This is something I have wanted to do for some time, but when Google Project Fi was announced the phones were, well, completely underwhelming.
I finally managed to get a decent deal on the Google Pixel XL 128GB which took about 10 days of scouring ebay, Amazon and the Google store. Eventually, I found a new one (white) for about the same price as one sells for on the Google store shipped.
For those who are not familiar with Google Project Fi it is a service by Google that uses Sprint and T-Mobile networks (in the US) plus Wi-Fi to deliver phone and data service. The big "gotcha" is that as of today you have the option of last year's Nexus devices or the Pixel / Pixel XL. The Pixel XL I think is usable. The service will mean that I will miss out on new phones. I have been upgrading Samsung phones annually since ditching the Blackberry and trading in the Motorola Atrix back in the day. The Atrix was ahead of its time with a fingerprint reader and a docking station.
I had been with AT&T since 2005 and PacBell likely since around 2001 so this was a big move. Perhaps the biggest advantage of Project Fi is that my monthly bill will be about half of what it was on AT&T just for domestic usage.
I have already done one international trip this year and have four other international trips planned over the next quarter and a half. AT&T's international voice and data pricing is extremely high after leaving the big firm umbrella (where it was included.) That meant that when traveling abroad I needed to either: pay a lot for AT&T, spend a bit more and get a local SIM, or use Wi-Fi only for days at a time. Folks like @GuybrushThreepwood who I met in Asia experienced me on a local SIM which was OK at best.
I am keeping a Google Project Fi experience thread.
Day 0 - Initial Setup Notes
I finally managed to get a decent deal on the Google Pixel XL 128GB which took about 10 days of scouring ebay, Amazon and the Google store. Eventually, I found a new one (white) for about the same price as one sells for on the Google store shipped.
For those who are not familiar with Google Project Fi it is a service by Google that uses Sprint and T-Mobile networks (in the US) plus Wi-Fi to deliver phone and data service. The big "gotcha" is that as of today you have the option of last year's Nexus devices or the Pixel / Pixel XL. The Pixel XL I think is usable. The service will mean that I will miss out on new phones. I have been upgrading Samsung phones annually since ditching the Blackberry and trading in the Motorola Atrix back in the day. The Atrix was ahead of its time with a fingerprint reader and a docking station.
I had been with AT&T since 2005 and PacBell likely since around 2001 so this was a big move. Perhaps the biggest advantage of Project Fi is that my monthly bill will be about half of what it was on AT&T just for domestic usage.
I have already done one international trip this year and have four other international trips planned over the next quarter and a half. AT&T's international voice and data pricing is extremely high after leaving the big firm umbrella (where it was included.) That meant that when traveling abroad I needed to either: pay a lot for AT&T, spend a bit more and get a local SIM, or use Wi-Fi only for days at a time. Folks like @GuybrushThreepwood who I met in Asia experienced me on a local SIM which was OK at best.
I am keeping a Google Project Fi experience thread.
Day 0 - Initial Setup Notes
- Phone unboxed to data transferred (via direct attach cable) took about 8 minutes from my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. I wish I could have kept the Samsung! The transfer seems to have missed my 128GB MicroSD card data so that will need to be loaded.
- It took me about 9 tries to port my number out. I confused my passcode for my password.
- The Project Fi application was actually great in getting this done. User error on my part.
- When porting my number over, the website and in-app page said 1-2 business days. In reality, it was about 30 seconds after remembering my passcode
- My AT&T account was closed after porting my number out
- Android 7 is awesome
- The first call was from my wife to my phone to test the number ported over.
- The second call was to AT&T. I thought I needed to call to cancel.
- The third call was for work and audio quality/ reception seems fine.