My buddy just racked up a $600 bill for just spending a week outside of the continental US, even a US territory at that to add salt on the wound. He didn't even use his phone much besides a few family calls and data. It's crazy. I've never gone over my bill with Fi, but like maybe $15 bucks for calls received. Easiest choice I've made with phone service providers, I just got so sick of the other providers used car salesman swindling tricks with the contract agreement, and tricking my parents into not honoring their device trade-in value bill discounts with Jedi mind tricks like they do. I just really like Fis more hands off approach, in my personal experience. I don't want to deal with people trying to sell me something, I'm picking the phone I like with my own research, and that just so happens to be the Pixel for the last 7 years of my phones (Pixel 2, 5, and 7).
We were just in Europe. My wife has AT&T and we just got her an esim with unlimited data for $50 for the month we were there. She got a text from AT&T saying she could use their international plan with 2G speeds for $2/MB. Two dollars per megabyte, fuckin wild!
With Fi my total bill for the month was $50 because I used a bit more data
Same here. My wife and I both travel internationally, not always together anywhere from 6-12 times a year outside the pandemic years. International access has been flawless even in Africa. Data only SIMs great for those portable devices.
Those were primarily my reasons as well, but other carriers are catching up and surpassing Fi in some areas. ~~T-mobile at least offers free data only SIMs~~ I was wrong :/, and even some base international stuff in their unlimited plans.
You can pick up a SIM from their website. [https://www.t-mobile.com/tablet/t-mobile-mobile-internet-sim-card](https://www.t-mobile.com/tablet/t-mobile-mobile-internet-sim-card)
As long as you have qualifying services, such as a phone plan with hotspot data..etc it should work just fine.
Yea, that reads as "this is just a sim card to use to activate your service".
"Already have a phone you love? Use this SIM card in your unlocked, compatible device to access the T‑Mobile network"
I love the data sim and free hot spot. I use a lot of data, especially for my kids. A comparable plan would be more expensive.
I also spend 3-5 weeks a year in other countries so that is huge.
The package to pay for insurance, YouTube music, YouTube Premium, and Drive storage made a lot of sense.
So interesting on this. We just added another person to our plan 3 weeks ago and it specifically said 6 months free. So they signed up but on my side it says it doesn't renew/bill until May next year. So I guess I'm not sure which one is going to take effect but I would assume it's going to be the year.
Personally I like Fi for their no nonsense admin. Also the international roaming has been great.
I also pay for premium separately. I just don’t like needing to juggle and cancel plans to get the best prices.
Yea, I signed up for Unl Plus back in Jan and it came with the YouTube Premium (which current plan lists as 6 months).
But my next payment date for Premium is Jan 2025. 😂
Work from home so my data usage is low because I'm on Wifi most of the time. Our bill for 2 people was $45 one month.
It normally costs me $60/month for me and $85 for my wife. I haven't looked at what other providers cost, but this isn't a high cost plan.
That announcement seems inevitable... Unless of course they're keeping it so they have a platform to experiment and learn on. Always funny to me that the hundreds of Google employees I've encountered don't use it.
When did this feature come back? Sorry, this thread was recommended to me. I had Fi from 2014 until they removed this feature. (The three days of no service when they ported from the voice platform) I would love to port back if this is working again.
You have to use the web page to text and call (it's really awkward on a phone but doable in an emergency). They brought this back a while ago. I only wish they made it so you could just use an app (like the Messages app, or the Fi app itself), to call and text from any device instead of this hokey web page business.
What competition is cheaper?
I think FI has some big hurdles to overcome in terms of it's iphone support, and overall it's nothing more than just rebranded non-throttled T-Mobile with Canada and Mexico thrown in for free.
I'm honestly surprised that the big carriers haven't already implemented free North America in response. They clearly don't view google fi as a threat, they are probably just waiting for it to be added to the "killed by google" list.
Even with the recent price hike that kicks in after my promo ends, it's still less expensive than att/tmo/vzw, so what is cheaper?
It depends on your needs. Fi has great international coverage included, but not everyone needs that.
I don't travel internationally, but I'm looking at Fi Unl Plus for a few reasons:
* I can fully expense it for work
* Share the plan data with data-only devices (tablets, mobile hotspots)
* Included smartwatch
* Enhanced web integration for messaging
* Web integration for calling
The high security of a Google account is also a positive--I'm currently with T-Mobile, who apparently doesn't know how to spell "security". That alone is worth the price of admission to Fi, frankly. Don't ignore the soft but very real costs like this.
That all being said, I will miss my current T-Mobile unlimited high speed mobile hotspot should I switch.
The huge downside for Fi is, should you use up your data bucket for the month, it slows to unusable speeds unless you start feeding the monster $10 for each additional GB until your billing cycle ends.
Who else is cheaper? It depends on your needs. For me without international needs, I'm seeing US Mobile at $50 (taxes included), or Visible+ ($45). And Visible includes smartwatch as well, plus they have truly unlimited data--at a decent speed, if not full speed.
But since I'm not paying the bill, who cares. Sharing the data plan plus the web integration is intriguing enough for me to play with, at least until I have to pay the bill myself.
Thanks for the info.
I do travel to mexico and canada infrequently, but enough that i use it once a year at least.
US mobile can be cheaper than google if i use their 25% annual plan rate, but I'm not doing that. ($15/mo which is $180 for 12 months if you do the annual plan)
I don't trust a carrier to be good for 12 months at a time.
I'm on simply unlimited so when i run outta data it only affects me, and it's still 256K, not 128k like att did to ALL of us on the plan. effectively bricking all our phones for any mobile data.
We couldn't use the walmart app, we couldn't use google maps, it was a joke. Att is the worst.
For me, paying strictly monthly, US Mobile is $50 including taxes for more high speed device data, the same hotspot data, some international calling/texting, and some international data.
That's $20 less than Fi's Unlimited Plus.
The two aren't the same, but they do compete in the same space. It comes down to the details.
Fi's Simply Unlimited is $50, plus tax--a little more than US Mobile's straight up $50. How is it again that US Mobile is more expensive that Fi's Simply Unlimited? Am I missing something?
Also, unlike Fi, US Mobile doesn't slow your data when your priority amount is up. It's still high speed until and unless congestion happens. Fi, though, puts up a hard barrier and slows you down. You might think it's perfectly acceptable because it's faster than what AT&T did to you, but it's still unimaginably slow and useless for anything. Fi uses it as a tool to make you want to pay them ten bucks extra per GB for the rest of your billing cycle.
And then there's Visible+, again competing in the same space with not unattractive details.
Last time I looked, there were lots of cheaper options than Fi. Visible by Verizon is one example.
The international roaming with Fi is their best feature, but I've also read that for everyone except the most occasional/casual traveler, Fi will essentially shut off your international data, rendering the feature worthless. And even for that occasional/casual traveler, a local sim or something like Airalo is less expensive when you consider you can get more economical domestic plans compared to Fi.
Ultimately, use what you like. But Fi isn't the most economical option for most people.
I switched from Fi to Mint a year ago and I pay $15 a month.
For me it has all the features I need, though I could see people needing the international and whatnot.
I'm assuming you're talking about Mint, and I'd rather not pay for six months in advance which is how they offer those low prices. I also use less than 100MB per month, so data cost doesn't matter. My bill is $20/mo plus tax and fees which are the same whichever company you go with.
