Arative
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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How much cash would you be saving if you are on the $30 unlimited data plan?
Smartphones
- Thread starter Denamian
- Start date
Arative
Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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- 4,617
Verizon's plan. I'm on the unlimited data plan with them and its $30 a month. So if you use 5 to 10 gigs a month, I was curious how it would save you money if you're on the same unlimited data plan that I'm on.
Selix
Lord Nagafen Raider
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Lanx
<Prior Amod>
- 61,307
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holy wtf, shitballs verizon customer service. I'm on the verizonwireless account page and looking at bill/charges/upgrading, so the "chat for help" shit pops up and i go, why not. I ask her about the more every shit plan(that's how they condensed it, to just this). and it's basically 40bucks per line and 40bucks for 2gb of shared data.
Basically a 2x price hike of the google fi.
that's like 120 before taxes for 2 phones, i'm already paying 140 after taxes so theres no fucking difference.
She wants to check my account so i give her the name/phone number
then this bitch asks for my password
i'm like, bitch i'm not giving you my password, thats the first rule of password security wtf is wrong with you? ask me for my address or social
She can only take my PW, which of course sounds dumb, even if i was absolutely sure it wasn't some off shore tech support by a goat fucker named habib instead of fucking susan, i still wouldn't give it out for obvious reasons.
she's like "the chat is very secure, and she hasn't had an issue where a customer doesn't give out the password"
i'm like, fuck you, here's your first time then.
what kind of dumb shit gives out their password?
Basically a 2x price hike of the google fi.
that's like 120 before taxes for 2 phones, i'm already paying 140 after taxes so theres no fucking difference.
She wants to check my account so i give her the name/phone number
then this bitch asks for my password
i'm like, bitch i'm not giving you my password, thats the first rule of password security wtf is wrong with you? ask me for my address or social
She can only take my PW, which of course sounds dumb, even if i was absolutely sure it wasn't some off shore tech support by a goat fucker named habib instead of fucking susan, i still wouldn't give it out for obvious reasons.
she's like "the chat is very secure, and she hasn't had an issue where a customer doesn't give out the password"
i'm like, fuck you, here's your first time then.
what kind of dumb shit gives out their password?
earthfell
Golden Knight of the Realm
- 730
- 145
Yep that's Verizon. I should have my Google Fi set up by Monday. We had to shell out the $1k for phones, but it will be shocking going from Verizon's $200 a month to Google's $40-60 a month, depending on how much data we use.
Verizon's prices *always* are more expensive than advertised. Taxes, fees, etc.
Verizon's prices *always* are more expensive than advertised. Taxes, fees, etc.
Palum
what Suineg set it to
- 23,811
- 34,720
The data part is. Unlimited everything runs like 130-140 with no discounts. I have some dumb other shit and a plan discount from work, I pay about 100 for unlimited data, 450 min voice and unlimited messaging. I have to swap up to 900 min or unlimited voice some months because of work but rarely use that much.
Those of you on GoogleFi post your experiences with the data service in your area and how well it switches around when you move out of the cities.
jeydax
Death and Taxes
- 1,395
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I live in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. I've been using the service for about a week now and have traveled about an hour west outside of the cities while visiting some family over the 4th. I'll use scales of 1-10 for my experience with 1 being utter shit and 10 being as perfect as it could possibly be.
So far here has been experience with data: 7.5
Elaboration
Data speeds have been in the 5-30 range when I've tested them on SpeedTest but they've been consistent. I think this is because Fi chooses the best signal strength over signal speed (I could be wrong, just what I've read). The reason I knock it down a couple notches is the coverage obviously isn't as great as Verizon's and the speed is just slightly slower. Now, having said that, I've had LTE coverage everywhere I went save for a very small spot while driving out to the aforementioned family gathering in an area that clearly is marked on their map as having LTE coverage (it switched me to 3G speeds). I was out in the middle of a lake for about 6 hours fishing and never lost LTE coverage which was pleasant. I was streaming music/radio the whole time and only had it blip out for a few seconds on me once.
