Project Fi Expands Its Reach

[MarbleHornets]

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Following Tuesday's speculation about Google's Wi-Fi first network, Project Fi is expanding its lineup of compatible phones and changing its name. The service, now dubbed Google Fi, will be available for certain Samsung and OnePlus phones, as well as iPhones -- though the latter will be in beta for the time being. Before Wednesday's announcement, Google Fi only worked with a small number of Android phones: four LG and Moto phones, and Google-branded devices such as Pixel and Nexus phones.

This is a good push for Google's network to finally be competitive with other more major carriers, although Google co-operating with Apple still seems to be a bit of a bumpy road.

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And technically, a Fi SIM has always worked in an iPhone, provided you adjusted the data settings on the phone. But now Google is supporting iPhones directly for new customers, though it says that the support is in beta and requires “a few extra steps to get set up.” There will be a new Google Fi iOS app to help ease the process along. More specifically, you’l find that Visual Voicemail won’t work anymore, but iMessage will.

(Synopsis of how Google Fi works for those not familiar about it and pricing, neither of which seems to have changed since Project Fi

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What makes Google Fi different to most major carriers is that it uses local Wi-Fi networks first (the same kind you set up at home, or connect to at a coffee shop or airport) to patch calls, send texts and browse the internet. If Wi-Fi coverage is not available or too weak, the network will then switch to US carriers T-Mobile, Sprint or US Cellular's networks.

...As for T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, these carriers do have similar services like Wi-Fi calling, but plans on Google Fi are generally cheaper, and any unused data you purchase for the month will be refunded back to you....But the real difference with Fi is the pricing model: it’s much simpler than what most other networks offer. It’s $20 for a phone line and $10 per gig of data you use — capped at $60 under a newer program it calls “Bill Protection.” The reason I like it is that you can get a data-only SIM, which costs no additional money per month beyond the data you use it on it.

I personally think it'll be cool to see if Google can catch up with some other larger carriers and it'll be interesting to see a company that is able to produce a phone and sell the service under the same brand, although lets hope that doesn't come back to bite us in the future. And although Google Fi does technically route your data through a VPN (a nice touch to those of us with privacy concerns), they do lack some features like RCS universal profiling and number sharing with LTE smart devices, I think it'll be defiantly something to consider in the future when this hopefully gets more fleshed out.

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/its-true-google-fi-now-available-for-iphones-samsung-and-oneplus-phones/

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18115264/google-fi-iphone-android-project-official

https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/bringing-google-fi-more-people-android-and-ios/

https://fi.google.com/about/

 

Edit: Added sources from Google directly

[Guest]

$10 a gig is having a mean yarn. $20 for a phone line is a total joke too. You can't seriously have those as below median price

[MarbleHornets]

17 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

$10 a gig is having a mean yarn. $20 for a phone line is a total joke too. You can't seriously have those as below median price

I mean it's $10 a gig up to $60, and from there you stopped getting charged so for $80 unlimited data isn't that bad compared to a lot of other companies, especially given the fact your video resolution isn't capped, even if you go abover the $60 threshold and, plus the whole point of it is that you pay for as much as you use, and since the whole idea of it a cellular network based off of internet, a service most people have and even most people who have data plans still try to use, its not an impossible issue. I mean I've gone months not using data since I was primarily at home or work or somewhere I could use wifi at, yet I was still charged my full price for my phone bill compared to only $20 I could've been charged from Google Fi. I'm not saying this program is for everyone, or even the best one out there, but its not the worst either and could be a good alternative for others.

[Curufinwe_wins]

57 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

$10 a gig is having a mean yarn. $20 for a phone line is a total joke too. You can't seriously have those as below median price

Lol do you live in the US? Verizon is 40 dollars a line plus the plan capacity price... 270 dollars for a 12GB plan on 4 lines after fees and taxes. This one for that would be capped at 140 (so say 160 after fees and taxes), and that's assuming you actually used all that data.

[AHaskin14]

I've been loving Fi. I'm usually connected to wifi all day long at work and home, so Ive so far averaged about 1.5 Gb a month in data, so $35 a month is a deal.

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Lol do you live in the US? Verizon is 40 dollars a line plus the plan capacity price... 270 dollars for a 12GB plan on 4 lines after fees and taxes. This one for that would be capped at 140 (so say 160 after fees and taxes), and that's assuming you actually used all that data.

Far out that's ridiculous pricing. This should be regulated so much more in the US. 

[The Benjamins]

26 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Lol do you live in the US? Verizon is 40 dollars a line plus the plan capacity price... 270 dollars for a 12GB plan on 4 lines after fees and taxes. This one for that would be capped at 140 (so say 160 after fees and taxes), and that's assuming you actually used all that data.

Keep in mind Google fi "unlimited" called bill protection throttles you at 15GB per user used or you have the choice to pay 10/GB after the 15

[DrDerp]

7 minutes ago, RorzNZ said:

Far out that's ridiculous pricing. This should be regulated so much more in the US. 

I wish. Now that iPhones are supported I am gonna try to convince my parents to switch to Fi. We currently are paying way more than we need to now that Fi is out for our phones.

[RejZoR]

Quote

And although Google Fi does technically route your data through a VPN (a nice touch to those of us with privacy concerns)

 

This is a bit of an oxymoron. If you're concerned about privacy, Google is the last service you should rely on. And I bet they are routing all traffic through their data hoarding servers. So, you're preventing others from seeing your data, but you're giving it all to Google... Does that really improve anything?

