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Hey everyone! I don't have WiFi at my job and I don't really have LTE/3G either (kinda boxed in a hole). Can anyone recommend a good wireless hotspot or something so I can listen to tunes and keep up on fantasy football?? I have a Google Pixel 2 (if that makes any difference). Thanks!!!

Planning on leaving Fi because due to change in lifestyle I use more data and don't travel abroad as much.

I am planning on porting the number out of Fi and into Google Voice. How long does it take to do that? A few hours? 1 day? 2 days?

Also: I have gf on my plan and she needs to do the same, safe to do her first and then me?

I live in a rural area and want to use fi as my home wifi hotspot for internet access. Is the only way, to get a phone SIM. It appears getting the data only SIM doesn't allow tethering. Am I missing something? Any work arounds? Link reads tethering is a no go.

https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6330195?hl=en

I had to get them to send it to my sisters house.

They had no problem getting the phone I bought to me.

Now they want to cut the value of the trade in to 20% of what they quoted as it's been over 90 days.

Any idea on what I should do?

" Number transfer delayed Unfortunately it's taking longer than expected, but we're still working to get your number to Google Fi."

I've called, emailed and chatted. they say some will get back to me to 24 to 72 hours. The last lady I talked to hung up on me.

Hello everyone...Signed up and have been unable to make or receive calls on my Samsung Galaxy S7. It never had any issues before and I went through Fi support for 3 days and now its been over a week and someone emailed me and said that it might be the software on the phone? I get the data, I can get text but no calling out, or receiving. They suggested I try another phone, but I don't have anything newer to try it on. But it seems silly...Am I crazy or is there something to this?

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Yes it is unlocked as well.

I asked for a callback from Best Buy. Later, my phone rings. I answer in 1 ring. Dead air. I wait for 2 minutes in case it's an agent who hasn't figured out they have muted their mic and while I'm on my phone, my voicemail notification beeps with Best Buy having been... Somewhere else... Leaving me a voicemail.

This happens to me a lot, but seemingly especially when companies call me.

Anyone else? It's pretty irritating and makes me not trust the voice service.

I'm looking at other carriers and some are cheaper for my uses, and offer stuff like free Hulu or Netflix. Do you guys think there is any chance YouTube Premium or Music will come along with a Fi subscription in the future?

Hey there all, I've been looking to get a new phone and I'm on Google Fi. I see the Zenfone 6 works with T-Mobile so it should be ok, but was checking in to see if anyone here has tried it.

I have been with Fi since inception. I am tired of scrimping on data, especially while on the road. I have a long commute and being cautious in order to control costs is not appealing to me anymore. I was hoping for Google to cut down the cost per GB to something that makes sense in 2019 but I do not see that happening any time soon.

Now that I have made my decision, here are few questions I have hoping to get an answer.

• SMS/Hangouts: I have been using hangouts for SMS, should I switch my default SMS app to Messages? Is there a better choice?

• Google Fi App: Should I uninstall this app from my phone?

• Google VPN: Should I disable this or does it get disabled on its own?

• I have a spare Pixel. Should I get a data-only sim card? Does that serve any purpose? I do not travel much internationally.

In the coming weeks, I'm planning a trip from CO to NC. I certainly don't want to be using data for navigation, so I had planned on downloading a large "offline" map via google maps prior to leaving. The problem is that I cant see any way to do this other than "stitching", in a sense, a bunch of offline rectangles across the middle of the country to my destination. Certainly Google has a better way of handling this situation, without relying on data the entire time... Right?

I'd like to mount a tablet in my car to use Android Auto or Maps and Spotify. I'd like to use my Fi data-only SIM.

What's my best option to do this? I'd prefer to do it as cheaply as possible, but I'd choose function over low price.

I've read an old Nexus 9 should work. Maybe an older iPad mini too? I'd prefer to stick to Android but that's not a requirement.

Any input would be awesome!

Just tonight, the mic on my wife's Moto X4 has lost its ability to pick up sound. She went through the Google Fi help chat, and they said it's no longer under warranty and not their problem. Are they suddenly out of refurbished X4's to swap/sell back to us?! They had her reset it to factory settings, too. Nothing. Any help is appreciated. Thanks everybody.

Edit: We have narrowed it down to app audio not reaching the speaker. Headphones work, Bluetooth works. App audio meaning no audio from phone app, YouTube, Pandora, etc. Again, Fi is holding their ground and referring us to Motorola. Have to wait to talk to a live person on Monday. Again, thank you all SO MUCH for the responses!

Where can I read about the cryptography that is powering the enhanced network VPN? Aside from packet capture and discovering the negotiated cipher suite.

Last year I had no problem, this year I can't seem to get a data connection. I tried turning off the Google VPN and turning on the Roaming data but no luck. Anyone have any suggestions when Google Fi refuses to get a mobile data signal in a foreign country?

Day -1:

I ordered a Pixel 3 through Fi. It was due to arrive on the last day of my previous service with AT&T. I contacted customer support to see if I should port my number to Google Voice before the phone arrived so I don't lose the number. I was told no, I would need to phone in hand, so I waited.