A Blurb About Open WiFi Networks
I am absolutely sold on their ability to setup encrypted connections to open WiFi networks around you. Several times now I'll notice that my Nexus 6/Fi phone has automatically connected me to an open wifi through an encrypted connection, which is pretty slick, and the speeds on the open wifi have been faster/stronger signals than the LTE connection I'd previously had (eg my LTE would speed test at 6 Mbps and the open wifi was 9-15 Mbps depending on which one I was one). My relatives allowed me to tinker with their router to set it up as an open network to test that it would do the same thing for residential connections and like clock work it connected me to the open network through the encrypted connection - so that is definitely something I'm really happy to see.
Call Quality/Dropped Calls?
So far I must say that if I were to give Verizon a 9 for call quality, then my verdict for Fi would be about a 7-8. It could be placebo since I'm paying attention more but it just seems like Verizon's was a touch better. That said, I've not dropped any calls when switching off of Wifi to carrier connection and I've always been able to hear the person I'm talking to clearly and I've been asking them how I sound and so far so good.
Project Fi's Support is Fantastic
When I activated my phone, I accidentally used my old Google Voice number instead of my old Verizon number. I called up Project Fi, and within about 2 minutes they ported my old phone over. I realized I'd accidentally released my Google Voice number back to the wild, called back, and was told they would get the number back to me through one of my other Google accounts. The woman I spoke to (Ashley if that means anything) said she'd follow up with me every day until it was resolved and she told me it could take 4-5 days to do it. I figured she was BSing me because 1) it is the 4th and she said it was her favorite holiday and 2) have you ever had that good of support on anything? Well sure as shit I've received emails every day from Project Fi since. She brought someone else on to follow up for her over the weekend (so a guy named Tim emailed me from Fi saying he'd be covering for her until Monday) and gave me an update where things were at. That blew me away - someone tells you it is by far their favorite holiday and then they have the wherewithal to have someone cover for them and actually follow through on that promise? Their support gets an A+ from me so far.
"Final" Thoughts
I'll try and keep the thread updated with my experiences as I use the services more and more but so far it has been a seamless transition. I know my LTE and overall coverage will not be as good as Verizon's has been but considering I've been paying roughly $100~ to Verizon for 450 minutes of talk, unlimited text, and 2 GB of data, the savings will be more than worth it. The coverage issue will be 50% covered by a wifi connection and the other 50% are not worth $60 to me. I can only imagine how great the open WiFi thing would be for people who live in New York/LA/San Fran/Boston/etc. I rarely go into downtown Minneapolis or Saint Paul but even the few I've been auto-connected to have been seamless and great. Totally unrelated to the Project Fi service/carrier itself but having a Nexus 6 and rooting the phone was stupid simple - getting rid of ads alone was a huge huge bonus to me. I would definitely recommend the service to anyone who lives/works even relatively close to a city as that has been my experience so far.
Crone
Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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This open wifi thing, how does it work? Is your phone already setup for it?
If I got an invite, can my wife also get in on the service too if we were to both switch from Verizon?
Can you bring your own Nexus 6? Assumption being I buy some used Nexus 6 phones to try and save some upfront costs on new phones.
Thanks!
If I got an invite, can my wife also get in on the service too if we were to both switch from Verizon?
Can you bring your own Nexus 6? Assumption being I buy some used Nexus 6 phones to try and save some upfront costs on new phones.
Thanks!
wamphyr
Molten Core Raider
- 644
- 539
Let me use this opportunity to brag about the only thing that goes well in my ass-backwards almost third-world country, which is, surprisingly, internet and telephony.
We have this great Internet Provider / Cable Company / Phone Carrier Company, a true monolith, called RCS-RDS.
One company providing cable Television, internet access and mobile phone services.
Unlimited national phone plan in any national network with unlimited data transfer - 2 Euros / month.
5 mb /s unlimited internet connection for PCs - 3 Euros / month
HBO HD + HBO Comedy HD + 100 other national television channel - 25 euros / month.
