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Motronic posted:It has to be hacky/a one off due to the nature of google fi using multiple underlying carriers. Once you get into multi-IMSI sim cards things get weird (I was dealing with this for another carrier recently). I'm mostly on us cellular network at work, but I'm tmobile most everywhere else.
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Dec 7, 2020 21:28
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Quaint Quail Quilt posted:I can get alerts from work, but they are sent carrier specific, so I don't get them sometimes because FI Yeah, Fi should have it's own SMSC exposed to customers via a TAP gateway or something, but yeah.....they don't care.
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Dec 7, 2020 22:18
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Why the gently caress are my notification noises using the default noise all the time unless I'm in the settings for that conversation, when I set specific conversations to have specific ringtones. What the gently caress Edit: well now it uses the notification noise I set, EXCEPT when I'm inside the conversation, and then it defaults back to the global notification noise. I guess that's acceptable? Johnny Truant fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 9, 2020 |
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Dec 9, 2020 15:54
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I'm trying to adjust to Messages and I'm hating it. First the good: It looks a lot better than Hangouts, and if I get a phone call, Messages for Web (M4W) and my phone ALWAYS ring. In Hangouts, the web version wouldn't always ring if I hadn't refreshed the page semi-recently. But M4W doesn't always sync messages, even though I've set it up. I have long strings of replies from other people to messages I sent on the other platform. I've resynced, restarted, refreshed, etc. multiple times, it's so spotty.
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Dec 13, 2020 03:06
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I’m really trying to figure out why I can’t send photos in text messages. I use an iPhone, and I’ve looked at every guide I can find. I tried resetting my network settings, but to no avail. This has been going on for several weeks, and it’s dang frustrating.
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Dec 14, 2020 22:51
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Barely Fi-related, but: My mom bought my son a new S8 from Amazon this past spring, and while it was new and seems as legit as my husband's work-provided S8, it seems to have been from a different region. We've changed the assorted settings so he's on the U.S. Play Store and all that fun stuff, but the phone won't get any provider updates to security or, presumably, OS. When you check for updates, it essentially says "I don't even know what this phone is. Contact support." (We're both on Fi, chiefly using TMobile, who sends our OTA updates.) Is there any way to fix this beyond flashing a new OS onto the thing? I've done that plenty of times to my ancient Samsung tablet, so I'm not too leery of it, but it seems like it might be overkill. Maybe not.
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Dec 23, 2020 16:06
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Anybody know what magic words I need to tell AT&T to get them to finish porting my number out of Fi? I can't send SMS MMS any longer, and I'm fairly sure it's not a phone issue (though I still leave the option open).
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Dec 23, 2020 19:00
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So, I went through the last few pages of the thread because I wanted to see if people were happy about Google Fi, because I was thinking of switching carriers; my current one kinda sucks rear end, and Fi would usually end up with me paying less than I pay now. Also they'll let me pay over time for a moderate phone upgrade, which is attractive. But most of what I see is complaining? But AFAICT, complaining about non-Fi-related things, like app settings and whatnot? Gimme the skinny, is Fi any good as a carrier? Any problems moving a number over from another phone/carrier? edit: Hah, they might not actually let me pay over time, because I need to pass a credit check, and I've never passed a credit check, because my credit rating is low-to-nonexistent, because nobody's ever given me credit. 'Tis a vicious cycle. Well, we'll see how it goes. John Lee fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Jan 2, 2021 |
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Jan 2, 2021 17:35
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John Lee posted:So, I went through the last few pages of the thread because I wanted to see if people were happy about Google Fi, because I was thinking of switching carriers; my current one kinda sucks rear end, and Fi would usually end up with me paying less than I pay now. Also they'll let me pay over time for a moderate phone upgrade, which is attractive. But most of what I see is complaining? But AFAICT, complaining about non-Fi-related things, like app settings and whatnot? Gimme the skinny, is Fi any good as a carrier? Any problems moving a number over from another phone/carrier? They've been great for me. When I did socialize, I'd get fast service in places my Fi-less friends got none. My only complaints are about the Messages app and its shoddy syncing with the web version, but that may or may not be Fi related.