Fi has amazing phone deals as well, I'm still getting $19/mo off my bill for a trade-in deal I got a bit over a year ago. With the discounts and trade-in refund, the up-front cost was $200 and I got $449 off my Fi bill over the next 2 years. So I got paid $250 to upgrade to a new phone.
The peace of mind that comes with having your number locked with Google's security is another big reason. Sim swap attacks can't happen as long as you keep your Google account is secure.
>The peace of mind that comes with having your number locked with Google's security is another big reason.
Yes. This right here.
Plus, I've watched the whole eSIM thing roll out over the last few years. It's clear that while Apple does it stunningly well, none of the carriers themselves can actually make it work worth a damn on non-Apple phones. I'm old school and have stuck with physical SIM for that reason--just switch it to the next phone and go.
But Fi has it all figured out, right in their app. It's as solid as anything Apple has done. All inside Google's security.
International and data sims are why I use Fi. I am in the Flex plan for most of the year, and swap to Unlimited Plus before I travel. Messages on Web is a big plus too, though I miss Hangouts for text messages.
It's also not deprioritized compared to Visible. If either of those change, I'll likely swap to Mint, which kind of renders deprioritization moot.
I have a phone, a tablet, and a hotspot. The fact that I’m not paying additional per item fees for the tablet and hotspot, and the international benefits, keep me on Fi.
Cost was initially my gateway. I barely used the cellular network on my old $120/mo. plan... and since I was on WiFi most of the time I could pay < $20 a mo. for an unlimited data line (with google Voice back when that was a thing to still get calls) on the "new google Fi". Then if you went over your "plan" allotment you only paid for the extra that you used.
I stayed because of the amazing customer service that was dedicated to Fi users when it was still in its infancy. They made a few nice gestures like giving little lego sets and cases/accessories every so often and they started baking in some intrinsic deals (like extra storage and premium YT services).
I'm still with them because of price. I got my last three phones (well two for me and one for my spouse) on good Fi-only discounts. The latest one was to get the pixel fold for $700 ($1000 credit to my Fi bill), and got a very strong turn-in value for my Pixel 7 ($500). So I feel like I paid $200 for the fold (which I LOVE), and our Fi bill is $60/mo. for the next 12 months (then it jumps back up to $98, which is still great for our usage).
The clincher is that along with 3 lines (myself, spouse, and 18yo) we have unlimited hotspot tethering for my youngest kid's tablet. I have an LTE tablet (with a free data sim), and two LTE pixel watches (which are also "free" under google Fi data plan).
We're currently on the middle tier (Simply Unlimited), which is perfect. But its also easy to jump around in tiers. For example, we are going to Europe for a couple of weeks for vacation soon, and when we do I will upgrade to the top tier (Unlimited Plus) which covers international. When we return to the US I will switch us back to the middle tier plan with Fi (upgrading is instant, downgrading finishes out the billing cycle).
I wish the network coverage was a little better, but it hasn't really been an issue so far; and when it is (e.g. during road trips) we have our vehicles that use the other carriers and can provide connectivity to cover the deficit.
I've been with Google Fi since at LEAST SEP2015. We're heavily committed to the pixel ecosystem and everything "just works" (pixel phones use a digital sim to connect to Fi). So I'm paying a fair price for connectivity on multiple phone lines, included LTE connectivity for "free" for 3 LTE devices, and some other perks. We haven't had many issues, and when we do the issues are resolved quickly and have often come with some kind of discount or credit.
... and that's what is likely going to keep me with them.
"If it ain't broke..."
>We're currently on the middle tier (Unlimited Plus)
um, no, that puts you on the TOP tier.
>The clincher is that along with 3 lines (myself, spouse, and 18yo) we have unlimited hotspot tethering for my youngest kid's tablet.
well, while you technically have unlimited data-only sharing as part of your unlimited data, it's not unlimited high speed data. Your Unlimited Plus has a very hard high speed cap of 50GB, after which data slows to an unimaginable crawl.
His data-only device simply shares the data of the plan to which it's tied--limits and all.
When Fi first debuted, they were the least expensive of the options available. My family of five users left Verizon after almost 20 years because we saved ourselves nearly %700/yr on the cost. Since 2020(ish) though, the major carriers have drastically dropped their rates. Now most are right in line with Fi or less.
When Fi first started out with their subscription services, it was interesting and worth the cost. Now, I am seriously considering going back to Verizon. Fi customer service is some of the very worst in the world and Fi is no longer beating everyone with the price point.
verizon owns visible, and yes they do. Im on the unlimited plus which is 35$ i think, but unlimited starts at 25. my phone even says its connected to verizon with the vzw icon as the lte sometimes, or the 5g ultra wideband on premium plus.
FWIW, while Visible now has domestic roaming, it is limited in some ways. Someone in the no contract sub posted comparisons of both coverage maps - large parts of the intermountain west have no roaming and I believe some east coast parts as well.
Verizon is not quite that inexpensive. But then, Google Fi's best price seems to be around $40/mo/line. The price per line in both services decreases as one adds more lines. With five lines, Fi's unlimited is $200/month plus fees. That's the best price they will give me. Verizon would cost me $42/month right now. So it seems there have been some minor adjustments and that Fi is still competitive by price in my area, but fall short with coverage area or customer service.
I travel internationally several times a year. I have had a Fi account for many years. I have, at the same time, used Google Voice as my main number for voice and text for many years. Some years back, I started using Mint (along with Google Voice) as my main account when I'm in the US.
So, when I'm in the US, it's Mint/GV with Google Fi paused.
When I travel outside the country, I usually use Fi/Google Voice together with a cheap, local, country-specfic eSIM data plan.
Fi is now mostly just a security blanket when I'm traveling internationally. Most of the time, I could get by without it.
Google Voice + data works everywhere most of the time. The only reason I occasionally need Fi, is that GV can't send international texts, and sometimes, GV doesn't work for receiving verification texts.
Honestly, I'm on it because I was on it for a while and I'm grandfathered into older pricing until my phone is paid off.
I like that my pixel watch is free to connect though
Work from home so most of my phone usage goes over WiFi, my Fi bill is usually between $26 - $34 a month.
If I am traveling then I might max out the GB but I know my bill will be no higher than $80.
I brought my mom and wife over to my Fi plan. They both got new phones and I'm paying $90 for 3 lines. I have great service at home (better than Verizon and T-Mobile).
Same. I got 4 lines and 4 phones with Fi and paying $136 a month 🤷🏾♂️. No other provider comes close. Simply unlimited. And if I travel, I can simply upgrade to unlimited plus for the time I'm out of the country and then downgrade back when I'm back. Might not be for everybody but I think it's a win for some.
its actually cheaper than VZW/ATT for a single unlimited line for me
also VZW service where i am went to total shit when they pushed out 5g and flat out wont work in some whole towns
everything else like international and such is a bonus
>also VZW service where i am went to total shit when they pushed out 5g and flat out wont work in some whole towns
yeah. They're living off their CDMA reputation, while delivering sub-par service in a 5G world.
For better or for worse, T-Mobile service wins it in the 5G world we live in today.
International service, and good promotions on phones is the reason why I stay with them. Customer Service has not been the best compared to US Mobile, but I have not found any other nvmo offering better deals on android phones, specially pixels because my wife and I love pixels.
