Good coverage with AT&T and Verizon == good coverage with Fi?

[Goffredo530]

Hey folks! I live in a rural area where AT&T and Verizon are the two best carriers in terms of coverage. I understand that Fi partners with T-Mobile and Sprint, which I had learned years ago as being kind of equivalent to AT&T and Verizon, in terms of cellular technology, but it depended on which frequencies a phone's radio supported, and so forth. I don't remember the details that well.

Can someone enlighten me -- if I'm in an area with good AT&T and Verizon coverage, does this mean that a Google Pixel on Fi will get best-of-both-worlds coverage by virtue of Fi supporting the analogous cellular technologies of T-Mobile and Sprint? Or is there some technical incompatibility between AT&T / T-Mobile, and Verizon / Sprint, that makes that a false statement?

 

[Diehlirious]

Hey folks! I live in a rural area where AT&T and Verizon are the two best carriers in terms of coverage. I understand that Fi partners with T-Mobile and Sprint, which I had learned years ago as being kind of equivalent to AT&T and Verizon, in terms of cellular technology, but it depended on which frequencies a phone's radio supported, and so forth. I don't remember the details that well.

Can someone enlighten me -- if I'm in an area with good AT&T and Verizon coverage, does this mean that a Google Pixel on Fi will get best-of-both-worlds coverage by virtue of Fi supporting the analogous cellular technologies of T-Mobile and Sprint? Or is there some technical incompatibility between AT&T / T-Mobile, and Verizon / Sprint, that makes that a false statement?

I've heard a lot of good reviews about Project Fi, but I personally got burned. I didn't think that would happen because I never guzzled data like that. I live in Philly so I thought Fi would want to make sure those customers would be taken care of. I think one of the main towers was down for one of those two carriers & I ended up paying way more than I though I would.

I think if I were you I would steer away from Fi being that you live in a rural area & the fact that the carriers that do have good service, aren't the ones associated with Fi. If your phone is unlocked & paid off you could try Fi for a month. You'll need a Google related device (Pixel or Nexus). Just advice & I could be wrong but I hope what I mentioned helps.

The later stuff that you mentioned might be a tiny bit over my head but I can try to look into if needed

 

[hallux]

I've heard a lot of good reviews about Project Fi, but I personally got burned. I didn't think that would happen because I never guzzled data like that. I live in Philly so I thought Fi would want to make sure those customers would be taken care of. I think one of the main towers was down for one of those two carriers & I ended up paying way more than I though I would.

I'm not sure how your association of a tower being down to your being higher is relevant, or even how you made that association.

The rest of your reply is valid though, strength of AT&T and Verizon in an area does not equate to Fi being a viable option. I suggest @Goffredo530 visit the sites of T-Mobile and Sprint (or on Fi's site directly - https://fi.google.com/coverage) to review coverage maps to determine if Fi would be an option. One thing to keep in mind - even if coverage at home is spotty, Fi has WiFi calling so as long as your internet connection is up you can still make/receive calls and send/receive texts.

 

[Goffredo530]

Thanks for your help. Anecdotally, the T-Mobile and Sprint coverage suck where I live. So I think what I'll do is try out AT&T for their 14-day window, and if it performs better than Verizon, make the switch. WiFi calling sounds nice, but I don't spend much time indoors so I'm quite reliant on cellular coverage.

 

[Diehlirious]

I'm not sure how your association of a tower being down to your being higher is relevant, or even how you made that association.

The rest of your reply is valid though, strength of AT&T and Verizon in an area does not equate to Fi being a viable option. I suggest @Goffredo530 visit the sites of T-Mobile and Sprint (or on Fi's site directly - https://fi.google.com/coverage) to review coverage maps to determine if Fi would be an option. One thing to keep in mind - even if coverage at home is spotty, Fi has WiFi calling so as long as your internet connection is up you can still make/receive calls and send/receive texts.

Took me a moment to re-jog my memory because it's been a while since I used Fi & I was a little tired from my long trip from work in NY yesterday, but when I asked a Project Fi representative why I was not able to use data in certain parts of the city they responded with the explanation about the tower issues. My bill being higher was due to the fact that the free wi-fi support that Fi used as a selling point was not a factor which caused my bill to escalate despite the fact that where I live, it should have been.

I simply meant to say that since AT&T & Verizon have the best service over other service providers they might be a better option. With Fi using free wi-fi from big business (for example Starbucks, etc) to help their customers save money, in a rural area there might not be the ability to take advantage of that feature or at least no where near its full extent or capabilities.

 

[hallux]

@Diehlirious So... the tower being down was actually unrelated to your increased cost. Your increased cost was related to a misunderstanding of the "free WiFi". Fi does not provide free WiFi, Fi just helps you connect to available hotspots that meet certain criteria (no password, no captive portal). If there are no hotspots nearby meeting those criteria, it won't connect and help reduce your data bill.

For the record - my Fi bill hasn't been over $30 since the first month. I have WiFi at work, at home, at the gym and at other homes I go to (mom and dad, sibling) so my only usage is when I'm not in any of those places and that's typically when I'm driving so I'm not using data or have done things like caching maps or music to reduce the reliance on data.

 

[Diehlirious]

@hallux No, there was no misunderstanding about the free wi-fi. From the moment I signed up for Fi I completely understood that Fi doesn't provide free wi-fi. As I mentioned earlier they provide "free wi-fi support" and that when using Fi, the "free wi-fi" comes from other big businesses by using hotspots. The problem was with Fi's inability to take advantage of any hotspots despite the fact that I live in the middle of Philly & despite the fact that one of the representative believed Fi would be ideal for me given the area that I live in.

In my first comment I talked about the good reviews & that's great that Fi works for you. I had hoped for the same, but I had also seen a few negative reviews & my experience would be lumped in among them. Fortunately Fi realized that their service in my particular circumstance did not meet that standards that they had set which is why they sympathized with what I had experienced and reimbursed $20 to my account.