T-Mobile to Fi

[Google_Superuser]

Ok need some opinions here.

Currently I have post paid T-Mobile unlimited plan. I own a Play Store Nexus 6, no eip or anything. I used to work for T-Mobile so I have what they call an Alumni discount for life which gets me about 15% off my bill each month which ends up being about $72 after taxes etc.

Now I love all things Google and Fi is appealing for several reasons 1. I'd save money each month. I generally use about 2-4gb each month and maybe once I year I end up hitting 7-8 max. 2. I currently use google voice to text and make calls from my computer. It would be nice to use 1 number if Fi integrates with this system. 3. T-Mo reception is just ok at best. Its good enough and I've mainly stayed because of price to performance balance. I feel like the addition of Sprint and wifi might help for better reception.

Here is what worries me. 1. While it saves me money now...I'll only be using more data as tech advances and I feel like unlimited plans will die out eventually. 2. If I leave T-Mo I wont get the alumni discount back, so if Fi doesn't pan out Ill be back paying more money for the same thing. 3. It is kind of nice to just have unlimited data and never need to thing about usage or pay as you go.

So would love to hear some thoughts or suggestions from those with Fi already. I am supposedly getting my invite in 1-2 weeks.

EDIT: Also as a google voice user I know I will loose my gvoice number (not a big deal I don't give it out), but what would I need to do to prepare for a transition should I choose Fi?

 

[Gekko]

Ok need some opinions here.

Currently I have post paid T-Mobile unlimited plan. I own a Play Store Nexus 6, no eip or anything. I used to work for T-Mobile so I have what they call an Alumni discount for life which gets me about 15% off my bill each month which ends up being about $72 after taxes etc.

Now I love all things Google and Fi is appealing for several reasons 1. I'd save money each month. I generally use about 2-4gb each month and maybe once I year I end up hitting 7-8 max. 2. I currently use google voice to text and make calls from my computer. It would be nice to use 1 number if Fi integrates with this system. 3. T-Mo reception is just ok at best. Its good enough and I've mainly stayed because of price to performance balance. I feel like the addition of Sprint and wifi might help for better reception.

Here is what worries me. 1. While it saves me money now...I'll only be using more data as tech advances and I feel like unlimited plans will die out eventually. 2. If I leave T-Mo I wont get the alumni discount back, so if Fi doesn't pan out Ill be back paying more money for the same thing. 3. It is kind of nice to just have unlimited data and never need to thing about usage or pay as you go.

So would love to hear some thoughts or suggestions from those with Fi already. I am supposedly getting my invite in 1-2 weeks.

EDIT: Also as a google voice user I know I will loose my gvoice number (not a big deal I don't give it out), but what would I need to do to prepare for a transition should I choose Fi?

IMO it's too new. let them work out the bugs. wait 12 months and reevaluate.

 

[cgb77]

Considering you have unlimited data & a discount on T-Mobile, you should probably wait as you might not save too much. I live in NJ and came from Sprint, so I'm happy with the network coverage (Sprint is terrible here). I'm only 2 1/2 weeks into it, but I'm a little disappointed with the promise of the open Wi-Fi network connections. I've yet to see the phone connect to any open Wi-Fi networks other than the ones I've manually connected to. I signed up for 2GB of data, but already used 2.5GB. This is a little higher than normal for me, but I thought I'd be getting more Wi-Fi use than I'm currently getting.

 

[Google_Superuser]

Sooo....got invite today. Anyone know if it expires?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[vamp07]

I'm in the same debate but with family discount. moving would involve no savings and potentially increment if I use more data. For the time being in putting my account in hold. I love the concept of Fi and it works very well but where I live I have good coverage with both carriers so very little incentive to switch.

 

[marty.brown]

It does not expire. I got my invite about 6 weeks ago and sat on it until I purchased an N6 this week.

I've read in several places that the invites do not have any time limit to them.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[andre2p]

Great, because I want to wait for the new Nexus before I switch.

 

[TofuTwit]

I can confirm that the invite does not expire. Before I activated Fi, I got a follow up email from Google reminding me that I had an invite but not to worry because it will not expire before I decided to use it.

 

[dmlv]

Great, because I want to wait for the new Nexus before I switch.

I know... I'm thinking the same thing but we may not see the new Nexus' for 3 months..
But if the invite lasts that long I'll wait.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Gekko]

Ok need some opinions here.

Currently I have post paid T-Mobile unlimited plan. I own a Play Store Nexus 6, no eip or anything. I used to work for T-Mobile so I have what they call an Alumni discount for life which gets me about 15% off my bill each month which ends up being about $72 after taxes etc.

