google fi porting issue?

[walterkurtz]

hi! hopefully this is my last google fi thread...(why doesn't google fi have it's own forum?)

after scattered research regarding how to keep my US number while traveling long term, i chose google fi.

i ported my number from verizon a few days before departure and everything seemed ok at first. there were (still are) annoying issues with voicemails. and calls from the US show up as random numbers from the UK or germany on my screen. but after my first horrible afternoon in london, data and network connections have been fine.

here is my problem: google fi support has not been able to solve my voicemail issue. basically i am unable to call a voicemail number from my phone. and voicemails that i receive disappear after google fi or google voice(?) think i have heard them.

after several hours of unsuccessful google fi tech support i decided to call verizon. i suspected there was some conflict because when i long pressed the voicemail button in my phone app it would give me a notification from verizon that there was a problem. i spoke to a technician at verizon who said the problem was on google's end. he said that my account appears suspended to verizon. and if it were properly ported it would appear disconnected on their end. i asked if he could simply disconnect it and he said i would risk losing my number entirely then. google support claims to have a team of specialists working on this. i am sure they are working around the clock to solve my problem...the whole team . but it's been several days and i have no reason to believe they can help.

has anyone had this issue before? am i safe to simply ask verizon to disconnect me? i mean yes there are problems but the port clearly must have mostly worked. i am using my phone, getting emails, texts, whatsapp messages and calls. what can i do??

thank you!!!

UPDATE: i just tried calling my own number to listen to voice mails and i after hitting star my pin and pound i got a message 'the phone i am calling from is not associated with...'. now i am wondering if this conflict is between google voice and google fi.

 

[hallux]

hi! hopefully this is my last google fi thread...(why doesn't google fi have it's own forum?)

You mean something like this? https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-project-fi/

Secondly - you may need an escalation. There's a group on Facebook related to Fi. Within that group is someone that has offered to help others escalate their issues in the past. You've so far been respectful and not overly demanding in your post, keep it that way. Request to join that group, post your issue. I can't absolutely guarantee you'll get offered assistance in escalating your issue (or how long it might be before that offer is extended as the guy has a life outside Facebook) but your chances are good he'll reach out and ask for some additional info so that he can reach out to his contacts (he doesn't actually work for Google).

The group is just Google Fi.

We don't normally suggest taking issues out of this forum but I feel that may be your best option for resolution.

 

[walterkurtz]

You mean something like this? https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-project-fi/

Secondly - you may need an escalation. There's a group on Facebook related to Fi. Within that group is someone that has offered to help others escalate their issues in the past. You've so far been respectful and not overly demanding in your post, keep it that way. Request to join that group, post your issue. I can't absolutely guarantee you'll get offered assistance in escalating your issue (or how long it might be before that offer is extended as the guy has a life outside Facebook) but your chances are good he'll reach out and ask for some additional info so that he can reach out to his contacts (he doesn't actually work for Google).

The group is just Google Fi.

We don't normally suggest taking issues out of this forum but I feel that may be your best option for resolution.

dang. i swear i scrolled through all the headings. maybe i didn't make it to "carriers". my bad. my bad.

i don't have facebook anymore. can i move this post to the proper forum?? danke!!

 

[belodion]

dang. i swear i scrolled through all the headings. maybe i didn't make it to "carriers". my bad. my bad.

i don't have facebook anymore. can i move this post to the proper forum?? danke!!

Don't worry, I couldn't find that forum either when I searched yesterday. Anyways, thread moved, with thanks to @hallux for the reminder.

 

[walterkurtz]

UPDATE: since yesterday an unanswered call gets a recording that "the mailbox is invalid" and immediately disconnected. in other words, i've gone from barely functional voicemail to none at all.

i also have not heard from google's 'specialist' since yesterday.

 

[hallux]

Unfortunately we don't get a lot of visits here from anyone in Google that could help you. I've provided my best suggestion as I've seen good results from that group when people have needed escalation.

You may also try Google's product forums Fi section and see if someone there can escalate your issue - https://support.google.com/fi/community?hl=en

 

[walterkurtz]

Unfortunately we don't get a lot of visits here from anyone in Google that could help you. I've provided my best suggestion as I've seen good results from that group when people have needed escalation.

You may also try Google's product forums Fi section and see if someone there can escalate your issue - https://support.google.com/fi/community?hl=en

thank you.

i was escalated a week ago. and i think am being escalated again to engineers (?!). but i haven't heard from anyone in two days, have no voice mail and rarely get calls. it could be that i am suddenly less popular. or that calls simply aren't coming through. either way at this point i can state unequivocally that google fi is not worth the savings considering, for me, even the basic functions (voice mail, called ID possible even calls and texts) don't work.

if i don't get this resolved soon, i am going to try and switch to tmobile. they seem to have a good international plan.

 

[hallux]

If you can get the issues resolved, stick with it and see how it works for you. I understand the frustration, but there are far more people that don't have this issue than do.

 

[racedog]

I had this issue a few years ago when I was with Fi. I found that resolution to difficult issues is almost impossible with Fi and we finally decided to leave after having had the service for about two years.

It COULD be a good service but they have a problem with providing good support when things get tough.

 

[walterkurtz]

If you can get the issues resolved, stick with it and see how it works for you. I understand the frustration, but there are far more people that don't have this issue than do.

true. they had me send some bug reports this morning which are being passed on to engineers. i am fairly convinced they won't solve my problem. and at that point i will have to decide if fi is worth keeping. the voicemail and caller ID issues are a bummer. but unlimited data in europe for $70 USD a month is pretty great! when i was here in may, verizon charged me something like $500 and they throttled my speed half way through the day when i was trying desperately to navigate.