I’ve been fiercely evangelical about Project Fi since Google launched their cell phone service a few years ago. The plans have saved me a ton compared to a legacy mobile carrier, the un-throttled international coverage has been life-changing, and I adored the functionality and photo quality of my Pixel 2.
And because I’ve been so enthusiastic about the service, I think it’s important to update y’all about some recent experiences and research, along with why I am withdrawing my endorsement.
Like, 10/10 would not recommend. At all.
From a support perspective, Google Fi was not ready to expand
Project Fi recently rebranded to Google Fi, as part of an expansion that opened the platform to a few dozen more devices, including iPhones.
And I’m not sure all the components of that rapid growth were thought through.
My Pixel 3 is a little defective (or possibly a lemon). There are issues with calls dropping in locations where the Pixel 2 never had issues, the screen isn’t consistently responsive to touch feedback, the fingerprint reader is intermittent, and so forth. It happens, and I don’t feel like this is a failure of Fi — manufacturing just isn’t perfect.
Previously, whenever I had issues with my Pixel 2 or prior Fi-enabled devices, the third-party support center was phenomenal. I’ve had them help me with hardware issues, system issues, a phone that just wouldn’t connect to WiFi, or tethering that didn’t work when it was supposed to — every interaction was great, and resulted in the problem being solved.
Since November, this has not been the case. My calls and chats to support have gone nowhere, and the once-great support staff have been replaced (or supplemented) by random people using generic scripts. I’m sure the awesome trouble-shooters are still there, but the sampling I’ve seen doesn’t suggest pervasive competency.
I’m sure everything will eventually get resolved, and I have a lot of redundancy built in to my tech needs, but it’s super frustrating to have a brand-new phone not work as well as the device its replacing, and for tech support to be unhelpful about the whole thing.
Google Fi doesn’t function independently
I didn’t know this previously, because honestly — we all have better things to care about than the backend of a merchant’s payment processing systems. My Project Fi payments earned 5x points on my Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, and that was about the extent of my interest level.
- Earn 5% Cash Back at office supply stores
- Earn 5% Cash Back on internet, cable TV, mobile phones, and landlines
- Car Rental Coverage
- $0
- Earn 3x points on travel
- Earn 3x points on shipping purchases
- Cell Phone Protection
- $95
Turns out, anything run by Google that takes money goes through Google Payments at some point, which is fine when things are fine, but horrible when they’re not.
If Google Payments is broken, your entire Google ecosystem is broken
My husband has been dealing with this for the past five weeks, and it’s basically a tire fire.
He made a purchase through the Google Store (for a Pixel 3 during the travel promotion, but it could just as easily have been an in-app purchase, or premium content on YouTube, or literally anything where Google collects the money). There were some issues with the payment (Chase declined the initial transaction as suspicious due to some other fraud I’d had on the card that same day, but Google still shipped the phone instead of flagging the payment, and obviously that’s not how the exchange of money for goods is supposed to work), and the process of getting that figured out triggered a “security check” with Google Payments.
It’s important to note, however, that the exact circumstances don’t really matter.
From what I’ve since learned, if a card in your Google Pay is stolen, or someone uses your Payments account fraudulently, or anything happens that leads to a security flag being raised, it can lead to your Google Payments account being frozen.
And that can wreak havoc on your Google life.
If you can’t use Google Payments, you can’t pay for Google Fi
This, fundamentally, is why I can’t suggest anyone use Project Fi anymore.
My husband has always paid his Google Fi bill with his Ink Plus, and has nearly three years of on-time (automatic) payments. This is the only card linked to his account, and there’s no indication that the Fi and Payments accounts “talk”. So while we were fixing the issue with the Google Store (which was on a completely different card), we didn’t give any thought to how it might impact other services.
Until Fi suspended his service for non-payment.
And his Android/Google Pay stopped working.
And his ability to make YouTube purchases ended.
And all in-app purchases started failing.
And he could no longer use Hangouts to make calls.
You get the picture.
Getting this fixed is actually impossible, and I say that as someone who really, truly, loves solving problems and has made a living off getting phone agents to want to help me.
We have submitted copies of his ID four times, my ID twice, multiple photos of credit cards, and various credit card statements. We’ve talked to agents and supervisors at Google Payments and Google Fi. No one is empowered to do anything, and even a well-intentioned agent doesn’t get the same answer from the “security department” twice.
I’ve since found hundreds of comments and Reddit threads from people having similar experiences, with almost zero positive conclusions.
The only suggestion of a solution we’ve been given is that he abandon both his email address and phone number of the past twenty years and start fresh.
There is no way to escalate, no timeline for resolution, and until that secret department (which consumers aren’t allowed to talk to) finishes their process with Google Payments, you can’t pay your bill. Google Fi won’t restore service or allow your number to be ported out until the bill is paid, so around and around we go.
And this is the crux of the issue for me — at the end of the day, no matter how awful AT&T or Verizon are (and we’ve all had some awful experiences), they’ll take your money. You could walk into the store with a bag of coins or a stack of sweaty dollar bills, and they’d take your money.
So the simple fact that Google Fi can’t manage that is a deal-breaker for me. You’re either prepared to run a service business, or you’re not, and these recent experiences have reminded me that when it comes to Google (and other large tech companies) you have very little recourse when the Internet doesn’t “just work”.
And I don’t know that I feel comfortable putting an essential communication tool in the hands of a company that is taking this kind of approach.
Bottom line
To be clear, I’m not trying to get sympathy here — dealing with companies is often annoying, and that’s just part of being an adult. But when we’ve recommended a product or service to readers based on certain experiences, and circumstances change, I think it’s important to address it, especially when I haven’t otherwise had negatives to report.
It certainly hasn’t been convenient for my husband to not have phone service for weeks, but the realities of our life at this moment of time have meant it’s also not impossible. He telecommutes as well, and we spent most of the holidays together or with family, so he’s been around WiFi or with me (and able to tether off my phone) 95% of the time.
If it were me, not having a phone would be a non-starter, and I suspect the same is true for many of you. Of course if I was abroad I could buy a temporary SIM card and tether with my hotspot, or otherwise would work it out, but that shouldn’t be necessary when you are ready, able, and willing to pay a phone bill and the provider just can’t figure out how to process the payment.
Combined with the support experiences I’ve had, the deterioration of the service at Google Fi makes the platform feel very uncertain to me, and I just don’t feel comfortable recommending anyone else move over.
Beyond that, if you’re currently on Google Fi, and aren’t extremely nimble when it comes to managing your connectivity, you might want to think about moving back to a traditional carrier. You may pay a bit more, but unless you can guarantee that you will never have any issue that you might need Fi’s help with and would thus be inconvenienced by, it’s probably a worthwhile tradeoff.
Has anyone else had issues with Google Fi recently? Were you able to get them resolved?
I am in the process of cancelling my service with them. They refused to sell me a phone (!!!) and when I asked why the support told me it was for an unknown reason and hung up. I try to be as patient as possible with support staff, since I used to work IT tech support, but they are MISERABLE.
I went to the subreddit to ask if people had similar issues or could...
I am in the process of cancelling my service with them. They refused to sell me a phone (!!!) and when I asked why the support told me it was for an unknown reason and hung up. I try to be as patient as possible with support staff, since I used to work IT tech support, but they are MISERABLE.
I went to the subreddit to ask if people had similar issues or could help, and it was truly a 50/50 between annoyed customers and cultists. There are people who will swear up and down that the support is perfect, everything is perfect, everyone is just a hater.
It has been 5 years since this article was written and it has only gotten worse. They are extremely rude, will forget about you on hold, and hang up on you when they just don't want to bother anymore. Worst of all is that it is clear Google hired a 3rd party lowest bidder vendor, because the ones that do their best are hamstrung.
FI is only good if you are DESPERATE for a low cost plan, but even then there are better options.
I have had Google Fi since 2018 and travel fulltime. In 2023 they suspended data saying the TOS changed and I could no longer be out of the USA for more than 90 days. No in 2024 they are saying it is a worldwide issue that there is no cell or texting service for already a week. So, Google Fi suspended data and now cell and texting no longer works. What is there left of the service other than collecting money from subscribers?
Google FI might be forced to fix this if slapped with FCC complaints from everyone being prevented from paying their phone bill due to Google billing system issues.
I have had this terrible experience that, after following their suggestion to lave a family plan to create my own plus plan, I have been left without a phone number for a week because a "OR-CBAT-11' error for my payment. I chatted with them every day, the ticket was escalated four times. Each time someone replied and said that the issue has been resolved but the payment still would not go through. I cannot re-join...
I have had this terrible experience that, after following their suggestion to lave a family plan to create my own plus plan, I have been left without a phone number for a week because a "OR-CBAT-11' error for my payment. I chatted with them every day, the ticket was escalated four times. Each time someone replied and said that the issue has been resolved but the payment still would not go through. I cannot re-join my family plan because the status is "canceled", I cannot leave google fi because I do not want to lose my number... I am basically stuck here with no one being able to do anything.
I certainly did not expact such an issue and such incompetent tech support from this gigantic "tech" company.
I'm not convinced that their support chat isn't "manned" by an incompetent a.i. written by an equally incompetent coder. It couldn't answer simple questions like how much their chosen service repair store will charge me or where this store is located.
Google putting restrictions on iPhones and not providing full service to them is a deal breaker. Will never do business with any company who tries to force customers to use only their products or has restriction on their competitors.
Apple does precisely that with their text messages. If you've ever used an android device to receive a video sent via imessage, you'll understand. Tim Cook said "get your mom an iphone" or something similar. I just signed up for Fi when the Pixel 8 Pro came out and have had zero issues so far. Saving a ton. Fingers crossed.
I am a senior citizen who lives part time in another country outside the US. I have been very happy for Google Fi...and the cost is SOOOOOOOOO much less than our former "legacy" vendor. I think their support has been above average - and is easy to get to - even outside the US.
Just came across this in the process of looking into getting Google Fi out here in the boondocks. But the fact that payments are routed through Google Pay/Wallet/Whatev is enough to kill the whole idea for me. I've had exposure to Google's "help" when I had problems with Google Pay about 2 years ago and again with a Google home automation product several months ago. No joy (and no resolution) from Google for either. In...
Just came across this in the process of looking into getting Google Fi out here in the boondocks. But the fact that payments are routed through Google Pay/Wallet/Whatev is enough to kill the whole idea for me. I've had exposure to Google's "help" when I had problems with Google Pay about 2 years ago and again with a Google home automation product several months ago. No joy (and no resolution) from Google for either. In the former case, they wanted access to some ID and financial details that no one - including my bank and the state and federal government - has ever asked for and that I simply don't provide to anyone. In the latter case, there was zero live help available and the online chatbot just kept sending the same useless advice. I switched to Zelle and Venmo for online money transmittal and receipt and managed to hack my home product to make it work as advertised. But I'm not ever utilizing Google for anything but online search again. And even then, I'm bouncing their results against Duck Duck Go.
But they are not. That is a lie. I pay with my credit card and I do not have Google payments and my card has never had an issue in like 15 years. This person is confused because they use Google pay for other things and it is on their phone apps and whe their card got compromised they didn't bother to update their billing information. That is what this story is about. I have...
But they are not. That is a lie. I pay with my credit card and I do not have Google payments and my card has never had an issue in like 15 years. This person is confused because they use Google pay for other things and it is on their phone apps and whe their card got compromised they didn't bother to update their billing information. That is what this story is about. I have never used Google pay or Google wallet and I do not have any bank or credit cards linked to the because I don't do my banking and bill paying from my phone. Don't believe everything old people tell you on the internet. This person is confused or they are purposely lying to you.
I love Google Fi. Works perfectly for me. Has fast data overseas. Just used it in Turkey for 2 weeks.
I was a customer from 2016 to this month for international data. This month they cut me off from data. They cannot tell me how to get back on. They will not say whether Primarily in the US is defined by time or usage, or what the parameter's are. It is all a game. With no international data I do not need this service at all.
I have been a "soldier" for Google and it's products for as long as I can remember, and I was super excited to join the Fi program.
MY EXCITEMENT ENDED MERELY WITHIN 8 DAYS of receiving my brand new phone with generous discounts and a "promise" of support any time I needed it.
For starters, my service was cut off 4 DAYS after receiving it! For "non payment" I couldn't believe what I...
I have been a "soldier" for Google and it's products for as long as I can remember, and I was super excited to join the Fi program.
MY EXCITEMENT ENDED MERELY WITHIN 8 DAYS of receiving my brand new phone with generous discounts and a "promise" of support any time I needed it.
