Project Fi

[lopri]

Can we share information about it here? It is basically Google's MVNO running on borrowed lines from Sprint and T-Mobile. Its base price is $20 a month which gives you voice+text, and you pay as you go for data which weighs $10/GB.

https://fi.google.com

Fi Basics for $20 per month
Our plan starts with the Fi Basics for $20 per month, which includes: unlimited domestic talk and text, unlimited international texts, ability to use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot, and coverage in 120+ countries.

$10 per GB for data
It's always $10 per GB for data. $10 for 1GB, $20 for 2GB, $30 for 3GB and so on. That's it. With no annual contract required.

Never pay for unused data
It's hard to predict your data usage when it changes month to month. One month you're streaming live sports, the next you're mostly just checking email. At the end of each month, you’ll get your unused data credited in dollars and cents, so you only pay for what you use.

I would like this thread to be about practical applications and experiences, rather than corporate politics/agenda, although some comparison may be inevitable.

 

[openwheel]

tax and fee? Or all inclusive?

 

[Crono]

There's already at least one thread on Fi.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2429050

 

[lopri]

First question: Does Google send out a SIM? Can you use it with a phone that is not officially supported, assuming you take the risk of weak/lost signals in places where your hardware is not compatible the network?

 

[lopri]

I want to give it a try but I do not intend to buy a Nexus phone this year. Not yet, I guess.

 

[cliftonite]

$10 per gig seems high. $5 would be more reasonable.

 

[VashHT]

$10 per gig seems high. $5 would be more reasonable.

Compared to what? I'm gonna switch to Fi, on ATT right now and my 3Gb plan is $90 a month with a 24% discount on part of it. The same thing on Fi would cost me $50 a month so that seems pretty nice to me.

 

[Crono]

Price is comparable to T-Mobile. Good option if you don't use a ton of data and can benefit from complementary T-Mobile/Sprint signal areas. Even better option if you plan on getting a Nexus 5X/6P.

I have an invite but I have regular Sprint with unlimited, but if I didn't I probably would have gone with Fi. I like that they refund the data you don't use.

 

[lopri]

tax and fee? Or all inclusive?

Good questions! I'd like to know as well. $10/GB is competitive, but not amazing. But the rest of offer sounds very enticing, in a typical Google fashion. If someone tells me that unsupported phones work, I want to try out.

@VashHT: What phone(s) are you going to use on Fi?

 

[paperwastage]

You kinda need a nexus 6/5x/6p to get the network switching between sprint and tmobile. You can unofficially stick the Sim in a regular phone and only get T-Mobile service

This occupies a niche. If you don't care about 128kbps international roaming, other T-Mobile mvnos can be cheaper, especially if you use more than 2GB data. Think I've posted this info on the other thread

 

[tornadog]

I went back to T-Mobile after trying Fi for a month. The switching for me at least was terrible as it would sometimes be stuck in Sprint even though T-Mobile has a stronger signal. Apparently they were calculating the provider by the tower distance. ANd I didnt have too may wifi hotspots around me that it would switch to. Also I hated the Nexus 6 phone, battery life was in the dumps compared to my then OnePlus One. Luckily I was able to return it on the 30th day.

 

[Artdeco]

I tried it for a month, went to TMobile and 10 GB/month, I blew through the 1 GB pretty quickly, better fit for me to go with TMobile

 

[Apex]

I signed up to try with a 6P.

I live in kind of a weird area. Between T-Mobile and Sprint, most of the area around here is covered. For my kids, 1 school is Sprint, the other is T-Mobile. Home is Sprint. AT&T doesn't work at all, and Verizon is hit and miss.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Yuriman]

Pretty interesting to me that Google is going with basically the same model Republic Wireless uses. I pay $10 for unlimited talk and text over Sprint + Verizon, and $7.50 for every 500MB (not a great price, granted) but I only pay for exactly what I use. If it's 250MB, I get charged $3.25. Light data users will pay a lot less through Republic.

Only real enticing part for me is that you'll be able to use it across borders without WiFi calling, which I suppose is really the point, and considering how close I live to Canada, it's something I may well look into when it hits my area.

 

[stlc8tr]

Pretty interesting to me that Google is going with basically the same model Republic Wireless uses.

It's the other way around. Republic didn't refund until Google rolled out Project Fi.

 

[Yuriman]

It's the other way around. Republic didn't refund until Google rolled out Project Fi.

I wasn't aware of Fi until after Republic moved over from unlimited data for $25 per month, to the bucket system. Good to know.

