[Novalug] Report: Google's Project Fi (long)

Charles R. Head charlesrhead65@gmail.com
Fri Sep 15 18:00:51 EDT 2017


Well, from my point of view, this seems like a lot of effort for very 
little pay back.  I didn't get a call from either of you!

*****************************************************
On 09/15/2017 05:45 PM, pereira via Novalug wrote:
> FWIW, I second Roger's experience with Project Fi
>
> on my 2-week trip to the Netherlands, where WiFi (pronounced wee-fee) 
> and cell phone service
> is available everywhere I went, I made many calls varying in price 
> from 0.01 $/min to 0.20 $/min.
> The total charge this month was $ 33; my normal charge in the US is 
> $25. I don't use much data,
> though. So far I've never downloaded a movie on my phone, for example: 
> I can't see well enough
> to enjoy it on a really small screen.
>
> Calling to the Netherlands from the US with Project Fi is convenient 
> as well, and reasonably cheap.
>
> In contrast with Roger, who is more of a geek than I am, I didn't have 
> to do anything special to
> make the calls, besides of course buying the Nexus phone.
>
> Nino
>
>
> On 09/15/2017 04:59 PM, Roger W. Broseus via Novalug wrote:
>> enjoying being on the cutting edge, I decided to try Google's Project 
>> Fi for calling during an tour in Europe.
>>
>> For the uninitiated, Fi uses a combination of WiFi connections and 
>> cellular carriers for calling, data transmission, and text messaging. 
>> If there is a good WiFi signal available, it (supposedly) defaults to 
>> WiFi calling - interesting. The cost in the USA is $20/month for 
>> unlimited calls and $10/m for 1 GB of data. Fi partners with Sprint, 
>> T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular for cellular service in the USA. No Verizon.
>>
>> Abroad, WiFi calls are quite inexpensive, some as low as $ 0.01/min. 
>> Cellular calls are generally $ 0.20/min except if one is calling some 
>> European cell phones, e.g., in Switzerland it can range up to ~$ 
>> 0.7/min.
>>
>> Texts are free everywhere. No sign-up or termination fees. No 
>> contract required: Project Fi service is basically a month-to-month 
>> service. One must have a compatible "Google" phone, e.g., a Nexus 5X 
>> 6, 6P, Pixel, Pixel XL; all must be North American versions and 
>> activated while state-side with a Google-supplied SIM card. Oh: one 
>> needs to install the Fi app on Droids, as well as Hangouts.
>>
>> I chose to get a new, temporary phone number to use while traveling 
>> so I could keep my Verizon account / number. While gone, I had my 
>> Verizon calls, cellular and FIOS, forwarded to the new/temp number - 
>> complex because one has to get the cart before and after the horse! 
>> (There's a curious, catch-22 here: one has to authorized call 
>> forwarding with the Fi app, etc.) These steps should not be tried at 
>> the last minute! Not only did I find the learning curve to be long 
>> and steep, but it takes time to get the Fi SIM card from Google, 
>> setup an account, etc. I also opted for a "group plan" to add my 
>> wife's Pixel at a slightly reduced monthly cost.
>>
>> With judicious use of WiFi connections, I was able to keep data usage 
>> to < 0.3 GB over a 16 day period. Unless one can depend on WiFi, 
>> forget about streaming videos / music and other data-intensive tasks. 
>> The most data usage occurred when I tracked the train ride from 
>> Zermatt to Chur using Google maps and the GPS on my Nexus 6P.
>>
>> During the exploratory and setup phases, I found it difficult to get 
>> a straight bead on Project Fi services and a spent a lot of time 
>> reading about how it works and the trying to learn from the 
>> experiences of other users. YMMV: Project Fi forums have out-of-date 
>> and sometimes have erroneous info on them. Their help pages are hard 
>> to navigate, especially the ones that summarized costs when dialing 
>> abroad. I did find the Fi service / tech support reps to be patient 
>> and helpful; one also "confessed" that their site is being upgraded.
>>
>> WiFi calling was especially hard to master for this dinosaur's old 
>> brain. There is a lot of talk on the relationship between Fi, Google 
>> Voice and Hangouts on forums. My surmise is Google has been 
>> transitioning from Voice to Fi and Hangouts. Understanding this was a 
>> bit of a mystery due to the conflicting info one finds on forums, 
>> etc. Gods forbid that one has a Google Voice phone number! Forcing 
>> WiFi calling was tricky: go into airplane mode and then re-activate 
>> WiFi.
>>
>> I finally found that one must make WiFi calls using Google Hangouts. 
>> With no directory entries in Hangouts, I constantly had to enter 
>> numbers by hand. I found no link between Fi calling / Hangouts / and 
>> my Google contacts list.
>>
>> The good part:
>> I saved considerably over what a Verizon international plan would 
>> have cost while getting substantially more data and calling. The 
>> quality of my calls was always good. Once I mastered WiFI calling, I 
>> found that worked well, making international calls inexpensive. Free, 
>> good quality WiFi service was widely available in France, 
>> Switzerland, and Vienna. Even in train stations, not to mention 
>> hotels and restaurants. There were no WiFi fees any place that I 
>> went. The ultimate test was making a WiFi call to the USA from the 
>> Gornergrat cog-wheel rail station, elevation 3,089 meters, looking 
>> out at the Matterhorn. Sound quality was great.
>>
>> Would I do it again? Yep: save the bucks / euros / Franks for wine 
>> and beer. Would I recommend Project Fi for a Mom or Grandma? Of 
>> course not! It's for Geeks.
>>
>> If you get this far, I'd appreciate a note about your reaction to 
>> this post; was it useful? Interesting? Off-line would be fine.
>>
>
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