For starters, my service was cut off 4 DAYS after receiving it! For "non payment" I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it literally took me 3 days to respond to Google Fi. And when I did, the biggest sh*tstorm of my life came rolling its perky little ass right up to my doorstep! And at this point, it's only in the "beginning" stage of development.
So it began around October 8th (2022) and, I think that I am actually ashamed of Google!
After the first call, I was informed that I didn't make the "required" payment after 4 days of activation, so my service was cancelled. The optimal thing to remember is that it was cancelled.
So, I spent the remainder of the month with ZERO phone service (approximately 23 days or more). As I am disabled and receive only a monthly deposit, I had to wait until the 3rd of November to re establish my phone service. Thought everything was good to go..... Until I got an email the very next morning that said, "Payment not received, please immediately make a payment to keep your service". Turns out,
This is a follow up review for Google Fi and Pixel Phones. So, in my last post, I told everyone how Google Fi sent me a 6a to replace my old 5a Pixel phone. Well, after the fingerprint sensor quit working on the new Pixel 6a and other issues like battery life and other glitches, I called Google Fi and they sent me the replacement phone. It was brand new or seem to be. The...
This is a follow up review for Google Fi and Pixel Phones. So, in my last post, I told everyone how Google Fi sent me a 6a to replace my old 5a Pixel phone. Well, after the fingerprint sensor quit working on the new Pixel 6a and other issues like battery life and other glitches, I called Google Fi and they sent me the replacement phone. It was brand new or seem to be. The fingerprint sensor worked perfectly until I updated the phone with the latest November 5, update. Then not only did the fingerprint sensor stop working, it created a whole bunch of other issues, like not hearing my messages, dropped calls, cut out during calls, and so many other issues. Even the battery life was like the first phone, horrible. I don't know what is going on with Google Fi but my case has been passed on like a unwanted foster child. Try speaking to a Supervisor is impossible as they refer you to email. I did so, and been passed around from one supervisor to another. They make you go through 6 steps in your reply email and then it is the waiting game. Now,,, as I wait,,, I have decided to go back to ATT even if it cost more. Google Fi was great a year ago but they have gone downhill extremely fast in service after the sale. I would not recommend Google FI service until they get their act together.
My friend recommended Google Fi and Pixel phones. So, I started with the Pixel 5a and started to have trouble with it, WiFi drops and text messages being received by friends that did not send to me. After speaking with Google Fi support, I was talked into buying another upgrade so I bought the 6a. The 6a fingerprint sensor did not work for long, battery life was half day and no sound on incoming messages....
My friend recommended Google Fi and Pixel phones. So, I started with the Pixel 5a and started to have trouble with it, WiFi drops and text messages being received by friends that did not send to me. After speaking with Google Fi support, I was talked into buying another upgrade so I bought the 6a. The 6a fingerprint sensor did not work for long, battery life was half day and no sound on incoming messages. By this time, I had already sent back my old phone 5a for trade in. That was two weeks ago using their shipping label and it is lost in transit. When I called support for the 6th time, they said sorry we cannot do anything about it. I was just out 130 dollars for trade in and stuck with a piece of garbage 6a. However, they did allow me to pre-authorize another 450 dollars so they can send me another refurbished 6a phone (likely with the same issues as it has been known to others that the 6a is problematic) I will never do business with Google Fi again nor will I recommend their Pixel phones. The service is horrible, phones are garbage and trying to resolve issue is like pulling teeth with pain killers.
I went through a nightmare scenario. I ordered 1 phone, they sent me five and charged me for all of them. The next morning I saw on their confirmation(s) they were sending me multiple phones. Tried to resolve immediately, nope...one way street; they would be coming anyway....even though they were not already shipped. They said simply return the ones you don't want. Well two of them, I was able to catch the Fed X guy...
I went through a nightmare scenario. I ordered 1 phone, they sent me five and charged me for all of them. The next morning I saw on their confirmation(s) they were sending me multiple phones. Tried to resolve immediately, nope...one way street; they would be coming anyway....even though they were not already shipped. They said simply return the ones you don't want. Well two of them, I was able to catch the Fed X guy not the other two. Had to go through so many calls and so much crap to return the other two. A month or so down the road I GOT A CHARGE FOR THE FULL PRICE OF FIVE PHONES. First nobody could find if they were returned....and it went on from there; a spiraling nightmare of phone calls and total misinterpretation of the situation with MULTIPLE reps. Having to repeat the nightmare after talking to each different representative. It took a month and a half to resolve the problem. And another month for them to put the money they had taken back into my account. Regrettably I still have Fi, but after today when I couldn't find coverage and Google Maps dropped me in the midst of going to a Christmas party, and having no way to call, text, or communicate with the people throwing the party (after driving an hour and a half)...and passing several cell towers that apparently Fi's wonderful group of providers were not on...I drove back home and missed my family Christmas dinner. So, I'm done. But darn, I hate Verizon too.
Wow you have such a dramatic life. All bc of your phone. Maybe try to figure out how to be with your family that doesn't require your phone?
Tried to work with google to get a replacement phone. Phone is still covered by the plan that I have been paying into for a few years of having the phone. in order to complete the replacement though they want me to put down $1500 (price of the brand new phone) to which they will refund once they have determined the phone I'm sending in is damaged as I say it is / is the...
Tried to work with google to get a replacement phone. Phone is still covered by the plan that I have been paying into for a few years of having the phone. in order to complete the replacement though they want me to put down $1500 (price of the brand new phone) to which they will refund once they have determined the phone I'm sending in is damaged as I say it is / is the correct phone. The phone they will be sending me though is a refurbished phone. Why do they want you to pay the the brand new phone price when a brand new phone isn't even involved in the process? oh it's because we don't have a refurb option and can't change the price. Whats the real reason? they are hoping that people who don't send their phones in or the phone doesn't match the damage reported they will have just charged you brand new phone price for a refurbished phone. do they care you've been a customer for 7 years? No. "do not be evil" such a sad day when google decided to be evil
I never have heard or even been on google fi ,I'm a single woman seperated, three sons and I have this weird pixel connecting to me looking up crazy stuff I can see the dates and the dear abbys I never look at or use think someone's useing my married name reeves,I keep getting my ex is keeping my mail looked up,I am on single person plan
Google Fi beat me out of 4 months of money with no service!
For 2 months I've been going back and forth with Google fi over my service they've charged me for a phone that wasn't fully activated they said they would honor my rebate and my customer credit they did not the device was defective when I got it and I was in for 2 weeks I couldn't actually activate it. They still charged me 14 days worth of service. Now the issue I'm having is I...
For 2 months I've been going back and forth with Google fi over my service they've charged me for a phone that wasn't fully activated they said they would honor my rebate and my customer credit they did not the device was defective when I got it and I was in for 2 weeks I couldn't actually activate it. They still charged me 14 days worth of service. Now the issue I'm having is I asked for a refund and I wanted to return the device I didn't want them to resend it. They advised me to wait until I heard from their customer service supervisor. And they ship the phone back to me anyway without ever sending me an email I kept every transmission every bit of communication I've requested every conversation I've had and they somehow say the complete opposite every time. I will I don't want them as my service providers I don't want to transfer my service and they're essentially forcing me to remain with Google fee they refuse to refund my money at all. And now that I have the phone activated or I'm trying to activate it presently I just got it today guess what they're not going to honor my rebate when they clearly said that they would in the letter in the email I saved them all to drive which I'm going to move them out and move them to office because I think that Google will somehow make them disappear. But if I find somewhere to post them all I think everybody should know that Google see is crooked and they charge you every 14 days so you're not getting a service provider that charges you $20 a month you're getting a service provider that charges you $50 plus tax and they don't do anything in customer service except for they're going to escalate and nothing happens once it's escalated the supervisor or the expert tells you the exact opposite and we looked into it and no we're not going to refund your money. They are just disgusting they are disgusting to me I just cannot believe it. But I'm seeing it with my own eyes so I know it must be true. I also think it's really convenient how they somehow drop the call and every time and they say they're going to call you back but they do not
No issues as I would not use Fi it's 80 mo for me always 50 gig I stream video and so it would be ridiculous for me. However for other features Google has been great and payments as well when it's not hijacked by the opposition. In fact the assistant changes comments etc on the phones and you notice it long before it tells you it's being blocked. My experience with Google itself has Been...
No issues as I would not use Fi it's 80 mo for me always 50 gig I stream video and so it would be ridiculous for me. However for other features Google has been great and payments as well when it's not hijacked by the opposition. In fact the assistant changes comments etc on the phones and you notice it long before it tells you it's being blocked. My experience with Google itself has Been Very POSITIVE! I will say G Fi I believe is TMobile so if that helps anyone who uses Low Data then great. C Spire is the ONLY one with signal where I live and nearby Verizon can pickup with straight talk as well but CSpire is a life saver for my neck of the woods!
awful support. i was told when i am abroad that a lot of people cant reach me or get connected to random people.
Ditto in frustration. My new Pixel Pro 6 has been a nightmare. Service almost non-existent.
In May I ordered a phone and did not receive it, I was given earbuds instead. but charged for the phone. They had to receive the earbuds in hand via a confirmation from UPS before they would acknowledge I was on a payment plan of 700 dollars for 99 dollar earbuds (which I wouldn't use) In June they finally acknowledged the error and overcharge. By the I was so disgusted with the hours I spent...
In May I ordered a phone and did not receive it, I was given earbuds instead. but charged for the phone. They had to receive the earbuds in hand via a confirmation from UPS before they would acknowledge I was on a payment plan of 700 dollars for 99 dollar earbuds (which I wouldn't use) In June they finally acknowledged the error and overcharge. By the I was so disgusted with the hours I spent on the phone about this that I cancelled my service.
I was told to expect a refund August 13. no refund. I was then told to expect a refund September 11 for an item I was forced to pay on that I never received. And yes you never speak to anyone that can do anything, they "put you on hold for 5 minutes to "escalate it". You are then told you will get an email in 72 hours . The email tells you, you will wait 90 days to get your refund.
There is no transparency. I pity the call intake workers they get the wrath of people jerked around for months and are powerless to do anything but say the following "I understand your frustration, thank you for your patience" No, I have no patience left. If I told them to wait 90 days and then kept extending dates for money I owed them I'd be turned into collections. And I think the Fed communications should be notified about business practices that are a scam. I think a lot of older citizens forget about or give up on money owed to them by the company
Yes, Google Fi had a cut off for people that travel and / or work abroad. It's anywhere from ,30 days to 1 year. They gave an algorithm. No one that works there's had ANY authority to help you.
The only way to get any actual support from Google Fi is to submit an FCC Complaint and wait 2 weeks. Their 1st level support has no ability to do anything and just searches for some vaguely plausibly reason why they shouldn’t have to help you so that they can close the case. They will never escalate cases even if it is a completely valid issue.
Only way to use google fi is create a totally separate gmail account specifically for google fi.
I big big warning about Google Fi. I travel a lot internationally which has made Google Fi a fantastic service for me. This time I have been out of the country ( US ) for three months. This week I received an email from Google Fi saying that my service will be switched off in 30 days as it needs to be used primarily in the US. I spoke to Customer service and unless I...
I big big warning about Google Fi. I travel a lot internationally which has made Google Fi a fantastic service for me. This time I have been out of the country ( US ) for three months. This week I received an email from Google Fi saying that my service will be switched off in 30 days as it needs to be used primarily in the US. I spoke to Customer service and unless I am a full time military serviceperson living abroad there is nothing they can offer me. - end of story!! There is absolutely nothing that I can find in any of the service agreements or advertising that state this. I have two other friends who are also travelling and both have recently received the same notifications. I am really disappointed in Google.
Yes! I've had a terrible time with customer service, but I think the service reps really want to help, they just don't have the tools or support they need. I'm thinking I'll move to another provider too.
I hope some1 can help me or point me the direction of it- back in May of this year 2022 - Google find how to promotional offer for $600 off on me samsung ultra 22. I was approved for a When and if you weeks later i received the phone [i had new service so i was transferring my number from other to Google fi ]I was in a promotional offer there as well- 1st...
