Fortunately my data usage is low. Always under 1 gig and that's shared between 2 phones. As far as coverage I'm on sprint now so hoping that will be similar with FI.
Google's Project fi - a new provider with an interesting twist!
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Fortunately my data usage is low. Always under 1 gig and that's shared between 2 phones. As far as coverage I'm on sprint now so hoping that will be similar with FI.
I really like the idea of Project Fi and my data usage with Verizon is low enough that the pricing would make sense since I'm on WiFi most of the day a time home and at work. I also go to Canada often enough that the idea of international usage being included sounds good. Verizon's new $2 per day travel pass that lets me use my data, make calls, and text in Canada with no roaming fees has already helped a lot with this problem though.
The only things keeping me off Project Fi are the networks they use and the Android requirement. I don't have anything against Android but I have purchased to much content from iTunes and the App Store for switching to another ecosystem to make sense.
I have also had Verizon since I got my first cell phone in 2002 for a reason. My family has a lake cabin in Northern Michigan where we spend a ton of time in the summer. I haven't checked recently but last time I looked into it Sprint and T-Mobile roamed off Verizon and at&t in almost all of the northern half of Michigan. I'm assuming that means Project Fi doesn't work well up there. I don't know if the addition of US Cellular fixes that but since I don't think US Cellular even sells service in Michigan they are probably roaming too.
The only things keeping me off Project Fi are the networks they use and the Android requirement. I don't have anything against Android but I have purchased to much content from iTunes and the App Store for switching to another ecosystem to make sense.
I have also had Verizon since I got my first cell phone in 2002 for a reason. My family has a lake cabin in Northern Michigan where we spend a ton of time in the summer. I haven't checked recently but last time I looked into it Sprint and T-Mobile roamed off Verizon and at&t in almost all of the northern half of Michigan. I'm assuming that means Project Fi doesn't work well up there. I don't know if the addition of US Cellular fixes that but since I don't think US Cellular even sells service in Michigan they are probably roaming too.
It isn't just an Android requirement, it is 3 specific models of Android phones. No others are 'supported'.
That said, I and many others found that the only thing that the 'main' SIM needs the specific 3 models for is to get them activated. Once that is done, you can shift them to most other phones that support T-Mobile with no issues. But then you don't get wifi calling, no cell provider shifting either. And there is at least one report of someone that put the SIM in an iPhone and Goolgle shut his account down.
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That said, I and many others found that the only thing that the 'main' SIM needs the specific 3 models for is to get them activated. Once that is done, you can shift them to most other phones that support T-Mobile with no issues. But then you don't get wifi calling, no cell provider shifting either. And there is at least one report of someone that put the SIM in an iPhone and Goolgle shut his account down.
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When you say Northern Michigan, you mean the UP or Northern Lower? Lower has good Fi coverage everywhere I've been, UP has always been spotty for everyone, but Verizon has the best available. Just curious.
I was mostly talking about the northern part of the lower peninsula. That's good to know.
Just to clarify a bit, I'm talking Traverse City, Petoskey to Gaylord, North to St Ignace. I don't go to Alpena area much. Coming up 131 or US27/I75 no issues
Yeah I might check into this more once my contract up with my carrier. I like the idea of getting credit back for what you don't use and their plans already included everything that you would use your device for. Like Wifi Calling and Text but also using your device for a Hotspot which is really nice since most of the carriers if not All charge you extra for that feature plus not contracts well. Also I like the idea your getting to use 3 carriers networks for the price of one Sprint,T-Mobile, and US Cellular so coverage should not be a issue. Google is really starting to beat Apple at something they just thought about doing when they are doing not only leading the market in phones but also having their own cell service as well. 
You're going to love your bill. I came from being with Sprint for years and have been very happy with FI.
Just activated this past Friday for me and my better half. Definitely looking forward to a reasonable bill for a change.
Really impressed with the call quality while on WiFi. For our needs Fi's gonna be a good fit.
Thanks to lparsons21 for the thread, would not have known about Fi otherwise.
Unfortunately I can't use it around here.
TMO, Sprint and US Cellular just don't cover my area well enough.
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It has been almost a full bill cycle on Fi so far. Coverage is pretty similar as it was on sprint. Call quality on wifi is great, galaxy s5 on sprint wasn't near as good. Overall very happy with the change so far.
Was considering putting me and the wife on the group plan regarding data. Not sure it would be any benefit with the little data we use.
Was considering putting me and the wife on the group plan regarding data. Not sure it would be any benefit with the little data we use.
Back to trying Fi again. I ordered a Moto G6 over the weekend. It came in Wednesday evening. I set it up yesterday and have been using it today instead of my old iPhone 6 Plus with ATT.
I had the battery replaced in the iPhone 6 Plus back in March and it’s been fine, but now it’s not alerting me to texts from my dad’s android phone and then last week it locked up with a blank screen a couple of times, so figured this would be a good backup or replacement. I can’t justify the iPhone 8/X pricing for my use, especially if a new model is just a few months away.
Figured it’s been a couple years so I also wanted to check signals again as ATT still sucks in my house and in a few areas near by.
Running the signal spy app on the Moto G6 with Fi, it was connecting to T Mobile after I first activated it and the signal was jumping between 1-4 bars in the house. I forced it to US Cellular and I had a steady 2-3 bars. Now this morning when I got up it’s showing Verizon LTE Band 25 (1900Mhz)with 4 bars at -101 dBm, I assume it’s using a Verizon tower as part of an agreement with USCC or Sprint. Occasionally I see it jump to Verizon LTE Band 41 (2500Mhz) with only 2 bars at -130dBm. It hasn’t switched back to a T-Mobile or USCC tower today.
