Signed up for Project Fi

Mabrito

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
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Has anyone else got an invite...trying it out? If so...thoughts so far?

Got an invite today for Project Fi and decided to give it a try. My Verizon contract ends at the end of August and this will give me a few months to decide if I want to renew it.

On average...I use about .75GB - 1.25GB of data each month. I mostly travel between work and home, where the phone connects to WiFi. With the exception of Google Maps Navigation here and there...I don't use much cellular data. I live in the Indianapolis area...where if you look at there coverage map...its all 4G.

I pay about $90 a month on Verizon and if I can get away with paying $30 to $40...that's a win to me as ill be saving $50-$60 a month.

The hangout's integration with SMS looks cool (send/receive texts from any device with Hangouts) and the free international texts and same data prices. I don't care if its not fast data internationally...last year when I went to Ireland...I couldn't even keep my phone radio's on...as Verizon was going to rape my bill with international charges. I would like to keep my radios on and connected in case of emergencies and not be charged up the ass.

Overall...I am pretty excited for this and hope it works out well/as advertised. We shall see with being an early adopter.
 
I'm waiting for the new rumored nexus 5 (2015) to decide on this. Nexus 6 is no go for me. It's too damn big.
 
I'm waiting for the new rumored nexus 5 (2015) to decide on this. Nexus 6 is no go for me. It's too damn big.

That was one of my con's. Ill deal with it now and just switch the phones at a later date if a 5in form factor comes out.
 
I'm interested in Fi, but only when they expand their MVNO access to Verizon and/or GSM/AT&T as well as start allowing BYOD.

I'd love to try it out now, but I'm not too keen on the Nexus 6, and Sprint + T-Mo coverage in my area is atrociously horrible.

Anxiously awaiting your testimony...
 
Fellow Project Fi user here. Sprint / T-Mobile have good 4G coverage in my area, but a good chunk of the time it seems that the phone can't decide which network it wants to stay on. Making phone calls sometimes takes 2-3 tries, usually the phone ends up just making the call over wifi instead.

Usually I'm always around wifi, so that's a non-issue xD so far I'm using about 100mb/month, but I'm almost always around wifi...

The battery life is a bit wonky. Something about the Faraday cage of a building where I work just causes the battery to burn through at fast speeds, so I just bring a charger to work, and that's become a non-issue.

Also. The Nexus 6 was rather big at first, but after a few weeks I'm used to the bigger size.
 
Are you finding it better than Republic? Republic already seems to do everything Fi does, minus access to T-Mo towers. Sprint is good around here, so the idea of paying $10-20/mo more just for access to T-Mo's towers isn't very appealing. Is there anything else that sets this apart from Republic aside from the international data?
 
Fellow Project Fi user here. Sprint / T-Mobile have good 4G coverage in my area, but a good chunk of the time it seems that the phone can't decide which network it wants to stay on. Making phone calls sometimes takes 2-3 tries, usually the phone ends up just making the call over wifi instead.

Usually I'm always around wifi, so that's a non-issue xD so far I'm using about 100mb/month, but I'm almost always around wifi...

The battery life is a bit wonky. Something about the Faraday cage of a building where I work just causes the battery to burn through at fast speeds, so I just bring a charger to work, and that's become a non-issue.

Also. The Nexus 6 was rather big at first, but after a few weeks I'm used to the bigger size.

For the 2-3 tries..is that all seamless to the user? Or does it hard fail and you have to click the contact again? How long before it times out and you have to retry?

How about receiving calls? Any issues there?
 
No issues with receiving calls, but the sending calls is often a hard fail and I have to click the contact again. Usually it times out within 5 seconds.

Note: That has only happened about 4-5 times so far. Usually calls go straight through.
 
No issues with receiving calls, but the sending calls is often a hard fail and I have to click the contact again. Usually it times out within 5 seconds.

Note: That has only happened about 4-5 times so far. Usually calls go straight through.

Ah...that doesn't sound bad then. I fully expect it to have glitches and some issues being the first iteration of this service.

Final questions...regarding the Hangout's integration. So from what I read...calls can be made from the classic Phone Dialer app or within Hangouts...when receiving calls...what shows the incoming call? Hangouts or the Phone Dialer?

Also...with SMS....will my PC or iPad be able to send/receive the SMS messages too? I know normal Hangouts cannot do this...but it sounds like my Hangouts account is minoring changing and this ability will be there?
 
To the best of my knowledge, my PC can't see the SMS messages from Hangouts, but I don't really do SMS much. No real point. All about those emails / FB messages / Skype xD

When I receive calls, it shows the Phone Dialer thingy. So far, at least xD
 
Well looks like ill be receiving the phone today. I selected the free 3-5 day shipping...but im guessing this is coming straight from Moto itself and being in the Indianapolis area...was able to be shipped down during the night....not complaining!

Ill post my thoughts later this week. Looking forward to it!
 
