Goodbye T-Mobile-Hello Google Fi

[I<3oil]

They are called virtual service providers. Each buy minutes from 1 of the 3 providers and then resell those minutes to consumers.

US Cellular doesn't. And ATT was already listed.

 

[alarmguy]

What about Dish Network, ATT, and US Cellular?

They are called virtual service providers. Each buy minutes from 1 of the 3 providers and then resell those minutes to consumers.

Not correct, there are 5 Mobile network providers in the USA -
Dish Wireless (AKA boost mobile) you will be hearing more and more, part of the deal with the T-Mobile Acquisition of Sprint.

List of mobile network operators in the United States - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[volk06]

I'm thinking of switching to US Mobile after our Visible $15 credit per line ends in a few months. My understanding is they run priority on Verizon if it is a 5G device and T-MOBILE is not prioritized on their network.
Their $25 dollar plan is a great deal especially with priority data, international calling, hot spot and all taxes and fees included.

US Mobile has been great. They have an excellent reddit and their chat/phone customer service has been excellent thus far. It also works great for our ipad air 2, and they're getting apple watch support later this year, which is rare with MNVOs.

 

[alarmguy]

US Mobile has been great. They have an excellent reddit and their chat/phone customer service has been excellent thus far. It also works great for our ipad air 2, and they're getting apple watch support later this year, which is rare with MNVOs.

If I went back to a MNVO I would still be tempted to go back to our family tried and true RedPocket as we get to pick which of the three networks that we want. But this sounds like another great deal based on your feedback. Yeah, the Apple thing is big I think for a MNVO

 

[k1xv]

In the USA, Google FI mostly rides on the T-Mobile network. I have been on Google FI for years. The only downside is you basically pay for all mobile data coming from the cell towers. Wifi data is free. IF you are a light user of mobile data, like me, one phone is only around $25 a month.

 

[Cropduster172]

In the USA, Google FI mostly rides on the T-Mobile network. I have been on Google FI for years. The only downside is you basically pay for all mobile data coming from the cell towers. Wifi data is free. IF you are a light user of mobile data, like me, one phone is only around $25 a month.

I took the Simply Unlimited plan...35 gb data before throttling. I doubt any of us will hit that number. If we do, I'll up the plan yo Unlimited Plus. Will still save substantially over T-Mobile. It's $80 all in for 3 lines.
And yet another annoyance with T-Mobile...I called them to closeout the account and remove my debit card data...oh no, since I don't recall the PIN for the account, I need to go into a T-Mobile store to do that. I'll just report my debit card as lost to Wells Fargo and be done with it.

 

[Rand]

I received a mailer from Google Fi Wireless today. I didn't know this was even a thing before today.

My offer shows $160/mo plus taxes and fees for a 4-line unlimited family plan, with a "free" Google Pixel 8 phone. I'm assuming taxes and fees would bring the total up to $180/mo or more.

No thanks.

I'll keep my $125/mo 5-line unlimited family plan from Cricket. That's an all-in price as well. No extra taxes or fees.

your mailer must be bad marketing.. its 80$ for 4 lines with unlimited which includes unlimited and canada+ mexico
with taxes about $86
if you wanted unlimited plus yes.. and a anchor to google fi for 24months to get a "free" pixel 8 pro which is actually costing you double the monthly fee...
that is a separate deal.

also includes free service for smartwatches(one per line) if you have the LTE model of Samsung 5/6 or pixel watch 2

 

[alarmguy]

your mailer must be bad marketing.. its 80$ for 4 lines with unlimited which includes unlimited and canada+ mexico

if you wanted unlimited plus yes.. its more. with taxes about $86

also includes free service for smartwatches(one per line) if you have the LTE model of Samsung 5/6 or pixel watch 2

View attachment 185260

$80 includes the free Pixel 8? and taxes?

 

[Cropduster172]

your mailer must be bad marketing.. its 80$ for 4 lines with unlimited which includes unlimited and canada+ mexico

if you wanted unlimited plus yes.. its more. with taxes about $86

also includes free service for smartwatches(one per line) if you have the LTE model of Samsung 5/6 or pixel watch 2

View attachment 185260

Seems the more lines on a plan the better the deal. 4 lines cost the same as 3. Unlimited Plus is tempting because of 100GB of storage.
This Pixel 7a is my first phone in years without an SD card slot.I could also start calling and bugging my German friends with no long distance charges

 

[Rand]

$80 includes the free Pixel 8? and taxes?

I edited my post to make it more clear.

Seems the more lines on a plan the better the deal. 4 lines cost the same as 3. Unlimited Plus is tempting because of 100GB of storage.
This Pixel 7a is my first phone in years without an SD card slot.I could also start calling and bugging my German friends with no long distance charges

even silly-er 2 lines is also $80

previously 2 lines was 80 3 for 75 or 4 for 80.

unless you have a real value in the extra features of unlimited plus..
the unlimited plan is a better deal.

