Is Google Fi better than Verizon?

[cbreze]

Re: Google Fi

I used Fi for 6 weeks and found it was not a good fit for me and went back to Verizon. It was easy to try it out and easy to leave as well, no hidden issues. It is a very straight forward service. Problem is coverage. Just not there when out side of the city limits. I'm glad I tried it tho as I have been wanting to. I suggest anyone who is curious about it to try it out. You don't have to port over your number till you're ready or if you don't like it just quit it. I was fortunate enough to be able to keep my back up iPhone on Verizon and used my Pixel on Fi. Was great comparing them together. Took a long road trip up to Canada and was able to get a good, full Fi experience. For me Verizon was the better service and no question about it. Fi would have been like a downgrade for my needs. I did learn something about U.S. Cellular tho, Geezus their coverage sucks bad.
My daughter loves it in Albuquerque. Works better than Verizon for her. So go figure. That's why one just needs to get the full Fi experience first then make your choice.
I wonder how it will be when T-Mobile and Sprint join up if that happens. Might be worth trying it again if those two can get their act together coverage wise.

 

[anon(10274434)]

Re: Google Fi

I've been with Fi for about a year now, after 10+ years with Verizon. As far as coverage, call quality, and such, I notice no difference. I am in southern New England, a fairly populated area.

Average data use for the last several months is about .25 GB, about as close to nothing as you can get. Average bill about $24, 1/2 of what the Verizon bill was.

Needless to say, Fi be very good to me, but not everybody has the same set of circumstance I do. I had no problem going from V to Fi, back to V, then back to Fi again, so I'd suggest anybody curious about Google Fi, give it a tri.

 

[Uzian]

Re: Google Fi

I have been on the fence for a while on switching from T-Mobile to Fi.

Right now I pay $80/month (taxes included) for unlimited everything on T-Mobile One Plus with my Pixel 3. I have wifi at home and work and use around 4-5 GB per month of cellular data. I also travel outside the country for vacation about once a year and I have gotten along fairly well with the free data I get with T-Mobile though an increase in speed would be nice.

I figure since my current bill includes taxes that the equivalent price point on Fi would be around 5 GB of usage ($70 plus taxes) minus a few dollars. So based on my normal usage I would be paying slightly less on fi. I live in a large city and have excellent coverage with T-Mobile.

For the people on Fi how often does your phone connect to the random wifi hotspots when you are out and about? I wonder if that would potentially lower my data usage.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

I have been on the fence for a while on switching from T-Mobile to Fi.

Right now I pay $80/month (taxes included) for unlimited everything on T-Mobile One Plus with my Pixel 3. I have wifi at home and work and use around 4-5 GB per month of cellular data. I also travel outside the country for vacation about once a year and I have gotten along fairly well with the free data I get with T-Mobile though an increase in speed would be nice.

I figure since my current bill includes taxes that the equivalent price point on Fi would be around 5 GB of usage ($70 plus taxes) minus a few dollars. So based on my normal usage I would be paying slightly less on fi. I live in a large city and have excellent coverage with T-Mobile.

For the people on Fi how often does your phone connect to the random wifi hotspots when you are out and about? I wonder if that would potentially lower my data usage.

I've been on Fi for over a year. I'm a Comcast subscriber and there are thousands of XFinity WiFi hotspots all over Atlanta. Google Fi looks first for a WiFi connection before falling back to a cellular connection. Since I'm a subscriber I connect automatically whenever I'm within range of one. At restaurants, stores, etc. that have WiFi requiring a password, after I log in the first time it will always be remembered going forward. At this point in time I don't have to do anything and with Fi I'm transparently logged in to WiFi literally wherever I go in the Atlanta area. We both have excellent WiFi for work and home.

My wife and I are both on a Fi group plan and because of Fi's automatic switching to WiFi first, we rarely use more than two or three dollars of data a month. And we are both very heavy data users. For example, we will often watch a sports game or a video on one of our Pixel 3 XL's while at dinner. We are both avid Kindle readers and will often download a book while out and about on WiFi. When at the bookstore I will be on their WiFi and looking up books and reviews on Amazon. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that we love Google Fi!

Edit: I should add that our monthly Fi cost for the two of us, including taxes and fees, averages about $46 a month.

 

[Mike Dee]

Re: Google Fi

I've been on Fi for over a year. I'm a Comcast subscriber and there are thousands of XFinity WiFi hotspots all over Atlanta. Google Fi looks first for a WiFi connection before falling back to a cellular connection. Since I'm a subscriber I connect automatically whenever I'm within range of one. At restaurants, stores, etc. that have WiFi requiring a password, after I log in the first time it will always be remembered going forward. At this point in time I don't have to do anything and with Fi I'm transparently logged in to WiFi literally wherever I go in the Atlanta area. We both have excellent WiFi for work and home.

My wife and I are both on a Fi group plan and because of Fi's automatic switching to WiFi first, we rarely use more than two or three dollars of data a month. And we are both very heavy data users. For example, we will often watch a sports game or a video on one of our Pixel 3 XL's while at dinner. We are both avid Kindle readers and will often download a book while out and about on WiFi. When at the bookstore I will be on their WiFi and looking up books and reviews on Amazon. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that we love Google Fi!