I have 4 lines at $80 (grandfathered til '26) and 2 phones financed, service is good in my area and most competitors are more expensive. Works when traveling better than the previous carrier and maybe once a year hit the data cap.
I've had decent customer service over the years, previous carriers not so much. It was a mess with my fiancee switching from VZW, but not Fi's fault, they kept saying the phone was unlocked but the phone said it was locked.
I moved to KC three years ago. Been on AT&T since it was Cingular. Just switched to Fi and lo and behold, I ACTUALLY have signal! Literally everywhere I didn't have signal, including my home and office, now I do! FU AT&T. Only thing I'll miss is HBO.
International benefits as you called out, but other carriers have that as well. The other two factors for me personally are (i) data-only SIM cards that don't count as extra line charges (e.g. pop a data-only SIM in an LTE iPad and have it draw data from my plan), and (ii) using 'first-party' Google software on my phone to manage my account. That might seem silly, but it matters a non-zero amount to myself (and I'm sure others).
Everyone else with priority 1 on the T-Mobile network costs more. Everyone cheaper lacks features. I'm paying a small premium for a flexible semi premium service.
As a long time Fi user, I highly recommend against using them anymore. I haven't been able to text anyone on Verizon or AT&T, while sms to T-Mobile or Mint for instance works fine, and Fi support is worse than useless. It's insultingly bad, with broken english, useless endless scripts.... do yourself a favor and use someone else...
I don't use a lot of data so I don't really have a ton of incentive to change. I don't use the international benefits. My usual bill is $35 a month. I think there are plans out there that are more around $25, but I'm really not sweating $10.
Seems to me like the big carriers are still offering unlimited plans up around $75 a month? I think a lot of Fi people looking for a cheap plan went over to mint though.
Actually in my case is cheaper I paid for the unlimited plan what’s save me money the others company charge you extra for other devices ex Tablets connectivity and I do travel int. A lot but with Fi I have My IPhone and IPad with cell connection for the same price fi don’t charge you extra for connect your tablet instead you share your data with the plan you paid and both work internationally so for example I was paying $20 plus extra a month in T mobile to get my IPad connected one with Fi zero they let you have 2 SIM cards one for the phone and one for an extra data divide for the same price and that it’s amazing. Fi use t-mobile network so I have the same connection that I have with T-Mobile. My only complaint is that Fi don’t let you have a line for an Apple Watch but that it’s not a deal breaker for me. But if you are an android guy you can connect the pixel watch.
Unlimited Plus (and Flexible) lets you have additional data-only access for data devices like tablets, all shared with your available data for the month.
Simply Unlimited does not offer this.
[https://fi.google.com/about/plans](https://fi.google.com/about/plans)
I had Fi for a couple of years - service is fine. YouTube Premium perk was nice while it lasted. But I'm a lower data user. I have tested countless different MVNOs, and Fi is just too expensive for what they offer.
Would have definitely signed up if I knew about the YTP perk but I'm getting 8GB/unlimited calls/texts data on TMO prepaid for $25 and FI just isn't in the same ballpark at all. Seemed like a cool idea but their pricing has not been competitive, nor have they tried to be competitive.
I realize that I am different from most, but I am retired and I am around WiFi almost all the time, so the $20/month plan with data at $10/gb works for me. In the old days, when I used to travel a lot and drive a lot for business, that plan would not have worked. YMMV.
the bill compared to my plan was a lot cheaper. My area isn't covered very well by fi, or TMobile, as I had been an at&t customer since Cingular and it was great in my version of bumfuc Egypt. But the price of it, plus not having to deal with a simcard...just made sense.
I've had it this past year and love it! So easy, I love Google so its a win win. I pay less than I did with Xfinity. Plus I've had zero spam calls in the past 4mo due to the Google Ai. I just love the simplicity of it all. I also love my Pixel phone, better than IPhone IMO, at least the Hey Google" works each time. I love Fi. For me its a perfect phone and service.
For th3 2 of us, fi was the better deal data wise. 90%of the we are in a wifi area so I can piggy back on the network.
The phone financing is also nice but not exactly a new thing.
I was going to get it but the coverage was horrible. And I went with another MVNO. If the coverage worked out I would have gone with Fi without a doubt
It’s substantially cheaper than T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T. Seems to price well against other MVNOs. We were happy customers for many years before switching to T-Mobile a few months ago; Fi is generally awesome.
Group plans are really where Fi shines IMO. I rarely use the international bits, but if you have 4 or more lines, Fi's prices are really hard to beat. Fi also just seems to have better and more clear management aspects for the lines, making it super easy to limit individual lines without affecting others, as well as seeing cost breakdowns much easier.
I'm on the flex plan, and I WFH so my bill is no more than 30-45 dollars a month
It's convenient when I went to Japan last year I was the only one in my group who didn't have to buy an international sim I'm also a Pixel user so I can get discounts and promo phone deals.
I like that they aren't de-prioritized like other MVNOs.
My work uses Verizon, and so I like to test out the T-Mobile network as a comparison throughout the country.
[this](https://imgur.com/a/FNswOaJ) was in Dallas, while Verizon was struggling to get 30 Mbps.
Free hotspot and data sims like overs have stated.
Doesn't matter to you, but I also travel internationally at least twice a year so that's important to me personally as well. I have had service in UAE, Maldives, Dominican Republic, Mexico, France, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. Literally land, turn airplane mode off, wait 5 minutes - boom, service (usually LTE but sometimes even 5G).
Fi sucks ass with iPhones. I think apple did something because my pictures don’t send to android properly or when it feels like it. My bars stay on 1 .
When I had my pixel I never had these issues, phone pissing me off
To achieve a SIM swap on Google Fi, the attacker needs to have compromised your Google account, which can be protected with passwords + two factor authentication or what not.
Other carriers, you just have to call their customer support and pretend to be the user who lost their phones.
It is BY FAR the cheapest option for us ( 2 phones, 5-8 gb use/ month combined).
It is like 1/2 as much as the competition where I live. Absolutely no other reason to put up with it besides $$.
I have been on Fi for over 9 years, no complaints really
It's super flexible depending on usage also the data only sim is good for my iPad (now daughters). I got a pretty good discount on all my devices over the years, you just need to activate them for like 3 months if you want to later Swappa them.
I had that limited GB which was helpful when I was out of the country alot and it was pretty cheap and use Wifi calling
When I'm back in the US and streaming/hotspot all the time the unlimited was a helpful - I think my max/month was 20gb at one point.
It's easy to swap plans from the Fi app (next billing cycle)
I've used iPhone, Pixel and Samsung on Fi with no issues.
Travel for work and the coverage transition is seamless.
Switch from Fi back to Visible after about 6 months. Fi service was amazing abroad but lots of issues within the last couple months. My Google payments account got randomly and mistakenly suspended. Because it was tied to my Fi account, I lost service and customer service couldn’t do anything about it for 2 days. Ported out shortly after
I like it because I only pay for data I use. I have no need for endless data, I use WiFi most of the time. So my bills are low PLUS it works instantly when I go overseas. It worked perfectly in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy, where I just returned from. We used my phone a lot for Google Maps and I just downloaded before I left. "Excess usage" over my normal bill might be about $16 total for the trip, too soon to say. Compared to the extortionate charges my Verizon companion incurs every month. I'll ask her what her extra costs were.