I hope some1 can help me or point me the direction of it- back in May of this year 2022 - Google find how to promotional offer for $600 off on me samsung ultra 22. I was approved for a When and if you weeks later i received the phone [i had new service so i was transferring my number from other to Google fi ]I was in a promotional offer there as well- 1st month- bill was rather high but I read it would be the 1st month- Now this is where it gets very interesting. My number would not transfer I tried to contact google I try contact the service That I was leaving you know when would help me transfer the number so I got a new number. It was a nightmare trying to get that number transferred and i just threw my hands up and said i'm going to get new number without even thinking about a promotional offer... This is my 2nd month in andAnd google fi tried to charge my checking account $600 last week- Not happy at all! The short version of the story is they didn't get it and when i contacted them I was informed that I have to pay six hundred dollars because I no longer was eligible for the offers bc my number didn't transfer. So I've contacted them several times now- and can't get any help- why am I having to pay 600 and why can't I pay for my service? I was told they would extend the number transfer until July 2nd. Well that's gonna be 100 right off and not even knowing if I'll get that original number back!? I am truly banging my head on the wall- IDK WHAT TO DO? They will NOT take a "Partial Payment" so my phone bill plus my 22 Ultra bill will not be accepted bc I can not pay the promotional diff. I did not know this would happen obviously- but I can't get help- the people are rude- I can't return the phone and I'm terrified it's gonna screw my credit- PLUS
after they extended the number transfer thing to give me another shot at that promotional offer until July 2nd- they again tried to hit me w a 600 bill... literally thr day after I received the email- so any thoughts or advice on what I should do? I'm so lost and THnk goodness I found this article- just not in time - unfortunately- THANK YOU! JULIE T.
Have you tried closing your payments profile in Google settings and then starting fresh? I've had similar issues and sometimes that has been the fix, even when the Google reps don't have an answer.
The worst service I have ever gotten from any company ever, Google fi!! Was my first phone on a plan. Pixel 4A with protection. Never able to use, never had a phone number, what a nightmare. It's going to be about 900 bucks. Incredible they gave me nothing not a thing. And I couldn't do a fucking thing about it.
Hi Chris! Also in a shit situation w them- can I ask what uve done? I'm so frustrated that I can find no 1 in this company to talk to to give me a direct answer and they are trying to screw the pooch over n over--' tia
Why is it so difficult to get a human being who actually understands how google Fi works on the phone? Despite 5 calls over 7 days all including today's with promises of a call back by a higher-level support team member, I've never gotten one! This is google's last chance..............
I'm canceling my phone service with Consumer Cellular, which consisted of 4 lines, because of terrible Customer Service. Since all of the service providers have...
Why is it so difficult to get a human being who actually understands how google Fi works on the phone? Despite 5 calls over 7 days all including today's with promises of a call back by a higher-level support team member, I've never gotten one! This is google's last chance..............
I'm canceling my phone service with Consumer Cellular, which consisted of 4 lines, because of terrible Customer Service. Since all of the service providers have horrible reputations for Customer Service, I decided to split my 4 lines, giving 2 to Mint Mobile and 2 to google Fi to see where I would get better treatment. Mint Moblie transferred 2 lines in less than 30 minutes and had me up and running without a hitch. Google Fi on the other hand hasn't been able to transfer even 1 line in over a week, despite my calling 5 times for a cumulative time wasted of just shy of an hour. I have been repeatedly told that ATT is the actual provider and all your reps insisted on processing the transfer as such. All of their attempts resulted in an error message stating that both my account and password are not recognized (which makes complete sense as I have NO ATT account). Today I received the phone I ordered from google Fi for the 4th line (days late of course). When spoke to the Agent she was at a loss to provide a solution but after 2 hold periods of over 5 minutes promised that I would get a call back from a Supervisor TODAY. Instead, I receive this meaningless email that doesn't address my problem.
If it wasn't so pathetic I'd be laughing. However, at this point, I don't see how google Fi can screw this up any more than they have already so yes, I think it's best that I return the phone I've purchased and give up on using your service. Rest assured that I will share my story with every possible consumer website and others to try and spare anyone from having to suffer this kind of service. Mint Mobile, here come 2 more lines.
John Ronzetti
Totally late seeing this John- same boat but can't return phone- what happened after u wrote this? I'm trying to find help---
I signed-up with Google-fi ~1 month ago. I'd learn soon-enough that my number would list as "Spam". It seemed there was no fix!!! When I'd call "Support", it was merely "Support" in-name-only. I could've gotten better "support" from a wireless bra!
So I requested a different number, ultimately an endless and agonizing endeavor. Each number assigned would display as "spam'. After a half-dozen re-assigned numbers, nothing but failure! Spam! Spam-Spam!!! That was the 1st disaster.
...I signed-up with Google-fi ~1 month ago. I'd learn soon-enough that my number would list as "Spam". It seemed there was no fix!!! When I'd call "Support", it was merely "Support" in-name-only. I could've gotten better "support" from a wireless bra!
So I requested a different number, ultimately an endless and agonizing endeavor. Each number assigned would display as "spam'. After a half-dozen re-assigned numbers, nothing but failure! Spam! Spam-Spam!!! That was the 1st disaster.
I decided it was time to cancel. After numerous attempts, any further efforts seemed almost fruitless, as more & more obstacles w'd arise. When I went on their site to delete my credit card information in an effort to stop any further bogus-billing, their site would deny my efforts.
As a Consumer Advocate, my frustration was seething! The easiest solution...call my credit card company and cancel my card, and re-issue another or else be endlessly charged.
Google's sales slogan should instead be: "From flip-phones to FLOP-SERVICE @ 300 MBps." My assessment of "FI"?...IT WILL DIE!!!"
Exactly!!!!
BEWARE! If you're four days late with a payment, for whatever reason, google will boot you and recall the loan for the phone with a $200 early termination fee as a parting gift.
So pissed at Google!
I bought the 5a promotion with $9/month
They said I activated too late and now charge me $18/month - no warning or advance notice
This is really evil business practices
Pixel 3 died suddenly, not surprised since it has been a crap phone since I got it and been replaced twice by google. Ordered a new Pixel 6, went to add it to my Fi account and they are happy to do so, but since I can't get access to my old phone, I have to get a new number. Not the end of the world but sucks since I have had that number SINCE...
Pixel 3 died suddenly, not surprised since it has been a crap phone since I got it and been replaced twice by google. Ordered a new Pixel 6, went to add it to my Fi account and they are happy to do so, but since I can't get access to my old phone, I have to get a new number. Not the end of the world but sucks since I have had that number SINCE TE+HE BEGINNING OF TIME. Second issue, they cannot remove my old phone because it died off of my account, so now I have to have cancel my old account, create a new account, get a new number and new phone all because Google's processes suck beyond belief. How can this be in this current tech world we live in?
I like fi and only use it for traveling. Since the pandemic I have used their services and no problem
Tamayla, Beware when traveling internationally.Here is my comment that I just posted.
I big big warning about Google Fi. I travel a lot internationally which has made Google Fi a fantastic service for me. This time I have been out of the country ( US ) for three months. This week I received an email from Google Fi saying that my service will be switched off in 30 days as it needs to be used...
Tamayla, Beware when traveling internationally.Here is my comment that I just posted.
I big big warning about Google Fi. I travel a lot internationally which has made Google Fi a fantastic service for me. This time I have been out of the country ( US ) for three months. This week I received an email from Google Fi saying that my service will be switched off in 30 days as it needs to be used primarily in the US. I spoke to Customer service and unless I am a full time military serviceperson living abroad there is nothing they can offer me. - end of story!! There is absolutely nothing that I can find in any of the service agreements or advertising that state this. I have two other friends who are also travelling and both have recently received the same notifications. I am really disappointed in Google.
Returned pixel 5 after receiving new pixel 6. We agreed upon a 250 dollar buy back. Received email today that box was empty and no refund. If not resolved I am prepared to replace YouTube tv with sling, google fi with version and cancel YouTube premium. Its not my problem if there are thieves in their return chain.
Bought a new 6 pro, it died in one day. They sent a replacement, a " pristine" replacement, ie refurbished.
Didn't want that since I bought a new lemon.
Decided to return them both. No customer service in country, no brick and motor. Sent the faulty one back, never unboxed the new one. Still waiting for resolution on the charges (2k for both phones). Impossible to speak with a supervisor, going to have my CC claw back the charges.
Pathetic.
I had Google Fi for myself and my wifi. I live in NC and often travel to MI through West Virginia. Absolutely no coverage in WV when travelling and using maps. Plus total bill came close to ~$140 which got annoying very quickly. I moved to Mint Mobile with my wifi. Total $60 for two of us and never had the connection issues I had with Fi. I am very happy with Mint Mobile and I am saving a ton.
Horrible experience. Lost service (voice and text), and after five hours on the phone with reps from the Philippines, never got it back. Waiting for them to release my number to a new carrier, Half the time, their phone number ansers with a recording that we re closed (during weekdays). AVOID!!
"dealing with companies is often annoying, and that’s just part of being an adult"
Companies becoming objectively dysfunctional and ruining the customer relationship is a symptom of unchecked monopoly (of companies that need to be broken up, so they can actually focus and function correctly on specific services), and it is not something you should roll over and accept because you're an adult.
My feelings are exactly the same as those from MG, posted earlier. I have been with Fi since the start, and have had ALL of their phones. But starting a few years ago, their once great service really took a dive. A big dive. They used to be outstanding, now their support is awful or nonexistent. And the thing that really bothers me is that their cell coverage seems to be quickly eroding. I travel...
My feelings are exactly the same as those from MG, posted earlier. I have been with Fi since the start, and have had ALL of their phones. But starting a few years ago, their once great service really took a dive. A big dive. They used to be outstanding, now their support is awful or nonexistent. And the thing that really bothers me is that their cell coverage seems to be quickly eroding. I travel a great deal, and I'm shocked at how lousy the coverage is now.....around the SF Bay Area, Phoenix, Seattle, Minneapolis.....I have been to these cities in the past 3 months and cant believe how often I have no signal. My wife, with Verizon, never seems to have an issue. It seems that some of this happened around the time that T-Mobile bought out Sprint, which essentially means that Fi is simply an MVNO for T-Mobile. And I bet anything that T-Mobile has downgraded their services for Fi as a network, such that it's definitely a big step below the coverage for their own T-Mobile customers. I AM SWITCHING, NO MORE FI!!!!!
I am struggling right now with Google FI and I am glad I found all these reviews. I ordered two Nexus 6, one was delivered the other was cancelled. Google canceled it, I submitted ID several times to my Google pay. Now everything is clear to order again my phone but now they don't have the phone. They have a promotion and now I am not sure if they will give the promotion since the...
I am struggling right now with Google FI and I am glad I found all these reviews. I ordered two Nexus 6, one was delivered the other was cancelled. Google canceled it, I submitted ID several times to my Google pay. Now everything is clear to order again my phone but now they don't have the phone. They have a promotion and now I am not sure if they will give the promotion since the order was cancelled my them.
I have spent so much times trying to chat with someone and nothing was resolved. I called and the person who answered was in a farm because I could hear chickens in the background. I will return the phone that was delivered and start over again with another provider. Everything is way to complicated with Google FI.
Yeah, I've been loyal with Google Fi since they began the service as Project Fi many years ago, through multiple Pixel phones. I especially loved using them on travel overseas in random countries, like El Salvador, and having few worries about international data access.
I read this article years ago and noted the concerns at the time, but decided I was pretty nimble and if something like this happened I could pivot. Thankfully, nothing quite...
Yeah, I've been loyal with Google Fi since they began the service as Project Fi many years ago, through multiple Pixel phones. I especially loved using them on travel overseas in random countries, like El Salvador, and having few worries about international data access.
I read this article years ago and noted the concerns at the time, but decided I was pretty nimble and if something like this happened I could pivot. Thankfully, nothing quite this bad has happened, yet, but honestly now the horrible rollout of the Pixel 6 on Fi and the awful time I've had attempting to get the new phone with the supposedly simpler (not actually cheaper... But simpler is worth a lot these days lol) idea of Pixel Pass has been the last straw. I won't get into details, but after going back and forth with Fi email support (because there are apparently no real people left there to speak with, or even chat with...) I suddenly am highly aware that what is discussed here is too likely a scenario. Plus the actual call/data coverage for Fi service has gotten worse over the years in the areas of the country that I am in most, that along with the really poor customer service and without the trust I once had... Fi is really just not worth it to me anymore. It's sad because it really was so great for so long, and I promoted it to so many people, but I'm exploring new options of traditional carrier plans again for myself or jumping on with friends who have multi-line plans.
Bye, Fi...? :(
Used to be good, but over the last couple months it keeps getting more shoddy, now it sucks so bad its a pathetic joke. Straight talk is better, no joke. No more free international calls either. Google Sucks, I want Alta Vista back. If a search engine could be a ponzi scheme it would be Google. Can't really call them a search engine anymore. I think the right word now days would be...COMMUNIST
I hate my Pixel 3...I hate Google Fi. I never have service available above LTE. I waste more data simply trying to get the data to work only to end up getting my completely slow data throttled to NO data. Fyi... DO NOT EVER opt to temporarily switch to the high speed data, once they've capped your "unlimited data", because they will immediately charge you $10 a gig for the shitty slowed no data. I...