[Canada EH]

1 hour ago, MarbleHornets said:

Google's Wi-Fi first network, Project Fi

Wow, just wow, its like the plague.

 

Google

 

VPN's are a must now a days!

[79wjd]

35 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Lol do you live in the US? Verizon is 40 dollars a line plus the plan capacity price... 270 dollars for a 12GB plan on 4 lines after fees and taxes. This one for that would be capped at 140 (so say 160 after fees and taxes), and that's assuming you actually used all that data.

That's for unlimited. Verizon also has shared data planw 2, 4, and 8gb plans. Which are $35, $50, and $70 respectively with a line fee of $20. So 4gb would be $70 on Verizon compared to $60 on Fi. 8gb would be $90 on Verizon vs $80 on Fi. And 2gb would be $55 compared to $40.

[Curufinwe_wins]

9 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

Keep in mind Google fi "unlimited" called bill protection throttles you at 15GB per user used or you have the choice to pay 10/GB after the 15

I mean... still way better than the alternatives atm.

[Curufinwe_wins]

5 minutes ago, 79wjd said:

That's for unlimited. Verizon also has shared data plabs 2, 4, and 8gb plans. Which are $35, $50, and $70 respectively with a line fee of $20. So 4gb would be $70 on Verizon compared to $60 on Fi. 

No it isn't. I'm on a 12GB plan right now. With 4 users. I'm telling you what the bill is.

 

In any event... for those 4GB and smaller plans, Ting would be a better deal anyways (assuming your voice and texting usage is also as relatively low as your data).

[The Benjamins]

1 minute ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

I mean... still way better than the alternatives atm.

Yes I agree, just explaining the bill protection feature that everyone likes to call unlimited. I have been using Fi for over 3 years, and it has been great.

[The Benjamins]

6 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

Wow, just wow, its like the plague.

 

Google

 

VPN's are a must now a days!

Fi offers free VPN on all WiFi hotspots and offers full 100% VPN on all phone traffic. (Optional but free)

[Canada EH]

Just now, The Benjamins said:

Fi offers free VPN

The entire point of using VPN is to avoid Google selling information about where you surf on Google WiFi.

[79wjd]

8 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

No it isn't. I'm on a 12GB plan right now. With 4 users. I'm telling you what the bill is.

Then you should switch to unlimited since you're paying unlimited pricing but on a grandfathered plan. I'm also on Verizon. The line access is $20 for 2,4, or 8gb plans plus the cost of the plan. While unlimited is a flat fee per line ($55 for a single line, and I think $45/line if you have four).

[MarbleHornets]

2 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

The entire point of using VPN is to avoid Google selling information about where you surf on Google WiFi.

Ultimately the point seems to be privacy against T-Mobile or Sprint when you have to use data, and according to google "none of your information is tied to you or your phone number", but take that as you will from the company who you'll ultimately routing all of your data through. 

[The Benjamins]

5 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

The entire point of using VPN is to avoid Google selling information about where you surf on Google WiFi.

You are not locked into googles VPN, you can use your own. google just offers the service to protect people on unsecured public WiFi. the always on VPN helps with the services network jumping (they say).

[The Benjamins]

1 hour ago, MarbleHornets said:

This is a good push for Google's network to finally be competitive with other more major carriers, although Google co-operating with Apple still seems to be a bit of a bumpy road.

(Synopsis of how Google Fi works for those not familiar about it and pricing, neither of which seems to have changed since Project Fi

I personally think it'll be cool to see if Google can catch up with some other larger carriers and it'll be interesting to see a company that is able to produce a phone and sell the service under the same brand, although lets hope that doesn't come back to bite us in the future. And although Google Fi does technically route your data through a VPN (a nice touch to those of us with privacy concerns), they do lack some features like RCS universal profiling and number sharing with LTE smart devices, I think it'll be defiantly something to consider in the future when this hopefully gets more fleshed out.

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/its-true-google-fi-now-available-for-iphones-samsung-and-oneplus-phones/

https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/28/18115264/google-fi-iphone-android-project-official

https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/bringing-google-fi-more-people-android-and-ios/

You should add googles blog as a source. and the Fi about page.

https://fi.google.com/about/

[Canada EH]

1 minute ago, The Benjamins said:

You are not locked into googles VPN, you can use your own.

Yes, that is what I said.

 

I wonder what other sneaky moves Google has done. Like what comes to mind is that they may have their hands dipped in other area's unofficially.

 

 

 

 

[MarbleHornets]

3 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

https://www.blog.google/products/project-fi/bringing-google-fi-more-people-android-and-ios/

You should add googles blog as a source. and the Fi about page.

https://fi.google.com/about/

Thanks for the idea, done and done. 

[williamcll]

Thought this was an international thing, oh well.

[Velcade]

I wish the pricing for these services (Xfinity mobile and Google Fi) was a little lower.  As it stands it's no cheaper than my current Verizon plan.

[The Benjamins]

Just now, Velcade said:

I wish the pricing for these services (Xfinity mobile and Google Fi) was a little lower.  As it stands it's no cheaper than my current Verizon plan.

Just want to know, whats your Verizon cost and usage?

 

I personally use around 1.5 GB/m