Day 1:

The phone arrives before my previous service ends. Great! Now, I don't think I'm an idiot, but I must be because when I set up the phone I never saw a prompt to port an existing number to Fi. It just gave me a new Fi number. I tried porting my number but it failed. I contacted customer service via chat and was told to port the number to Google Voice on a different account. Sure sounds a lot like what I asked before. I don't have a secondary account, so I create a throw-away account and initiate the $20 process.

Day 2:

The port completed in 24 hours. I contacted support again via chat and they walked me through the process to transfer it from my throw-away to my primary account ($3). It didn't work, no explanation as to why. The rep linked me a page as if to explain why, but none of the situations on that page applied to me. The rep tells me this is a Google Voice issue and that I need to contact them (only way is to post on a forum).

I'm getting frustrated, so I ask the rep how I would be billed for the phone if I cancelled Google Fi. He buries me in details about cancelling the service but doesn't mention anything about the Pixel 3 (which I opted to pay for monthly). I have to ask specifically, "But how do I pay for the phone?" He gives me the answer (I'd be billed for the remaining balance) and we end the chat.

I decided to call support before giving up. The guy I get looks at my account and understands the problem immediately. He catches that for some reason my Google Fi number is being ported to Google Voice. He tells me that's why we can't transfer my desired number from Voice on the throwaway account to Fi. He escalates my issue to stop the Fi number from being ported out. That will take some time, so I thank him and we end the call. He seems like the only competent person I've interacted with during this whole ordeal.

Day 3 (today):

The Google Fi number finishes porting out and my service is automatically cancelled. What? Now I have no way to make calls. So I get back on chat support. I explain that I don't want the service to cancel and be billed for the balance of the phone. The rep reactivates my account into a "Paused" state. I ask if I can enable the service and then transfer my number (like the guy said last night), and he says no, there is a problem with all transfers on Google's end. (It probably took 15-20 minutes to figure out that it was a problem others were experiencing too and not just me. That's assuming he didn't just say that to placate me. His responses were 10+ minutes apart at this point.)

I'm told a specialist team is working on it and will contact me. There is no ETA, I just have to wait for an email. I ask how I will be billed since I can't use the service and have no idea how long it will take. My Bills page shows a statement for Aug 9 (today) through Sep 9. He says that someone will get back to me on that too.

TL;DR:

Had trouble porting my number from AT&T to Google Fi. Chat support has given me conflicting information, unable to explain the problem at each step of the process, and generally been frustrating at best. I now have no way to send/receive calls for an indeterminate amount of time while Google "fixes something on their end."

I've been searching around and haven't found an answer to this question yet. I have a US number on Google Fi and will be abroad in the Netherlands for three months. Can people from the US call my number while I'm abroad at no extra charge to them? Or do they have to pay international rates? I'm expecting calls from both landlines and mobiles. And texting too - if a US number texts me while abroad, will it require the user to pay international rates or will it be free, as it would be if I'm in the US? Thanks for the help!

My title says it all. I'm surprised that there has not been any major overhaul of their pricing structure. There is too many Unlimited plans in the market that are cheaper than Fi. $80 for unlimited on Fi makes no financial sense when I can a plan from ATT for $50 with unlimited data. Verizon and T-Mobile also have similar priced plans. Some postpaid plans are also cheaper than Fi.

Although I will admit Fi's structure does work for people who use very little data. Nevertheless, a $80 price tag is keeping me away from Fi. My Spectrum Mobile plan is only $45, and it runs on Verizon.

The only time I use Fi is when I go overseas. You can't beat $10/1 GB international roaming.

I've read that is possible to move to a new email address if your phone is paid off, but are there any options if still financed? I haven't activated phone yet, it's arriving next week. Can I just activate it on a different account? Either move the credit account over as well OR just pay the payments in the original account?

Thanks any help is appreciated!

Does someone know whether you can exchange the data sim that is not working for a new one? Earlier one of my data sims stopped working (no phone recognizes it), but I was able to just order another one for free. Now another sim card stopped working as well. But Fi limited the number of data sims to 4, so I cannot order a new one.

So, is there a chance to order a new one instead of the broken one?

Thank you!

iPhone is only a few months old. She has Verizon here in the States. I'll be bringing my trusty Pixel 2 XL, but wondering if I can loan her a sim on my account so she can have some usability while we're in Mexico?

Hoping to travel to Siem Reap, wondering if anyone has been there to comment on the Fi Coverage there. Thanks.

I activated my new Google Pixel 3 on Google Fi a couple days ago. I could access the internet, make phone calls, use apps, etc. There was one problem:

The Problem:

I could send text messages and MMS, but not receive them. I tested this with multiple other people's phones in both single and group chats. They could receive my messages, but I would never receive the text messages in return. This occurred with any carrier and any other person.

On my phone I checked the settings and made sure my default SMS messenger app was Message, the default Pixel SMS app.