I hate my Pixel 3...I hate Google Fi. I never have service available above LTE. I waste more data simply trying to get the data to work only to end up getting my completely slow data throttled to NO data. Fyi... DO NOT EVER opt to temporarily switch to the high speed data, once they've capped your "unlimited data", because they will immediately charge you $10 a gig for the shitty slowed no data. I made the mistake on the next to last day of my plan month an in less than 2 seconds tripled my bill and still did not get any additional high speed data. Google Fi has been the most expensive mistake I have ever made. I purchased my pixel so that I could get the full Fi experience AND I sure got it...being screwed 7 different vways to Sunday. I had better data and phone service when I had a cheap old phone and cheap old Boost mobile. Google only works when they want to steal your info.
I've had a pretty good experience over all (had a Pixel2 since 2017.. paid $700ea for mine and my wife's). Hers eventually died 3.5rys later (charge port then battery).. so I got her (and my daughter) last year's Moto G Power for just $50(!!). Happy about that.. they're all nice phones, and my Pixel2's camera is ammaaazzzziinggg. Im glad to hear about the poor QA of the Pixel3, but will probably leap from to the...
I've had a pretty good experience over all (had a Pixel2 since 2017.. paid $700ea for mine and my wife's). Hers eventually died 3.5rys later (charge port then battery).. so I got her (and my daughter) last year's Moto G Power for just $50(!!). Happy about that.. they're all nice phones, and my Pixel2's camera is ammaaazzzziinggg. Im glad to hear about the poor QA of the Pixel3, but will probably leap from to the Pixel5. I really like the pure-android experience.. No more bloat ware, vendor apps I can't uninstall without rooting, and the coverage (while not as great as Verizon) is decent.. and actually has better coverage in some rural areas. The pay for what you use $10/GB, with unlimited/free data after 12GB has saved us a ton of money vs the "unlimited plans" (which are NOT truly unlimited with some vendors & roaming). So over all.. yeah.. I recommend GoogleFi. I LOVE things like free wifi hotspots, no hidden fees, and now built in family manager that lets me better control my kids usage. Even my recent support chats have beet pretty good.
My biggest concern (with four kids about to all be teens) is child safety. Some non-parents balk and say, "Just trust your kids to learn for themselves on line". Yeah.. not so much.. If you don't control your kids exposure, they will be damaged for life. I've seen online predators perusing my kids, an my ten year old child has already been exposed to hardcore porn.. and now at 14 i now addicted to porn. so yeah.. Thanks Internet. I'm looking at getting a separate GabbWireless acouunt just to keep my kids safe. It would be nice to see googleFi step up in this area more.. maybe even offer some "kid proof" (ruggedized) kids phones with more intrusive parental controls.
So Big picture.. I personally like GoogleFi.. but the two things I'm keeping an eye on (competition wise) is:
1) co$t for large family plans, as I have one teen with a phone and three more kids who all need phones.. and
2) it would be nice to see google offer a kid-safe, "internet free" phone (like kid-safe www.gabbwireless.com). Maybe not internet free (which seems impossible for google enabled devices), but if they offered something that I could "see" vi GPS (like with Family Link + Google Maps) as well as control/monitor things like my kid's SMS/MMS (or allow Signal Comms), contacts/friends, video calls, restricted/parent controlled/monitored browsing/whitelists (anti-porn, etc), regular screetshots monitoring (like what I get with TimeBoss on PCs), etc.. I would feel a lot more comfortable with my four kids on GoogleFi. But short of that.. I'll probably be spinning up my next three phones on Gabb.
I was so frustrated with Google Fi so tired of the poor coverage today I suffered with zero bars no service whatsoever my husbands phone didn’t have any service either forget about trying to call google fire to get help that was ridiculous last week I had similar issues with Google Fi sending text messages and receiving photos that was a disaster six weeks prior to that I had horrible issues with receiving messages sending...
I was so frustrated with Google Fi so tired of the poor coverage today I suffered with zero bars no service whatsoever my husbands phone didn’t have any service either forget about trying to call google fire to get help that was ridiculous last week I had similar issues with Google Fi sending text messages and receiving photos that was a disaster six weeks prior to that I had horrible issues with receiving messages sending text messages and photos once again spent hours on the phone trying to get it resolved with Google Fi only to have it happen again and again. Finally went back to AT&T today out of desperation because I had no service with Google five all day my husbands phone didn’t have any service you couldn’t even call google fly to get help. Not that they could help us a few times we were able to get through today we weren’t able to get any help at all. Oh and they won’t even offer me any compensation or credit for all the times that we didn’t have any service over the past month and a half
I had called into Fi to ask how to change my email on my account they said just shut it down and start another and reinvite the family and there would be no issues. That is not the case. We had out of service family members for two weeks now. And other family members that can't get the accept invite to work. We have had at least 10 to 15 chats, call and noone can...
I had called into Fi to ask how to change my email on my account they said just shut it down and start another and reinvite the family and there would be no issues. That is not the case. We had out of service family members for two weeks now. And other family members that can't get the accept invite to work. We have had at least 10 to 15 chats, call and noone can fix. They escalated to their technical team and its been 10 days and no response. I agree its not acceptable for people to not have any service and nobody cares at Google.
I have been attempting to join this service for over a week now. I have ordered three phones and every singe order has been canceled by FI. I have spent over 3 hours on the phone trying to get an answer as to why they keep canceling the order. Every time I call its a different answer. "Its a technical glitch just order another one." "We didnt get your credit score call this number and...
I have been attempting to join this service for over a week now. I have ordered three phones and every singe order has been canceled by FI. I have spent over 3 hours on the phone trying to get an answer as to why they keep canceling the order. Every time I call its a different answer. "Its a technical glitch just order another one." "We didnt get your credit score call this number and ask them why" " Your bank canceled the order call them and find out why". None of these were the actual cause and after a ticket was placed with a "specialist" I received a response asking me to just try and order again in 24 hours. At this point I have no intention in doing business with them since they cant even figure out why my phone purchase keeps getting canceled and reading the horrible experience on this site. For entertainment purposes I will continue to respond to the support ticket to see exactly how long and how many people will respond before getting an actual reason as to why they keep canceling the order.
I have been in Google fi for many years. It was great in the early days. I have it suspended now. I have a OnePlus 6t and my wife has a OnePlus 6 on TMobile. Her phone always has data speeds that are 5 to 10 times faster than mine. Even though mine has more bands in the TMobile network, her phone has better connectivity and is always much faster. No excuse. If I don't start traveling soon, I will cancel it.
I recently purchased two phones from them on the shared data plan on the 28th of July, its now august 6th and my phones were guaranteed to be at my doorstep by August 2nd and I've been trying to figure out what is going on but I cant speak with the shipping and refund team personally unless its email. Now I may be a little impatient but then again maybe I'm not. Bottom line is...
I recently purchased two phones from them on the shared data plan on the 28th of July, its now august 6th and my phones were guaranteed to be at my doorstep by August 2nd and I've been trying to figure out what is going on but I cant speak with the shipping and refund team personally unless its email. Now I may be a little impatient but then again maybe I'm not. Bottom line is I joined Google FI for the phones only and once they are paid for I may leave the service and take them to A prepaid provider.
I stayed with Google Fi for only month and a half. I purchased cheapest plan with allowance of 1 GB. Despise the fact I have not watched any videos at all and have been very careful not to open any app which for instance downloads videos automatically (as YouTube, CNN etc), or otherwise consumes lots of data, after about 2 weeks Google claimed I used 870 MB of data. Physical impossibility! Watching static webpages or...
I stayed with Google Fi for only month and a half. I purchased cheapest plan with allowance of 1 GB. Despise the fact I have not watched any videos at all and have been very careful not to open any app which for instance downloads videos automatically (as YouTube, CNN etc), or otherwise consumes lots of data, after about 2 weeks Google claimed I used 870 MB of data. Physical impossibility! Watching static webpages or say Apple weather app simply does not consume that much data - not even remotely. My theory is, if you can’t be honest with small things, you won’t be with big one either. Giving second thought to using Gmail and YouTube accounts.
I agree that Google Fi is great until it isn't. I have had the service for several years, and recently brought three family members to the service, each of whom bought flagship Pixel phones. Unfortunately, the Pixel phones no longer have the quality they once did, and I experienced issues very quickly after making my recently Pixel 5 purchase ($699). Google did not stand behind their product. Their outsourced Indian tech support, when they thought...
I agree that Google Fi is great until it isn't. I have had the service for several years, and recently brought three family members to the service, each of whom bought flagship Pixel phones. Unfortunately, the Pixel phones no longer have the quality they once did, and I experienced issues very quickly after making my recently Pixel 5 purchase ($699). Google did not stand behind their product. Their outsourced Indian tech support, when they thought I was on hold, mocked me among their co-workers, then lied about what they were doing when they thought I was on hold. Google Fi is no better in terms of support than any other carrier, and has poorer coverage than most of the others. At least with the others you get reliable service. I can no longer recommend Google Fi.
I bought a Google Pixel 4a5G phone. It overheated in the battery died quick. After 2 months of using it, and deleting apps and trying different chargers I realized it was the phone being defective. Google Fi kindly offered to exchange it. However I just received a new one and it is a used phone from someone else. Likely, they returned it because it was defective as well. So now I've paid for a new...
I bought a Google Pixel 4a5G phone. It overheated in the battery died quick. After 2 months of using it, and deleting apps and trying different chargers I realized it was the phone being defective. Google Fi kindly offered to exchange it. However I just received a new one and it is a used phone from someone else. Likely, they returned it because it was defective as well. So now I've paid for a new phone and received a used one. I am leaving Google Fi first chance I get. I tried to rectify it with customer service they cut off the chat and blocked me. Not the Google Fi that I signed up for.
I've just had a horrible chat exchange with Google Fi. This will be my 3rd google pixel phone. When this replacement one dies, I am quitting this company. They operate like a scam, leave the conversation if you are unhappy, and make phones that die only to be replaced with refurbished phones. I believe they are trying to kill me slowly.
I too got Google Fi at the very beginning and was, indeed, really happy. About a year ago I started reading the horror stories of folks who had the complete package of Goggle services with their Project Fi linked to their Gmail and Google storage. When they switched credit cards, the Google Fi payments didn't link and ALL their Google services were lost- including their Gmail history and Google storage. There's a work around by...
I too got Google Fi at the very beginning and was, indeed, really happy. About a year ago I started reading the horror stories of folks who had the complete package of Goggle services with their Project Fi linked to their Gmail and Google storage. When they switched credit cards, the Google Fi payments didn't link and ALL their Google services were lost- including their Gmail history and Google storage. There's a work around by having your Google phone service under a separate Gmail account, but I decided it just wasn't worth the risk. It appears things broke down when support was moved out of the US.
I have had Google FI from the very beginning (when they were just Project FI). I have an unlimited data plan which is competitive to T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. I travel a lot, internationally and I spend quite a bit of time in South America. I have a Pixel 3 phone. I have never, ever, had any problems with my Pixel phone nor with my Google FI service. As an independent consulting I also have...
I have had Google FI from the very beginning (when they were just Project FI). I have an unlimited data plan which is competitive to T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. I travel a lot, internationally and I spend quite a bit of time in South America. I have a Pixel 3 phone. I have never, ever, had any problems with my Pixel phone nor with my Google FI service. As an independent consulting I also have G Suite and several other Google services. When I've had problems in the past, I have never had to wait long to get things fixed.
I am concerned about the monopoly state of all these companies (Google, Apple, Amazon, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc). But that is a separate issue. Within the context of all that I have never had any issues with Google, whatsoever. I left Apple after 25 years of buying its products and really see no reason to return to it at all.
Do your own analysis but for me, I am perfectly happy with Google FI and have no reason to leave.
I have left reviews on other sites as well to warn people to not use this service. I have had a horrible experience with them! I needed to find a new plan as my company wanted to get rid of my international phone plan that was costing too much. I researched and decided Google Fi would be a good option. I was stuck out of the country because of COVID-19 however. I talked with a...