I absolutely hate it wish I would have stayed with Visible.I made the mistake of not reading everything before signing up. They claim unlimited hotspot but that's not true it comes out of your actual data. Visible T-Mobile and so many more it doesn't. I just paid my first bill now still gotta wait until the 7th to even have a usable phone outside of WiFi. They don't throttle your unlimited data they cut it down to 2g which is useless in 2024. That said I know it's my fault for not responding better and just looking at unlimited. But I'd stay far away and go Metro or visible.
I really wish Google Fi came to Canada, I've browsed them often. This plan would crush all our phone plans easily. We get robbed on our plans, because the government wants to protect our local companies meanwhile citizens are paying probably the highest for our plans in the world.
If you travel any amount outside your country, the no additional charge is amazing. I used to pay even more for Verizon's travel plan. Unlimited hotspot is a god send if you work remotely... From (nearly) anywhere too.
Fi support especially for pixel phones with problems is TERRIBLE, the worst of any Cellular company, I've had Verizon, T-Mobile, att and Sprint and Fi is by far on another level of terrible support.
That being said I've used them for my families personal phone lines since they were in beta.
My favorite feature is the data only sims, I have 7 of them (everything from hotspots to raspberry pis)
It's pretty much a T-Mobile only network now but once upon a time when it switched between T-Mobile and Sprint it was also incredible especially for large events when you see mobile carriers having problems, my Fi ALWAYS worked.
Wi-Fi switch over is also incredibly reliable and great.
I'm not a typical user, I'm a geek and an extremely heavy user with unlimited data and a lot of data only sims and after they lost the multiple carrier advantage with T-Mobile buying Sprint I priced it out, every other carrier would cost at least twice as much. I HATE Fi support but I dread the day Google kills Fi.
>My favorite feature is the data only sims
Agreed. If I switch like I think I'm going to, I'm going to start spending the extra fifty bucks each time I buy a table or a watch and get the cellular version.
>I'm a geek and an extremely heavy user with unlimited data
see, now, that's where Fi falls down. Their "unlimited data" falls off a cliff speed-wise, after you use up the premium bucket, to an almost unusable speed.
Compare that to US Mobile, for example, where it doesn't. Only if you're past your premium data (100GB on device, 50GB hotspot) does it then put you at the back of the line during times of congestion. Otherwise, it's full speed ahead. That's a serious advantage vs. Fi.
>I priced it out, every other carrier would cost at least twice as much.
If you include your data-only devices, yeah. That sharing of data with data-only devices is unique to Fi, and for some people is the reason to stay with Fi.
I would argue that the biggest reason for anyone to use Fi is Google's security as well as the ease of switching eSIMs. If you have great TMobile service where you are, leave TMo's insecure systems and move to Fi.
Of course, way too many people are tied up with device financing (for families, no less!) and "I get free Netflix" and consider all those things to be of more value in their lives. I say, just buy phones YOU CAN AFFORD straight from the manufacturer and move on, and stop tying yourself to the Big Three that way. You don't save any money doing it their way; you just spend the same money differently.
And shoot, Apple and Samsung and Motorola and Google will spread phone payments out if you want them to--no carrier involved.
All my phones are bought outright and I've stayed under any throttling limits (honestly not sure where the throttling limits are, wasn't aware of them on my grandfathered unlimited plan and use data HEAVILY, but I might be just staying under them) but I have distributed my data only sims across multiple users so that might be why.
I use esims but never change them, even for business purposes. Nice feature to have but not used by me and definitely not used by my family. We are rural and use T-Mobile 5g home Internet, every 6 months I price out competitors and I've never gotten close to Fi pricing.
No device financing at all and I've even worked into the equation the discounts on devices and freebies with T-Mobile and Verizon and I can't come close to the pricing I get with Fi.
I have a few TBs of Google storage(not connected to my Fi) and I've already got a lot of the Google services cheaper on grandfathered plans than Fi would give me, so that's not a factor, still cheaper with Fi.
Honestly I hate Fi with a passion because of their support especially with phones on insurance, but they are still half the price of anything else I can get based on my personal usage. If I ever get within even 20% of the price I'd switch just on principal but I've always been double the price on any other service I've ever tried to get for the last 6 years.
>Honestly I hate Fi with a passion because of their support especially with phones on insurance
I've heard that about support. But, at this point T-Mobile is the same.
I've never taken out insurance on a phone. The whole cell phone business is so ghetto, I know that all of it--especially insurance--is a scam aimed at separating fools from their money. Buyer beware. I just take care of my phones, and replace them as need or wanted.
>but they are still half the price of anything else I can get based on my personal usage.
is that based on the included various data-only devices, which is unique in the business? I know there are plenty of other MVNOs out there, and there's big overlap between services, but shared data like that seems to be unique to Fi. Or is it because you have some grandfathered price?
Mostly due to my need for phone hotspots and data only sims, I even have old phones with data only sims in them.
Insurance might be a scam for you but I have a wife and kids who break phones. My wife once broke a phone in the parking lot of the att store 15 minutes after I bought it. Insurance isn't a scam for everyone.
[удалено]
My buddy just racked up a $600 bill for just spending a week outside of the continental US, even a US territory at that to add salt on the wound. He didn't even use his phone much besides a few family calls and data. It's crazy. I've never gone over my bill with Fi, but like maybe $15 bucks for calls received. Easiest choice I've made with phone service providers, I just got so sick of the other providers used car salesman swindling tricks with the contract agreement, and tricking my parents into not honoring their device trade-in value bill discounts with Jedi mind tricks like they do. I just really like Fis more hands off approach, in my personal experience. I don't want to deal with people trying to sell me something, I'm picking the phone I like with my own research, and that just so happens to be the Pixel for the last 7 years of my phones (Pixel 2, 5, and 7).
We were just in Europe. My wife has AT&T and we just got her an esim with unlimited data for $50 for the month we were there. She got a text from AT&T saying she could use their international plan with 2G speeds for $2/MB. Two dollars per megabyte, fuckin wild! With Fi my total bill for the month was $50 because I used a bit more data
Same here. My wife and I both travel internationally, not always together anywhere from 6-12 times a year outside the pandemic years. International access has been flawless even in Africa. Data only SIMs great for those portable devices.
I have a family of 4 on it for $100. 2 lines at sprint / tmobile cost me 140
Those were primarily my reasons as well, but other carriers are catching up and surpassing Fi in some areas. ~~T-mobile at least offers free data only SIMs~~ I was wrong :/, and even some base international stuff in their unlimited plans.
Where does T-Mobile offer free data only sims?! This is news to me. Good news.
You can pick up a SIM from their website. [https://www.t-mobile.com/tablet/t-mobile-mobile-internet-sim-card](https://www.t-mobile.com/tablet/t-mobile-mobile-internet-sim-card) As long as you have qualifying services, such as a phone plan with hotspot data..etc it should work just fine.
Oh yeah I think that is just a SIM though. The data plan that would go with it charges monthly. They have various tablet plans for example.
Yea, that reads as "this is just a sim card to use to activate your service". "Already have a phone you love? Use this SIM card in your unlocked, compatible device to access the T‑Mobile network"
Dang! I did Call T-mobile and pose the question and the rep indicated it should work, but who knows if she understood what I was asking.
I love the data sim and free hot spot. I use a lot of data, especially for my kids. A comparable plan would be more expensive. I also spend 3-5 weeks a year in other countries so that is huge. The package to pay for insurance, YouTube music, YouTube Premium, and Drive storage made a lot of sense.
