Let's Talk About Google's Project Fi.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:51 am

Seems to be doing well for me too. Better wifi reception and much better cell signal indoors. I guess that' the T-Mobile half of the service. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

I'll have to get used to modern phone battery life though, I'm used to being able to go few days without a charge. Battery life on the 5X seems fine but I just get nervous with it's predictions. At one point it said I had 3 hours left at 85% but I assume that's based on the heavy use at the time and a limited sample size.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:57 am

The two biggest drains on a cell phone battery are an active network connection and the backlight.

Smartphones get used dramatically more than any flip phone ever did. It's truly more of a pocket computer than a phone. The phone capability on my device is an afterthought to me.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:05 am

Isgrimnur wrote:The two biggest drains on a cell phone battery are an active network connection and the backlight.

Smartphones get used dramatically more than any flip phone ever did. It's truly more of a pocket computer than a phone. The phone capability on my device is an afterthought to me.

Well, I mean I had an HTC Desire which I recognize is ancient by phone standards, but it's not like I was on a flip phone It was very conservative with the battery. Unless GPS was on, GPS killed that thing. I turned it off on the 5X as well.

Battery is down to 59% after around 77% last I checked before bed so that's not so bad I guess.

Virgin Mobile was great for a light user for how many ever years I was on there, like 8 or so. But damn, they don't want you to leave. You're supposed to call to get it and then they send you to retention and the sales guys. So I googled it and found you could find it by doing a "view source" on your account page and find it embedded in the source code. It's hidden in a tag called <ban-id>. No kidding. Once I got the account number I was able port my number over in like 20 seconds.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:10 am

My phone lives on a charger overnight and spends half the day at work on it as well, but then, I spend most of my day streaming Pandora at my desk.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:13 am

LawBeefaroni wrote:Well, I mean I had an HTC Desire which I recognize is ancient by phone standards, but it's not like I was on a flip phone It was very conservative with the battery. Unless GPS was on, GPS killed that thing. I turned it off on the 5X as well.

Battery is down to 59% after around 77% last I checked before bed so that's not so bad I guess.

GPS could be a hog on older phones, for sure. You shouldn't turn it off on the 5X unless you're doing it for privacy reasons. It's used infrequently when you're not using it for something constant like nav or fitness tracking, and is generally a more battery-efficient way to get background location information these days.

Losing 18% while sleeping on a new 5X is definitely excessive. Do you have poor coverage where it rests at night? My 5X loses a couple % at most while idle overnight--this ('Doze' in Googlespeak) is one of the tentpole features of Android M.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:57 pm

Well I got an invite but Google is out of the 6P 64 gig version so I'll wait for them to come back into stock

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 9:03 pm

Have you checked both the Fi store and Play store?

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:11 am

Zaxxon wrote:Have you checked both the Fi store and Play store?

Yeah, they are both out of stock. 32 gig is available with a 4-5 week turn around, but I need more storage than that

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 3:31 pm

Got a box in the mail from Google today. Legos and a Type-c to USB cable. I was waiting to pick up a cable, nice move by Google. I thought only including the c-to-c in the box with the 5x was a crap move.

Nice surprise, though I guess it was news a week ago.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:22 pm

Yeah, I got my not-Legos earlier this week.... after I bought adapter cords two weeks ago. Bah. Aside from not getting the Fi Welcome Box (which had various adapters in it) because I didn't sign up within the window for it, I'm happy with my Google overlords. The wi-fi service has worked almost flawlessly (I've had two days where I have left wi-fi for a few hours, come back home, then had to turn wi-fi search on/off on my phone to get it to pick the network back up) and the two networks have worked everywhere I've tried between CT and northeastern MA. I'll be heading out to Buffalo, NY next week so we'll see how it goes there.

Additionally, switching from my iPhone to this Android has been pretty good. My wife had Kit-Kat and I hated it, but Marshmallow has made this a pretty seamless transition and I am almost at the point of preferring it to iOS.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 2:27 pm

Looking at current rates, I would half my voice costs, but double my data costs at current usage rates. Wife's stuck taking a mandatory hour lunch, so her OTA streaming has increased.

Voice would go from $70 to $40 for two lines. Texting would get rolled in, so a decrease of $30. Data + overage was $80 ($60 +20), Overall usage for Fi would have been ~$112.

Total before taxes and fees would drop me from $180 to ~$152. So about a $30 savings.

Current date to re-evaluate things is October 2017, as that's when her contract is up. Mine is in Dec '16, but I usually keep my phone for three years, so we'll be synced up for new phones about then.

