Google Project Fi + Nexus 6P Review

[glennrocksvb]

What is Google Project Fi? It is a phone carrier offering from Google, which works by giving you mobile data service on three mobile networks, which your phone will intelligently switch between. It also uses Wi-Fi to make calls and send texts whenever available. As of June 2016, Google Fi has added U.S. Cellular as their 3rd cellular network provider from their original providers T-Mobile and Sprint.

I'm using Google Fi myself (for 4 months so far) and I'm very satisfied with the service. Below is a Google Fi Review.

What I personally like about Project Fi:

1. You pay a base fee of $20 that includes unlimited talk and text. Then you pay $10 per 1GB for data.
2. You pay for data you only used. You will be credited for unused data which you can use on your next bill. If you exceed your planned data usage, you will only pay for the excess with the same rate unlike in other networks where you will be charged a fixed $10 for extra 1GB even if you don't consume all of it.
3. Project Fi uses 3 network providers and it will route your call over whichever network will provide you with the strongest connection. And if you start a call over Wi-Fi and then your connection weakens or drops, Project Fi seamlessly transitions your call to a cellular network (if one is available) so you can keep talking.
4. You can get a data-only SIM for free and use it on a different device and that device will use the same data allotted for your Project Fi account.
5. You can make your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot with no extra charges. Data for a Wi-Fi hotspot or tethering all comes out of your data budget. It’s $10/GB just like data on your phone.
6. You can receive and make phone calls/text from your GMail account you associated your Project Fi with. That's so convenient for texting.
7. Voice mails are transcribed so in some cases where the caller spoke English clearly you wouldn't have to listen to your voice mails at all as you can read them.
8. Fast and helpful customer service. Enough said.

My phone is Nexus 6P which is one of the compatible devices with Project Fi and I'm also very satisfied with it. They said that it was the best Android phone when it came out last year. Here's its 2016 review:

What I personally like about Nexus 6P:

1. I like the finger print scanner (located on the back of the phone) that unlocks the phone almost instantly.
2. Nexus devices get the first Android updates from Google. I've heard that Android 7.0 Nougat is officially available on Nexus devices but I haven't got the OTA (over-the-air) update yet. I'm excited to get Nougat on my phone!
3. No bloatware or pre-installed apps.
4. Charges fast using the included USB Type-C Charger and it lets you know how long a full charge would take. I also bought a car charger (Tronsmart 33W Dual USB Car Charger with Quick Charge 3.0 Technology) that also charges the phone quickly. Not all USB Type-C chargers may charge Nexus 6P quickly but the car charger I bought works as advertised.
5. I like the Photo Assistant that can make movies, animation, collage out of your photos.
6. Unlocked device so you can use it with any cellular network.
7. High-end device without high-end price tag. At par with (or better than?) iPhone 6s.
8. This is not specific to Nexus devices but I like using "Ok Google" using voice commands to set reminders and alarms, open apps or search for anything I want to know quickly.

How about you? What cellular network provider and smartphone do you use and are you satisfied with their service/device? Please let us know in your replies and comments below.

[William]

Man, I am using an old flip phone still. I need a smart phone, and in around six months will be making a purchase. We are using At&t as our current carrier, but I'm glad you made this post because I didn't know a thing about the Project Fi or Nexus phone. I want to stay away from Apple, but looking towards an Android based phone. I thought I had a phone picked out, the Samsung Note, but it's catching fire according to my local news. Last thing I need is my only backups on my home computer burning down with the rest of the house!

Enjoy,
William

[glennrocksvb]

I was also using AT&T with a 21% corporate discount before I switched to Project Fi and I'm still paying less with Fi.

[glennrocksvb]

William, there's a CloudFlare outage which affected my site. I had to pause CloudFlare to have my site up. Your site seems to be affected too.

[glennrocksvb]

I've heard that Android 7.0 Nougat is officially available on Nexus devices but I haven't got the OTA (over-the-air) update yet. I'm excited to get Nougat on my phone!

I just got Android 7.0 Nougat update on my Nexus 6P! I haven't fully explored the new features yet but I like the Split screen feature, revamped Notification Tray with inline reply (no need to open the app to reply to messsages) and the data and battery saver. Here's a good review on what's new with Nougat.

[glennrocksvb]

Update: Google Fi now has a Group plan. The group plan allows up to six people to be under just one plan for as low as just $15 per month, as opposed to the regular plan of $20 per month for the Fi Basics. It contains the same things like unlimited call and text and it also switches across the same three carriers that they use. You also get the same data arrangement, which is you have the same $10/GB rate and you only get to pay for the GB that you actually use in that period. There are also no commitments or contracts so members in the group plan may come and leave.

More info at:

https://blog.google/products/project-fi/introducing-project-fis-group-plan/

[glennrocksvb]

Fast and helpful customer service. Enough said.

I've been using Google Fi for 6 months and I'm very satisfied with their service. And I've contacted their customer service twice to ask about sudden surge of 1.2 GB and 1GB of my data usage in 2 separate instances. Without questions asked, they gave me credit for both for the corresponding amount based on their data rate, which are $22 and $20 respectively.