 

[senseamp]

If you have a GVoice number on your account and sign up for Fi using another number, you still lose the GVoice number and Google Talk calling.
I am going to stick with my grandfathered T-mobile Harbor Mobile account for now.

 

[Seven]

I don't see the point of the Project FI, IMO. I am on T-Mobile with 10GB data and it costs $30/month with free music streaming. Talking about that on stupid FI. Unless you're sitting always on wifi, need sprint reception then maybe it's for you. But then what's the point of the high end device if you just gonna use 1GB of data per month...

 

[vi edit]

I don't see the point of the Project FI, IMO. I am on T-Mobile with 10GB data and it costs $30/month with free music streaming. Talking about that on stupid FI. Unless you're sitting always on wifi, need sprint reception then maybe it's for you. But then what's the point of the high end device if you just gonna use 1GB of data per month...

I don't know of any T-Mobile plan that can offer that. I'm on the $50 "unlimited" plan with T-Mobile right now. Well technically it's 2 phones unlimited for $100.

The only "$30" T-Mobile plan I know of is the pay-per-month deal from walmart but it's only 5 gig and 100 minutes of talk time.

As for the "point" of a high end device, I have an LG G2 that's lagged to hell at this point after updates. But I use the crap out of it at work for calendar stuff, email, texting, pulling up word documents, ect. But it's a lagfest and I'm getting annoyed. I'm under wifi 95% of my waking life. I can get away with 1 gig most of the time. I don't need data to take good pictures. I don't need data to play games. I don't need data to flip through one note files quickly. What's appealing about Fi is that I only have to pay for what I need and not get raked over the coals when I need more.

I can still be a "power user" but not a heavy data user.

 

[vi edit]

One question I have about Fi is this....

I've got two different lines with T-Mobile right now. Can I port one line over to be physically tied to the phone and then the 2nd over to accessible through Google Voice (or hangouts or whatever it's called?).

I have two phones right now (a regular and a work line) and it's sort of silly to keep both on me physically. Can I port both those lines away from T-Mobile and keep them both on the same device?

 

[ponyo]

I don't know of any T-Mobile plan that can offer that. I'm on the $50 "unlimited" plan with T-Mobile right now. Well technically it's 2 phones unlimited for $100.

The only "$30" T-Mobile plan I know of is the pay-per-month deal from walmart but it's only 5 gig and 100 minutes of talk time.

As for the "point" of a high end device, I have an LG G2 that's lagged to hell at this point after updates. But I use the crap out of it at work for calendar stuff, email, texting, pulling up word documents, ect. But it's a lagfest and I'm getting annoyed. I'm under wifi 95% of my waking life. I can get away with 1 gig most of the time. I don't need data to take good pictures. I don't need data to play games. I don't need data to flip through one note files quickly. What's appealing about Fi is that I only have to pay for what I need and not get raked over the coals when I need more.

I can still be a "power user" but not a heavy data user.

He's talking about the Tmobile 10 gigs for all promotion. What he failed to mention it's $120 for 4 lines. So while it's $30 for each line, you need 4 lines to get the $120 promo. If you only have 2 lines, it's going to be $50 each line or $100 total.

 

[stlc8tr]

I don't know of any T-Mobile plan that can offer that. I'm on the $50 "unlimited" plan with T-Mobile right now. Well technically it's 2 phones unlimited for $100.

He's probably part of the 4 10GB lines for $120 promotion so it works out to be $30 for 10GB.

The Fi project is an interesting idea but it is a bit pricey and offering Sprint as fallback coverage isn't that enticing. If they can rope AT&T or Verizon into the mix then it becomes a lot more attractive.

 

[cronos]

I don't see the point of the Project FI, IMO. I am on T-Mobile with 10GB data and it costs $30/month with free music streaming. Talking about that on stupid FI. Unless you're sitting always on wifi, need sprint reception then maybe it's for you. But then what's the point of the high end device if you just gonna use 1GB of data per month...

I could never understand this line of thinking. The kind of device someone owns is completely unrelated to their need for data. A lot of people are covered by wifi 90% of the time, and only need mobile data sparingly.

 

[isekii]

Compared to what? I'm gonna switch to Fi, on ATT right now and my 3Gb plan is $90 a month with a 24% discount on part of it. The same thing on Fi would cost me $50 a month so that seems pretty nice to me.

It might make sense for you to switch to the 15gb mobile share plan.

100 - 24% + 15 per line. Get couple people to off set the cost.

 

[Raduque]

Fi is crippled by being limited to Nexus devices.