With AT&T completely dropping the subsidized handset prices, there's no reason for me to stick with the security blanket of 'unlimited' data if there are cheaper options available.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 2:59 pm

Still no problems with the service, but the finger print scanner on my Nexus 5X has been wonky the last few weeks.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:27 pm

It's still treating me well, service is great. Fingerprint scanner is still working fine. Not sure if it matters, but I don't use a case of any sort.

Isgrimnur wrote:Wife's stuck taking a mandatory hour lunch, so her OTA streaming has increased.

No corporate wifi?

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:19 pm

Yeah, unless I'm out and about and need something I can't wait to do at home.... I'm on WiFi pretty much 90% of my day.....atleast Monday-Friday

I'm going to go with the 3gb data at first. But I'm thinking I can get away with the 2gb most months.

6P should be here before weeks end. Perfect timing since my Go Phone renewal is Friday

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:00 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Wife's stuck taking a mandatory hour lunch, so her OTA streaming has increased.
No corporate wifi?

Retail. Hell, I don't get access to corp wifi.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:13 am

Anyone purchase the Nexus Protection? Worth it?

Yay or Nay?

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 9:42 am

Not sure how, but I won't complain.

10 days left before my next billing cycle and I've only used 0.43gb of data on my first month on Project Fi.

Up until this month, I usually use around 2.5 of data.

Service has been excellent and saving $30 a month will be sweet!!

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:23 am

Good times. I'm probably going to be switching over to a Nexus 5X on Fi within the next few months. My Galaxy S3 is getting old, and Verizon is expensive. I might even convert my wife. Her iPhone 4S is getting even older, and Verizon is still expensive. She's still not convinced she wants to jump ship from Apple to Android, but she got to play a bit with the phone, and she thinks she might be okay with it.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 2:38 pm

Love love love the 6P.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 2:57 pm

Xmann wrote:Anyone purchase the Nexus Protection? Worth it?

Yay or Nay?

I guess the question would be, "has anyone broke their phone yet?" It's kind of hard to evaluate a protection plan until you have to use it.

Last year, wife broke her screen and even with a T-Mobile protection plan, it cost more than $200 to replace. I am no longer paying for such protection.

Our phone contracts are up in June. Our thought was retain our Galaxy S5's a while longer, which would reduce our monthly bill by around $50. It might be possible though to go this route, get new phones and pay a little less, but I'd be giving up some features I really, really like on the GS5.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 3:23 pm

I've bought the protection and will keep it for a while.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 1:47 pm

Chaz wrote: She's still not convinced she wants to jump ship from Apple to Android, but she got to play a bit with the phone, and she thinks she might be okay with it.

Do some searching for tips/tricks about the conversion. There were a few things I made sure to back up before the transition (downloaded the Google Photo software for my desktop and made sure my iPhone pictures were saved there, for example) and it pretty much went seamless after that. The one thing that bothers me the most about iOS to Android is music: Google Play Music did not import all of my music from my computer and refuses to do so no matter how I try. I can get a large chunk of it, but not all, and it seems to be specific to artists but I can't tell who will or won't transfer until they do/don't. Otherwise, I actually like Android Marshmallow more than iOS.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 1:03 pm

Sunday will be my first month of Project Fi and I can't be more pleased.

I'm sitting at 0.52gb of data used. Can't beat that.

My bill will be $30 a month. That's damn good.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:23 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:Fingerprint scanner is still working fine. Not sure if it matters, but I don't use a case of any sort.

Well, one of the updates borked the fingerprint scanner. I guess Google is aware because they immediatly overnighted me a replacement 5x.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:46 pm

And I got the dreaded bootloop on the replacement 5x. They sent me a new one and I got it in under 24 hours, so there's that. Conveniently I just backed up a few days ago so just lost a couple of kid photos.

I like the 5x but it's sketchy. This is a yearly thing, plus I had a bootloop due to an Android update earlier this year. Took them a few days to push the fix for that.

I will say that they take care of you. This one was a month out of the warranty (on the refurb replacement they sent me) and they're still replacing it, and they gave me a 32GB instead of a 16GB. I did read that LG was refunding 5x's due to the same issue since they ran out of replacement parts and couldn't repair. And if I want a new NEW phone, the only options are the Pixel and Pixel XL. No thanks.

When I was on the site for service, I noticed that they added a group plan. It's $5/month cheaper for each person in the group so since the wife was already on it, I added her.