I have left reviews on other sites as well to warn people to not use this service. I have had a horrible experience with them! I needed to find a new plan as my company wanted to get rid of my international phone plan that was costing too much. I researched and decided Google Fi would be a good option. I was stuck out of the country because of COVID-19 however. I talked with a Google Fi sales person who said that they could activate my chip overseas without problem if I could just get a Google Fi card. I paid extra to order a Google Fi chip shipped to me overseas and then tried to activate it with the help of Google support people. The support people told me I couldn't activate it overseas, and COVID-19 was not a valid reason for overseas activation. I was then stuck with a phone chip I couldn't use. The support people told me not to worry as I would not be charged anything. I then put the chip away in a box for over two months. Then I noticed I was getting charged after all, I was charged for three months of service. I tried to talk with the support people again and they said I was charged because I had used the service. I told them it was impossible that the chip was in a box and before I put it there it had No Service. I had placed it back in the phone again just before chatting with the support people to see if it possibly would connect this time since I had been charged. But still "No Service". The support person offered me no help, basically saying it's my fault I was charged because I used the service. I don't know how it is possible to use a service of a chip sitting in a box for several months but this "Service" history was on my plan. I asked who was using my number when my chip was not even in the phone. The support person said it's not possible, so I guess they just think I'm lying. I cannot trust this company, it's support people or this service. I have been cheated by someone somehow using my number without even the chip being in use. The support people are rude, unhelpful, and I believe crooked. The sales person lied to get me to buy a service she knew I couldn't use in the end. I can't believe Google is running a company like this. It makes me think twice about all the other services I use on Google. Perhaps they are not secure or trustworthy either.
I never received text messages from my banks to google fi number. i gave up trying. So i don't recommend anyone google fi since last year. Its customer service sucks.
#GoogleFi Sucks. WOW this incredible I was thinking was just me. In November 27 I moved to Google Fi on December 2 my account have been cancelled after 8 days I’m still without services, Google Fi customer service is a nightmare I tried to get my account number and pin number from them but like I said they dont contact me with a solution, many people are complaining about this situation not jsut me.
Google...
#GoogleFi Sucks. WOW this incredible I was thinking was just me. In November 27 I moved to Google Fi on December 2 my account have been cancelled after 8 days I’m still without services, Google Fi customer service is a nightmare I tried to get my account number and pin number from them but like I said they dont contact me with a solution, many people are complaining about this situation not jsut me.
Google FI is bound by law to release your number.
You are already reported to the Federal Trade Commission.
The FCC clearly states: “Commission rules require carriers to port a number when they receive a valid request, and carriers may not refuse to port.”
Even if you have an outstanding balance with the old provider, the FCC also notes that they cannot refuse to port due to an outstanding balance.
GOOGLE FI SUSPENDED SERVICE– CLASS ACTION INVESTIGATION. Google Fi Suspended Service – Class Action Investigation
Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP (CSK&D) is investigating a potential class action against Google for alleged problems relating to the company’s wireless phone, messaging, and data service, Google Fi. Consumers have reported having their Google Fi service abruptly suspended as a result of suspicious activity or other issues with their linked Google Pay accounts. These consumers report being suddenly left without service on their smart phones as well as without access to other Google products and services including Gmail. Allegedly it can take a significant amount of time and effort dealing with Google Fi customer service in order to get cell phone service restored.
If you have experienced issues relating to the suspension of your Google Fi service similar to those described above, please contact the attorneys listed below. https://chimicles.com/google-fi-suspended-service-class-action-investigation/
Google Fi has now charged me with a phone that I got discounted. I used one gmail account but not the one that the phone was registered with. All the contract said was use the same account. I used the same Fi account but that doesn't work. The claim they can't help. A chargeback may change their mind. Reporting them to the BBB may help. But they are losing me regardless.
I'm actually still very happy with Pixel and Google Fi. I bought the original Pixel and switched to Fi in October of 2016, I got the Pixel 2 the next year and kept it until the Pixel 5 that I just received. Like it so much I just helped my mom ditch AT&T for it. I don't have coverage issues, no payment issues, it's much cheaper than my old service, and I don't really have...
I'm actually still very happy with Pixel and Google Fi. I bought the original Pixel and switched to Fi in October of 2016, I got the Pixel 2 the next year and kept it until the Pixel 5 that I just received. Like it so much I just helped my mom ditch AT&T for it. I don't have coverage issues, no payment issues, it's much cheaper than my old service, and I don't really have to deal with customer service. The only times I have had to deal with service were trying to get Mom's number ported over (huge headache, but it was on AT&T's end). If you're an iphone person and want to keep using that, I can understand because people have different preferences, but the experience with Fi vs. AT&T is night and day. I can't imagine going back to them and every issue requiring calls of more than an hour, and them being totally incapable of figuring out how to link my cell phone, cable, and internet (dropped all those too).
I pay extra every month for phone insurance. Now I have a broken camera lens and need to get it fixed. I get this from their website every time I try to submit a claim:
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I had an old pixel 1 phone and the battery started having issues dying after a full charge in 15, then 10 minutes. Then I ordered a 3aXL phone only to have the sim card eaten by the new phone. I texted their help desk which on my first call told me to use a pin to removed the seriously lodged card. My second call to the help line had them tell me to forget...
I had an old pixel 1 phone and the battery started having issues dying after a full charge in 15, then 10 minutes. Then I ordered a 3aXL phone only to have the sim card eaten by the new phone. I texted their help desk which on my first call told me to use a pin to removed the seriously lodged card. My second call to the help line had them tell me to forget my old sim leave it in the phone and send it back to them for a refurbished phone (Humm, new phone old one in return). I then got the new phone and new sim card which I installed successfully but it would not let me back up my old phone. Now I go into the phone and it asks me to complete the installation and select a phone and new plan. I already have a plan and a phone. I then made the mistake of trying to speak with a human being which is not possible. Hey this is their mode of operation the guys that said early on that we as customers would always be able to talk to a live human being. They can blame it on the virus but the fact is they cut everyone of their customers off. They have no regard for the problems they cause. My daughter just shipped out on a destroyer for 8 or 9 months and I missed the chance to speak to her because my phone which I pay for was not working. I am a Vietnam veteran and can barely make it out of bed. I don't see many people and now it will be 8 months minimum before I get the chance to hear her voice. Google Fi you guys suck.
i feel cheated by Google. they say i did not meet terms of service for the promo. the T&C's are not clear - they only state you must activate service within 30 days. 30 days from when? I was told twice 30 days from delivery, but after being billed $100 & hours of chat & email, was told it's 30 days from shipping date. it took 8 days to ship. All this happens to so many of us - be careful potential new users
Be careful when you don't switch the incorrectly billed charges to your new credit card. (IF you can separate that billing.) If the incorrect, and now unpaid bill is linked to your Gmail account( and related Google cloud storage) they could cancel everything and then you have lost EVERYTHING. Solution is to associate your phone service to s different Gmail address . Good luck!
How about this one? For the past six months, google bills me twice each month. Once for the Fi, which corresponds to my FI bill, and once more for FI charges unrelated to me. I call google to complain, fill out their forms, and they say they are unable to verify the other charges - talk to my financial institution (first they try to convince me I have not been double charged because they only...
How about this one? For the past six months, google bills me twice each month. Once for the Fi, which corresponds to my FI bill, and once more for FI charges unrelated to me. I call google to complain, fill out their forms, and they say they are unable to verify the other charges - talk to my financial institution (first they try to convince me I have not been double charged because they only see one charge listed in my account) . Amex has been good about eliminating the charges until this last round, perhaps because I made the mistake of going through their automated dispute system instead of calling them like I used to. Now they just sent me a note saying they determined the charges are valid and I am responsible. No info about where they are from or for what. So now Amex and Google both are on my Sh1t list. In the end, I am going to have to cancel this card because it seems to be the only way to resolve this. Apparently, ironically, google seems to be incapable of doing a "search" to find out whose account these charges are coming from that are getting attached to my payment method.
Thanks for this, it is exactly what I am experiencing, except for the payment stuff. At least I think that is ok, but maybe that is where my problem is. I have no idea because no one will tell me.
My phone has a cracked screen, I submitted a request on their support page and they responded with an email, within 30 minutes. Once I agreed and gave them info they sent me authorization for...
Thanks for this, it is exactly what I am experiencing, except for the payment stuff. At least I think that is ok, but maybe that is where my problem is. I have no idea because no one will tell me.
My phone has a cracked screen, I submitted a request on their support page and they responded with an email, within 30 minutes. Once I agreed and gave them info they sent me authorization for a new phone and label to return my phone. (it is not paid off). After reading the authorization to order a new phone, stating I would be liable for the full price if they determined i wasn't eligible for repair (i have been paying for protection). I told them I didn't have the money to authorize a purchase of a new phone and could I just get mine repaired.
It has now been 5 days without phone service. I write and ask about the status of my claim and i get a very nice response, it has been escalated to their engineering department because this is serious.
I have been such a supporter of everything Google. Next year I'm wanting to do a major thru hike and this is a great experience to know who to stick with and who to get rid of.
Thanks i am able to rant.
Wow. I am coming from a Pixel 2, longtime Verizon. I just received two Pixel 4a's I bought for my wife and I from the Google store with the intention of switching to Google Fi. I thought it was going to be "simple." I have been working for the past 2 hrs trying to activate a google fi account and can't. My new Pixels say "unfortunately your google fi service can't be activated because your...
Wow. I am coming from a Pixel 2, longtime Verizon. I just received two Pixel 4a's I bought for my wife and I from the Google store with the intention of switching to Google Fi. I thought it was going to be "simple." I have been working for the past 2 hrs trying to activate a google fi account and can't. My new Pixels say "unfortunately your google fi service can't be activated because your account currently isn't authorized for service." Then they give the option to call you or call them...except they aren't answering phones because of COVID19? As a doctor coming off a second wave in Texas right now - what does COVID19 have to do with answering phones in August2020? Chat was absolutely zero help. Guess I'm sticking with Verizon.
If if could give google's customer service less than a star, I would.
I wasn't receiving sms' through my hangouts when I had the, "Receive SMS and voicemail in Hangouts" option checked. I've used this numerous times to text from hangouts in a browser at work (with my regular phone number, I'm a GoogleFi customer) and have never had a problem with it till recently. I restarted my phone last time and that seemed...
If if could give google's customer service less than a star, I would.
I wasn't receiving sms' through my hangouts when I had the, "Receive SMS and voicemail in Hangouts" option checked. I've used this numerous times to text from hangouts in a browser at work (with my regular phone number, I'm a GoogleFi customer) and have never had a problem with it till recently. I restarted my phone last time and that seemed to fix it. Well, it didn't fix it this time so I contacted customer service. They weren't even familiar with this function as they told me to make hangouts my default app, which I have never needed to do when I used it before. I asked if she was familiar with the app, and of course she said yes, yet I had to explain to her about this button and she still said to make it my default app. I go into my setting to make it my default sms app and its not even available to choose. I ask to speak with someone else that's familiar with the app and she says that anyone else will do the same thing, so I asked to speak with her supervisor, who she said would also say the same thing. After a back and forth with her, she said her supervior will contact me at a later time.
What the actual eff google. How do you have such crappy service?
I had another crappy experience with them when i cracked my phone screen. That was on me, I paid the insurance deductible, and got a replacement phone. Put a $50 screenprotector and a skin on it. I go to set up the fingerprint sensor and it doesn't work. Okay, maybe it needs a firmware update. Set up my phone, update it, nothing. Contact support, they say there's nothing they can do but send me a replacement. I don't have to pay the detuctible because that was on them. Cool, I ask for them to send a screen protector, because I can't use the one I put on the phone that was broken again. Also I can't reuse the skin I put on it, but that was $10 so I don't care as much. They say they can't do that. So now I've wasted $60 on a broken phone they sent me.
How the eff can google not afford to send me a screen protector replacement for their eff up? It's probably because they're such a big company that they can afford to not care about their customers.
TLDR; Google is a garbage company, with garbage customer service.
I've been a customer for 18 months now. Bought a Moto G6 at a great price. At this point when my phone begins to misbehave I may switch to Verizon prepaid or Visible owned by Verizon.
Here is my list of reasons...
1. T-Mobile and Sprint tower collection is not strong in my area.
2. I'm getting tired of constantly monitoring my data use to keep my bill down.
3. When...
I've been a customer for 18 months now. Bought a Moto G6 at a great price. At this point when my phone begins to misbehave I may switch to Verizon prepaid or Visible owned by Verizon.
Here is my list of reasons...
1. T-Mobile and Sprint tower collection is not strong in my area.
2. I'm getting tired of constantly monitoring my data use to keep my bill down.
3. When I don't monitor my data (turning data off when I don't need it ) it seems to chew up more data than when I was on Verizon with unlimited and didn't care. I'm not sure if I'm imagining that or what.
-------------------------
On the upside I haven't needed customer service and I have no issues with billing.