For current FI members they offer the pixel 8 for $400 with no boat anchor 24month contract. (have to keep service 120 days)
the 8 pro for $599 same terms.

 

[Cropduster172]

I think you're right. The Simply Unlimited is just fine.
I chose the Pixel 7a because I like the slightly smaller size.

 

[javacontour]

Not correct, there are 5 Mobile network providers in the USA -
Dish Wireless (AKA boost mobile) you will be hearing more and more, part of the deal with the T-Mobile Acquisition of Sprint.

List of mobile network operators in the United States - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yes, Dish got some of Sprint's assets during the Sprint/TMO deal.

oilBabe is on Boost Infinite.

We brought her iPhone 15 PM, so we get their "Smart Network" using ATT, TMO and their own Dish towers for $25/month. Yes, we did the BYOD and got the "Rainbow SIM."

It's been working well for her since October 2023.

 

[Thermo1223]

I gave Fi another try but no one can pin point why the phone is so slow at times when I haven't even hit 50% of the data cap. I personally think T-Mobile has tower issues in my area and are deprioritizing users on their network who aren't "actual" T-Mobile customers. I say this because the kids/wife phones do not have this issue as they are actual T-Mobile customers. I barely get 5Mpbs down at times.

 

[Rand]

I gave Fi another try but no one can pin point why the phone is so slow at times when I haven't even hit 50% of the data cap. I personally think T-Mobile has tower issues in my area and are deprioritizing users on their network who aren't "actual" T-Mobile customers. I say this because the kids/wife phones do not have this issue as they are actual T-Mobile customers. I barely get 5Mpbs down at times.

What phone?
Fi has a deal right now an s23 for $299
I have been with fi for years- Had them but the $10/GB priced me out.. then went back with the new unlimited pricing.
Even at my cabin its usable if a tiny bit worse than verizon. (verizon is spotty there too)
Tmobile towers are immensely better than 5-7 years ago near me.

 

[Thermo1223]

What phone?
Fi has a deal right now an s23 for $299
I have been with fi for years- Had them but the $10/GB priced me out.. then went back with the new unlimited pricing.
Even at my cabin its usable if a tiny bit worse than verizon. (verizon is spotty there too)
Tmobile towers are immensely better than 5-7 years ago near me.

Pixel 7 initially from VZW, I gave it a try in its infancy back what I had a Pixel 3xl. It's weird, all their iPhones pull great all the time. There are times when my speed will skyrocket but then it is short lived. We have full 5G coverage here. I am however getting constant e-mails about tower maintenance on the T-Mobile side.

Like I said resets galore and no help on the Fi side, meh I'll try Visible.

 

[Rand]

I've had numerous problems with verizon phones on fi, and with fi phones on verzion.
Not saying thats it.

Others worked fine.

 

[Bill7]

I live in a very rural "middle of nowhere" country home. I've tried T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.

I've gotten the best service with AT&T. Also my neighbors also all have AT&T, as they say it has the best service by far in our town.
Verizon is decent but has fewer bars and more dead zones in most areas where I live.
T-Mobile is totally inadequate for my area - more dead zones than service zones.

I will most likely stay with AT&T for the rest of my life. No desire to ever switch. Price is low for my plan, and service is very reliable and strong.

 

[Thermo1223]

I've had numerous problems with verizon phones on fi, and with fi phones on verzion.
Not saying thats it.

Others worked fine.

Actually, I had to think about that for a second, my 5 came from the Verizon. My 7 & 3xl were directly from Google. So it can't be that either.

 

[RTexasF]

Google Fi = T-Mobile if you have an iPhone. Android, the cell provider is usually T-Mobile but can be others.

There are only three cell providers in the US:
- Verizon
- AT&T
- T-Mobile (Deutsche Telefone)

All other cell companies buy huge amount of minutes from one of these providers at a large discount, and then sell minutes at higher prices to make money.

Google Fi is only T-Mobile. They started with 3 carriers but now is only one.

 

[RTexasF]

We recently switched to US Mobile. They run off of Tmobile or Verizon towers. Priority data too. $25/month for unlimited data ( 30gb priority) and 5gb hot spot. We haven't noticed any difference from post paid Verizon.

I've used Fi in the past but with recent changes, they're not as good around here anymore. T-Mobile is great in the cities and interstates but poor in the rural areas.

I live in a very rural area (in the sticks) and oddly enough I get a full 5G signal from TM (Google Fi) in my living room. In the little town about 10 miles away the signal is iffy to nonexistent. Go figure.