Is Google Fi better than Verizon?

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

I don't think there is a question as much about connectivity as there is cost for those who rely more on cellular vs WIFI for data. If I was home most of the time it might work.

I just won't save much money if I swapped at this current time (of course things can change). I pay $33 a month for unlimited talk/txt/data + 15 GB of hotspot so Fi may save me what .. $5-8 if I use very little data? Not worth for me. I would rather have the small extra $ and gain tons more connectivity that isn't restricted to hotspots being near me or not.

 

[cbreze]

Re: Google Fi

Yeah, I was definitely disappinted it didn't work for me as well as it did for others. I think the drops happened mostly when I strayed to far from the router and the switch over back to cellular wasn't smooth. Callers said I started breaking up then dead air. That and the fact that all three of the cellular services had very poor signal where I live in town. I think U.S. Cellular roams on Verizon but apparently not on Fi. That would have helped immensely.
@TraderGary, it sounds like you have a winner and the service really works well for you. That's great!

Nothing ventured nothing gained IMO and I'm glad to have had the experience such as it was. Now that Fi is out of the Beta stage they say perhaps some improvements will happen. With Sprint and T-Mobile possibly merging that could improve things, or not. It's so easy to switch back to it and inexpensive as well that I'll likely try it again down the road after it matures a bit more.
I'm happy to be back with Verizon's crystal clear "no drop" calls.

 

[cbreze]

Re: Google Fi

I just won't save much money if I swapped at this current time (of course things can change). I pay $33 a month for unlimited talk/txt/data + 15 GB of hotspot so Fi may save me what .. $5-8 if I use very little data? Not worth for me. I would rather have the small extra $ and gain tons more connectivity that isn't restricted to hotspots being near me or not.

Would be foolish to switch to Fi with your plan. iMO

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Would be foolish to switch to Fi with your plan. iMO

Absolutely! If Google Fi was best for everyone, everyone would be using Google Fi.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

I don't think there is a question as much about connectivity as there is cost for those who rely more on cellular vs WIFI for data. If I was home most of the time it might work.

The math is simple and it's not rocket science. If most of your connectivity is through WiFi, Google Fi is a no brainer. If most of your connectivity is cellular, Google Fi isn't for you.

 

[ImTurningViolet]

The math is simple and it's not rocket science. If most of your connectivity is through WiFi, Google Fi is a no brainer. If most of your connectivity is cellular, Google Fi isn't for you.

Right. My biggest data suck is podcasts on my commute, but I'm going to figure out how to have them automatically download at home on wifi. I've been using upwards of 12 gb of data (bc I don't bother w wifi right now) but I know that when I was on limited data plans 3gb was fine. I think at this point my commute will really be the only thing that sucks data. I'm hoping to get down to 1 gb of cellular data.

 

[hallux]

Re: Google Fi

Right. My biggest data suck is podcasts on my commute, but I'm going to figure out how to have them automatically download at home on wifi. I've been using upwards of 12 gb of data (bc I don't bother w wifi right now) but I know that when I was on limited data plans 3gb was fine. I think at this point my commute will really be the only thing that sucks data. I'm hoping to get down to 1 gb of cellular data.

It depends on your podcast app, but I have no trouble with automatic caching of podcasts using Play Music so long as the podcast is recorded and posted (looking at you AC Podcast!).

 

[18t]

Re: Google Fi

I have to say, Fi customer service is a joke, at least in my experience. I was trying to get some questions answered during the gift card promotion. Now, I realize they were slammed beyond belief with this offer, but the manner in which they handled it was something I would expect from a startup.

Since they were experiencing high call volume, I signed up for a call back. After 30 minutes I check my original request, and they said they called when they didn't. I tried a second time with my actual phone number instead of google voice, and after only a few minutes I received the same message. Still no call back. So I found there phone number online, every time I called, it basically said, we are really busy, try back later. So I tried online chat, but that service was either offline or not enough agents. Finally I settled for an email. They said they would reply in 12-24 hours. Not only did they not reply in that time frame, I have yet to receive a response to that email after 5 days, and still never received a phone call.