Sounds good Lazy_Moron. Thank you guys for sharing your hands-on experiences. I went ahead and requested an invite in hopes that it'll open up to devices other than the Nexus 6 (maybe that rumored 2015 5.2"). I really like the fact that if you pay for more data than you use, you get the money back for the unused data, and if you use more it's still just the standard $10/GB, no extra fees. Amazing.
 
I upgraded to a Nexus 6 hastily a few months back when my Nexus 5 stopped working entirely. I hate the thing because it's so big (and the screen has been cracked twice), but at least I can give this a spin. Just got my Fi invite today. I'm pretty excited to see how well this works compared to my current TMo plan.
 
Here are my initial thoughts after a weekend of using the service:

I am not going to get into the Nexus 6 itself as there are many reviews already out on the device. Ill leave it at this...its a 6in phone that I wish was smaller and will probably sell and get a 5in model if one ever becomes available for Google Fi. Other than that...I have no issues with the phone.

Onto Fi itself.
I am in the Indianapolis area where both TMobile and Sprint have pretty good LTE coverage. I have never dipped from LTE except once...and I was out in the middle of no where when that happened. With that being said...everything seems seamless. It doesn't tell you what carrier you are on...just a generic "Fi Network" status with a 3G or LTE indicator. Where I live...there isn't a lot of open Wifi networks...so I haven't seen the phone try to connect to one of those yet.

Haven't had any issues making calls..whether it was cellular or WiFi calling. It takes a few seconds and the call starts ringing....the audio is clear and no static/distortion/etc. Texting works as expected.

What I am really liking about Google Fi...is the Hangouts integration. No more am I tethered to my phone for calls/texting. If I get a call...any device that has Hangouts will also receive the call...so technically I can answer anybody calling me on my iPad if I choose...or my PC...etc. Same goes with outbound...I can make calls from my iPad or PC and the number the person I am calling will see on the caller ID will be my number. Same goes with texting...I can make and receive texts from any device that has Hangouts. Google still recommends the Messenger app...but this is probably because Hangouts can't do group MMS texting yet. That is the only limitation in the texting with Hangouts.

Only reason why I am preaching the Hangouts integration as a Pro for myself...is because when I am home...I like to leave my phone in the bedroom..especially with it being a 6in phone now. I don't like to carry it around....when I am watching TV... I am usually on my iPad and if I am on the computer...I can just use Hangouts there if someone tries to contact me.

I signed up for the 2GB plan and next month my bill is $44. Compared to a $93 Verizon bill...this is a considerable chunk of savings every month. So with saving $49 bucks each month...it will take 10-11 months to make up the cost of the $500 Nexus 6 phone. Take this how you will on whether this is a deal or not anymore. Honestly...Ill probably be going for the 1GB plan though as my average this year been about 1.3GB. I know Google will refund me for those .7GB I don't use...but Ill rather just be charged extra for the .3GB instead of dealing with a refund. Just my preference.

I do travel...so it be interesting to see how the phone performs in other areas of the country and other countries for that matter. Don't have anything planned until September where I will be on a Alaskan cruise. With the Wifi calling/texting....I do see having this service a Pro as the cruise ship supposedly has Wifi (guessing its satellite)...so the phone should easily have service.

These are my initial thoughts so far...but so far I am liking it and will probably cancel Verizon in August. If anything comes up...Ill update this thread...let me know if you have any questions.
 
Most likely your cruise ship's wifi will block wifi calling. Speaking from experience.
 
Update: Arrived at work where they have have a open guest Wifi. The phone connected to it automatically and everything is working as expected. The phone claims it established the secure VPN connection as well.
 
Most likely your cruise ship's wifi will block wifi calling. Speaking from experience.

And that's fine..first cruise so didnt know what to expect...it not like I want people calling me anyway!
 
Thanks for the update. Glad to hear a positive testimony about it. Hope they expand to Verizon CDMA as well as GSM, plus open up BYOD in the near future. I may migrate over to it.
 
Thanks for the update. Glad to hear a positive testimony about it. Hope they expand to Verizon CDMA as well as GSM, plus open up BYOD in the near future. I may migrate over to it.

Fi already is BYOD, it's just that the Nexus 6 is the only Android phone with all the proper radios to support all carriers. If you have any version of the Nexus 6, you can bring it to Fi. Once more phones are released with the right combination of radios, I'm sure Google will support them. The next Nexus phone will definitely be compatible with Fi.
 
Keep dreaming about Verizon support on this... AT&T is far more likely, but still unlikely.
 
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Fi already is BYOD, it's just that the Nexus 6 is the only Android phone with all the proper radios to support all carriers. If you have any version of the Nexus 6, you can bring it to Fi. Once more phones are released with the right combination of radios, I'm sure Google will support them. The next Nexus phone will definitely be compatible with Fi.


https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#supported-devices-6
 
Thanks for the update. Glad to hear a positive testimony about it. Hope they expand to Verizon CDMA as well as GSM, plus open up BYOD in the near future. I may migrate over to it.