The Fix:

My previous service was AT&T using an Android phone. I had used Google Hangouts at some point about a year prior to changing over to Google Fi, which was on the same e-mail account I signed up for Google Fi with. Apparently, if you have used Google Hangouts in the past, it will set Google Hangouts as your SMS receiving service despite the phone listing Message as the default SMS receiver. This is even if you do not have a Google Hangouts account.

I had a call with a very helpful and nice lady at Google Fi support who was able to assist me. These are the steps to fix it.

1. Download the Google Hangouts App, and open it.
2. Select the top left 3 bars and select Settings
3. Select your associated Google account
4. Find the section that says "Google Fi calls and SMS - [Your number]
5. Below will be "Messages" with a toggle. Make sure this is toggled "Off".

Hopefully that will fix it if anyone else has this issue.

The issue is already solved for me but I didn't find this answer easily online, so I am trying to include the solution here in case it helps anyone else in the future. Good luck!

About 2 weeks ago I got myself a Moto G7 for $199 with activation, and then this week I got another one for my girlfriend who is on my plan (she ordered it with her GoogleFi logon) and she received it a couple of days ago.

After being on Fi ever since the beginning, I am now leaving because of lifestyle changes and I use more data and don't travel abroad as often.

The T&C for the discounted phones only talk about the fact that they need to be activated within 30 days of receiving the phones (which we did) and nothing else, no minimum stay etc.

Source: https://fi.google.com/about/device-promo-terms/?p=2019-07-17-moto-g7

Any horror stories of Fi backing out of their promises in such cases?

Anything I should we aware of?

Should I wait till the next bill at the end of the month to be safe?

I am trying to sign up for a new plan on Google Fi and when I input my info (my real debit card) it is giving and error-> OR-CCSEH-05 and saying the transaction has failed.

Tried this on a handful of other cards and am getting the same issue. Anyone ever see this? I really try to avoid calling Fi at all costs and the chat support said they escalated to a specialist so just seeing if anyone knows why this could be.

Original Post

TLDR; Google charged me for an RMA phone saying I hadn't returned it to them, when I had.

I finally got someone who asked me more questions and explained their "side of the story" it turned out Google had charged me for a phone they had never shipped to me (Google thought they had shipped me 3 phones when they only shipped me 2). Fully Google's mistake and the representative acknowledged it.

Now I have to wait 7-14 days for the "authorization hold" to be lifted from my credit card. Well guess what, it actually went through as a charge on my credit card already (I called the bank to find this out). So it's not just a temporary hold that they can lift, they need to actually refund me $701.73 on that card. All along they've been talking about lifting an "authorization hold" so I have no confidence that they are going to refund me at this point.

I expressed my deep frustration and asked what Google was willing to do to keep me as a customer. The guy said he would be happy to give me a $20 credit. $20 for the 13 hours I've spent dealing with Google's mistake trying to get my $700 back. Fuck you Google.

I am switching to Republic Wireless as soon as I get my refund from Google and never looking back. What a horrible horrible HORRIBLE experience and company. I will now work on extricating my entire life from the Google ecosystem because of this experience. Do yourself a favor, go with any, literally ANY provider besides Google. And do NOT purchase a phone directly from Google because you WILL end up in a nightmare at some point. If you travel abroad a lot, find WiFi, it's everywhere.

On my Pixel 3XL I get a sound and pop-up notification if I am getting a video or voice call on Hangouts. On my Pixel (1st Gen) I can't make this happen no matter what settings I change. I just can't figure out what's going on here. (Silent push notifications appear afterwards saying "missed call".)

We got the Pixel for the sole purpose of receiving Hangouts calls, but if it won't ring, it's useless. Hmmmm.

Seems I must be missing something.

After using Google Fi on iPhone XS Max for a couple of months, decided to switch back to ATT due to poor coverage. It is currently locked to T-Mobile for iPhone with no carrier switching and no wifi calling. Issues include frequent call drops, bad call quality (callers complaining that voice gets muffled often), spotty data speeds and sometimes calls never get through. The other USP that i was originally attracted to was international coverage at same rates. Coverage is restricted to T-Mobile partners outside of US and depending on the country the coverage is either average or worse. Looks like their international partners are laggards in their respective regions. Here are some detailed observations:

• San Francisco Bay Area - Extremely unreliable network. Calls drop in the heart of Silicon Valley freeways and streets. Data signal is often reduced from LTE to 4G (which seems to be equivalent to 2G speeds where an email takes forever to load). While taking calls inside office buildings, callers complain that voice is muffled or robotic. Absolutely no network in parking lots.
• Rest of California - Used it while commuting between SF and LA and the data speeds seem reasonable. Calls drop very frequently. Lack of coverage in few spots.
• Outside of US: Horrible data speeds, native apps take forever to load. Calls are OK.

After speaking to few colleagues who use it on Pixel, it looks like they share some of these problems but it isn't as bad as it is on iPhone. Again I haven't personally tried it on Pixel so can't compare.

Unless it is an optional line, I wouldn't recommend using it on iPhone as a primary line especially if you use it for business as well.