As I have witnessed first hand over the years, Google is really pathetic at some things.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

Right. My biggest data suck is podcasts on my commute, but I'm going to figure out how to have them automatically download at home on wifi. I've been using upwards of 12 gb of data (bc I don't bother w wifi right now) but I know that when I was on limited data plans 3gb was fine. I think at this point my commute will really be the only thing that sucks data. I'm hoping to get down to 1 gb of cellular data.

I suggest Pocket Casts if you need a good podcast app. It offers downloading over WiFI only automatically so you can always have the latest episodes as they come out. It also syncs all your podcasts you sub to, saves your spot on them so if you swap to another device you can pickup where you were, and all that. 110% worth the 1 time cost for the app (I have bought it on all platforms.. iOS/Android/etc.)

 

[jabaa]

Re: Google Fi

My wife and I just switched from AT&T to Fi and took advantage of Fi's buy two Pixel 3's and get $799 in Fi credit. Anyway, I went through the previous year of our AT&T bills and saw we had been averaging using 2.8 GB total / month, so i figure we stand to save about $30/month on Fi.

So far service-wise it's been fine. No difference in quality, including here in Seattle, a rural part of Texas, Austin and Houston. I've had a couple customer service questions and got great help via chat.

The only downside I'd say so far is how hyper-aware I am now of my cell data usage. Fi will turn you into a data miser. But for the most part I just download things (e.g. playlists, podcasts, etc) before leaving home or work.

 

[hallux]

Re: Google Fi

But for the most part I just download things (e.g. playlists, podcasts, etc) before leaving home or work.

This is the key. I have a selection of music downloaded to my phone for offline listening, and have any podcasts I listen to cache the latest 3 episodes (and they self-delete after listening). With this, I rarely use over 500 MB of data in a month.

 

[gmermel]

Re: Google Fi

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we rented a car and drove from Atlanta to Houston using Android Auto for GPS and Google Play Music the entire trip. We had both solid cellular and WiFi the entire trip. GPS and multitasking worked flawlessly.

We were using our Pixel 3 XL's for the Thanksgiving trip. We love Fi.

Has billing cycle covering the holiday ended yet? Don't mean to be a party pooper, but Thanksgiving was just 2 weeks ago.....

Let us know how it turned out.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Has billing cycle covering the holiday ended yet? Don't mean to be a party pooper, but Thanksgiving was just 2 weeks ago.....

Let us know how it turned out.

You're not a party pooper at all! When we started the trip we were expecting to possibly use all the data limit of 10 GB. Our normal bill for the past year has averaged $46. Here's the breakdown of our Fi bill from Nov 2 to Dec 2:

$41.94 - Data Used 4.194 GB at $10/GB
$35.00 - Calls and Texts, 2 people, $20 + $15/member
$ 7.85 - Taxes and regulatory fees
--------
$84.79

My 3 XL was connected to Android Auto constantly throughout the trip. We used Google Play Music throughout the trip. The passenger was on his/her Pixel 3 XL using data throughout the trip. We did nothing to try to conserve data use. We were quite prepared to see a much higher bill especially using Android Auto with Google Play Music constantly while driving, so this wasn't really all that bad.

 

[gmermel]

Re: Google Fi

Can't complain about that. I guess us old folks that don't stream a lot of video can find Fi isn't a bad idea.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Can't complain about that. I guess us old folks that don't stream a lot of video can find Fi isn't a bad idea.

For the way we use our two Pixel 3 XL's these two "old folks" are more than happy with Fi.

 

[AP-123]

Re: Google Fi

I tried Fi two years in a row. Both when new pixels came out. I had to switch back to Verizon both times bc I live in a "marginal coverage area".

Otherwise I would be all over it. Despite living in Los Angeles, I pay the price for living in the hills. Verizon works best and even then I randomly drop a call a block away from my place.

 

[sjcdal]

Re: Google Fi

I'm in the same situation. I think Fi works best with users who have high wi-fi access. I have unlimited data, and use it, so Fi wouldn't be the best fit for me.