Now I love all things Google and Fi is appealing for several reasons 1. I'd save money each month. I generally use about 2-4gb each month and maybe once I year I end up hitting 7-8 max. 2. I currently use google voice to text and make calls from my computer. It would be nice to use 1 number if Fi integrates with this system. 3. T-Mo reception is just ok at best. Its good enough and I've mainly stayed because of price to performance balance. I feel like the addition of Sprint and wifi might help for better reception.

Here is what worries me. 1. While it saves me money now...I'll only be using more data as tech advances and I feel like unlimited plans will die out eventually. 2. If I leave T-Mo I wont get the alumni discount back, so if Fi doesn't pan out Ill be back paying more money for the same thing. 3. It is kind of nice to just have unlimited data and never need to thing about usage or pay as you go.

So would love to hear some thoughts or suggestions from those with Fi already. I am supposedly getting my invite in 1-2 weeks.

EDIT: Also as a google voice user I know I will loose my gvoice number (not a big deal I don't give it out), but what would I need to do to prepare for a transition should I choose Fi?

My Time With Google's Cellular Service Was Mostly a Disaster

My Time With Google's Cellular Service Was Mostly a Disaster

 

[ElronTheElder]

hmmm....
Just ordered the service.
Should be getting the sim middle of next week.
Not having coverage in a major city doesn't bode well for suburbia.
Thank goodness this is not a life choice.

 

[Knyte]

Been using it for a week and so far no real issues yet.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[AlexMadarasz]

My Time With Google's Cellular Service Was Mostly a Disaster

Read that review, and it doesn't really reflect the opinion of most of the folks (like me) on the Project Fi official Google+ Community page. Many of us (like me) are having less serious issues of some kind or another, but we also believe that Google is working on them. Meanwhile - even though (like me) we may have invested a big chunk of change in a Nexus 6 when we didn't really need one (I was happily - except for poor cell service at home - using a Moto X 2014 on T-Mobile) - we see the promise of the service's pricing model and technology.

Oh, and despite the claim in the review, Fi is NOT "... a service where Google controls everything: the phone, the app, the network, and even the SIM." Google is still highly dependent on T-Mobile and Sprint to deliver "the last mile(s)" of reliable, high quality cell service (Sprint seems to be failing to do so in more than one way, and T-Mobile's coverage is still pretty sparse in many places - like near my house), and Google has no control over your home WiFi network or many of the "open" WiFi access points they would prefer you use rather than cell service.

I really hope that Fi works out, as T-Mobile's poor cell service at my house and their WiFi calling model (you can have WiFi calling ... as long as you buy your phone from us) haven't impressed me so far. Oh, and when I cancelled T-Mobile after starting Fi, having to call a "retention" person and grind through the long, drawn-out, hypocrytical "won't you please stay with us", "we have a $3 plan you might want", "we have a 30-day minimum notification period" crap left a seriously sour taste in my mouth.

--
Alex

 

[Google_Superuser]

I thought I posted this already not sure what happened....but anyway

I ended up signing up almost right away because I love all things Google and it just seemed to cool. Bottom line if it was bad I could just pick up T-Mobile Prepaid for almost the same price so I gambled.

I signed up on the 12 of August and here are my observations so far:

1. Reception is better in places that were bad. I usually was pretty ok everywhere in the bay area except my local grocery store (weird) and my office (unfortunately). Now I am rarely without a workable level of 3g. Data speeds are just as good as T-Mobile when on "regular" T-Mobile LTE of course. Overall I'd say reception is generally a little better thanks to having 2 carrier options.
2. Wifi calling is flawless. I never really tried wifi calling on tmobile with my Nexus 6 but results with Fi and my Nexus 6 with wifi calling are much better than my LG G2 was with wifi calling on T-Mobile...not a perfect comparison but so far no one I've talked to using wifi calling even realized I was using it.
3. Fi integration with hangouts works very well. I had Google voice number (which was lost in the process btw) and it seems to work just as well if not a little better for making calls on my mac or texting from hangouts. Its nice to have a single number for this vs google voice AND a regular cell number.
4. Setup was very easy. I had all my T-Mobile account info ready. I have ported my number many times and it has never been so fast. Phone was 100% functional in 5 minutes max.
5. The welcome kit is a nice touch....I don't need of it but its a neat item and goes with my collection of Google swag.
6. My Google Voice number was released but my google voicemail greeting transferred to my Fi number.

Overall it is a compelling option for anyone considering T-Mobile but finds themselves using 4-5gb or less consistently per month. The added benefits brought over with Google Voice features are just icing.

 

[ElronTheElder]

Have been using the Fi service for a few days.
So far no problems. Data usage has been -0-
Not a heavy user, so take that into account.
Still, great beginning.

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

IMO it's too new. let them work out the bugs. wait 12 months and reevaluate.