I guess the point is that their service is excellent. The hardware is a bit lacking.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:04 am

I've been thinking about going Fi. Why no love for the Pixels? Screens too big?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:24 am

They just lowered the price on the Pixel, too. I love mine.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Sat Aug 19, 2017 11:14 am

My Nexus 6P battery is toast.

I've been considering moving over to an Iphone but i just can't justify #1 price of an iphone and #2 no decent plan (when i've been paying around $40 for Project Fi and i've been really happy with the service)

The price drop for the Pixel was just a sale....it's back up to normal pricing. I'm going to either grab a Pixel XL or a new Pixel XL 2 when it releases in a couple months. I think they were giving away Google Home with the purchase of a Pixel last year. Hoping they do that again this year.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Sat Aug 19, 2017 11:47 am

I love Fi. I know exactly what I'm going to pay and I only pay for what I use at a reasonable (or at least competitive) price. Yeah my 6P battery is giving out as well, thought I'd wait until the new ones come to replace it.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Aug 21, 2017 4:11 pm

My wife is on her fifth 5x (5X? 5? I have no idea) and I just went to my second after the first finally died. The phones work fine until they don't, but the service is always nice.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:14 pm

The battery on my 5x is starting to crap out, and the whole thing is starting to feel sluggish. I want to stay with Fi, but I also want a new phone, and the price on the Pixels is too high. I'd love a more budget friendly option, especially since one of Fi's appeals is the lower cost.

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Mon Aug 21, 2017 11:49 pm

Chaz wrote:The battery on my 5x is starting to crap out, and the whole thing is starting to feel sluggish. I want to stay with Fi, but I also want a new phone, and the price on the Pixels is too high. I'd love a more budget friendly option, especially since one of Fi's appeals is the lower cost.

They've said there will be at least one new phone coming out before the end of the year.

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 9:49 am

And there will be a cheaper phone option.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:30 am

I'm either doing the Pixel XL or XL 2, just not sure yet which one.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Tue Aug 22, 2017 12:16 pm

Lorini wrote:And there will be a cheaper phone option.

Yeah, I think the rumor was a new Moto X version at around $400. That's higher than I'd have liked, and I still want confirmation that it's running stock Android, but that's better than $550+ for a Pixel.

What extra sucks is that my wife managed to crack the screen on her 5x, so she's probably in line for an upgrade before I am.

Xmann · Post by **Xmann** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:26 am

The past month, my Nexus 6P's battery is definitely faulty. It powers off randomly, even at >30% battery. It also gets really hot with normal use.

So I call up Google and see what they can do to help. My warranty had unfortunately expired in February.

However, to my surprise, not only are they going to replaced my 6P for free, they are replacing it with a new Pixel XL!!

Shipped yesterday, I'll have it Monday. Retail for the XL is still almost $800. Couldn't be more thrilled.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:57 am

I had heard they were doing that. Nice score!

Lorini · Post by **Lorini** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:56 pm

Xmann wrote:The past month, my Nexus 6P's battery is definitely faulty. It powers off randomly, even at >30% battery. It also gets really hot with normal use.

So I call up Google and see what they can do to help. My warranty had unfortunately expired in February.

However, to my surprise, not only are they going to replaced my 6P for free, they are replacing it with a new Pixel XL!!

Shipped yesterday, I'll have it Monday. Retail for the XL is still almost $800. Couldn't be more thrilled.

Mine does all of this as well. I'll call them tomorrow.

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 4:53 pm

Xmann wrote:The past month, my Nexus 6P's battery is definitely faulty. It powers off randomly, even at >30% battery. It also gets really hot with normal use.

So I call up Google and see what they can do to help. My warranty had unfortunately expired in February.

However, to my surprise, not only are they going to replaced my 6P for free, they are replacing it with a new Pixel XL!!

Shipped yesterday, I'll have it Monday. Retail for the XL is still almost $800. Couldn't be more thrilled.

Holy crap.

Congrats!

Enough · Post by **Enough** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:15 pm

Lorini wrote:
Xmann wrote:The past month, my Nexus 6P's battery is definitely faulty. It powers off randomly, even at >30% battery. It also gets really hot with normal use.

So I call up Google and see what they can do to help. My warranty had unfortunately expired in February.

However, to my surprise, not only are they going to replaced my 6P for free, they are replacing it with a new Pixel XL!!

Shipped yesterday, I'll have it Monday. Retail for the XL is still almost $800. Couldn't be more thrilled.
Mine does all of this as well. I'll call them tomorrow.

Likewise, thanks for the info!