I honestly don't see Verizon ever allowing this service to work on their towers. Verizon has the biggest coverage in the country and to them that is probably an advantage and they are gearing up to roll out Voice LTE this year (I think it may be out already in certain areas?). Or less Verizon is getting some big royalties from Google...I don't ever see them opening up the network to Google. Maybe Voice LTE might change things...but I am still guessing no.

You look at TMobile and their uncarrier movement and Sprint buying out contracts and having unlimited everything plans....to them...this Fi service isn't a big deal to them. Verizon and AT&T on the other hand are charging more these days...data caps...etc.
 
I honestly don't see Verizon ever allowing this service to work on their towers. Verizon has the biggest coverage in the country and to them that is probably an advantage and they are gearing up to roll out Voice LTE this year (I think it may be out already in certain areas?). Or less Verizon is getting some big royalties from Google...I don't ever see them opening up the network to Google. Maybe Voice LTE might change things...but I am still guessing no.

You look at TMobile and their uncarrier movement and Sprint buying out contracts and having unlimited everything plans....to them...this Fi service isn't a big deal to them. Verizon and AT&T on the other hand are charging more these days...data caps...etc.

Thing is...Verizon doesn't own towers anymore. They sold them off to other companies like American Tower to own, operate, and maintain them. Verizon is leasing the tower network back.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-offloads-towers-american-tower-5b/2015-02-05

This is the present state of who owns what towers:

http://wirelessestimator.com/content/towers/tower_owners

Note that the 2 largest majority owners by site count...are not any major telecom you've ever heard of...the nearest telecom that you;ve heard of only owns 5% the sites of the two largest players.
 
got my project fi sim card 2 weeks ago, got my nexus 6 sim unlocked(bought cheap from att) and using it on project fi since yesterday.

ported my att gophone number over instead of keeping my google voice number. very painless.

So far, it works like a phone... lol.

billing and changing plans is so damn easy with the project fi android app.

sms through hangouts is kinda iffy currently. wife and best friend both use hangouts app on their phones and thats fine, but sms through hangouts on anything that isn't my nexus 6, doesn't always show up what they send to me.

on the 2gb data plan currently which is $43 after tax. saves me about $20 a month from the go phone plan.
 
While FI is nice, I find my self using more data now with me and the Wife on Unlimited everything 2 lines 100$ with 5GB of hot spot data(officially) via T-Mobile. No reason to switch. So far I think T-mobile is putting major pressure on the other big 2 price wise. I mean look at Cricket wireless. 35$ bucks get you unlimited talk and text and 2.5GB LTE based data. 2 years ago it would have been 500MBs at that price.
 
yeah, i don't use all that much data. always at a place with wifi. i normally average about 1.5gb a month, sometimes less.

I also like being an early adopter for google... lol.
Still have 2 of the cr-42 chromebooks they sent me.
Have owned all the nexus phones.
Gave Sergey Brin a handjob
 
Correct me if I am wrong. The goal of project Fi is to allow your phone to roam across two networks to increase coverage. But I thought that already happens. I have Tmo now. If I go somewhere where I can only get an ATT tower the phone will connect to that tower. I believe it will have diminished bandwidth, but the phone will call.

So whats the point of project fi? Is it to always allow maximum bandwidth by allowing the phone to connect to ATT or TMO LTE bands?
 
Correct me if I am wrong. The goal of project Fi is to allow your phone to roam across two networks to increase coverage. But I thought that already happens. I have Tmo now. If I go somewhere where I can only get an ATT tower the phone will connect to that tower. I believe it will have diminished bandwidth, but the phone will call.

So whats the point of project fi? Is it to always allow maximum bandwidth by allowing the phone to connect to ATT or TMO LTE bands?

The point is, in theory, data roaming. Voice roaming is typically free on major carrier...but data roaming is far from it. Sprint for example will terminate your contract if you data roam more than 300MB in a month.

The problem IRL, is that both Sprint and TMo's coverage sucks...and combined is no better, since they tend to only cover the same geographic areas (interstates and major cities).
 
The part that I've liked is the Google Hangouts integration. I had some issues with this at first, because I have both my gmail and my own domain (also through google) synced to the phone, but now I've got it sorted out.

Now, I can do all of my calling / talking / texting / all phone stuff straight through my computers without needing my phone. Which is nice, because the Nexus 6 is gigantic.
 
The part that I've liked is the Google Hangouts integration. I had some issues with this at first, because I have both my gmail and my own domain (also through google) synced to the phone, but now I've got it sorted out.

Now, I can do all of my calling / talking / texting / all phone stuff straight through my computers without needing my phone. Which is nice, because the Nexus 6 is gigantic.

LOL...that has been possible for...years... ;)
 
Before now, I'd always been on pre-paid plans, which never synced right with Google Voice or any of that jazz, so while it's been possible.... this is the first time I've actually gotten it to work >__>
 
Does anyone know if there's a way to move the invite process along? My phone recently exploded and I need to get as far away from Verizon as quickly as possible.
 
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