Aren't you concerned with security on some of those public WiFi sites you are accessing?

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Aren't you concerned with security on some of those public WiFi sites you are accessing?

No, with Fi I am always on Fi VPN whether on a cellular connection or a WiFi connection.

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

Aren't you concerned with security on some of those public WiFi sites you are accessing?

Nope. Fi does an automatic VPN to Google to protect the data.

 

[Mike Dee]

Re: Google Fi

Nope. Fi does an automatic VPN to Google to protect the data.

Yes....Gary informed me above your response. Does that slow down your network like some of the freebe VPNs I've tried?

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

Yes....Gary informed me above your response. Does that slow down your network like some of the freebe VPNs I've tried?

Well I mean any VPN slows a connection down. It varies how much based on where the VPN server is, utilization of the server, etc. Adding encryption takes time to encrypt and decrypt so that's why a VPN usually slows it down in some sort of fashion.

 

[Mike Dee]

Re: Google Fi

Well I mean any VPN slows a connection down. It varies how much based on where the VPN server is, utilization of the server, etc. Adding encryption takes time to encrypt and decrypt so that's why a VPN usually slows it down in some sort of fashion.

Gotcha..

 

[Addie_Goodvibes]

Re: Google Fi

I would normally agree except for the fact that if you go over 15 Gigs in a month Project FI throttles you down to a crawl.

We travel to Japan once a year, I get good coverage for Fi in Japan. My daughter and wife use Sprint and for 5.00 additional on Sprint we got unlimited talk text and data in Japan.

So not the best cost wise. if you rent a public /portable wifi i disable data on Project Fi while in Japan its a hell of a deal.

 

[ImTurningViolet]

I've been on Fi for over a year. I'm a Comcast subscriber and there are thousands of XFinity WiFi hotspots all over Atlanta. Google Fi looks first for a WiFi connection before falling back to a cellular connection. Since I'm a subscriber I connect automatically whenever I'm within range of one. At restaurants, stores, etc. that have WiFi requiring a password, after I log in the first time it will always be remembered going forward. At this point in time I don't have to do anything and with Fi I'm transparently logged in to WiFi literally wherever I go in the Atlanta area. We both have excellent WiFi for work and home.

My wife and I are both on a Fi group plan and because of Fi's automatic switching to WiFi first, we rarely use more than two or three dollars of data a month. And we are both very heavy data users. For example, we will often watch a sports game or a video on one of our Pixel 3 XL's while at dinner. We are both avid Kindle readers and will often download a book while out and about on WiFi. When at the bookstore I will be on their WiFi and looking up books and reviews on Amazon. I could go on and on. The bottom line is that we love Google Fi!

Edit: I should add that our monthly Fi cost for the two of us, including taxes and fees, averages about $46 a month.

Thanks for the info Gary! I just switched me and my husband over to Fi during their promo on the 28th. He hardly uses any data but I use a lot. We're going to Port his number over Monday but I have to wait a month on mine bc I had to get a new # a couple of months ago.
I'm hoping that the $200 credit for switching will get us free service for 3-4 months.
Does your phone ever connect to other WiFi besides Xfinity that Fi picks? I have Xfinity too so I'll probably get the login for that from my husband (he takes care of our internet, I do phone).
I hope it works out for us!

 

[Almeuit]

Re: Google Fi

Thanks for the info Gary! I just switched me and my husband over to Fi during their promo on the 28th. He hardly uses any data but I use a lot. We're going to Port his number over Monday but I have to wait a month on mine bc I had to get a new # a couple of months ago.
I'm hoping that the $200 credit for switching will get us free service for 2-3 months.
Does your phone ever connect to other WiFi besides Xfinity that Fi picks? I have Xfinity too so I'll probably get the login for that from my husband (he takes care of our internet, I do phone).
I hope it works out for us!

It connects to known good hotspots. So usually a good amount of hotspots. Just depends if hotspots are around and if it considers them good. I'd say most normal places (Starbucks, McDonald's, etc.) will be fine.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

Yes....Gary informed me above your response. Does that slow down your network like some of the freebe VPNs I've tried?

Since the Fi VPN is by Google and integrated into Fi, I would expect it to be better than free VPN's. I've not seen any comparative data. My Internet speed on my home/office router according to OOKLA is between 170 to 180 Mbps down and 12 to 13 Mbps up.

I've compared the Internet speed of my Windows 10 Pro PC and my Pixel 3 XL. Of course only the Pixel is on Fi with Fi VPN. Testing back and forth I can't detect any difference in speed between the two.

 

[Almeuit]

Google Fi

Since the Fi VPN is by Google and integrated into Fi, I would expect it to be better than free VPN's. I've not seen any comparative data. My Internet speed on my home/office router according to OOKLA is between 170 to 180 Mbps down and 12 to 13 Mbps up.