Still on my original Pixel. That is working well, but getting my friend to join through the referral program has been pulling teeth with customer service. I could only imagine if it's this difficult for the referral, then when something actually does go wrong- everything is going to go to hell.
Major disappointments with Google Fi too.
I've moved one number out and I'm going to probably move the 2nd number out too.
We left Google Fi for not the same reasons but similar underlying reasons. Phones started to become wonky. Billing felt strange. Calls were glitchy.
We put in an alternate pay method that didn't stick more than once and it defaulted to old cards we had taken out. The problem was these cards weren't ours. They were used with the permission of other people for a one time use. So when Google Fi couldn't get...
We left Google Fi for not the same reasons but similar underlying reasons. Phones started to become wonky. Billing felt strange. Calls were glitchy.
We put in an alternate pay method that didn't stick more than once and it defaulted to old cards we had taken out. The problem was these cards weren't ours. They were used with the permission of other people for a one time use. So when Google Fi couldn't get a late payment for some reason they would revert to a card that wasn't even on file. A family member (or even one of our other cards reserved for specific thigns) would call us up months later and say, what the heck is this charge? Basically it mean we could never get a hand or help with a bill to keep it on time because google would just climb back in time and charge those cards whenever it felt like it if we were late. That made me feel extremely uncomfortable. We were on auto pay so normally its fine but occasionally the deposit and bill charge would cross. I think one time the card expired.
Then when we went to switch and we had to pay the bill off? That was a mess. I couldnt port my daughters number until we paid the bill. But google fi bills really strange so when you paid the bill there was always an amount left. It was very confusing and frankly upset me quite a bit. I don't believe phone companies should be able to hold your number hostage based on a small back bill for a thousand reasons.
The issue wasn't that we couldn't or had no intention of paying it - we could and did - but that a) their billing puts you in a trap that makes it hard and confusing when combined with this policy and b) I don't believe a phone company should be able to hold your number hostage to get the final bill paid. It strikes me as a great way to lose a lot of phone numbers in the porting system.
Does anyone remember when google's slogan had "do no evil" in it?
I recommend that you don't build your whole world around one digital ecosystem. Google Fi, after being with it through three phones, quite some time, is a no for us. We cannot recommend at all.
Kealohi-
I was one of those "original" subscribers and had two years of FANTASTIC service- both cellular and tech support. I live in the US and spend time in Mexico and there was NEVER a problem. When I had technical issues with the phone (a few occasions) support was superb. My phone started to fail just after the warranty ended, but since I had prior issues they replaced it. (I remember being in NYC...
Kealohi-
I was one of those "original" subscribers and had two years of FANTASTIC service- both cellular and tech support. I live in the US and spend time in Mexico and there was NEVER a problem. When I had technical issues with the phone (a few occasions) support was superb. My phone started to fail just after the warranty ended, but since I had prior issues they replaced it. (I remember being in NYC walking up Fifth Ave and had a tech support guy spend a half hour getting his supervisors permission to ship me a replacement that was delivered in less than day!) COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER!
About a year ago things changed- all support went overseas and it took two weeks to get a replacement phone. That's when I started investigating and heard the horror stories of people losing their entire Google accounts (including emails, and Google drive because of payment issues that were not their fault. I switched to TMobile last September and walked away from Fi. I'm happy I did.
I've had MULTIPLE issues with Fi and customer service. All documented in my account. Not only have they suspended my service on a three-day holiday weekend with no one able to restore service without notification and banks all closed without ability to even pay, the constantly double charge my account, then say they will give me Account credit which most of the time I never see, and when I argue with them to get refund...
I've had MULTIPLE issues with Fi and customer service. All documented in my account. Not only have they suspended my service on a three-day holiday weekend with no one able to restore service without notification and banks all closed without ability to even pay, the constantly double charge my account, then say they will give me Account credit which most of the time I never see, and when I argue with them to get refund applied back to my card instead of Account credit as it was their wrongful doing, the Never give me a refund to my Card and just this last time they even shorted me $100 from my credit which they double charge me for. Their billing is completely messed up and not program correctly. If you change to the unlimited, they charge you prorate plus next month, then charge you again the next month for the next. So basically you are one month ahead in payment yet when you cancel or change to the group plan, once again they prorate then charge one month advance making it now two months in Advance you have paid and you never see that money again. If you don't pay they shut off service even though you are two months ahead. My account is showing they owe me money yet they charged my card and stating that my payment was wasn't received, yet my account is showing overpayment. I pay for and it's also included Google One Support yet I'm unable to get support or talk to anyone or get a phone call. They simply tell me no they will not call and I have to use chat or email. This is services I'm paying for yet not receiving. Another issue is my Google Pay Account which they instantly placed a restriction on stating they couldn't charge my account for a Google Send transaction at which I immediately opened a support ticket for including screenshot of my cleared transactions from my bank verifying that the money was taken out of my account yet here I am almost a month later and three support tickets without receiving resolution and still having my Pay Account restricted, showing negative balance I owe even though they took the money out of my account, and a Google Fi Account showing I have a positive balance (overpayment they owe me) with notification that they were unable to process my payment. I've been with Fi since they were originally starting back in Project Fi days when the vision of the project was to combat the high prices of the major cell phone companies and provide a cell phone service that gave truly unlimited service plans without overcharging and high priced services. They stated in the beginning it would be slightly higher but as they grew we would see the prices drop and they would be available for everyone. Basically we were paying higher in the beginning to help fund the vision because we believed in the goal and vision of Project Fi and helped it to succeed. They have lost the vision and are way more expensive than the major cell phone carriers as well as have way more issues with extremely worse customer service and support. I paid for the higher service and purchased all of the required equipment that was needed when they started (originally would only work on very specific devices) because I believed in the vision and what they pushed the idea of the company's intent or reason for being yet they have failed miserably and I feel like it was all smoke and mirrors to get people to buy into an idea that never came in to fruition. Those of us that have been there from the beginning, since the project fi days I believe have been duped and never received what we were promised. I would be interested to see how many others are actually left that originally signed up from the original Project Fi vision.
Yes, I have had countless issues using google fi the last 2 years. Too many to describe in detail here. So much time spent with "support" and still, so many issues with the service. I wanted to love them, I gave them 2 years.. but I'm happily switching services this week and cannot wait to be done with them.
@Boston
I am not sure that this will work with a disabled account, but you might try it with that account or even another working google account.
Sign into your google account
type "fi.google.com" in the address bar of your browser
look in the lower right hand corner of the screen
you should see a chat box
if you hover over it, it will say "Talk with a FI expert",...
@Boston
I am not sure that this will work with a disabled account, but you might try it with that account or even another working google account.
Sign into your google account
type "fi.google.com" in the address bar of your browser
look in the lower right hand corner of the screen
you should see a chat box
if you hover over it, it will say "Talk with a FI expert", "chat now"
click on "chat now"
Although i am no longer a google fi user, i have found chat mode to be very helpful.
responses are in writing rather than verbal and you can copy/paste the conversation into a word document for later reference. no "he said/she said". i can't remember the contact hours on google fi, but some companies (i.e. visible.com) have 24 hour chat coverage. avoid busy times if possible, and your wait time will be minimal.
good luck.
I set up my Google Fi service a few days ago. My primary Google account has Google Voice, so I created a new Google account for the Fi. Voice and Fi cannot co-exist on the same Google account.
I noticed in the app tonight I could no longer make changes, and it turns out my 2nd Google account has been disabled due to having too many Google accounts or creating an account with a bot.
...I set up my Google Fi service a few days ago. My primary Google account has Google Voice, so I created a new Google account for the Fi. Voice and Fi cannot co-exist on the same Google account.
I noticed in the app tonight I could no longer make changes, and it turns out my 2nd Google account has been disabled due to having too many Google accounts or creating an account with a bot.
I filed an appeal to re-enable the 2nd Google account, and I got a form letter response saying the account could not be re-enabled. I have re-filed the appeal.
I am thinking maybe the account got disabled because I used the same credit card as part of Google payments that I use on my primary Google account.
I am not sure if I will continue to be billed for the Google Fi service on the disabled account. I tried to call Fi but I got a recording that they are not taking any calls.
GOOGLE FI STOPPED BILLING US ONLY AFTER WE CHALLENGED THE WITHDRAWALS FROM OUR CREDIT CARD. YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY CAN HELP.
I signed up for goggle fi and brought my phone number, they sent me a SIM card which never worked. I have tried many times to cancel my account and even removed my SIM card, went back to AT&T and couldn’t get my number back which I’ve had for over 8 years! I have gone to the support website and tried many times to cancel my account but they continue to bill me even though...
I signed up for goggle fi and brought my phone number, they sent me a SIM card which never worked. I have tried many times to cancel my account and even removed my SIM card, went back to AT&T and couldn’t get my number back which I’ve had for over 8 years! I have gone to the support website and tried many times to cancel my account but they continue to bill me even though I have never made or received a single phone call or text. I hate goggle fi and will eventually have to go to court to get them to stop billing me for something that I have NEVER used! I’m pissed
I've been with Google Fi for about a year and a half. The service has worked well, with a few reasonable hiccups here and there. I currently use the Pixel 4 XL, and I have liked the phone. At the start of this month, I started seeing unexplained spikes in data usage that are not attributed to any app on the app usage breakdown screen.
In one day over 2.5gb of data was used and...
I've been with Google Fi for about a year and a half. The service has worked well, with a few reasonable hiccups here and there. I currently use the Pixel 4 XL, and I have liked the phone. At the start of this month, I started seeing unexplained spikes in data usage that are not attributed to any app on the app usage breakdown screen.
In one day over 2.5gb of data was used and only 124mb of it is attributed to apps. The phone was on WiFi that entire day, and I was working so it was hardly touched. I contacted support and they suggested that I keep the phone in airplane mode unless I absolutely need to leave WiFi. They will not address what is clear to see as a bug either with the service or device.
My typical monthly data usage on Fi for the past year and a half has been between 400 mb to 1gb per month. Something is wrong, and their support is absolutely no help. If you do a Google search for "Fi phantom data usage" you will see others complaining of the same problem.
Google Fi is great until it isn't. And at that point, dealing with Fi's support is a frustrating mess of waiting and disappointment. I do not recommend Google Fi.
Do not switch to Fi. The coverage is only good in major cities. After purchasing a Pixel 4 on Black Friday for a 1/2 off discount after 3 months, they send you to an overseas customer call center who just sends you an email that says you did not meet terms of service for your promo. I use the phone every day. Clearly, they scam you and let the outsourced jobs do the dirty work for you.
Any new experiences with the issue of Fi? I'm considering ditching my iOS/AT&T pair for a Pixel/Fi.
" I honestly thought I would die before considering switching to the thieves at Apple. But I’d rather have their hands on my wallet than Google’s on my blood pressure and dignity."
Brilliantly said. You should advertising copy for a living!
I got very close to signing up for Fi, being an ardent Android user and Google advocate for many years from the humble Droid beginnings through Pixels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Today I became exceedingly bothered by my budget pseudo-carrier Visible who has not been able to restore phone service after 6 days (when I received the latest "security" OS update) . Thank heavens I stopped the sign up process when I learned that...
I got very close to signing up for Fi, being an ardent Android user and Google advocate for many years from the humble Droid beginnings through Pixels 1, 2, 3 and 4. Today I became exceedingly bothered by my budget pseudo-carrier Visible who has not been able to restore phone service after 6 days (when I received the latest "security" OS update) . Thank heavens I stopped the sign up process when I learned that G-Fi cant be separated from Google Talk home VOIP on Obi. Moronic. I decided to search the issue and stumbled across this most excellent review and thoughtful comments. I honestly thought I would die before considering switching to the theives at Apple. But I'd rather have their hands on my wallet than Google's on my blood pressure and dignity. It might be time to give up the fight and start drinkoling the kool-ade.
@Dom Yes.. T-Mo is great until they allow someone to swap your sim away.
Thank you for the insight. I was considering using FI for my new business but after reading this and the comments I am now looking into other options
I was charged by google for simply attempting to open an account with them. I had not yet decided the plan, or completed the process when I decided to give it a second thought and quit the process. One month later I got the bill. I called right away, the call escalated and escalated and yet, they denied to reimburse. Their reason: "Our system shows that you opened an account yesterday." Very frustrating.
My Pixel 2 XL's bluetooth stopped working with my car when Android 9 came out. They sent me a replacement device to try to fix it, but it didn't help, and I had already wasted hours on a feature I don't often use, so I gave up on bluetooth. Now, the new phone is shutting off when I try to charge it, and they don't have a record of the new phone's IMEI in their...