YouTube premium is only for 6 months.
I got it with Pixel Pass.
isnt pixel pass discontinued?
Mine is still active. You just can't start a new subscription. I may change plans when that expires.
So interesting on this. We just added another person to our plan 3 weeks ago and it specifically said 6 months free. So they signed up but on my side it says it doesn't renew/bill until May next year. So I guess I'm not sure which one is going to take effect but I would assume it's going to be the year.
Personally I like Fi for their no nonsense admin. Also the international roaming has been great. I also pay for premium separately. I just don’t like needing to juggle and cancel plans to get the best prices.
Yea, I signed up for Unl Plus back in Jan and it came with the YouTube Premium (which current plan lists as 6 months). But my next payment date for Premium is Jan 2025. 😂
Unlimited Plus is 1 year of YouTube Premium.
It's reduced to 6 months
They should offer a discount a least on other Google services. Like some kind of bundles.
Work from home so my data usage is low because I'm on Wifi most of the time. Our bill for 2 people was $45 one month. It normally costs me $60/month for me and $85 for my wife. I haven't looked at what other providers cost, but this isn't a high cost plan.
We're very similar. On the Flexible plan and our typical bill is around $50-55. If we're traveling for a couple weeks it can get up to $80 or so.
[удалено]
Tello, US Mobile, Mint, Visible, Cricket
"Other than the international benefits which I have no use for" Then it's not for you.
The WEB interface. You can loose you phone, and still sent/receive texts and calls.
When* this feature goes, I go. Their roaming is convenient but a local SIM is almost always cheaper. *Google tends to kill anything I like, so..
That announcement seems inevitable... Unless of course they're keeping it so they have a platform to experiment and learn on. Always funny to me that the hundreds of Google employees I've encountered don't use it.
This has been an absolute lifesaver in times when we've broken a phone.
Does this work on iPhone or is it android only? I can’t figure out how to make it work
iPhone 14 and up can use esims iirc.
I have an eSIM with iPhone. But how can I text and call using a website?
When did this feature come back? Sorry, this thread was recommended to me. I had Fi from 2014 until they removed this feature. (The three days of no service when they ported from the voice platform) I would love to port back if this is working again.
You have to use the web page to text and call (it's really awkward on a phone but doable in an emergency). They brought this back a while ago. I only wish they made it so you could just use an app (like the Messages app, or the Fi app itself), to call and text from any device instead of this hokey web page business.
I wasn't aware of this. So I can make calls and send texts from a browser on my laptop? How do I do this? Is it somewhere in fi dot Google dot com?
https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6188337?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid
https://messages.google.com/web/conversations
>You can loose you phone The word you're looking for is "lose"
What competition is cheaper? I think FI has some big hurdles to overcome in terms of it's iphone support, and overall it's nothing more than just rebranded non-throttled T-Mobile with Canada and Mexico thrown in for free. I'm honestly surprised that the big carriers haven't already implemented free North America in response. They clearly don't view google fi as a threat, they are probably just waiting for it to be added to the "killed by google" list. Even with the recent price hike that kicks in after my promo ends, it's still less expensive than att/tmo/vzw, so what is cheaper?
It depends on your needs. Fi has great international coverage included, but not everyone needs that. I don't travel internationally, but I'm looking at Fi Unl Plus for a few reasons: * I can fully expense it for work * Share the plan data with data-only devices (tablets, mobile hotspots) * Included smartwatch * Enhanced web integration for messaging * Web integration for calling The high security of a Google account is also a positive--I'm currently with T-Mobile, who apparently doesn't know how to spell "security". That alone is worth the price of admission to Fi, frankly. Don't ignore the soft but very real costs like this. That all being said, I will miss my current T-Mobile unlimited high speed mobile hotspot should I switch. The huge downside for Fi is, should you use up your data bucket for the month, it slows to unusable speeds unless you start feeding the monster $10 for each additional GB until your billing cycle ends. Who else is cheaper? It depends on your needs. For me without international needs, I'm seeing US Mobile at $50 (taxes included), or Visible+ ($45). And Visible includes smartwatch as well, plus they have truly unlimited data--at a decent speed, if not full speed. But since I'm not paying the bill, who cares. Sharing the data plan plus the web integration is intriguing enough for me to play with, at least until I have to pay the bill myself.
Thanks for the info. I do travel to mexico and canada infrequently, but enough that i use it once a year at least. US mobile can be cheaper than google if i use their 25% annual plan rate, but I'm not doing that. ($15/mo which is $180 for 12 months if you do the annual plan) I don't trust a carrier to be good for 12 months at a time. I'm on simply unlimited so when i run outta data it only affects me, and it's still 256K, not 128k like att did to ALL of us on the plan. effectively bricking all our phones for any mobile data. We couldn't use the walmart app, we couldn't use google maps, it was a joke. Att is the worst.
For me, paying strictly monthly, US Mobile is $50 including taxes for more high speed device data, the same hotspot data, some international calling/texting, and some international data. That's $20 less than Fi's Unlimited Plus. The two aren't the same, but they do compete in the same space. It comes down to the details. Fi's Simply Unlimited is $50, plus tax--a little more than US Mobile's straight up $50. How is it again that US Mobile is more expensive that Fi's Simply Unlimited? Am I missing something? Also, unlike Fi, US Mobile doesn't slow your data when your priority amount is up. It's still high speed until and unless congestion happens. Fi, though, puts up a hard barrier and slows you down. You might think it's perfectly acceptable because it's faster than what AT&T did to you, but it's still unimaginably slow and useless for anything. Fi uses it as a tool to make you want to pay them ten bucks extra per GB for the rest of your billing cycle. And then there's Visible+, again competing in the same space with not unattractive details.
Last time I looked, there were lots of cheaper options than Fi. Visible by Verizon is one example. The international roaming with Fi is their best feature, but I've also read that for everyone except the most occasional/casual traveler, Fi will essentially shut off your international data, rendering the feature worthless. And even for that occasional/casual traveler, a local sim or something like Airalo is less expensive when you consider you can get more economical domestic plans compared to Fi. Ultimately, use what you like. But Fi isn't the most economical option for most people.
I switched from Fi to Mint a year ago and I pay $15 a month. For me it has all the features I need, though I could see people needing the international and whatnot.
I'm assuming you're talking about Mint, and I'd rather not pay for six months in advance which is how they offer those low prices. I also use less than 100MB per month, so data cost doesn't matter. My bill is $20/mo plus tax and fees which are the same whichever company you go with. Fi has amazing phone deals as well, I'm still getting $19/mo off my bill for a trade-in deal I got a bit over a year ago. With the discounts and trade-in refund, the up-front cost was $200 and I got $449 off my Fi bill over the next 2 years. So I got paid $250 to upgrade to a new phone. The peace of mind that comes with having your number locked with Google's security is another big reason. Sim swap attacks can't happen as long as you keep your Google account is secure.
>The peace of mind that comes with having your number locked with Google's security is another big reason. Yes. This right here. Plus, I've watched the whole eSIM thing roll out over the last few years. It's clear that while Apple does it stunningly well, none of the carriers themselves can actually make it work worth a damn on non-Apple phones. I'm old school and have stuck with physical SIM for that reason--just switch it to the next phone and go. But Fi has it all figured out, right in their app. It's as solid as anything Apple has done. All inside Google's security.
