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Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

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Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#11

Post by cft »

Someone1234 wrote: post #3

They purchased a T-Mobile locked iPhone from Best Buy. Best Buy don't sell new unlocked iPhones (only used store with reviews saying they're sometimes locked). They then activated the phone on a T-Mobile MVNO which allowed the phone to work. They had an unrelated issue with Google Fi (terms of service violation), purchased a foreign SIM card, found out they had purchased a locked iPhone and then contacted Google Fi s…

They sell plenty of unlocked iphones

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?_dyncharset=UTF-...

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#12

Post by tedivm »

R0b0t1 wrote: post #4

Did he try to do anything in a small claims court? Get a consultation with a lawyer? This is such a slam dunk it seems infinitely worth pursuing. Obviously yes you'd rather not, but I never see updates on if the issue gets solved.

If you sue google they'll close your entire google account, which in turn can cause a lot of issues for a lot of people. I personally refuse to use gmail in part because of this- if you have a problem with one google service you risk losing access to all of them.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#14

Post by bb88 »

dataflow wrote: post #5

> I learned that Google Fi exclusively uses the T-Mobile network for iPhone customers, and activating a Google Fi SIM with an iPhone causes T-Mobile to lock the phone to the T-Mobile network (which is illegal, since the user hasn’t entered into any service agreement with T-Mobile). Wow, carriers can just remotely lock an unlocked phone? How does this even work? Is this some kind of command that the SIM card sends the…

I would expect this to be the case. If they can remotely unlock it, they should be able to lock it as well.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#15

Post by R0b0t1 »

tedivm wrote: post #12
R0b0t1 wrote: post #4

Did he try to do anything in a small claims court? Get a consultation with a lawyer? This is such a slam dunk it seems infinitely worth pursuing. Obviously yes you'd rather not, but I never see updates on if the issue gets solved.

If you sue google they'll close your entire google account, which in turn can cause a lot of issues for a lot of people. I personally refuse to use gmail in part because of this- if you have a problem with one google service you risk losing access to all of them.

This is generally news to the hyper-libertarian HN clientele but I am pretty sure enforcing your rights as a consumer isn't supposed to open you up to retaliation in the US.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#16

Post by Someone1234 »

corndoge wrote: post #10
Someone1234 wrote: post #3

They purchased a T-Mobile locked iPhone from Best Buy. Best Buy don't sell new unlocked iPhones (only used store with reviews saying they're sometimes locked). They then activated the phone on a T-Mobile MVNO which allowed the phone to work. They had an unrelated issue with Google Fi (terms of service violation), purchased a foreign SIM card, found out they had purchased a locked iPhone and then contacted Google Fi s…

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-preowned-iphone-x-with-25... What's this? The authors story sounds plausible and they're right that iPhones on Fi use T-Mobile. And I say this as a very long term, happy Fi customer myself.

That is a used iPhone with multiple reviews saying it was locked when it arrived e.g.:

> Phone was Locked

> I bought this phone for my son so that he can reach me while he's at school. The product description for this phone said "unlocked" which was a major reason I chose it. It is a beautiful phone and like new. However, I quickly realized that it was an AT&T phone meaning it is locked. That was disappointing because I had planned on using Verizon. I didn't want to go through the trouble of returning it and waiting for a different phone, so I decided to keep it and get an AT&T plan.

And:

> Locked preowned phone. Garbage

> Zero stars. Bought a preowned Iphone X that was still locked from previous carrier. Could not be hooked up to new carrier. Terrible customer service, no resolution of our problem. Spent 2 hours on the phone with best buy, apple, and sprint. Best Buy sold us junk. DO NOT BUY PREOWNED FROM HERE.

And:

> Unusable phone (and arrived late)

> Not only did the phone arrive 3 days late, it arrived locked and unusable. Was not able to activate with tmobile as they said the phone was not in their system.

Best Buy don't sell unlocked new iPhones, never have. And all of their used inventory has similar reviews.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#18

Post by phendrenad2 »

> causes T-Mobile to lock the phone to the T-Mobile network (which is illegal, since the user hasn’t entered into any service agreement with T-Mobile

I'd check the fine-print on your Google contract. It's probably spelled out in there. Say what you will about Google, their legal team usually covers all the bases.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#19

Post by mc_woods »

If what he says is true, then legally, the issue is with Google. It is Google he had the contract with. The contract allowed Google to terminate his data service, which they did. However, it is Google to which he pays his money and with which the contract exists. The fact that under the hood they use T-Mobile, doesn't matter.

I was tempted to switch, but now. No. Staying far and wide away. Not for the locking, but the terrible customer support.

Re: Google Fi bricked my iPhone 11 Pro Max (2020)

#20

Post by muh_gradle »

5 years ago I used Google Fi and it was just awful. I bought a Nexus 5x on a Google Fi deal. Fi was super unreliable, customer service was dumpster fire garbage, and multiple hardware issues with the Nexus 5x and the sim card for whatever reason. There were even recalls and class action lawsuits with the 5x and the 6p that I missed out on. Not at all surprised that Google Fi is still terrible.
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