My Pixel 2 XL's bluetooth stopped working with my car when Android 9 came out. They sent me a replacement device to try to fix it, but it didn't help, and I had already wasted hours on a feature I don't often use, so I gave up on bluetooth. Now, the new phone is shutting off when I try to charge it, and they don't have a record of the new phone's IMEI in their system, so they're refusing to process a replacement, despite me having paid $5/mo for 2 years to do exactly that. Complete incompetence on their part. I'm leaving their service immediately.
A year ago I wrote in, and am still trying to resolve the same issue, which is that my phone rings when somebody calls a generous half of the time. When the hospital calls to tell me to pick up my dad from dialysis, doesn't ring. When my kid's school calls to tell me there's an emergency, doesn't ring. It's sitting right next to me, with the ringer on. Whenever I call they take me...
A year ago I wrote in, and am still trying to resolve the same issue, which is that my phone rings when somebody calls a generous half of the time. When the hospital calls to tell me to pick up my dad from dialysis, doesn't ring. When my kid's school calls to tell me there's an emergency, doesn't ring. It's sitting right next to me, with the ringer on. Whenever I call they take me through two or three steps, then tell me to call back in a week if it isn't resolved. The date of my last update to this page was January 2019.
Had to stop reading after I noticed half the article was about hardware problems with her Pixel and zero to do with Fi.
If you have an iphone I don't recommend switching from ATT to Google Fi. They use the the Tmobile network (Not 3 networks when using iphone) which is terrible. My phone didnt' have reception at home and at work and in many other areas. Also, I couldn't even use Wifi Calling with my iphone on Google Fi. Terrible. I switched back to Att and wasted time and money.
Per FCC regulations, no phone service provider can prevent you from porting out your number due to a balanced owed (https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/porting-keeping-your-phone-number-when-you-change-providers).
You should report Google to the FCC for illegally preventing your port-out (https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us) and begin the port-in process with your new carrier.
@Tiffany
I don't know which is worse. The original problem or the fact that after almost a year they still have not been able to fix the system.
What did you end up doing to resolve the situation?
If they ever "fix" the problem would you consider going back?
Almost one year later and they haven't fixed any of these issues. I switched from Verizon to Google FI to join my boyfriend's plan and save money. I also had major issues with my pixel 3 from the beginning including but not limited to all the issues described. Months later and countless calls, emails, and chats with Google FI support and my issue is still not solved. Worst customer service ever. I am not letting...
Almost one year later and they haven't fixed any of these issues. I switched from Verizon to Google FI to join my boyfriend's plan and save money. I also had major issues with my pixel 3 from the beginning including but not limited to all the issues described. Months later and countless calls, emails, and chats with Google FI support and my issue is still not solved. Worst customer service ever. I am not letting this go and the moment they finally replace my defunct phone, I will be immediately returning to Verizon where customer service is excellent.
I'm In the middle of a massive pain in the behind issue with Google FI customer support (I'm on hold as I type). Google FI itself works well and is priced right. Their customer support, however, is absolute garbage! I was just called a liar by the previous support member!! I used to love their support team. It's outsourced garbage now!!
I am switching over to Google Fi, because T-Mobile has been having lots of issues managing my account. I switched my Samsung S10+ over to Fi in less than 2 minutes after receiving the SIM, without needing any assistance. I love how I can manage things myself. (That's probably just the software developer in me.) Tried to switch my wife's Huawei P9+ over, and that is when I discovered how ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT Google Fi support...
I am switching over to Google Fi, because T-Mobile has been having lots of issues managing my account. I switched my Samsung S10+ over to Fi in less than 2 minutes after receiving the SIM, without needing any assistance. I love how I can manage things myself. (That's probably just the software developer in me.) Tried to switch my wife's Huawei P9+ over, and that is when I discovered how ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT Google Fi support "specialists" are!!! I know that Huawei is at fault for taking actions to restrict this phone, just because it was purchased in China, but that has nothing to do with the imbeciles in Google FI's support section. Until Google brings those jobs back home to people who understand the technology and the system, instead of putting it in the hands of idiots who cannot understand or speak clear English, and who seem to read from the incorrect lines of a script, I have no choice but to give the Google Fi support team the worst possible ratings I can.
I bought Pixle3A from Google FI. After 38 days the phone's speaker does not work. I can "SEE" incoming calls but no ring. If I pick up, i can talk but i cannot switch it to SPEAKER. Since it happened after 38 days- just 8 days more than 30 days limit- Google refused to replace with a new phone. They sent a refurbished phone. When we tried to activate this refurbished phone, it's esim does...
I bought Pixle3A from Google FI. After 38 days the phone's speaker does not work. I can "SEE" incoming calls but no ring. If I pick up, i can talk but i cannot switch it to SPEAKER. Since it happened after 38 days- just 8 days more than 30 days limit- Google refused to replace with a new phone. They sent a refurbished phone. When we tried to activate this refurbished phone, it's esim does not work. We spent more than 6 hours to make it work but no use. We had to buy a physical sim to make it work. Google is not ready to refund the money as i want to get out of GoogleFI. As per their policy, only when they replace 3 times the defective refurbished phones, we can ask for refund.
My advise is do not go for GoogleFI. Stay away from the Pixle which is a LEMON.
Lalitha
I ordered a Pixel 4 thru Google Fi and never received the phone although they claimed that they have delivered the phone and "Reception A" has signed for it. Well guess what, my name is not "Reception A" and I have not received any phone! I have reached out to them for a week and they only said "our specialist is investigating the issue and they will reach out to you via email". No timeframe,...
I ordered a Pixel 4 thru Google Fi and never received the phone although they claimed that they have delivered the phone and "Reception A" has signed for it. Well guess what, my name is not "Reception A" and I have not received any phone! I have reached out to them for a week and they only said "our specialist is investigating the issue and they will reach out to you via email". No timeframe, no insight into what they have done so far or what they are going to do as next step. Finally today, as I was talking over the phone I received an email shamelessly saying Google delivered the phone and there is nothing else they can do about it! so I have reached out to my bank to file a dispute to atleast get my money back. They have the worst customer support ever. I would never recommend their service to anyone.
Upon joining Google Fi I had the assumption that My bill would be around 70 a month.
I was charged 31.72 to be paid by the third of December. I had remaining credit on my account of 60. You did not take this amount but instead made me pay. I also thought that your mobile hotspot was like most retailers and given about 16gbs of data. Instead this took from my main pool of...
Upon joining Google Fi I had the assumption that My bill would be around 70 a month.
I was charged 31.72 to be paid by the third of December. I had remaining credit on my account of 60. You did not take this amount but instead made me pay. I also thought that your mobile hotspot was like most retailers and given about 16gbs of data. Instead this took from my main pool of data and was maxed out. After accidently clicking full speed after my data was maxed out with unlimited I contacted your support team. It had seemed that 4gbs of my previously unlimited data had carried over to full speed. Upon notifying your team all they wanted was a screenshot of my application data. They could not tell when the full speed was activated nor wat amount of data I had used before accidently clicking it. Even worse they could not return me to unlimited data at decreased speeds which is what I was signed up for. Apparently your system is too new and support had no way of returning my account to unlimited data until the 19th of December. I was told that I had to watch my data usage. I did not sign up for service that would charge me 10 each gigabyte. I could not return to my unlimited. This being my only way of accessing the internet and navigation, My data is now at 20+ gbs and being charged 10 a gb is ridiculous. It is almost as if this service is a sham. My data was decreased at speeds not even fast enough to load a webpage. I am so disappointed in your service and feel as if it is not even worth having over T-Mobile Verizon or at&t. y bill is about to be over 200 and that is ridiculous.
Me and my wife have been using google fi since it was project fi. Always used it with iphones . We travel all over the world and we remember the horror of using local sim cards that never used our own phone number and could cost $25 for a few minutes to check that our kids actually could reach us! It could take hours to get things going and by that time we were out...
Me and my wife have been using google fi since it was project fi. Always used it with iphones . We travel all over the world and we remember the horror of using local sim cards that never used our own phone number and could cost $25 for a few minutes to check that our kids actually could reach us! It could take hours to get things going and by that time we were out serious dollars! Now, we do nothing when going abroad and everything stays the same as back home. Our kids call us and we call them like back home. We call relatives in the Scandinavian countries for 1 cent per minute! We did route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica over 14 days with 2 iphones and 2 Swedish friend’s ipads stuffed with our free fi data sims going all the time to hunt interesting sites for peanuts. Google fi is making international phone and data communication very cost effective. I check 16 home surveillance cameras and 4 ring cameras with no problems. Aside from some confusion ordering the data cards, everything works as intended. Right now in Barbados, fixed dead battery in rental car (6 calls, $3.60) and called mother in Sweden from here for 16 minutes ($3.20). Hard to beat...
The biggest reason is that they have allowed themselves to be leapfrogged in a big way, espceially by internet providers who have come up with their own deals for customers (which most people are) So instead of paying $20 just for the line and a crazy $10 per GB, you can either pay $45 for total unlimted through Spectrum or Comcast, or go with their pay as you go plans which are free for the...
The biggest reason is that they have allowed themselves to be leapfrogged in a big way, espceially by internet providers who have come up with their own deals for customers (which most people are) So instead of paying $20 just for the line and a crazy $10 per GB, you can either pay $45 for total unlimted through Spectrum or Comcast, or go with their pay as you go plans which are free for the line (phone and text) and $14 or $12 respectively per GB. Sure, more per GB, but taking out the $20 charge for the talk and text, and it will always be cheaper. And at least in the case of Spectrum, it uses the far better Verizon towers giving better coverage. And now, with Optimum customers paying just $20 for totally unlimited, that is a HUGE percentage of people that could pay a lot less with a company they are already dealing with.
I have tried several different cell phone companies over the years and this is by far the worst I've ever tried it's been three months I'm very happy that I'm getting ready to change to a new company
TERRIBLE SERVICE. They have ZERO interest in fixing issues and their only solutions are always to either completely factory reset the phone or pay for "insurance" and always just pay them another $100 for a replacement. Wish I had never switched from Verizon. Also... they have very shady practices (see lawsuit) of over-counting your data usage. Truly terrible service. I was so excited about their model, but this was a huge mistake.
That's it, I have had enough. Phone is now for sale online.
Have used Google Fi with Nexus or Pixel phones or tablets for 5+ years. But the latest support call to the Philippines was the end of the line. Unresponsive support person (basically ignored my comments) didn't really understand the issue, kept reading scripts asking me to do things that
1. I had already done or
2. Were not possible to...
That's it, I have had enough. Phone is now for sale online.
Have used Google Fi with Nexus or Pixel phones or tablets for 5+ years. But the latest support call to the Philippines was the end of the line. Unresponsive support person (basically ignored my comments) didn't really understand the issue, kept reading scripts asking me to do things that
1. I had already done or
2. Were not possible to do.
After 30 minutes (not the first call on this issue) the CS person (said her name was 'Sharon') said they had to hang up and call me back in an hour. (sure, you bet they did)
I was a huge fan for a couple of years. I travel internationally and Verizon was way too expensive.
But my original Fi phone, a Nexus 5X, worked well, until it suddenly didn't. OK, it was a little over two years old, but my iPhone had lasted more like 4 years.
I spent 400 bucks on a Pixel 3 and it sucks. Just problem after problem. After seven months I'm already thinking of...
I was a huge fan for a couple of years. I travel internationally and Verizon was way too expensive.
But my original Fi phone, a Nexus 5X, worked well, until it suddenly didn't. OK, it was a little over two years old, but my iPhone had lasted more like 4 years.
I spent 400 bucks on a Pixel 3 and it sucks. Just problem after problem. After seven months I'm already thinking of ditching it and shopping other cell services and phones. It's a bummer. Google said they wanted to 'disrupt' the US cellular market, but they just ended up being another mediocre or less cell company.
It's not great but I'm so happy with android that I will NEVER move back to **** iphones ever again!
I've been using Google Fi since 2016. Even though Google Fi customer service hasn't been perfect, I've been pretty happy... Until now...
I have 5 data-only SIMs on my account. Google Fi allows data-only devices to be added to the main account for no extra charge. You pay only for the data used.
Google recently changed the policy to allow only 4 data-only devices per account. No problem, since if you are a customer that...
I've been using Google Fi since 2016. Even though Google Fi customer service hasn't been perfect, I've been pretty happy... Until now...
I have 5 data-only SIMs on my account. Google Fi allows data-only devices to be added to the main account for no extra charge. You pay only for the data used.
Google recently changed the policy to allow only 4 data-only devices per account. No problem, since if you are a customer that has more, they would allow you to keep them. Great!