I have switched to Fi from T-Mobile and I think you'd be missing a little too much to make the switch. Things to consider 1.If you like to stream music remember T-Mobile is not charging you for that. Fi will. 2. The Wi-Fi can be a bust as some Wi-Fi networks are painfully slow such that you will have to use data anyway. 3. Fi puts you back in the position where you're counting data again. And, honestly, that sucks the most.

On the plus side, it seems that the switching from T-Mobile to Sprint to Wi-Fi is getting better, but it's not anything like it's been advertised as of yet. Also, I do tend to have fairly strong network coverage everywhere now. That has not always been the case with just T-Mobile.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[tagumcity]

The Project Fi concept is worth my effort. If I was a consistent heavy data user, then Project Fi would not be cost effective. There is just a few instances during the year where my data use will go to 5GB+. Mostly my data usage is about 1GB/mo on each of my current 4 unlimited data lines. Estimate savings using Project Fi will be $800 to $1000/yr.

 

[ItsMeMandi]

I'm eagerly waiting for my N6 to get here on Wednesday to start my Fi account and yet wary that this is the right choice for me. I currently have T-Mobile on an old plan I was grandfathered into so I pay about $60/month for Unlimited everything but I'm excluded from all of the other T-Mobile perks like JUMP! My other hair-pulling-out problem is how awful my Samsung phones always run after getting updated. My S5 was better for a little while after I did a complete wipe with my phone, but its so lagging and slow and glitchy. I know this has to do with software going from Google to Samsung to T-Mobile and getting tweaked in the process.

My big thing is that I rarely ever go about 2GB of data because I constantly use wifi at work and home which is where I am such a large portion of the week (I'm going to be at 2.65GB this month because I was traveling for a week). I've been reading that you can't force a N6 Fi phone to connect to wifi unless you turn it on airplane mode. Is this true?? It's nice to never have to worry wasting data as I go to and from places.

Lastly:

1.If you like to stream music remember T-Mobile is not charging you for that. Fi will.

So when I'm streaming music on Google Play that doesn't cost me data? How is that possible? I thought it did. Its probably when I use data the most -- in the car.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated...

 

[vamp07]

So when I'm streaming music on Google Play that doesn't cost me data? How is that possible? I thought it did. Its probably when I use data the most -- in the car.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated...

No it does not count against your data. Be careful with switching. Your probably using more data then you realize.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[AlexMadarasz]

I'm eagerly waiting for my N6 to get here on Wednesday to start my Fi account and yet wary that this is the right choice for me. ...

My big thing is that I rarely ever go about 2GB of data because I constantly use wifi at work and home which is where I am such a large portion of the week (I'm going to be at 2.65GB this month because I was traveling for a week). I've been reading that you can't force a N6 Fi phone to connect to wifi unless you turn it on airplane mode. Is this true?? It's nice to never have to worry wasting data as I go to and from places.
...

Your Fi usage model is similar to mine, so there's a potential for you to save a lot of money (except that I probably use far less mobile data than you - I started a thread here July Bill $23.52 - Now That's the Way to Price Data! to document how little mobile data I'm using and how much of a refund/credit I've been getting each month).

As far as having to "force a N6 Fi phone to connect to wifi" using Airplan mode, that's not quite what is going on. I have experienced an issue where my phone regularly fails to ring for incoming calls at home (while I'm connected to both my home WiFi and to a cell system) unless I use Airplane mode. It appears that this is due to the unfortunate combination of several issues:

• In some/many situations, Fi's network-switching system is currently "preferring" to connect voice calls over the cell system even when connected to a stronger WiFi signal.
• Sprint's cell system has some known bugs that result in missed incoming calls - Fi is unfortunately exposing more customers to this problem.
• I [unfortunately for me] have a much stronger, more consistent Sprint cell signal at home than I do a T-Mobile signal (my past experience as a T-Mobile customer was that my home T-Mobile cell signal is usually only a bar or two at best, and it prone to drop my calls).

For me, this results in me using the current Fi workaround - where I put my N6 in Airplane mode, then turn WiFi (and Bluetooth) back on in order to force Fi to connect all incoming calls over WiFi. It's not a case that I've never had my phone ring for incoming calls at home, it's just that it's been inconsistent enough that I prefer the WiFi-only approach for now - it's definitely a PITA when I leave home and then realize later that my phone's been in Airplane mode when I'm out of the house.

BTW, I'm one of the folks that has "gotten a key" - my phone regularly connects to a Fi-compatible open WiFi system at my local Wegman's, so I know that Fi will connect to these WiFi hotspots when available. However, I'm sure that the same issues that I have at home can occur with one of these hotspots, ....

--
Alex