Anyone have experience with Google's Project Fi?

[liberaltrucker]

Here's the gist:

$20 per month for unlimited domestic voice and text.
$10 per gigabyte of data with a credit of 1c/megabyte
for unused data.

Device will connect to T-Mobile, Sprint or WiFi, whichever
signal is strongest.

Only "catch" seems to be you have to buy the device outright.

Seems a bit too good to be true to me.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Eta link:

https://fi.google.com/about/

[Egnever]

1. Have not used it myself because I don't have a phone that is FI capable

Having said that it will depend on the service in your area that sprint and tmobile supply between them. If the coverage they have is decent in your area it should be great if not then it wont be.

You need to make sure you have a FI enabled phone however as it requires special antenas in the phone. Right now the only phones I am aware of that can do this are the latest nexus phones.

The Host of the tech show I listen to all the time is using it and has been very happy with it but he is in an area where Tmobile has good coverage.

[davepdx]

2. I've been a Project Fi user since last August.

I've had very good luck with it on my Nexus 6. I love my Nexus 6 and the pure Android experience. There are only 3 phones that are supported and work properly with Project Fi - the Nexus 6, the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P. The radio in the phone is the key component - it has to be able to work on all the bands required by the two networks used (T-Mobile and Sprint).

I was a Nexus 6 user and I originally got it from Verizon when my Project Fi invitation was accepted. I jumped to Project Fi right away and I've been extremely pleased. Cell coverage in my area with Project Fi has been superior to my prior Verizon experience but I haven't traveled more than 30 miles or so away from my home. YMMV regarding cell coverage. Keep in mind that if you are on a phone call and the signal is quite weak and the phone switches networks the call will be dropped. For me the switch from T-Mobile to wi-fi or wi-fi to T-mobile is seamless but the switch from wi-fi to Sprint or back to wi-fi is not in my experience.

I'm at home a large majority of the time and I put my Nexus 6 into airplane mode, turn off cellular data and turn on wi-fi. My incoming and outgoing calls are wi-fi calls and it works perfectly well for me. I live in Oregon and the taxes/tariffs for Oregon are the lowest in the country so take your state fees into account. My largest bill so far has been $23.38. If you are a large data user this program might not be for you. The use of more than 3-4 GBytes/month is probably the point where another plan from another company might be more cost effective but if you are a light user of cell data then it is a great plan.

I use Hangouts as my default SMS program on my Nexus 6. I also have Hangouts on my Nexus 7 tablet and on my desktop computer I keep a hangouts.google.com tab opened on my Firefox browser all the time. I can make and receive unlimited calls (all devices ring) from any of those devices at no added cost. Hangouts synchronizes all the SMS messages across all the platforms so I can read and reply from any of my devices. If you happen to have an iPad it will work with Hangouts as well though I don't personally own or use an iPad.

[liberaltrucker]

3. Thanks!

Here in Butler, PA T-Mobile has very good coverage, except inside my
apartment. That's why I was attracted by the WiFi capability.

Most of my data usage would also be on WiFi, probably less than a
GB a month on cellular. Looks like I'll go for it.

Thanks so much for sharing your personal experience with the
service and explaining the features.

[Egnever]

4. Make sure you have a FI capable phone

Very important or the service wont work for you.