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Jan 2, 2021 17:49
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It's a good value if you use very little data or if you use a lot of data. It's not a good value compared to other services if you're somewhere in between. My only complaint is that they sometimes put me on Sprint networks when T-Mobile networks are available. Otherwise do not use the Google Fi VPN service. No one at Google seems to know how it works or that it exists.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:00
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I didn't have credit when I got FI but then again I buy phones outright with cash. The signal of your service carries per region but with 3 networks combined it rivals Verizon. I got on a plan with some goons in the buy/sell forum and pay like $50 for 28gb limit. They eliminated easy group plan payments in the app so we venmo now, so that sucks. It comes with a VPN. Buying direct means you're covered for any hardware problems for a year. Edit: I use fi switcher app at work because going between no signal and 5g repeatedly is not fun, I'd rather have constant us cellular 3g in my no signal ironworkers shop.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:04
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Alright, thanks, y'all. I DO use very little data - by my math, I would come out ahead compared to my current $40 a month plan, because I've literally never come close to using my current 2 GB a month limit. And if I DO use a touch more (say, because I just got a new phone and am downloading things on it), no big chunky overage fees. My current carrier isn't one of the big three, I think, and coverage is spotty and I'm always dropping texts, so better coverage is also attractive.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:54
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I used them for a year before giving up. Having to pay for each bit (byte) of data gave me serious anxiety about my usage and I spent way more time manually switching towers than i should have.
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Jan 2, 2021 18:56
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I pay about $36 per month, and that's with the phone payment plan, as well. If you're somewhere with WiFi connectivity most of the time, Fi is def worth it.
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Jan 2, 2021 19:01
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I pay about $47 for me and my son both. It was no problem to put his new unlocked phone onto the plan or to port my paid-off phone over, though it was a little fiddly switching my existing Voice number to his phone. Neither of us use a lot of data, especially not now (he's hardly gone anywhere since he got his phone this spring, and I work at home even in the best of times), but the ability to switch to unlimited if/when necessary is very attractive. I look forward to being able to use my phone seamlessly and without having to lug around a pocket WiFi doodly the next time I'm on a big overseas trip (we usually have at least one a year), and to not worrying about data rates even while roaming in less exotic locales like Canada, our neighbor to the south. I don't care about a VPN or about Messages being anywhere but on my phone. Tl;dr: Fi is a good fit for me.
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Jan 2, 2021 20:38
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Anybody use Fi with an iPhone? What's the experience like? Thinking about going from a Pixel 3 which has served me well to a 12 Mini, but I'm hesitant because Google has kinda got their claws in me with all the added services. The automatic call screening is a big one which I'm not sure if I want to give up.
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Jan 2, 2021 20:41
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Just a tip that Signal Spy (or similar apps) make Fi a much better experience if you live somewhere T-Mobile has good service, but Fi always seems to default to Sprint. Or the opposite for that matter. A lot of issues seem to be network related, and being able to force the better available network or prevent the phone from switching back and forth sometimes multiple times a day can save some of the hassle.
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Jan 2, 2021 20:50
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Just wanted to say Fi had been great for me, I use very little data in general but I have no problem actually using it (and paying for it) when I need to. I can understand the anxiety of trying to keep costs down though. Also their customer service is by far the worst I have ever experienced to the point where it might as well not exist, so keep that in mind. Edit: the Google VPN ended up being extremely handy for me also, not sure if you need or want it but it is there if you want it.
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Jan 2, 2021 21:15
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Untagged posted:Just a tip that Signal Spy (or similar apps) make Fi a much better experience if you live somewhere T-Mobile has good service, but Fi always seems to default to Sprint. Or the opposite for that matter. A lot of issues seem to be network related, and being able to force the better available network or prevent the phone from switching back and forth sometimes multiple times a day can save some of the hassle. Having to do this was a deal breaker. I shouldn’t have to babysit a network for the money I was paying.
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Jan 2, 2021 21:15
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I mean it mostly works, it just doesn't in some weird edge cases. Having service when other people you're around don't is still nice.
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Jan 2, 2021 21:53
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Uthor posted:Having to do this was a deal breaker. I shouldn’t have to babysit a network for the money I was paying.
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Jan 2, 2021 22:01
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Since moving to a larger metro area I have had almost no signal issues where living in small town midwest would have to manually switch more often to have good service. But fi is solid and have no complaints for the most part, only issue I have really run into is it seems if you have any issue with international coverage they just kind of  and don't help. However I have used it in almost a dozen countries and only had an issue once, every other time was flawless.