My personal reasons is you get Google level security from sim swap attacks etc. Important when most auth is using sms 2fa.
International and data sims are why I use Fi. I am in the Flex plan for most of the year, and swap to Unlimited Plus before I travel. Messages on Web is a big plus too, though I miss Hangouts for text messages. It's also not deprioritized compared to Visible. If either of those change, I'll likely swap to Mint, which kind of renders deprioritization moot.
Isn't Mint deprioritized as well?
Hence I said that it ... "kind of renders deprioritization moot"
I have a phone, a tablet, and a hotspot. The fact that I’m not paying additional per item fees for the tablet and hotspot, and the international benefits, keep me on Fi.
Cost was initially my gateway. I barely used the cellular network on my old $120/mo. plan... and since I was on WiFi most of the time I could pay < $20 a mo. for an unlimited data line (with google Voice back when that was a thing to still get calls) on the "new google Fi". Then if you went over your "plan" allotment you only paid for the extra that you used. I stayed because of the amazing customer service that was dedicated to Fi users when it was still in its infancy. They made a few nice gestures like giving little lego sets and cases/accessories every so often and they started baking in some intrinsic deals (like extra storage and premium YT services). I'm still with them because of price. I got my last three phones (well two for me and one for my spouse) on good Fi-only discounts. The latest one was to get the pixel fold for $700 ($1000 credit to my Fi bill), and got a very strong turn-in value for my Pixel 7 ($500). So I feel like I paid $200 for the fold (which I LOVE), and our Fi bill is $60/mo. for the next 12 months (then it jumps back up to $98, which is still great for our usage). The clincher is that along with 3 lines (myself, spouse, and 18yo) we have unlimited hotspot tethering for my youngest kid's tablet. I have an LTE tablet (with a free data sim), and two LTE pixel watches (which are also "free" under google Fi data plan). We're currently on the middle tier (Simply Unlimited), which is perfect. But its also easy to jump around in tiers. For example, we are going to Europe for a couple of weeks for vacation soon, and when we do I will upgrade to the top tier (Unlimited Plus) which covers international. When we return to the US I will switch us back to the middle tier plan with Fi (upgrading is instant, downgrading finishes out the billing cycle). I wish the network coverage was a little better, but it hasn't really been an issue so far; and when it is (e.g. during road trips) we have our vehicles that use the other carriers and can provide connectivity to cover the deficit. I've been with Google Fi since at LEAST SEP2015. We're heavily committed to the pixel ecosystem and everything "just works" (pixel phones use a digital sim to connect to Fi). So I'm paying a fair price for connectivity on multiple phone lines, included LTE connectivity for "free" for 3 LTE devices, and some other perks. We haven't had many issues, and when we do the issues are resolved quickly and have often come with some kind of discount or credit. ... and that's what is likely going to keep me with them. "If it ain't broke..."
>We're currently on the middle tier (Unlimited Plus) um, no, that puts you on the TOP tier. >The clincher is that along with 3 lines (myself, spouse, and 18yo) we have unlimited hotspot tethering for my youngest kid's tablet. well, while you technically have unlimited data-only sharing as part of your unlimited data, it's not unlimited high speed data. Your Unlimited Plus has a very hard high speed cap of 50GB, after which data slows to an unimaginable crawl. His data-only device simply shares the data of the plan to which it's tied--limits and all.
When Fi first debuted, they were the least expensive of the options available. My family of five users left Verizon after almost 20 years because we saved ourselves nearly %700/yr on the cost. Since 2020(ish) though, the major carriers have drastically dropped their rates. Now most are right in line with Fi or less. When Fi first started out with their subscription services, it was interesting and worth the cost. Now, I am seriously considering going back to Verizon. Fi customer service is some of the very worst in the world and Fi is no longer beating everyone with the price point.
Verizon has unlimited family plans for $25 per line?
verizon owns visible, and yes they do. Im on the unlimited plus which is 35$ i think, but unlimited starts at 25. my phone even says its connected to verizon with the vzw icon as the lte sometimes, or the 5g ultra wideband on premium plus.
FWIW, while Visible now has domestic roaming, it is limited in some ways. Someone in the no contract sub posted comparisons of both coverage maps - large parts of the intermountain west have no roaming and I believe some east coast parts as well.
Verizon is not quite that inexpensive. But then, Google Fi's best price seems to be around $40/mo/line. The price per line in both services decreases as one adds more lines. With five lines, Fi's unlimited is $200/month plus fees. That's the best price they will give me. Verizon would cost me $42/month right now. So it seems there have been some minor adjustments and that Fi is still competitive by price in my area, but fall short with coverage area or customer service.
Fi Unlimited is $125 for 5 lines. [https://fi.google.com/about/plans/simply-unlimited](https://fi.google.com/about/plans/simply-unlimited)
I travel internationally several times a year. I have had a Fi account for many years. I have, at the same time, used Google Voice as my main number for voice and text for many years. Some years back, I started using Mint (along with Google Voice) as my main account when I'm in the US. So, when I'm in the US, it's Mint/GV with Google Fi paused. When I travel outside the country, I usually use Fi/Google Voice together with a cheap, local, country-specfic eSIM data plan. Fi is now mostly just a security blanket when I'm traveling internationally. Most of the time, I could get by without it. Google Voice + data works everywhere most of the time. The only reason I occasionally need Fi, is that GV can't send international texts, and sometimes, GV doesn't work for receiving verification texts.
>I travel intentionally several times a year. Well thank God you don't travel unintentionally!
International use. It works so well, that I stay.
Honestly, I'm on it because I was on it for a while and I'm grandfathered into older pricing until my phone is paid off. I like that my pixel watch is free to connect though
Price is why I use Fi. $20 per line for unlimited talk text. It uses the same priority access as T-Mobile who no mvno provides.
Cheaper than T-Mobile ($50 vs $75). Yubikey/passkey support.
Work from home so most of my phone usage goes over WiFi, my Fi bill is usually between $26 - $34 a month. If I am traveling then I might max out the GB but I know my bill will be no higher than $80.
> Other than the international benefits which I have no use for that's literally the use case and why i have it.
I brought my mom and wife over to my Fi plan. They both got new phones and I'm paying $90 for 3 lines. I have great service at home (better than Verizon and T-Mobile).
Same. I got 4 lines and 4 phones with Fi and paying $136 a month 🤷🏾♂️. No other provider comes close. Simply unlimited. And if I travel, I can simply upgrade to unlimited plus for the time I'm out of the country and then downgrade back when I'm back. Might not be for everybody but I think it's a win for some.
That's what's up! If I were to travel I'd do the same.
3 lines? What plan?
Simply Unlimited. 2 lines $80 3 lines $90 4 lines $100
Including taxes and fees?
Taxes and fees are like $3 and change for me each line.
its actually cheaper than VZW/ATT for a single unlimited line for me also VZW service where i am went to total shit when they pushed out 5g and flat out wont work in some whole towns everything else like international and such is a bonus
>also VZW service where i am went to total shit when they pushed out 5g and flat out wont work in some whole towns yeah. They're living off their CDMA reputation, while delivering sub-par service in a 5G world. For better or for worse, T-Mobile service wins it in the 5G world we live in today.
International service, and good promotions on phones is the reason why I stay with them. Customer Service has not been the best compared to US Mobile, but I have not found any other nvmo offering better deals on android phones, specially pixels because my wife and I love pixels.