Unfortunately the reality is different. Right after the policy was changed, two of my 5 data-only devices stopped working. They still show as active on the account, and the devices would attach to the network as before, but no data is flowing.
I've communicated with Google Fi customer service for a few months now to resolve the problem. They keep trying to convince me to give up my 5th data-only device, replace the SIMs and drop down to 4 data-only devices as a "solution". I keep asking them to fix the network so my devices start working again. We're at an impasse. Why should I give up one of my data-only devices because of a problem they caused? It's extremely frustrating!!!
I agree with the other comments that something bad has happened in the Google Fi customer service organization. The commitment to actually solving customer issues seems to have disappeared. It's really disappointing, because I've been a strong advocate for Google Fi up to this point.
Now I'm looking into unconventional ways to get their attention...
The worst customer service ever! Data doesn't work and there is no one to talk to or has any answers.
First of all I'm pleased that there's this platform to discuss Google fi and its major shortcomings. Im into my 2nd month with them and one plan is no different from the other. My data (UNLIMITED) as the plan states is very untrue. Into their $70. dollar plan about two weeks. They slowed it down and notified me of it.
But I've got to say it wasn't slowed down its completely come down to...
First of all I'm pleased that there's this platform to discuss Google fi and its major shortcomings. Im into my 2nd month with them and one plan is no different from the other. My data (UNLIMITED) as the plan states is very untrue. Into their $70. dollar plan about two weeks. They slowed it down and notified me of it.
But I've got to say it wasn't slowed down its completely come down to nothing at all. Today is the first day that they slowed it down. And I've tried to open up apps, live streaming and reach out to them through chat and of course those messages never went through, they stayed at......sending. So after 3 attempts of chats I gave up. To be honest with you all, I'm completely unhappy and disappointed with Google fi. And ive had experience with some of the major companies, At&t, Verizon, Sprint and even Metro and never have i had a problem with them such as this. So in my opinion........don't ! sign up with Google fi. Its just going from bad to worse.
UGH !!!
It appears that nothing has changed even in November. I won't bore the readers by repeating the same stuff over and over. I think I am going to switch to Republic Wireless.
Avoid Google Fi!
It was the worst phone service I've ever had, and I've had them all. I bought my phone with the promotion and with Google Finance.
We recently decided we are going to move, so we shut off cable and WiFi services at home. Using solely Google Fi data as access to the internet, my ability to do anything has gone. It'll take 17 hrs to load a single Snapchat, never...
Avoid Google Fi!
It was the worst phone service I've ever had, and I've had them all. I bought my phone with the promotion and with Google Finance.
We recently decided we are going to move, so we shut off cable and WiFi services at home. Using solely Google Fi data as access to the internet, my ability to do anything has gone. It'll take 17 hrs to load a single Snapchat, never load Instagram feeds, couldn't transfer money using Venmo, and if I wanted to check my email... I honestly couldn't do anything because the service was that horrible! So I decided to cancel the service. Now I bought the phone with Google Fi, and that was the big mistake. You can buy it to use with different carriers, choose that one even if you intend to get Google Fi. I assumed because they checked my credit and it's actually a credit card financing I could continue to pay my monthly payment plan for just the phone as advertised. I now have to pay the phone off in full, customer service was useless. I'm on unpaid maternity leave living off my savings and spending over $600 for an unexpected expenses is a big hit!
Not only the service and Pixel 3 have been a constant problem. Now I am trying to port two of my shared plan numbers to a new provider that is proven to be working better in my GEO location. I attempted it two times and couldn't port my numbers out of GoogleFI. The trick is you need to cancel the GoogleFi service in order to see your automatically generated account number and PIN. The cancellation...
Not only the service and Pixel 3 have been a constant problem. Now I am trying to port two of my shared plan numbers to a new provider that is proven to be working better in my GEO location. I attempted it two times and couldn't port my numbers out of GoogleFI. The trick is you need to cancel the GoogleFi service in order to see your automatically generated account number and PIN. The cancellation process proceeds with a bunch of misleading statements on Google page stating your service will be immediately discontinued and you stop receiving calls and texts if you press Continue. In fact, the process just releases your phone number for grab by other provider within 60 days. I am pretty sure it scares off a descent chunk of the cancellation requests because rarely anyone is ready to stop the service immediately. I surely wasn't. However, the only way to port your number is by using this temporary combination of the account number and PIN. The first attempt to port my numbers was completely unsuccessful because a GoogleFi chat representative reversed my cancellation. The second attempt was only successful for the first (admin) number. My wife's number resulted in error. It might be because Google only generates one set of account/PIN for two numbers. Perhaps that's the issue other providers can't untangle. Either way, GoogleFI has been a real trap with its subpar customer service, terrible reception and call quality and clunky Pixel 3 that after 10 months of using I can't wait to get rid of.
Thank you for this thread. I was moments away from purchasing Google Fi and Pixel 3a... I travel internationally quite a bit and recently heard a person discussing how great the service is and how extensive. Not willing to make the crap shoot after reading this.
@Searching: I wish buying a Google phone guaranteed good performance. I had a Moto G6 and a Pixel 2 from Google. Both would switch automatically among networks. But both had major issues with the Phone app, and often did not ring when someone was calling me.
I was also thinking that perhaps buying a phone through Google fi, that is already set up for the "switching" would enable me to receive the best service. Now, I am confused from the comments and may try something else.
This is all very interesting as I am weighing whether to buy a new iphone or Pixel 4. I am also comparing Google Fi with recent experiences with ATT and Tmobile.
I was about to hit "buy" at Google Fi for the service and Pixel 4. I guess I will now do more evaluating.
I will say I have had the nightmare of not being credited for return of devices to Tmobile and turned over...
This is all very interesting as I am weighing whether to buy a new iphone or Pixel 4. I am also comparing Google Fi with recent experiences with ATT and Tmobile.
I was about to hit "buy" at Google Fi for the service and Pixel 4. I guess I will now do more evaluating.
I will say I have had the nightmare of not being credited for return of devices to Tmobile and turned over to a credit bureau. I had documentation, tracking info--but they had to hold it in their hands to credit my account.
I had the same experience with ATT with a twist. We moved, our phones kept working sounds great. I the evening before a long trip I get home and at about 7PM my phone quits working. Same for my wife, kids, etc. I could not reach ATT on my cell so I used a land line to reach them... yup a land line because everything quit on the cell side.
After a call it...
I had the same experience with ATT with a twist. We moved, our phones kept working sounds great. I the evening before a long trip I get home and at about 7PM my phone quits working. Same for my wife, kids, etc. I could not reach ATT on my cell so I used a land line to reach them... yup a land line because everything quit on the cell side.
After a call it turns out that they decided that we used too much roaming and had decided to terminate our service w/o notice. They killed everything including internnet and TV because of bundling.
Calls did nothing and there is only a finite time I could tie up my elderly neighbors phone. I could not get anything changed. After we reached our destination we had to purchase temporary phones for travel so we could communicate. I was a 26 year Bell South/ATT customer.
No more. I own nothing ATT anymore. Never will if I can help it.
BTW, my wife's iPhone was just a affected as my android. In fact our daughter is the queen of breaking iPhones =. Despite the auto updates her phone is regularly infected with jail breaking malware (including her 6S). Everyone who points at the Android mess for patching should realize that Apple just doesn't advertise all the vulnerabilities in iDevices. A very good friend of mine well place at Apple acknowledges the hidden secret behind closed doors. I look at it all as the devil you know or the devil you don't. Choice is up to us.
Yes. It is October 2019, and I have had Google service since 2016, I think. Whenever I had issues, which was often, I could often times ignore them because the customer service was fantastic.
I finally threw in the towel. Last time I talked to customer service, it was a nightmare of automated responses.
The Pixel2xl has been a nightmare. A $800 nightmare that I don't intend on repeating. Only had the sucker for a year, too.
Same experience as Ilan, sent us a bad G7, then replaced the brand new one we purchased with a refurbished one that also did not work, then told us the issue was escalated and spent hour after hour after hour on chats getting the same questions and the same answers over and over and over. After four months with all this supposedly 'escalated' to tech and supervisors today we are told that if we didn't...
Same experience as Ilan, sent us a bad G7, then replaced the brand new one we purchased with a refurbished one that also did not work, then told us the issue was escalated and spent hour after hour after hour on chats getting the same questions and the same answers over and over and over. After four months with all this supposedly 'escalated' to tech and supervisors today we are told that if we didn't like the phone we should have returned it within the return window (14 days vs. the months they told us to 'please wait for their technical resolution') and there is absolutely nothing they can do outside of 'allowing' us to use it as a trade-in (and lose hundreds of dollars) on a new Pixel which should not have the Google Fi connection issues. RUN AWAY from this company - do not waste your time, your money or your energy!!!! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!
WORST PHONE SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT IN THE WORLD!!! STAY AWAY FROM GOOGLE FI, save yourself the headache....
I had google Fi for the past 5 years and I have to say it’s the most disappointing cell phone provider I’ve EVER had.. 5 years was 5 years to long...
3 different times their pixel phones had software or hardware issues that literally was googles fault and they forced me to buy a new phone...
WORST PHONE SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT IN THE WORLD!!! STAY AWAY FROM GOOGLE FI, save yourself the headache....
I had google Fi for the past 5 years and I have to say it’s the most disappointing cell phone provider I’ve EVER had.. 5 years was 5 years to long...
3 different times their pixel phones had software or hardware issues that literally was googles fault and they forced me to buy a new phone due to their own faults in design.. the pixel 1 headphone port and the software that controls it, the forward facing stereo speakers failing and the ear speaker failing... All these issues took me WEEKS to get resolved with Google Fi’s HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT on 3 different occasions! It’s honestly the worst customer support I’ve ever seen in my life... they waste your time, lie and make excuses the entire time... It’s the core reason I just canceled the service after 5 years and now the phone is stripped of all googles software and acts as my media device and camera for my house.. I will NEVER use a google provided service again due to how they treat their customers. They don’t give a rats ass about you and your happiness. God help you if you ever have a problem with your phone or have to get it replaced.. they won’t even honor their insurance that you pay for, so don’t bother wasting your money on that.. it took them over a week and 8 hrs of my time before I got the damn email to be able to even return the phone!!! And they didn’t offer to do a single thing to compensate me for my time and stress that their ridiculous support team in India caused. Just just read a screen and send you into a black box of no help.... They just want your money and your data. Be warned and stay clear of google and their shit services and support with google Fi. It’s a total scam and they just lie constantly.
I just switched back to a new iPhone and T-Mobile service and it’s the best change I ever did.. Saving tons of money with their discounts and very happy with it and have the immediate customer service that should be available. I was able to get a brand new phone at the store down the street in 30 min for less than what I was paying with googles scam of a service.
Just remember that in Iphone land you are stuck with the Apple store. The ability to sideload apps on an android phone has saved me numerous times around the world when an app is not available in a given country.
I gave up on GoogleFi two months ago because of hardware delivery issues. BUT I had ProjectFi for three years using a Pixel XL and RARELY had reception problems. I'm in Arizona and have traveled mostly in AZ and CA through some very remote areas and never lost signal for more than five minutes. You got a bad phone G7 that Google should have replaced. They really have lost it this past year. Sad. It started out as a terrific service.
Absolutely the worst experience ever. Sent me a bad G7.... called and received a replacement REFURBISHED unit (mind you paid for a new phone)... refurbished unit came BAD as well. Fighting with support to send me a new unit...so tired...want a full refund and they can take their "service" and go to h..l. Worst phone experience ever, going back to traditional carrier that has a brick and mortar store location.
In January 2019 I bought a Pixel 3 at full price with Google Fi on it. They messed up an order and charged for two phones one of which I was supposed to get refund for. Then the SIM card wouldn't come after three delivery estimates blown out. They sent the second one. After juggling with the return, wait time, refund, and customer service a day came when I inserted a GoogleFI SIM card in...
In January 2019 I bought a Pixel 3 at full price with Google Fi on it. They messed up an order and charged for two phones one of which I was supposed to get refund for. Then the SIM card wouldn't come after three delivery estimates blown out. They sent the second one. After juggling with the return, wait time, refund, and customer service a day came when I inserted a GoogleFI SIM card in my new Pixel 3. Then problems started unrolling.
When a call received or made, I would hear my recipients but in 50% of the cases my recipient wouldn't hear me for anywhere between 3 to 15 seconds. After a few Hello's if the recipient didn't hang up on me the connection establishes normally, like nothing happen. This connectivity issue seems to be more persistent with certain recipients but others would be ok. The tech support attempted to do resets, reboots, recycle, manager consulting, ping signals, service restart, follow ups etc etc. