Loving ProjectFi with my Nexus6P

[zoiks]

I've had Fi for about a few months now. The signup was pretty easy and I got my number transferred from T-Mobile pretty quickly. No discernable difference in sound and speed from T-mobile so far. I love the fact that with Fi, the transcribed voicemails show up right next to your contacts (the transcription while not 100% accurate is a lot better than Voice). As far as usage is concerned, Google is good about refunding money back if you less data than your plan. I used to have some gaps in service in some area pockets here in the bay area with T-mobile and as far as I can tell, I don't have that issue any more. Some disconnected calls but rare. I had those with T-mobile as well. On the upside, Google's customer service is top notch and you get get to someone in minutes.

One beef I had was that Google does not allow you to stream Google Music for free if you have a subscription; I had that luxury with T-mobile so for the first couple of months that I had Fi, I was running out of data very quickly and had to resort to rationing my data usage when I approached my limit. I reached out to Google and they said that they'll pass this along to their management for providing some sort of concession for utilizing GM with Fi.
In any case, I got that sorted out too. Since I like to listen to alternative/indie music, I ended up writing a script that scrapes radio station websites for the song playlists and then I use the unofficial Google Music api to add the songs to my playlist there which automatically downloads it to my phone . The script runs every evening and new songs get added to my playlist automatically each morning when I wake up on wifi. Love it since I stream the songs using bluetooth to my car's sound system without using any data. As of today, I've only consumed 0.6gb data so far which is pretty amazing.

I recommend signing up for Fi to give it a shot. They are always monitoring twitter and always take suggestions and respond back which is pretty cool.

 

[monkey333]

I couldn't wait to pay my etf with sprint. I had issues porting my number over because 'it's so old' as I was told. I ported my sprint number to Google voice that I created on another account and still call and recieve on that number via hangouts, works great.

Curious, do you find your first month the biggest data usage, with syncing and updates and stuff?

I've got 21 days left and I'm over halfway to a gig. I'm trying to be cheap and earn back my etf quicker.

 

[jpeyton]

If you're porting from Verizon, AT&T (non-value carriers) and looking for a better deal, ProjectFi makes sense.

If you're porting from Sprint, arguably the worst carrier in the nation, ProjectFi makes sense.

I'm not quite sure how porting to ProjectFi from T-Mobile makes sense. T-Mobile already has the lowest rates of the big four carriers, and gives you unlimited music streaming and now unlimited video streaming (including Netflix).

 

[Compddd]

There is no reason to switch to Project-Fi if you have T-Mobile, especially if you have the 5GB internet $30 plan.

 

[zoiks]

I couldn't wait to pay my etf with sprint. I had issues porting my number over because 'it's so old' as I was told. I ported my sprint number to Google voice that I created on another account and still call and recieve on that number via hangouts, works great.

Curious, do you find your first month the biggest data usage, with syncing and updates and stuff?

I've got 21 days left and I'm over halfway to a gig. I'm trying to be cheap and earn back my etf quicker.

I think Gmail is the biggest hound for data on my phone after Google Music. I'm at 630mb with 21 days to go myself. The Android phones are pretty good at breaking down which apps consumed the most data. But it also depends on your apps as well. If you have locations services turned on or use whatsapp etc, you can rack up data bandwidth pretty quickly.
Most of my apps sync over Wifi.

 

[zoiks]

There is no reason to switch to Project-Fi if you have T-Mobile, especially if you have the 5GB internet $30 plan.

Well, 100 min voice and 100 text messages are over pretty quickly since that plan only offers that. Project Fi will at least refund you the data that you don't use so your bill can be cheap if you're not a huge data consumer.

 

[zoiks]

If you're porting from Verizon, AT&T (non-value carriers) and looking for a better deal, ProjectFi makes sense.

If you're porting from Sprint, arguably the worst carrier in the nation, ProjectFi makes sense.

I'm not quite sure how porting to ProjectFi from T-Mobile makes sense. T-Mobile already has the lowest rates of the big four carriers, and gives you unlimited music streaming and now unlimited video streaming (including Netflix).