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Jan 2, 2021 23:42
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I was considering dumping Fi last year, until the pandemic came along and I ended up working from home almost all the time. Now I have no reason to leave it since I rarely use data outside of WiFi. For me, the VPN broke WiFi calling as well as connectivity of my job's VOIP app. Turned it off and everything started working again.
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Jan 2, 2021 23:43
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American McGay posted:What were you paying? Isn't the whole point of Fi that it's cheap? I was using about 3 GB per month, which was $50/month. I was running an app that would alert me at 100 MB/day to keep it in that price range and was going over nearly daily (hence the anxiety). Switched to Cricket for $45/month for 8 GB and, somehow, my usage actually dropped despite no longer monitoring it (I'm convinced Fi uses more data in the background, but have no proof). I'm now looking at Verizon plans that will give me 16 GB for $45 or 5 GB for $25.
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Jan 2, 2021 23:43
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Uthor posted:I was using about 3 GB per month, which was $50/month. I was running an app that would alert me at 100 MB/day to keep it in that price range and was going over nearly daily (hence the anxiety). Switched to Cricket for $45/month for 8 GB and, somehow, my usage actually dropped despite no longer monitoring it (I'm convinced Fi uses more data in the background, but have no proof). I'm now looking at Verizon plans that will give me 16 GB for $45 or 5 GB for $25. Does Cricket offer free streaming video? T-mobile used to (still does?) so it was hard to gauge my data usage before I left for Fi.
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Jan 3, 2021 00:27
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FogHelmut posted:Does Cricket offer free streaming video? T-mobile used to (still does?) so it was hard to gauge my data usage before I left for Fi. No it doesn't. At least not on my plan (an old, depreciated one). Their current plans (and AT&T and Verizon pre-paid) limit video resolution, so that may be a factor if you are using one of those services.
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Jan 3, 2021 00:37
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Fi has been good to me but the biggest deal was when my son and I travelled to Australia and New Zealand last summer. He has T-Mobile and everyone else on the trip had that or AT&T or Verizon. I was the only one with Fi and for about 90% of the trip was the only person with both phone and data service. I was even able to do a few video calls with zero problems. Everyone else had to struggle with the hotel WiFi or pretty no roaming anywhere.
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Jan 4, 2021 02:28
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I would say Fi was a little rocky for the first year or so, but that was back when the Nexus 5X was the new hotness? Eventually, I felt like they worked most of the kinks out, and I haven't had to gently caress with Signal Spy in a long time. Granted, I spent most of my time in the greater Philadelphia area, so coverage is pretty good for both T-Mo and Sprint (may they rip in peace). Also, Fi's been amazing abroad. That includes Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Japan. The only place where it got a little weird is when I was hanging out on the Canada/US border, but that makes sense. That said, their pricing is not as competitive anymore if you do any kind of streaming, and that can include something as low-bandwidth as audio. I was considering moving to Mint before Covid hit and my Fi bill consequently went down.
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Jan 4, 2021 02:54
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azurite posted:I would say Fi was a little rocky for the first year or so, but that was back when the Nexus 5X was the new hotness? Eventually, I felt like they worked most of the kinks out, and I haven't had to gently caress with Signal Spy in a long time. Granted, I spent most of my time in the greater Philadelphia area, so coverage is pretty good for both T-Mo and Sprint (may they rip in peace). Yeah at this point Fi's not a great deal unless you're always in range of WiFi (or love janitoring your data/caching things before you leave the house), or you're doing a ton of international travel. Fi's value has dropped significantly for us since the demise of international travel, but it's still worth it as long as my wife and I are able to work from home.
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Jan 4, 2021 03:29
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FI has been great for me. Way cheaper than what I was paying Sprint and I've always been on WiFi as much as possible even pre-covid. The only issue I've had is when a phone breaks it's taken awhile to get replacements. Went for a whole week for a refurbished phone then twelve days for a new phone that I ordered as an upgrade right before breaking the last one. I could have gone to a store but trying to avoid catching/giving covid to my household. Otherwise all I care about is that it's a phone and that service works when I need it.
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Jan 4, 2021 21:22
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I don't use much data, Fi service in my area after the first year or so has been pretty great (I'm pretty much perma-locked into T-Mobile at this point; their corporate headquarters is right next door to Seattle), and the real reason I really liked it was the Hangouts integration with the desktop app, which was fantastic. However, there's no first-party Messages app yet (just the web interface), which is hella frustrating. Still probably stick with them because they're so cheap (I'm the reverse millenial, and my dad is on my phone plan, and it's like $60 a month for the two of us).
