Live data from Hacker News

Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

fi.google.com

191–200 of 221 posts

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#191

I've been on Fi for ~2 years now, and while the network kinda sucks sometiems, and $10/GB can be expensive, keeping the Google Voice spam filtering/call filtering, and doing all my texting via Hangouts is amazing. I'm sure sooner or later Google will fuck it up, and I'd honestly much rather have an iPhone these days, but for my current setup, its perfect.

You can use Google Voice/Hangout for all their features without Fi So is there an advantage to paying for Fi otherwise that I am missing? The cost for the amount of data I use would far outweigh any benefits I can see here unless there are features you get with Fi for Voice/Hangout that I don’t know about.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#192

I've been on Fi for ~2 years now, and while the network kinda sucks sometiems, and $10/GB can be expensive, keeping the Google Voice spam filtering/call filtering, and doing all my texting via Hangouts is amazing. I'm sure sooner or later Google will fuck it up, and I'd honestly much rather have an iPhone these days, but for my current setup, its perfect.

You can use Google Voice/Hangout for all their features without Fi So is there an advantage to paying for Fi otherwise that I am missing? The cost for the amount of data I use would far outweigh any benefits I can see here unless there are features you get with Fi for Voice/Hangout that I don’t know about.

With Fi, you can still use hangouts for normal SMS, which they removed for non-Fi users last year (around the same time they removed merged conversations).

Right now, all my SMS/MMS go through hangouts, and then down to whatever devices I want, which is great since I can use hangouts on my work phone, from the computer, etc, and all my texts still come and go from the same phone number.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#193

Not even in my wildest dream I have imagine that, India could have cheaper and faster internet than most of other countries. Now for 2 USD/month I'm using 3GB data per day at 4G speed.

How are you using 3GB a day?

Not the OP. My parents in India don't have wired broadband. They only use mobile data. So when we do a FaceTime call, they easily consume about 1 GB (give or take a few MB as I didn't do any scientific measurement) in less than an hour.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#194

HN screams bloody murder when Google grabs location data without being clear about it. But I see nothing critical iin this thread (yet) of the idea of Google providing this service? So confused.

It is an issue of active consent. If Google grabs location data without clear warnings, explicit opt-ins, or an easily ability to opt-out that is immoral. Contrast that with something like Fi where the fact it is a Google run cellphone network is front and center, so to sign up active consent is very much required. People just want a choice. Nobody is forcing anyone to use Fi, but people feel like they cannot escape…

I disagree. Many consumers who will be interested in this service will not be educated enough about the relevant issues to give “active consent”.

That’s like saying, FB has told consumers it is using their data in exchange for the use of FB, so it’s open season on that data set.

As a community that understands many of the implications of Google having this relationship with consumers, in addition to those relationships made possible by Google’s other products, I would expect for HN readers to sound the alarm at least a little.

If Google has your transit info (maps + Waymo) and your email, and your browsing (chrome + cookies), and your financial (purchased through brokers and banks + wallet), and knowledge about your relationships (email and photo analysis), and lord knows what else, you’re gonna sit here and tell me “if people sign up for it that’s their choice”..?

Google is building a censored search engine for China. Think about that.

Think about that. Seriously.

Their effin mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”.

The same company that is censoring information, in direct conflict with their own mission statement, and thereby empowering authoritarian governments now has alllllll that data about you.

No one can know what will happen when you give a corporation that much insight into and control of your life. No one can give active consent.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#195

I want to jump to Fi but is just super expensive for families. I have 4 lines. With Mint I can get unlimited talk, text and 2GB/per line for $15. So a family of 4 = $60. With Fi it would be $145. The difference is more than double. ATT offers 4 lines for $120 with 3GB per line. I remember when it was launched the price advantage was big. But since then the carriers came down and Fi did not (barring that $15 vs $20 pe…

Hope they will offer a family plan in the future. The roaming is definitely tempting...

They do and they have a pretty nice calculator, too: https://fi.google.com/about/plan/

For 6 users, the max you will pay will be $275 (data is free after 18GB), minimum $95 (no data used).

For 4 users, the max you will pay will be $205 (data is free after 14GB), minimum $65 (no data used).

For 2 users, the max you will pay will be $135 (data is free after 10GB), minimum $35 (no data used).

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#196
post #2

Google Fi is one of the best services that Google offers. I am trying to cut down on my Google dependence, but I don't see myself leaving Fi any time soon.

I’m hopeful Apple’s push with eSIMs will allow for carriers and MVNOs to replicate Fi without the need to use Google.

MNVOs have been around way before any of the eSIMs. I doubt physical sim is an issue.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#197
post #43

I have a LG Sport Watch which has a Sim card. Anyone know if this is now supported? I've never been able to get it to work because you need to register the Sim card on a device that works with Fi and my current devices are sim-less. I've been on Fi for years and highly recommended it.

Order a data-only sim. Works for my LG Watch no problem.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not reasonable. T Mobile is at $70 for 50gb, $1.4 per (at 50gb they change your priority; on the surface they claim unlimited data of course). To make proper comparisons on prices paid between countries, you need to consider income levels in the country in question, not just the price unto itself.

I think that calculation omits a critical number: how much data you actually use. If you pay for 50GB but only use 5GB, your price per GB is effectively 10x. With Fi you will never pay for more than 10 / GB used, but you will pay less if you exceed 6GB in a month.

Further, you don't pay in GB "blocks". I used 1.021 GB last month so I paid $10.21, instead of $20 like you may expect.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about that? It's been almost a year since I got my mom set up with Fi in France, no issues yet.

There was a post on here (IIRC) about a month ago about someone who had family in the US, but his phone was always overseas. They killed the whole account.

As in the whole Fi account, or the whole Google account?
Post reply on HN