I've compared the Internet speed of my Windows 10 Pro PC and my Pixel 3 XL. Of course only the Pixel is on Fi with Fi VPN. Testing back and forth I can't detect any difference in speed between the two.

Most likely you get less when going through the VPN but for it to be noticeable on normal use you usually won't see unless doing speed tests side by side.

Also yes their VPN is way way better then a free VPN. I personally would never use any of those free VPN services from the Play Store.

 

[cbreze]

Re: Google Fi

Does your phone ever connect to other WiFi besides Xfinity that Fi picks?

When I was using Fi my experience was strange using other wifi on occasion. By that I mean I'd go to the hardware store with a decent T-mobile signal on my Pixel, I look at the phone and it is trying to connect to a very weak wifi nearby. It seems to prioritize wifi over cellular(as they advertise). But I don't want a weak signal that will drop the first call that comes in. I ended up disabling wifi scanning so I'd only hook up automatically when I was home. if I needed wifi someplace stationary I'd just manually connect. On the go it was annoying. This was a bit of a downside but I got used to it. FWIW I did drop some calls on Fi and also was told by callers I was breaking up.
When I called CS to ask about the issue the call dropped while I was talking to the CSR.
Just my experience YMMV. As I mentioned in another post my daughter is having a great experience using Fi. Just have to test drive it.

 

[ImTurningViolet]

Re: Google Fi

When I was using Fi my experience was strange using other wifi on occasion. By that I mean I'd go to the hardware store with a decent T-mobile signal on my Pixel, I look at the phone and it is trying to connect to a very weak wifi nearby. It seems to prioritize wifi over cellular(as they advertise). But I don't want a weak signal that will drop the first call that comes in. I ended up disabling wifi scanning so I'd only hook up automatically when I was home. if I needed wifi someplace stationary I'd just manually connect. On the go it was annoying. This was a bit of a downside but I got used to it. FWIW I did drop some calls on Fi and also was told by callers I was breaking up.
When I called CS to ask about the issue the call dropped while I was talking to the CSR.
Just my experience YMMV. As I mentioned in another post my daughter is having a great experience using Fi. Just have to test drive it.

Yeah I'm kinda worried about that scenario- my phone connecting to weak wifi over and over. I figured it woukd be worth it to try for a while anyway.

 

[cbreze]

Re: Google Fi

Yeah I'm kinda worried about that scenario- my phone connecting to weak wifi over and over. I figured it woukd be worth it to try for a while anyway.

You should give it a try. I'm glad I did. If you can keep your other service while trying Fi then that would be the easiest. I was lucky enough to have a second device and that way I could compare both together.

 

[TraderGary]

Re: Google Fi

When I was using Fi my experience was strange using other wifi on occasion. By that I mean I'd go to the hardware store with a decent T-mobile signal on my Pixel, I look at the phone and it is trying to connect to a very weak wifi nearby. It seems to prioritize wifi over cellular(as they advertise). But I don't want a weak signal that will drop the first call that comes in. I ended up disabling wifi scanning so I'd only hook up automatically when I was home. if I needed wifi someplace stationary I'd just manually connect. On the go it was annoying. This was a bit of a downside but I got used to it. FWIW I did drop some calls on Fi and also was told by callers I was breaking up.
When I called CS to ask about the issue the call dropped while I was talking to the CSR.
Just my experience YMMV. As I mentioned in another post my daughter is having a great experience using Fi. Just have to test drive it.

After 13 months on Fi we have yet to experience an instance where Google chose to use WiFi and the choice didn't work. I understand that if WiFi doesn't support a voice call, Fi transparently transfers the call from WiFi back to cellular. I would imagine there would be a failure if neither cellular or WiFi were strong enough to support a call.

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. This was our first test of Fi outside of the Atlanta area and everything worked with no problem. We traded off driving and the passenger was frequently texting, on a voice call, browsing the web, or even here on the forums. When Kate was driving it was my 3 XL that was supporting AA GPS and multitasking worked flawlessly.

When we first started Fi, Kate was using a Nexus 6 and I was using a Pixel 2 XL. We are both now using identical Pixel 3 XL 128's since the Pixel 3 launch. (Kate loves the equality!) We were using our Pixel 3 XL's for the Thanksgiving trip. We love Fi.

 

[Mike Dee]

Re: Google Fi

After 13 months on Fi we have yet to experience an instance where Google chose to use WiFi and the choice didn't work. I understand that if WiFi doesn't support a voice call, Fi transparently transfers the call from WiFi back to cellular. I would imagine there would be a failure if neither cellular or WiFi were strong enough to support a call.

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. This was our first test of Fi outside of the Atlanta area and everything worked with no problem. We traded off driving and the passenger was frequently texting, on a voice call, browsing the web, or even here on the forums. When Kate was driving it was my 3 XL that was supporting AA GPS and multitasking worked flawlessly.

When we first started Fi, Kate was using a Nexus 6 and I was using a Pixel 2 XL. We are both now using identical Pixel 3 XL 128's since the Pixel 3 launch. (Kate loves the equality!) We were using our Pixel 3 XL's for the Thanksgiving trip. We love 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.