I’ve been a long-time user of Google Fi, and I remember when it first launched – it felt like a peek into the future of telco. The seamless international data coverage, private VPN, integration of multiple networks and straightforward pricing were all groundbreaking at the time. But lately, it seems like GoogleFi has fallen off the radar. Especially when it comes to customer support.
I’ve been imagining what a technologically advanced carrier might include. Enhanced protection for your primary number with complimentary burner numbers? Satellite connectivity? Improved SIM swap protection?
It’s like Google Fi hit a technological plateau. What happened to the innovation and competitive edge it once had.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts and whether you feel the same.
I used fi at the invite process and for nearly 5 years following. Took a break to use verizon and came back.
Fi previously–for me–was way too unreliable and buggy and almost required being a tech enthusiast to work with support to resolve issues. It was truly a beta experience. Many of my issues always tied back to the Sprint cellular network despite having excellent coverage by both tmo and sprint.
Since about mid 2021, we went back to using them and it’s been a much better experience. For me it just works and the value for the service is good.
That’s all we want from a cellular provider.
As for sim swap protection, this is inherent to Fi using your google account credentials. A Fi number has to be activated via a google account; there’s no simple sim swap scam that would work. Physical sim cards are not provisioned until inserting into a phone and activating through the fi app.
As for technologically advanced, I think they’re ahead of most carriers these days. If you want to switch service between phones it’s so simple and quick, just sign into the Fi app and you’re off. Managing account features and settings is painless and can be done from the web or app. They integrate account manager features for group users. There’s a FI VPN for folks who need that sort of thing.
They are also ahead of the game when it comes to web-enabled service. I don’t know of other cellular providers that have a similar feature, where you can text or message from the web, without even your phone being on.
As for the technological plateau, I don’t know how much more there is to advance in ways that a majority of paying customers would care about. At some point the benefit to continuing to develop things doesn’t end up as a profitable endeavor.
Fi is a MVNO and I think Google reached the limits on what an MVNO can offer in terms of new technology. A bunch of the new advanced services (e.g. network slicing) is enterprise focused and / or requires full control of core and RAN. A MVNO generally piggy backs on carrier’s core and RAN. Google may have built or bought its own core but it still uses T-Mobile’s RAN.
I think the customer support situation probably reflects Google’s attitude towards Fi - not a priority. Fi launched in 2015 back when consumer wireless growth was in full swing. Fast forward to now, the consumer wireless market is saturated, and the industry switched focus to enterprise related wireless offerings.
The price is the main reason I keep using it. I travel international a lot, and the price model for traditional carriers more than doubles the regular bill. I have some issues from time to time when I land in a country, but it’s mostly worked seamlessly in 20+ countries throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada+MX
Customer service has always been bad. International service was never seamless. Multi-carrier support to choose the best carrier never worked to optimize your service, unless you actually cannot get reception from another in which case you were always on one carrier anyway.
You don’t see me complaining about customer service because I don’t talk to them. I have only contacted them once to port when my porting got stuck. And it was Fi’s problem, not me or my previous carrier.
International service has been great for me, not perfect and not seamless. I have had to toggle airplane mode or restart my phone to regain service overseas. On my previous trip it seemed like I had to do one of those every other day. I had two data sims with me, one in an iPhone one in a S22U… one of them had service, the other did not. Surprisingly, it was the S22U that did not have service.
And as far as personal experience, living in a major metro area, back before the merger, I was hopping between Sprint and TMobile fairly often which actually disrupted my use. And after the first year or two on Fi I was noticing that it was passing me to a carrier where reception was actually worse. Service is better now since it only uses TMobile.
For me, Fi has always seemed like a service that Google created to service itself, and decided to also get consumers to pay for part of it. A company with enough employees will always contract with a preferred vendor for business lines, and that was likely TMobile for its international footprint. Google could have really calculated that being an NVMO would be more advantageous than just buying service as a corporate customer.