I’ve made several calls today totaling about 3 hrs of call time and it was pretty solid. I had a little static like it was gonna drop signal during an exhausting hour long call with USAA researching a policy, but the rest of the calls today were rock solid.
I’m interested in how well the signal will be in the high school football and baseball stadiums. My ATT signal is pretty bad about 2 miles from my house at the high school baseball stadium and the football stadium was also almost unusable last fall during games.
As for the Moto G6, I am liking it. I was trying a G5SPlus back around Christmas that I bought as backup, but I gave it to my mom shortly after I got it when her Moto X2 was dying. The G6 is narrower with a slightly taller screen. I find it easier to hold than the G5S Plus and the iPhone 6Plus. It’s very fast, loads pages and apps faster than the 4yr old iPhone. Battery is at 73% now after today’s use. The turbo charger works great, the fingerprint reader is very fast. Call quality was good as was the speaker while using it hands free sitting on my desk. I do wish Motorola would include AC WiFi and NFC on these G series phones. It’s hard to beat the $200-$249 price for all that these phones offer.
I had the battery replaced in the iPhone 6 Plus back in March and it’s been fine, but now it’s not alerting me to texts from my dad’s android phone and then last week it locked up with a blank screen a couple of times, so figured this would be a good backup or replacement. I can’t justify the iPhone 8/X pricing for my use, especially if a new model is just a few months away.
Figured it’s been a couple years so I also wanted to check signals again as ATT still sucks in my house and in a few areas near by.
Running the signal spy app on the Moto G6 with Fi, it was connecting to T Mobile after I first activated it and the signal was jumping between 1-4 bars in the house. I forced it to US Cellular and I had a steady 2-3 bars. Now this morning when I got up it’s showing Verizon LTE Band 25 (1900Mhz)with 4 bars at -101 dBm, I assume it’s using a Verizon tower as part of an agreement with USCC or Sprint. Occasionally I see it jump to Verizon LTE Band 41 (2500Mhz) with only 2 bars at -130dBm. It hasn’t switched back to a T-Mobile or USCC tower today.
I’ve made several calls today totaling about 3 hrs of call time and it was pretty solid. I had a little static like it was gonna drop signal during an exhausting hour long call with USAA researching a policy, but the rest of the calls today were rock solid.
I’m interested in how well the signal will be in the high school football and baseball stadiums. My ATT signal is pretty bad about 2 miles from my house at the high school baseball stadium and the football stadium was also almost unusable last fall during games.
As for the Moto G6, I am liking it. I was trying a G5SPlus back around Christmas that I bought as backup, but I gave it to my mom shortly after I got it when her Moto X2 was dying. The G6 is narrower with a slightly taller screen. I find it easier to hold than the G5S Plus and the iPhone 6Plus. It’s very fast, loads pages and apps faster than the 4yr old iPhone. Battery is at 73% now after today’s use. The turbo charger works great, the fingerprint reader is very fast. Call quality was good as was the speaker while using it hands free sitting on my desk. I do wish Motorola would include AC WiFi and NFC on these G series phones. It’s hard to beat the $200-$249 price for all that these phones offer.
Google will reportedly open Project Fi to iPhone, Samsung, and OnePlus this week
Google will reportedly open Project Fi to iPhone, Samsung, and OnePlus this week
Google will reportedly open Project Fi to iPhone, Samsung, and OnePlus this week
Hmm so I have looked at possibly trying Project Fi so for those who are on it how is your data speeds?? Now that they have added Samsung Galaxy devices which I'm getting ready to upgrade to the S10 I might look at them. I think they could save our family some monthly cost but my only concern is coverage and their data reliability
due to I'm a data hog due to I stream music a lot so I can use up to 22G a month at times. I have one person on a Iphone and I know now they are supporting them so for you Iphone users how has your experience been so far.
due to I'm a data hog due to I stream music a lot so I can use up to 22G a month at times. I have one person on a Iphone and I know now they are supporting them so for you Iphone users how has your experience been so far.
My Fi phone is the Moto G6. It is on hold for another 6 days. I paused service at Christmas since I wasn't traveling much. That'll change on the first and my service should resume next week on the 27th.
I use the Signal Spy app to check signal strength and force my Fi phone onto a different carriers tower to see whats available. I get much better speed from Fi than I do ATT. In BA right along the Creek Turnpike. I have 1 bar from ATT in my house. Fi using US Cellular towers has 4-5. Stepping out on my back patio, ATT jumps to 2-3 bars and LTE runs in the 4Mbps range but will dip down to 1-2Mbps. With Fi I get 15Mbps from US Cellular. It's been a while I can't really remember what I was getting with T-Mobile and Sprint towers. I'll have to test it again next week. I usually forced my Fi phone to US Cellular and it stayed there unless I rebooted it, then it jumped back to T-Mobile.
I usually find faster data service with Fi, but overall around Tulsa I get about the same coverage on Fi and ATT. There are some areas where ATT and T Mobile are weak but US Cellular and Sprint will still have 4 bars of service. The City engineering building by Mohawk Park is one of those. However once I leave the City, like going to my lake place on Ft Gibson north of Wagoner. Fi will usually have full coverage on US Cellular and jump around between 3-4 bars on T-Mobile and Sprint. ATT is also 4 bars, but as soon as you get a half mile or so off the highways service drops. With ATT, I have no service inside at my place at the lake and I might occasionally grab a single bar outside, but standing in my living room with Fi on US Cellular I have 4 bars and can make calls all day without any drops. I found the same thing down around Ada, when my ATT phone had no service or 1 bar, the Fi phone when put on US Cellular would have nearly full service.
Be aware non Fi branded phones like the iphone, will only be able to use T-Mobile towers with Fi. Carrier switching is only supported on Fi branded phones. I don't think visual voicemail has been implemented on iphones using Fi either.