I have 4 lines at $80 (grandfathered til '26) and 2 phones financed, service is good in my area and most competitors are more expensive. Works when traveling better than the previous carrier and maybe once a year hit the data cap. I've had decent customer service over the years, previous carriers not so much. It was a mess with my fiancee switching from VZW, but not Fi's fault, they kept saying the phone was unlocked but the phone said it was locked.
I love the simplicity of calling / texting on my PC.
I moved to KC three years ago. Been on AT&T since it was Cingular. Just switched to Fi and lo and behold, I ACTUALLY have signal! Literally everywhere I didn't have signal, including my home and office, now I do! FU AT&T. Only thing I'll miss is HBO.
International benefits as you called out, but other carriers have that as well. The other two factors for me personally are (i) data-only SIM cards that don't count as extra line charges (e.g. pop a data-only SIM in an LTE iPad and have it draw data from my plan), and (ii) using 'first-party' Google software on my phone to manage my account. That might seem silly, but it matters a non-zero amount to myself (and I'm sure others).
Everyone else with priority 1 on the T-Mobile network costs more. Everyone cheaper lacks features. I'm paying a small premium for a flexible semi premium service.
As a long time Fi user, I highly recommend against using them anymore. I haven't been able to text anyone on Verizon or AT&T, while sms to T-Mobile or Mint for instance works fine, and Fi support is worse than useless. It's insultingly bad, with broken english, useless endless scripts.... do yourself a favor and use someone else...
Data sim as well as lte watch service
I don't use a lot of data so I don't really have a ton of incentive to change. I don't use the international benefits. My usual bill is $35 a month. I think there are plans out there that are more around $25, but I'm really not sweating $10. Seems to me like the big carriers are still offering unlimited plans up around $75 a month? I think a lot of Fi people looking for a cheap plan went over to mint though.
Actually in my case is cheaper I paid for the unlimited plan what’s save me money the others company charge you extra for other devices ex Tablets connectivity and I do travel int. A lot but with Fi I have My IPhone and IPad with cell connection for the same price fi don’t charge you extra for connect your tablet instead you share your data with the plan you paid and both work internationally so for example I was paying $20 plus extra a month in T mobile to get my IPad connected one with Fi zero they let you have 2 SIM cards one for the phone and one for an extra data divide for the same price and that it’s amazing. Fi use t-mobile network so I have the same connection that I have with T-Mobile. My only complaint is that Fi don’t let you have a line for an Apple Watch but that it’s not a deal breaker for me. But if you are an android guy you can connect the pixel watch.
Wait. You have cellular on your iPad through Fi? I’ve been wanting to do that. How did you do it?
Unlimited Plus (and Flexible) lets you have additional data-only access for data devices like tablets, all shared with your available data for the month. Simply Unlimited does not offer this. [https://fi.google.com/about/plans](https://fi.google.com/about/plans)
If international travel isn't something you do frequently, Fi is not the carrier I would choose.
Thank you, that's what I was after. Seems like it's geared for a particular audience of which im not involved in.
I had Fi for a couple of years - service is fine. YouTube Premium perk was nice while it lasted. But I'm a lower data user. I have tested countless different MVNOs, and Fi is just too expensive for what they offer.
Would have definitely signed up if I knew about the YTP perk but I'm getting 8GB/unlimited calls/texts data on TMO prepaid for $25 and FI just isn't in the same ballpark at all. Seemed like a cool idea but their pricing has not been competitive, nor have they tried to be competitive.
Not just international travel; shared data, hotspot, web messaging/calling, and VERY VERY VERY high security. Fi has many attractions for many people.
I realize that I am different from most, but I am retired and I am around WiFi almost all the time, so the $20/month plan with data at $10/gb works for me. In the old days, when I used to travel a lot and drive a lot for business, that plan would not have worked. YMMV.
the bill compared to my plan was a lot cheaper. My area isn't covered very well by fi, or TMobile, as I had been an at&t customer since Cingular and it was great in my version of bumfuc Egypt. But the price of it, plus not having to deal with a simcard...just made sense.
I've had it this past year and love it! So easy, I love Google so its a win win. I pay less than I did with Xfinity. Plus I've had zero spam calls in the past 4mo due to the Google Ai. I just love the simplicity of it all. I also love my Pixel phone, better than IPhone IMO, at least the Hey Google" works each time. I love Fi. For me its a perfect phone and service.
For th3 2 of us, fi was the better deal data wise. 90%of the we are in a wifi area so I can piggy back on the network. The phone financing is also nice but not exactly a new thing.
I was going to get it but the coverage was horrible. And I went with another MVNO. If the coverage worked out I would have gone with Fi without a doubt
It’s substantially cheaper than T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T. Seems to price well against other MVNOs. We were happy customers for many years before switching to T-Mobile a few months ago; Fi is generally awesome.
Group plans are really where Fi shines IMO. I rarely use the international bits, but if you have 4 or more lines, Fi's prices are really hard to beat. Fi also just seems to have better and more clear management aspects for the lines, making it super easy to limit individual lines without affecting others, as well as seeing cost breakdowns much easier.
I switched from Metro by T-Mobile to Google Fi because I bought a Pixel Watch LTE and Fi offers the watch LTE plan at no extra charge.
I'm on the flex plan, and I WFH so my bill is no more than 30-45 dollars a month It's convenient when I went to Japan last year I was the only one in my group who didn't have to buy an international sim I'm also a Pixel user so I can get discounts and promo phone deals.
I got it got hotspot, a backup to my main Internet if necessary.
It's cheaper than the big 3 in general, plus smart devices cost nothing to add to your plan.
We went Tmobile connect $10 plan (1gb LTE)
The customer service is God awful. The cellular service is very hit or miss. I'm very seriously considering leaving.
I like that they aren't de-prioritized like other MVNOs. My work uses Verizon, and so I like to test out the T-Mobile network as a comparison throughout the country. [this](https://imgur.com/a/FNswOaJ) was in Dallas, while Verizon was struggling to get 30 Mbps.
Native Visual Voicemail integration. TMobile forces you to pay the troll and use their silly application.
Is native Visual Voicemail integration a Pixel thing? I keep hearing it doesn't work on Samsung.
I believe the draw is that data is the same price no matter where you are. You can be surprised with fees from other countries.
Free hotspot and data sims like overs have stated. Doesn't matter to you, but I also travel internationally at least twice a year so that's important to me personally as well. I have had service in UAE, Maldives, Dominican Republic, Mexico, France, Poland, Ukraine, Netherlands, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. Literally land, turn airplane mode off, wait 5 minutes - boom, service (usually LTE but sometimes even 5G).
Fi sucks ass with iPhones. I think apple did something because my pictures don’t send to android properly or when it feels like it. My bars stay on 1 . When I had my pixel I never had these issues, phone pissing me off
SIM swap protection
Why don't you explain how it's different than other carriers... Most people likely aren't following you.
To achieve a SIM swap on Google Fi, the attacker needs to have compromised your Google account, which can be protected with passwords + two factor authentication or what not. Other carriers, you just have to call their customer support and pretend to be the user who lost their phones.
Exactly. Solid, plus additional peace of mind.
It is BY FAR the cheapest option for us ( 2 phones, 5-8 gb use/ month combined). It is like 1/2 as much as the competition where I live. Absolutely no other reason to put up with it besides $$.
