[Phone Stuff] Project Fi just got extremely viable for pretty much everyone

Mook

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https://www.androidcentral.com/project-fi-bill-protection-unlimited-plan

Fi now has unlimited plans (technically) capped at $80/month. Read on for more.

Downside is you still technically need a google branded phone.

So here's how it works. From the start, everything is the same as it always has been. You pay $10 per month for each gigabyte of data you use, and any data you don't use you aren't charged for. But with Bill Protection, once you hit 6GB of data, or $80 for the month ($20 "Fi Basics" + $60 of data), your bill is capped — but you continue to get data service, just like a flat-rate unlimited plan from other carriers.

Really, it's the best of both worlds. In months when you use less than 6GB of data, you only pay for the data you used — and your bill is going to be lower than it would be with an unlimited plan from any other carrier. If you have a heavy month of usage and you crest over 6GB, it's all included and billed as a flat $80. Not only does that $80 figure line up nicely with the competition, but it also is effectively much lower since most unlimited plan users don't actually use over 6GB of data per month every single month.

The only catch, as is always the case with "unlimited" plans, is that Project Fi does start to throttle speeds once you've hit 15GB of data usage for the month. At that point, your speeds drop to 256kbps. Somewhat counteracting that is the ability to switch back to full speed if you want to start paying again, at the usual rate of $10 per gigabyte. Other carriers start to throttle in the 15-25GB range (save for T-Mobile, which is even higher), and often don't offer any sort of full-speed buyout option, so it seems like a fine compromise to me. That 15GB of data usage on Fi used to cost you $170 for the month, too — and now it's just $80.

For anyone who regularly uses lots of data, say 10GB per month, Project Fi is now merely competitive with the big four U.S. carriers — and even a tad more expensive, depending on what promotions and how many lines you have. But I say that Bill Protection is "highly competitive" because no matter what you may think, a majority of people don't actually use that much data. They may use 6GB+ a couple months out of the year, but the rest of the time they're using less but still paying the same amount for an unlimited plan. In these cases, Project Fi is cheaper than the competition, and now with Bill Protection those people also won't be scared of using data when they need to.
 

sickmint79

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apparently you can just register a sim in a google branded phone and use it in others, although apparently that limits some functionality; exactly what, i do not know.

fi is great. i land (virtually) anywhere in the world, and the phone is working before i'm off the plane. i call the US via voip over the hangouts dialer, and the call is free (slash data cost, if i'm having to pay for the data). my bills:

jSrW2hp.png
 

sickmint79

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I think you lose MMS and WiFi calling, along with maybe the entire Sprint side of things? I can't remember. I tried it a while ago and it kind of sucked.

did it not direct your texts to hangouts?

if i use the regular call option, the phone will decide to use cell or data/voip. you have to download the hangouts dialer separately, bringing it up instead allows you to always force a voip call. not sure how often that's needed, i'm in the philippines now and it's a good idea to do it here though.

i imagine trying in a non-approved phone works a lot better on an android one than an iphone.
 

EmersonHart13

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i've got wifi at work and home plus there's always an xfinity wifi hotspot i auto connect to wherever i go. my data usage pretty much stays under .2gb.
i pay less per month for my plan, data, and phone payment vs verizon phone plan only. :fy:

Oh yeah, xfinity hot spots are awesome... That and Google's wifi assistant helps out too.
 

ragingclue

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did it not direct your texts to hangouts?

if i use the regular call option, the phone will decide to use cell or data/voip. you have to download the hangouts dialer separately, bringing it up instead allows you to always force a voip call. not sure how often that's needed, i'm in the philippines now and it's a good idea to do it here though.

i imagine trying in a non-approved phone works a lot better on an android one than an iphone.

Cannot remember TBH but I think so.... I tried it on an Android device and IIRC Hangouts (and its dialer) made some of it bearable. I tried on a WP10 device and, as expected, it was shit. No idea on the Apple stuff but the articles seem to indicate it's no bueno as well.
 

EmersonHart13

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Just got the email:

Here's how it works:

Never pay more than $100 for data. With Bill Protection, your group of 2 will enjoy free data after 10 GB for the rest of the cycle.

How Bill Protection impacts your plan
Once your group of 2 has used 10 GB, you'll get free data for the rest of the cycle. Until then, you'll pay the same $10/GB of data that you've paid in the past.

You'll no longer pay upfront for your group's data. Instead, you'll pay for the data you've used at the end of your billing cycle.

Any individual on your group who uses more than 15 GB of data in a cycle (under 1% of current Project Fi users) will experience slower data speeds for the rest of the cycle. These slower speeds will not impact other members on the plan. Once anyone on your plan uses 15 GB, they can opt out of slower data speeds by choosing to pay $10/GB for data above 15 GB and getting in touch with our support team.

If you're using group repay, you'll see new options for payment amounts.

Works a bit different for group plans
 

Mook

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Original Pixel XL. I have the 2 XL now. In all honesty, I havent found too much difference in using both :rofl: The camera is better in the 2 but only randomly...the screen has much small bezels and has a thinner profile....but in terms of performance, you wont notice anything different.
 

RICH17

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Original Pixel XL. I have the 2 XL now. In all honesty, I havent found too much difference in using both :rofl: The camera is better in the 2 but only randomly...the screen has much small bezels and has a thinner profile....but in terms of performance, you wont notice anything different.


Thanks [MENTION=5]Mook[/MENTION] for the personal review. I need to upgrade and am going to use it a lot for video I think. what size is yours? 64gb? And i dont have a chance but is there expandable memory?
 
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