Project Fi Is Now Google Fi • Hacker News Board

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#41

Post by seanalltogether » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

Majestic121 wrote: post #9

Is 10$/GB a reasonable price in the US? It seems completely out of whack to me. For comparison, I have 20GB + unlimited call/texts for 10e/month, with optional 2e/GB recharges, and that's not even the cheapest available offer

Yeah moving from the USA to UK, one of the things I definitely don't miss is us telecom pricing. I just signed up for a new plan here for 20 GBP per month that gives me 15GB of data and free call/text/data roaming in US, Canada, Australia, etc..

I pay less money for access to more data in America then my American family does.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#42

Post by gpm » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

xutopia wrote: post #16

Canada has the most expensive plans in the first world and we don't have access to Google Fi yet. It's ridiculous how expensive it can be to have data here.

Looks like it has international support for roaming at the same price though, I wonder if we (Canadians) could just use it anyways...

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#43

Post by xrd » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

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.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#44

Post by whitepoplar » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

What are the downsides to using an MVNO such as Google Fi? As far as I'm aware, carriers are prone to de-prioritizing MVNO traffic to favor their own customers during periods of high congestion or emergency, but I don't know if all MVNO traffic is treated equally, or if certain MVNO carriers are de-prioritized because they pay less for "budget/excess capacity" network use.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#45

Post by kilovoltaire » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

dcchambers wrote: post #28

If the non-supported phones are stuck on T-Mobile's network and don't support the seamless WiFi/Cell switching, what advantage is there to picking Fi over regular T-Mobile service? Price-wise Fi only wins if you use very little data.

Fi also wins over T-Mobile for international data, where they give you 4G instead of 3G.

(Unless things have changed—when I had T-Mobile, you had to pay extra for international 4G)

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#46

Post by pmlamotte » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:23 PM UTC

russdill wrote: post #18

Someone1234 wrote: post #10

Maybe bigger news is that they now officially support (in "beta") iPhones, Samsung's S line, and many other handsets. If you use a non-Fi native device it won't support Sprint (T-Mobile only) and fast switching from WiFi to cellular is disabled. It might have limitations but at least it is officially supported. People have already been using non-supported devices on Fi with these same limitations, it was just technic…

I'm guessing international support will also be limited.

FWIW, I successfully used my unofficially supported Galaxy S9 in India. I did hit one snag, which is that I had bought the phone prior to going on the trip and hadn't installed the Project Fi app yet which meant I couldn't connect to any network after landing. Once I got on wifi and installed the app, I had 4G during my entire stay even in the most rural areas on overnight trains and no issues.

Though had I bothered to go through the whole passport photo/scan 24hr submission process for Airtel it would have been way cheaper.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#47

Post by criddell » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

_underflow_ wrote: post #11

Anyone looked into potential privacy implications? I understand my current carrier can potentially deduce things about my habits in the unlikely event that they were so inclined, but Alphabet et al seem to make a not insignificant portion of their profit from data gathering - that is, they don't need to be interesting in me particularly to sell data about me to those that are (whether for benign ad targeting or somet…

What carrier can you trust? All of them are also in the ad business. IIRC, it's why Verizon bought Yahoo last year.

I think I trust Google more than any of traditional telecom carriers.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#48

Post by jayd16 » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

Majestic121 wrote: post #9

Is 10$/GB a reasonable price in the US? It seems completely out of whack to me. For comparison, I have 20GB + unlimited call/texts for 10e/month, with optional 2e/GB recharges, and that's not even the cheapest available offer

Its fairly on the expensive side. The nice part is they prorate the cost to your actual usage. If you have variable data rates such as months you travel and months you're mostly on wifi, its fine.

I end up spending ~$35-40/mo on average with peace of mind of unlimited data. The charge also caps out at 6GB I think so the max bill is $80 or something like that.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#49

Post by vinay427 » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

russdill wrote: post #18

Someone1234 wrote: post #10

Maybe bigger news is that they now officially support (in "beta") iPhones, Samsung's S line, and many other handsets. If you use a non-Fi native device it won't support Sprint (T-Mobile only) and fast switching from WiFi to cellular is disabled. It might have limitations but at least it is officially supported. People have already been using non-supported devices on Fi with these same limitations, it was just technic…

I'm guessing international support will also be limited.

No, it shouldn't, and I hope Google isn't lazy enough to add an unnecessary limitation. T-Mobile's very similar roaming (which Google's seems to be based off of) works fine with unlocked non-T-Mobile branded phones.

Re: Project Fi Is Now Google Fi

#50

Post by paulie_a » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:24 PM UTC

lghh wrote: 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.

Plus they actually have quality, near instant customer support in my experience. I was shocked to be talking to a human so quickly.