~150mbps where I live (they guarantee 40, I believe). There have been a few blips and slowdowns, but really only a few in the month I've had them. It's month to month, so I had nothing to lose by trying it out.

They're doing it through sign-ups right now, so I had to put in some info and they call you back to go over everything (they called me within a few hours)... had to wait about 5 weeks to receive their router.

It was my favorite call to an ISP ever when canceling Sparklight after trying TMobile for a couple weeks... I was having daily outages at one point and they scheduled a visit, but never showed up. Neighbors have all said they same and hopefully some of these satellite and 5G solutions will help over time.

https://www.t-mobile.com/isp

(and no, I don't work for them, but have been on a $60/month cell unlimited data plan for like 20 years, and now $50 for reliable internet, so I do kinda love them)

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

I have it now and will be looking to switch soon.

Never received so much spam text prior to switching to Fi, doesn't seem as advantageous now that Sprint and Tmobile are one in the same and text messages are randomly ****ed up.

I've been using Google Fi for a while and never received a spam text I didn't inadvertently sign up for.

[lawrenceRaider]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

I used it back in 2016-2018 ish??? When it was limited to only certain phones such as the Moto G4/G6.

At $40 month it was fine, and I think they allow you to use any phone now...


However, I switched to MINT Mobile because nothing beats the cost.
I'm paying like $25 a month for 3GB I think.


3GB works great for me as I am around WIFI/hotspots all day.

I have my wife and son on Mint, but I can't get reception from Mint at work, and they didn't do WiFi calling/text on my S21.

ETA: I'm likely to swap my family over to Google Fi when the prepaid Mint plan I have them on runs out. It'll be like $30/month per person for unlimited everything to have us all on the same Google Fi plan.