Just for data coverage. There are some spots where I go fishing where T-mobile surprisingly doesn't work and Sprint does.

 

[Obsy]

Well, 100 min voice and 100 text messages are over pretty quickly since that plan only offers that. Project Fi will at least refund you the data that you don't use so your bill can be cheap if you're not a huge data consumer.

No, the $30 T-Mobile plan has unlimited texting as well.

 

[Brainonska511]

Well, 100 min voice and 100 text messages are over pretty quickly since that plan only offers that. Project Fi will at least refund you the data that you don't use so your bill can be cheap if you're not a huge data consumer.

As Obsy stated, it's unlimited text. But you're right, as a user of this T-Mobile plan, 100 minutes does go by fairly quickly (and I don't talk that much). On top of it, knowing that I only have 100 minutes makes before having to pay per minute makes me more reluctant to talk on the phone, even though I'd have to hit > 200 minutes / month to make it worthwhile to jump up to another plan.

And even though 5GB is nice, since I got my 5X, I've simply been leaving WiFi on all the time: last cycle, I hit ~1GB on mobile data and currently at less than 400MB 1/3 of the way through the current cycle.

Project-Fi seems pretty tempting to me and I could see switching from my T-Mobile plan. Sure, I'll lose some mobile data (but it seems like that will be no big deal), and I'll gain it back on the talking side.

 

[looper]

I ended up writing a script that scrapes radio station websites for the song playlists and then I use the unofficial Google Music api to add the songs to my playlist there which automatically downloads it to my phone . The script runs every evening and new songs get added to my playlist automatically each morning when I wake up on wifi. Love it since I stream the songs using bluetooth to my car's sound system without using any data.

Damn, that's cool...Feel like writing a detailed post on how to do that, or posting a link that instructs?

 

[looper]

Most of my apps sync over Wifi.

Rookie question inbound.....Duh...

Meaning.... they are 'off' as the default setting until you're in a Wifi situation?

 

[monkey333]

Heh, google ups'd me my lego stand, sprint would never do that. It's the small things in life..

 

[Apex]

There is no reason to switch to Project-Fi if you have T-Mobile, especially if you have the 5GB internet $30 plan.

Depends on where you live. Here, where there's very little Sprint/T-Mobile coverage overlap, it's definitely helpful.

 

[zoiks]

Damn, that's cool...Feel like writing a detailed post on how to do that, or posting a link that instructs?

I can provide you with the python script I wrote.
It basically goes to a couple of radio station websites and grabs the songs. I then iterate over the list and look up the song ids at Google Music. I then add the songs using the song ids to my playlist.
I also look if I already added a song to the playlist by keeping a file on the filesystem for previously added songs and append the list if any new songs are found.

 

[zoiks]

Rookie question inbound.....Duh...

Meaning.... they are 'off' as the default setting until you're in a Wifi situation?

Yes. As far as I can tell aside from gmail, by default most syncs only happen on wifi.

 

[BW86]

I also have the N6P with Fi. Love it - Only paid $28 (taxes included) last month. I would have went with the T-mobile $30 plan but I talk on the phone too much. I'm on WiFi all day so data usage isn't a problem for me.

 

[pmark]

Are there any reasons why someone would choose T-Mobile over ProjectFi? It seems that ProjectFi will also give you access to the Sprint network in addition to T-Mobile so I don't see any downsides to picking ProjectFi. I'm transferring from AT&T and want to get the Nexus 6P...

 

[looper]

Any of you folks considering Ting rather than Fi with the N6P? ( if you are a low-data user )...

I'll also consider Republic IF they very soon get a new high-end phone for their stable. I don't want the Moto X 2nd Gen, nor the Moto G 3rd Gen.

 

[Brainonska511]

Are there any reasons why someone would choose T-Mobile over ProjectFi? It seems that ProjectFi will also give you access to the Sprint network in addition to T-Mobile so I don't see any downsides to picking ProjectFi. I'm transferring from AT&T and want to get the Nexus 6P...

