Project Fi help.

[cageymaru]

Well Google can't seem to figure this issue out. So I'm coming here to the smartphone gurus. Help me!!!

I bought a used Nexus 6 off EBAY. I checked the IEMI number and it is the same as on the box that he sent the phone in. It is a XT1103. Anyway I can't get my Project Fi account to activate. It keeps saying no SIM card, on the setup screen which you see after a factory reset. Google support says that this is fine and to continue on.

I have signed up for the service and have chosen to get a new number. On the Project Fi page it says that I am signed up. The reps say that I am signed up but porting a number. My Project Fi phone app says that my Google account is not associated with Project Fi.

We tried placing the phone into US Cellular mode as T Mobile and Sprint don't exist here. The app still says the same thing. The phone literally has zero scratches on it. Is it possible that the sim card slot is bad? The phone was attached to another account on Project Fi as that person told me this when I purchased it on EBAY. Is it possible that the phone is still "his" in Google servers? The phone says that I've used 685 mb of data since 12/19/2016 even after a factory reset. I didn't get the phone into my possession until after Christmas. Do you think Google can't figure out how to take his account off my phone?

At this point I'm just trying to get my service going and the Google reps can't do more than follow the flowchart that they are given. I don't want to pay this Verizon bill again before Google figures out this issue. Anyone have a similar issue with Project Fi?

The service works in my area. My nephew signed up for it on his 2 Pixel phones and he can't stop grinning from ear to ear how much better his call quality and signal strength are with Project Fi. He lives 1.5 miles from me and keeps calling me to brag how he has service even when shopping in another state. Of course I told him about the plan and his cellphone bill went from $170 a month after taxes to $55 a month before taxes.

If anyone has a suggestion feel free to speak your mind!

 

[Absalom]

It would be my own personal policy to not trust anyone or anything coming off ebay. I'd work with Google in determining if the device is indeed still bound to anyone's account. They have to know that. Despite a factory reset, the device might still be bound and protected by the original owner. For all you know, this phone was stolen. If that's the case, the seller is not the original owner and will probably not be helpful to you what-so-ever.

I wouldn't work with anyone other than Google. They know exactly who the phone is bound to. That said, don't get your hopes up that any of this will be resolved anytime soon.

If Google comes back saying the device is "protected", swapping a SIM card, factory reset, etc. won't help you at all. This is to prevent would-be thieves from doing exactly this type of stuff. I'd be readying myself to report some ebay fraud too.

If Google comes back stating the device is not bound or protected under another account, then have them send you a new SIM card. When I signed up for Project Fi, they sent me a SIM card for no charge. If anything it removes a variable.

Even if you didn't have cell service in your area, the phone would fallback to WiFi for calls/data.

Hopefully your issue is technical and Google can resolve it. Keep us updated, and good luck!

 

[cageymaru]

Google has sent me 2 SIM cards so far. I gave them the IEMI number off the phone and they had no issue with it. All the support does is go over the same flowchart explaining how to sign up for Project Fi. As soon as we get to "You are screwed because something isn't working,", they escalate the ticket to another department and I get a reply via email that they reset my account. Which has yet to be reset because my old phone calls from last year when I tried Project Fi and it wasn't in my area still show up as a separate account tab. But the escalation part is one way email so I can only discuss that my account is messed up with the peons reading flowcharts. Oh and they can't read what the escalation team did so it's back to, "Are you sure that you are spelling your email address correctly?"

 

[cageymaru]

OMG they are letting me email the escalation team! Maybe something good will happen. Even if they tell me that they can't fix the issue and to return the phone to the seller, it will be better than what has transpired so far! If I have given them the IEMI number and the rest of the information from the phone, how hard can it be to flip the switch to cut on my service or at least TELL me why I don't have service. All I want is Yes or No answer and an explanation of why at this point.

 

[Absalom]

Sounds like you are a unique case given your Fi account history. Hopefully escalation will get your around these plebs and on to the correct boffins

 

[cageymaru]

Well they escalated the ticket to the accounts department. The tech support says there is nothing wrong as far as error codes is concerned. Must be an account issue.