I have had better service since they dropped US Cellular and T-Mobile buying Sprint. Yes, when Project Fi became Google Fi, customer service was transferred overseas just like many other companies have done. We forget this is an MVNO and not its own cellular company and has to pay others for their towers and data. As far as satellite technology, no one has accomplished that yet except for some small companies that you have to pay major dollars to use. SpaceX just launched satellites that may allow for eventual use for cellular calls so we’ll see. Google Fi is not for everyone but it more than suits my calling needs for an attractive price point.
It seems like you can have basic unlimited with no deprioritization on T-mobile’s network. If you are on basic unlimited on T-mobile, you get deprioritized. It seems like Fi is a good way to be on T-mobile at a reasonable price and no deprioritization.
Same thing that happens to every Google service that’s not an immediate hit in the market. They underfund it until enough users give up on it, then they say “no one is using it” and shut it down. I can’t imagine Fi being around in 2030, and that’s probably being generous.
Fi is a solid service but only if you are using the family pricing and you travel constantly. Other than that its overpriced and not very competitve. Their customer service is bottom of the barrell only slightly better than visible. But actual service is goof on tmobile. Never had an issue. Just felt like paying $75 a month for one line of service on a mvno was silly. Switched to US mobile. Been much happier with customer service and price. App is also way better on US mobile. IF Google Fi was $50 for their best plan with taxes included that would be a start.
I have not had any of the experience you’re talking about. I’ve been with Fi for 9 years. I’ve had nothing but good experiences with customer service. Adopted the family plan immediately as it came out. I’ve had to replace devices and it has been seamless. Sent in the Pixel 5a a few times for my family and they’ve sent the next gen 6a.
I use the unlimited plus and it’s been great. We all use the data SIMs and they are so fucking useful. We get free 100 GB Google One, 1 year YouTube premium, and we get a great VPN. My family and I love this service. It’s cost effective and great.
I love it for international. Never for data, as they’d shut me down. if I used it (long term nomad here). But having an american number that companies can 2FA text me on or call me on has been clutch in many situations. And Google Voice just won’t cut it (it’s blacklisted for many companies)
Network consolidation. T-Mobile bought Sprint, and U.S. Cellular dropped Fi. Between these two events, Fi became a T-Mobile excusive carrier. No more competitive edge there.
MVNO competition. When Fi was first launched, it was a great deal… compared to traditional plans. At this point, anyone using a traditional plan is basically doing it wrong. MVNOs have taken over, and that competition has pushed prices way further down while Fi has remained the same.
International unrest before and after the pandemic. Google dropped travel-oriented features due to the cost on their end. That put a lot of people out of connectivity at possibly the worst time in telecom history.
eSIM adoption. I honestly don’t know why it took so long for many phone manufacturers and carriers to adopt eSIM, but of course, as soon as Apple committed to it, lo and behold, suddenly everyone supports it. Another competitive edge lost for Google.
It’s kind of hard to imagine an “innovative” way forward for Fi. They’d be playing catch-up or pushing niche features, not lighting a fire under the industry like they used to. So instead, they’ve opted to push aggressive phone upgrade deals, which is a much easier marketing opportunity. “Yeah, Fi costs more per month, but I get a new phone every year basically for free.” In the end, that matters more to the average person. Lowest common denominator always wins when companies operate at Google’s scale.
You don’t really understand the product you’re complaining about. Fi has the best sim swap protection available. Satellite connectivity? Burner numbers? You’ve been watching too many movies. We’ve been with fi since the beginning, and migrating our family has saved us over $100 per month. That’s close to $10k over verizon since switching. The Nexus 6 wasn’t the greatest hardware, but it was fine for the time. Support, if you know how to engage and navigate it, has been nothing but reliable and helpful. Fi hasn’t fallen off any radar, but forced the market to start offering actual value to their customers. If you don’t like it, leave. There’s plenty of us that absolutely love it and don’t have complaints. PS: vpn wasn’t announced until 2018 and is still around. PPS: google has made concessions in MVNO contracts to keep the price point. Which other carriers haven’t raised their rates enough times to make a cable tv provider jealous? This sub has made it painfully clear that Fi simply isn’t for everyone.