If you regularly use a lot of data and don't talk much on the phone, the $30 5GB/100 min/unlimited text T-Mobile plan would be cheaper (and if you're a moderate talker, you could probably guess how much it would really cost you if you account for the $0.10/min after 100 minutes).

 

[Artdeco]

Also, with the TMobile $30 plan, you can use a VOIP app of your choice for virtually unlimited voice.

 

[vi edit]

I've been on Fi for almost two months and am overall *very* happy with the service. It does exactly what I had hoped T-Mobile would do, except it does it about 10x better.

I work in a place that has terrible cellular coverage and I have to traverse a pretty amount of distance on a daily basis on campus. Even Verizon's CDMA signal wasn't able to punch through the lead walls I have to work behind. I went to T-Mobile and their wifi calling and was generally quite disappointed with it's implementation. I fought daily with the wifi calling to even enable on different phones. When it did work the call quality was awful. Texts would come through but I couldn't do group messages or receive pictures via text. It was an annoying experience.

Switching to Fi relieved all of that. Once I get to work I go to airplane mode and turn back on wifi. I never have to fiddle with the thing again. No reboots, cycling of wifi or any of the other annoyances of T-Mobiles' wifi service. Call quality is great and I can receive group and multimedia texts without issues. Plus the integration into hangouts is great for messaging from a PC or calling from it.

Datawise, I've used less than 100mb in the last 15 days. I'll have a bill around $25 next month. I'm quite happy with that.

 

[Red Storm]

I've been on Fi for almost two months and am overall *very* happy with the service. It does exactly what I had hoped T-Mobile would do, except it does it about 10x better.

I work in a place that has terrible cellular coverage and I have to traverse a pretty amount of distance on a daily basis on campus. Even Verizon's CDMA signal wasn't able to punch through the lead walls I have to work behind. I went to T-Mobile and their wifi calling and was generally quite disappointed with it's implementation. I fought daily with the wifi calling to even enable on different phones. When it did work the call quality was awful. Texts would come through but I couldn't do group messages or receive pictures via text. It was an annoying experience.

Switching to Fi relieved all of that. Once I get to work I go to airplane mode and turn back on wifi. I never have to fiddle with the thing again. No reboots, cycling of wifi or any of the other annoyances of T-Mobiles' wifi service. Call quality is great and I can receive group and multimedia texts without issues. Plus the integration into hangouts is great for messaging from a PC or calling from it.

Datawise, I've used less than 100mb in the last 15 days. I'll have a bill around $25 next month. I'm quite happy with that.

I wish I used less data, I would so jump on the Fi bandwagon. For now T-Mobile is the best option for me, but glad to hear Fi is working out for you. A $25 bill for the month is awesome!

 

[sweenish]

Any of you folks considering Ting rather than Fi with the N6P? ( if you are a low-data user )...

I'll also consider Republic IF they very soon get a new high-end phone for their stable. I don't want the Moto X 2nd Gen, nor the Moto G 3rd Gen.

I haven't looked at pricing, but for more than one person (and assuming all are low data users), I think Ting could be the better option. Only $6 per phone. But Fi gives unlimited voice and texts.

I think the only way to know is plug your usage into both sites and see what gives the better deal. There is no sweeping statement on the matter.

 

[EvilYoda]

I might be moving to Fi in the near future...still holding on for dear life to an AT&T unlimited plan (family plan too) even though I don't use that much data (very occasionally). Since AT&T is increasing the monthly rate by $5 I can get out of my contract without paying ETF for 60 days after the rate change.

I might try out Fi while the last contract in the family plan (iphone 6S, so another year to go) finishes up and we'll move to T-Mobile or Verizon or at least restructure with AT&T.

 

[SketchMaster]

My 6P + Fi SIM just shipped today with free overnight, but no weekend delivery means I won't get it until Monday. :/

Switching from AT&T. I had a discount on my plan from an old employer, but found I rarely used even 1GB these days since I also have a work line paid for by my current company. I'm getting 1GB Fi + a 128 6P for the cost of my AT&T plan AFTER discount; it was a no brainer.

Can't wait to get a pure droid phone. Samsung and AT&T really made the S5 a terrible experience. Slow updates, and too many preloaded apps.