Fi basically has an unlimited plan now. The "bill cap" tops out at varying levels based upon how many people are sharing the data. But basically with 2 people on the plan..$135 is max you would pay. $65 per person, and none of the bogus "carrier imposed fees" that they try and disguise like a tax. And if you travel internationally NOTHING beats Fi. When you land, (I have in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Italy, Spain, Portugal) you turn on the phone and get a message "Welcome to Fi in **** your US phone number just works. No switching sims, no daily fees (they do charge $.20 a minute if you make or receive calls on cellular in foreign locations, but calls over wifi continue to be free).

Your data level depends on the number of active people on your plan.
[TABLE="class: nice-table no-stripes, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"] [/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Individual[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]2 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]3 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]4 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]5 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]6 members[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Calls & texts[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$20[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$35[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$50[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$65[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$80[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Data level[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]6 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]10 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]12 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]14 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]16 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]18 GB[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Max data cost[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$60[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$100[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$120[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$140[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$160[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$180[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Max combined cost*[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$80[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$135[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$170[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$205[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$240[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$275[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

Fi basically has an unlimited plan now. The "bill cap" tops out at varying levels based upon how many people are sharing the data. But basically with 2 people on the plan..$135 is max you would pay. $65 per person, and none of the bogus "carrier imposed fees" that they try and disguise like a tax. And if you travel internationally NOTHING beats Fi. When you land, (I have in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Italy, Spain, Portugal) you turn on the phone and get a message "Welcome to Fi in **** your US phone number just works. No switching sims, no daily fees (they do charge $.20 a minute if you make or receive calls on cellular in foreign locations, but calls over wifi continue to be free).

Your data level depends on the number of active people on your plan.
[TABLE="class: nice-table no-stripes, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"] [/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Individual[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]2 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]3 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]4 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]5 members[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]6 members[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Calls & texts[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$20[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$35[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$50[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$65[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$80[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$95[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Data level[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]6 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]10 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]12 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]14 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]16 GB[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]18 GB[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Max data cost[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$60[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$100[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$120[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$140[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$160[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$180[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: [URL=https://forums.androidcentral.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=F5F5F5]#F5F5F5[/URL] , align: left"]Max combined cost*[/TH]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$80[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$135[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$170[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$205[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$240[/TD]
[TD="class: align-center, align: center"]$275[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Big / huge deal on "basically unlimited" plan now. At 15 GB it is a hard cap to 2G speeds. I get talking about going into different countries as a perk -- that is definitely a perk of Fi without a doubt.. but to argue a 15 GB hard cap is unlimited to people who use more then that each month is.. well .. not viable.

I pay the "carrier imposed fees" and my line costs me $33 a month for unlimited talk/txt/data + 15 GB hotspot on Verizon. I would say that is pretty reasonable and since I don't really go out of the country the free international roaming is a meh point to me.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Big / huge deal on "basically unlimited" plan now. At 15 GB it is a hard cap to 2G speeds. I get talking about going into different countries as a perk -- that is definitely a perk of Fi without a doubt.. but to argue a 15 GB hard cap is unlimited to people who use more then that each month is.. well .. not viable.

I pay the "carrier imposed fees" and my line costs me $33 a month for unlimited talk/txt/data + 15 GB hotspot on Verizon. I would say that is pretty reasonable and since I don't really go out of the country the free international roaming is a meh point to me.

I think I recall your saying that $33 is your share of an older grandfathered family plan. When I went to Verizon to ask about pricing before deciding on Fi, they gave me a price that was quite a bit higher than that. If I could get Verizon for $33 for unlimited Talk/Text/Data, I'd be on it like a duck on a June Bug!

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

I think I recall your saying that $33 is your share of an older grandfathered family plan. When I went to Verizon to ask about pricing before deciding on Fi, they gave me a price that was quite a bit higher than that. If I could get Verizon for $33 for unlimited talk/Text/Data I'd be on it like a duck on a June Bug!

It definitely is my share just as he broke down the line costs for multiples. The main issue is saying their unlimited is like others isn't the same anymore since carriers like to redefine unlimited and Fi for now hard caps to 2G speeds after 15 GB.