Project Fi Test Group - Who's in ?

[Mustang02]

Vzw this is pathetic.

 

[Mustang02]

So I'm shocked this hasn't been brought up yet.

Fi now has 3 providers.

Google's Project Fi gets more coverage through US Cellular

 

[Jonny Kansas]

So I'm shocked this hasn't been brought up yet.

Fi now has 3 providers.

Google's Project Fi gets more coverage through US Cellular

Still doesn't help me for LTE coverage, but glad to see them bulking up.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[PereDroid]

US Cellular has their own network?

Sent from Turbo II

 

[FoxKat]

US Cellular has their own network?

Sent from Turbo II

I didn't think so either but apparently they do and they're the 5th largest in the US.

U.S. Cellular - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Mustang02]

Still doesn't help me for LTE coverage, but glad to see them bulking up.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Me either. I never heard of US Cellular until I read the article. I don't know where they have coverage but it's not around me.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Me either. I never heard of US Cellular until I read the article. I don't know where they have coverage but it's not around me.

When I was testing Straight Talk, someone mentioned to me that they thought US Cellular was the VZW roaming partner near the Wisconsin/UP border. I know I've seen their signs elsewhere around the country to at some point, but I honestly thought they'd been bought up or gone out of business or something.

Just checked the fi coverage map. Still only guaranteed 2G speeds in my immediate area.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Ah! I knew I'd seen them in Kansas. This map is kind of misleading until you start to zoom in. Then it becomes painfully clear just how small the "5th largest" carrier in the States is.

U.S. Cellular Coverage Indicator | Cell Phone Coverage Map | U.S. Cellular

 

[Mustang02]

Ah! I knew I'd seen them in Kansas. This map is kind of misleading until you start to zoom in. Then it becomes painfully clear just how small the "5th largest" carrier in the States is.

U.S. Cellular Coverage Indicator | Cell Phone Coverage Map | U.S. Cellular

Not much coverage in Kansas. Ohio even says "Weak". How are they the 5th?

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Not much coverage in Kansas. Ohio even says "Weak". How are they the 5th?

I grew up in a small town East of Wichita, which, hilariously, isn't covered directly, but the surrounding area sure is.

How are they 5th? Name another carrier other than Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint...?

 

[PereDroid]

Yea, they're 5th because there is no one else.

 

[Mustang02]

Virgin mobile?

 

[SpeJ3435]

I've been using Fi on my Nexus 5x since November and here is my mini review on Fi.

All in all I like Fi, but I do not love it. I came from an unlimited data plan with 2000 shared minutes on Verizon with usage ranging from 10 GB to 30 GB a month. After Verizon added the $20 a month addition to my part of the bill was paying $110 a month for my single line. I was able to buy a 32 GB Nexus 5x with Nexus Protect and break even after a year on Fi. Over a two year period on Fi I will save $1,400 compared to Verizon, assuming I wouldn't buy a new device on Verizon within the two year period. I was using a 2013 Droid Maxx DE (manufactured June 2014).

I had to seriously reconsider how I spent my data as Fi data is expensive. This has been a good thing as I don't use my phone for none essential things while I'm not on WiFi. I have been able to keep my data usage below 1 GB every month except the current month as I have been traveling a lot in non-WiFi areas. All of my leisure phone data is consumed while on WiFi.

Pros:
- Fi is cheap if you have access to WiFi.
- Google support is great. It is fast and polite.
- Coverage is a combination of networks*
- WiFi calling*
- No more waiting for carriers to approve updates. My Nexus gets updates within two weeks of being announced from Google.
- Data only SIM, I don't use it, but I like the no fees approach to only use data on a device.
- Hangouts integration, it is really nice to have all of my devices ring when I get a call or message.

Cons:
- If you use more than 5 GB of data a month and don't have access to WiFi, Fi will be expensive.
- Coverage is a combination of networks, but the networks are all subpar. Fi cannot come close to Verizon's coverage. Anywhere off a main highway I am bumped to 3G and in rural areas I have no service. I spent Thanksgiving in NH and didn't have access to WiFi. I went three days without having any service at all and couldn't make or receive any calls. Luckily my wife had her VZ Droid Maxx DE in case of an emergency, which also had LTE where we were. I have the same experience in VA, NC, and SC.
- WiFi calling. When my phone makes a call over WiFi it is great, but it never wants to connect over WiFi. My main residence has no cell signal in the house and FIOS for internet. I can sit next to my router with max signal and my Nexus will still try to make a call over my cell network, which only has 1 bar. I have all the settings set to make a call over wifi whenever possible, but it doesn't happen very often. Google recognized the error early on as a glitch with the 5x, but it has barely gotten better.
- Call quality over the network is ok.

I will continue to use Fi because I like how cheap it is, but I have considered going back to Verizon on multiple occasions due to reliability. I ride motorcycles and don't like not being able to make an emergency call if something happens. Now that Nexus phones work on Verizon's network without hiccups, Verizon is much more tempting.

BTW, I have never had the speeds you have been talking about on Fi.

 

[PhoenixGTR]

I have been considering Fi, because a friend of mine has had it for a few months now and loves it, but the previous post has given me pause. It seems to be rather potluck, then.
I currently have Verizon and the cell reception in my apartment is abysmal, so when my friend said Fi had solved the reception problem for her and what her bill was, it was tempting. But since paying off the phone will bring the bill within $20 a month of my current Verizon bill, I don't know.



I'm voting for Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel

 

[rosariorose9]

Ditto to what PhoenixGTR said. I'm tempted to switch to Fi, but still on the fence. I spend most of my time in Los Angeles and New York City. My Verizon reception in LA is great, but not so great in my apartment in NYC. In fact, in NYC it sucks. Anybody here have experience with those two areas?