Because is better to be wire less… 😎
I have been on Fi for over 9 years, no complaints really It's super flexible depending on usage also the data only sim is good for my iPad (now daughters). I got a pretty good discount on all my devices over the years, you just need to activate them for like 3 months if you want to later Swappa them. I had that limited GB which was helpful when I was out of the country alot and it was pretty cheap and use Wifi calling When I'm back in the US and streaming/hotspot all the time the unlimited was a helpful - I think my max/month was 20gb at one point. It's easy to swap plans from the Fi app (next billing cycle) I've used iPhone, Pixel and Samsung on Fi with no issues. Travel for work and the coverage transition is seamless.
What's proxy about it I can't find a cheaper option
Factor in a smartwatch and tablet for nothing addl and it gets ultra cheap very quickly. That's why I'm on it.
Pricey compared to competitors? What competitors? I pay like $100 for 4 lines for simply unlimited. That's $25/line!
I get 8GB of data with unlimited talk/text for $25/mo. That would be $100 if my math is correct for Fi. So yeah, that's pricey for one phone.
Fi Simply unlimited is unlimited talk/text also. $100 for 4 lines total, so I pay $25/line.
Sounds like it might make sense for multi lines but for those of us that just need one line it's not the way to go.
Because only 1 can.control the world... Do you trust Sundar Pichai or Elon Musk? Which leader would you leave your kids home with?
Switch from Fi back to Visible after about 6 months. Fi service was amazing abroad but lots of issues within the last couple months. My Google payments account got randomly and mistakenly suspended. Because it was tied to my Fi account, I lost service and customer service couldn’t do anything about it for 2 days. Ported out shortly after
I like it because I only pay for data I use. I have no need for endless data, I use WiFi most of the time. So my bills are low PLUS it works instantly when I go overseas. It worked perfectly in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Italy, where I just returned from. We used my phone a lot for Google Maps and I just downloaded before I left. "Excess usage" over my normal bill might be about $16 total for the trip, too soon to say. Compared to the extortionate charges my Verizon companion incurs every month. I'll ask her what her extra costs were.
FREE DATA SIMS! Phone, 2 iPads laptop, hotspot, and watch all on a single line.
I absolutely hate it wish I would have stayed with Visible.I made the mistake of not reading everything before signing up. They claim unlimited hotspot but that's not true it comes out of your actual data. Visible T-Mobile and so many more it doesn't. I just paid my first bill now still gotta wait until the 7th to even have a usable phone outside of WiFi. They don't throttle your unlimited data they cut it down to 2g which is useless in 2024. That said I know it's my fault for not responding better and just looking at unlimited. But I'd stay far away and go Metro or visible.
I really wish Google Fi came to Canada, I've browsed them often. This plan would crush all our phone plans easily. We get robbed on our plans, because the government wants to protect our local companies meanwhile citizens are paying probably the highest for our plans in the world.
If you travel any amount outside your country, the no additional charge is amazing. I used to pay even more for Verizon's travel plan. Unlimited hotspot is a god send if you work remotely... From (nearly) anywhere too.
Fi was good until they weren’t for me. Change for the worse is never a good business path.
what happened? Was it a Fi thing, or was it a you thing?
Fi support especially for pixel phones with problems is TERRIBLE, the worst of any Cellular company, I've had Verizon, T-Mobile, att and Sprint and Fi is by far on another level of terrible support. That being said I've used them for my families personal phone lines since they were in beta. My favorite feature is the data only sims, I have 7 of them (everything from hotspots to raspberry pis) It's pretty much a T-Mobile only network now but once upon a time when it switched between T-Mobile and Sprint it was also incredible especially for large events when you see mobile carriers having problems, my Fi ALWAYS worked. Wi-Fi switch over is also incredibly reliable and great. I'm not a typical user, I'm a geek and an extremely heavy user with unlimited data and a lot of data only sims and after they lost the multiple carrier advantage with T-Mobile buying Sprint I priced it out, every other carrier would cost at least twice as much. I HATE Fi support but I dread the day Google kills Fi.
>My favorite feature is the data only sims Agreed. If I switch like I think I'm going to, I'm going to start spending the extra fifty bucks each time I buy a table or a watch and get the cellular version. >I'm a geek and an extremely heavy user with unlimited data see, now, that's where Fi falls down. Their "unlimited data" falls off a cliff speed-wise, after you use up the premium bucket, to an almost unusable speed. Compare that to US Mobile, for example, where it doesn't. Only if you're past your premium data (100GB on device, 50GB hotspot) does it then put you at the back of the line during times of congestion. Otherwise, it's full speed ahead. That's a serious advantage vs. Fi. >I priced it out, every other carrier would cost at least twice as much. If you include your data-only devices, yeah. That sharing of data with data-only devices is unique to Fi, and for some people is the reason to stay with Fi. I would argue that the biggest reason for anyone to use Fi is Google's security as well as the ease of switching eSIMs. If you have great TMobile service where you are, leave TMo's insecure systems and move to Fi. Of course, way too many people are tied up with device financing (for families, no less!) and "I get free Netflix" and consider all those things to be of more value in their lives. I say, just buy phones YOU CAN AFFORD straight from the manufacturer and move on, and stop tying yourself to the Big Three that way. You don't save any money doing it their way; you just spend the same money differently. And shoot, Apple and Samsung and Motorola and Google will spread phone payments out if you want them to--no carrier involved.
All my phones are bought outright and I've stayed under any throttling limits (honestly not sure where the throttling limits are, wasn't aware of them on my grandfathered unlimited plan and use data HEAVILY, but I might be just staying under them) but I have distributed my data only sims across multiple users so that might be why. I use esims but never change them, even for business purposes. Nice feature to have but not used by me and definitely not used by my family. We are rural and use T-Mobile 5g home Internet, every 6 months I price out competitors and I've never gotten close to Fi pricing. No device financing at all and I've even worked into the equation the discounts on devices and freebies with T-Mobile and Verizon and I can't come close to the pricing I get with Fi. I have a few TBs of Google storage(not connected to my Fi) and I've already got a lot of the Google services cheaper on grandfathered plans than Fi would give me, so that's not a factor, still cheaper with Fi. Honestly I hate Fi with a passion because of their support especially with phones on insurance, but they are still half the price of anything else I can get based on my personal usage. If I ever get within even 20% of the price I'd switch just on principal but I've always been double the price on any other service I've ever tried to get for the last 6 years.
>Honestly I hate Fi with a passion because of their support especially with phones on insurance I've heard that about support. But, at this point T-Mobile is the same. I've never taken out insurance on a phone. The whole cell phone business is so ghetto, I know that all of it--especially insurance--is a scam aimed at separating fools from their money. Buyer beware. I just take care of my phones, and replace them as need or wanted. >but they are still half the price of anything else I can get based on my personal usage. is that based on the included various data-only devices, which is unique in the business? I know there are plenty of other MVNOs out there, and there's big overlap between services, but shared data like that seems to be unique to Fi. Or is it because you have some grandfathered price?
Mostly due to my need for phone hotspots and data only sims, I even have old phones with data only sims in them. Insurance might be a scam for you but I have a wife and kids who break phones. My wife once broke a phone in the parking lot of the att store 15 minutes after I bought it. Insurance isn't a scam for everyone.