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Jan 5, 2021 03:35
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Alright, I got one more question, only tangentially related but I figure there's a SMALL chance somebody might know: I was pretty excited to see the extra-efficient financing offer for the exact phone I was looking to get, a Google Pixel 4a, on the Fi website, so I tried to push that through. But I keep getting an error message on the credit check, saying the form is "incorrect or incomplete." Bullshit, says I, it's a three-entry form, and I know my name, address, and SS number. Error code OR-IACCT-06. Anyone else familiar with this issue? The following is further info, but also rambling and complaining, so I sequestered it from the main body in case anybody wanted to read it: I found a few people who said they had the same issue, and Google directed them to Experian (who processes the credit checks), but Experien directed them right back to Google. One person said that mismatching names between Google Pay and their Google main account was the culprit, and another said it was the address, but I checked and neither of those are the issue. I COULD make an Experian account to check my credit report, but it seems unlikely to be helpful, so I haven't done so yet. It's a real bummer, since buying the phone outright would wipe out my meager savings - there's a couple cheaper phones on the market, notably the Motorola G series, but I have a G4 already and it has a problem with battery overheating causing ghost touches on the screen, very rapidly, making it impossible to use unless it's on Battery Saver (so whenever I charge it I have to fight it to get BS turned back on), so I don't want to get another phone in the same product line by the same manufacturer. And there aren't a huge amount of phones in that price range that I'm also confident will have longevity (Moto G4 ALSO has a problem with compatibility - it's a few Android versions behind, which is causing a few problems), which is why after a few hours of research I gravitated to the Pixel 4a. Edit: After trying to solve the problem every day, I gave up and ordered the phone at (ugh) full price. Google Support couldn't help or anything. Sorry to clutter up the thread with the wall of text! John Lee fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jan 7, 2021 |
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Jan 5, 2021 22:47
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Google Fi is pushing back their Hangouts deactivation to March.
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Jan 15, 2021 23:46
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Has anyone had issues with MMS texts not being sent? A couple of times now I've sent a picture from my P4XL on WIFI and it says sent Now MMS but it was never received. I think they were on an iPhone with TMobile. Wonder if wifi has something to do with it.
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Jan 16, 2021 01:51
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Hughmoris posted:Has anyone had issues with MMS texts not being sent? A couple of times now I've sent a picture from my P4XL on WIFI and it says sent Now MMS but it was never received. I think they were on an iPhone with TMobile. WiFi always has something to do with mms and iPhones. I have an iPhone for work on AT&T and I have just given up on keeping it on wifi regularly due to issues with mms and wifi. Also try resetting network settings. That sometimes fixes things.
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Jan 16, 2021 04:58
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effika posted:WiFi always has something to do with mms and iPhones. I have an iPhone for work on AT&T and I have just given up on keeping it on wifi regularly due to issues with mms and wifi. It's poo poo like this keeping me to Android on Fi. I've nothing against either OS but I'd love to have a backup iPhone or something but not if MMS doesn't work or wifi is wonky.
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Jan 16, 2021 06:55
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Whenever I text pictures to groups where most if not all have iphones, I have to turn off wifi. Don't ask me why this is necessary, but there will be some wacky interaction if I leave wifi on i.e. picture not sending, picture saying it didn't send but sending, picture sending a dozen times
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Jan 17, 2021 00:46
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I have to futz with it too, even if there are other Android users. MMS is hit or miss in general for me.
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Jan 17, 2021 02:18
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I didn't care about MMS problems until I started doing computer janitor work for a friend's mom, who's constantly sending texts saying "I'm getting this on my screen, what do?" and no picture shows up. Once in a while they come through but I do not know why. It's kind of aggravating to have to tell her to not send pictures to me and expect them to actually show up. Edit: this is on a Moto G7. It may have to do with wifi vs cell data connectivity, but I don't think it's specific to iPhones. zzMisc fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Jan 19, 2021 |
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Jan 19, 2021 16:08
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I have those MMS issues on and off, too on a Moto X4, sending to either Android or iphone. Doesn't seem to matter which app I use for messaging, either. Sometimes it just goes nope! I've noticed, particularly in the last couple of months, that Fi calls on wifi are really crap reception-wise. Always fun to try to schedule a doctor's appointment and run around the house to see if there's a better spot (there's not). It's just random and weird.
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Jan 20, 2021 08:10
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