Sure, the average national salary is around 350 euros / month, but still, I am happy I have cheaper and better Internet than in US and even than in most of Europe.
We have this great Internet Provider / Cable Company / Phone Carrier Company, a true monolith, called RCS-RDS.
One company providing cable Television, internet access and mobile phone services.
Unlimited national phone plan in any national network with unlimited data transfer - 2 Euros / month.
5 mb /s unlimited internet connection for PCs - 3 Euros / month
HBO HD + HBO Comedy HD + 100 other national television channel - 25 euros / month.
Sure, the average national salary is around 350 euros / month, but still, I am happy I have cheaper and better Internet than in US and even than in most of Europe.
First month of Project Fi is officially down. I received a $16 credit for unused data putting my bill at $27.
I do not have as thorough of a breakdown as Jeydax, but here is my perspective so far. I am also in the Minneapolis / St. Paul region. Coverage has never been a problem in populated / semi populated areas. I do not run speed tests, only anecdotal, 'when I need data it is there'.
Over the 4th weekend I traveled into Siren, WI. This was the only time I had connectivity problems. We were at a cabin near Clam Lake and my phone was roaming most of the time. There were a few areas where I had pretty good LTE speeds, but it was hit or miss. The interesting part is my wife (T-mobile) was dead in the water, I was partially working (Fi) and my in-laws were both fine (ATT / Verizon). So, while I had better coverage than if I were just to have T-Mobile, it is still worse in remote areas.
I have not had any call quality problems that I would associate with Fi directly. I would say it is around the same as I was getting when I was just on T-Mobile. Most likely since I am still utilizing their network.
The open WiFi / VPN connection feature is nice and I have noticed it a few times. The only gripe I have that I just haven't taken the time to figure out is that for 'sign in' networks like Target, etc. I seem to have lost the ability to get to their sign in pages where I could before.
As for the phone itself, I never would have gotten a 6" phone if I wasn't forced. However, I am pretty used to the Nexus 6 and it is a great phone. It definitely killed my tablet usage as the 6 is 'big enough' for casual couch browsing and such. Battery life has been great, I don't have to worry about charging during the day unless I have heavy use. Even if I do have to charge the 'quick charge' feature gets me all I will need to finish out the day in under 30 minutes.
I do not have as thorough of a breakdown as Jeydax, but here is my perspective so far. I am also in the Minneapolis / St. Paul region. Coverage has never been a problem in populated / semi populated areas. I do not run speed tests, only anecdotal, 'when I need data it is there'.
Over the 4th weekend I traveled into Siren, WI. This was the only time I had connectivity problems. We were at a cabin near Clam Lake and my phone was roaming most of the time. There were a few areas where I had pretty good LTE speeds, but it was hit or miss. The interesting part is my wife (T-mobile) was dead in the water, I was partially working (Fi) and my in-laws were both fine (ATT / Verizon). So, while I had better coverage than if I were just to have T-Mobile, it is still worse in remote areas.
I have not had any call quality problems that I would associate with Fi directly. I would say it is around the same as I was getting when I was just on T-Mobile. Most likely since I am still utilizing their network.
The open WiFi / VPN connection feature is nice and I have noticed it a few times. The only gripe I have that I just haven't taken the time to figure out is that for 'sign in' networks like Target, etc. I seem to have lost the ability to get to their sign in pages where I could before.
As for the phone itself, I never would have gotten a 6" phone if I wasn't forced. However, I am pretty used to the Nexus 6 and it is a great phone. It definitely killed my tablet usage as the 6 is 'big enough' for casual couch browsing and such. Battery life has been great, I don't have to worry about charging during the day unless I have heavy use. Even if I do have to charge the 'quick charge' feature gets me all I will need to finish out the day in under 30 minutes.
jeydax
Death and Taxes
- 1,395
- 870
The phone is automatically setup to do it.
They do not have a family or group plan as of right now, so you'd have different bills but yes she could move over obviously.
Yes, you can bring your own Nexus 6.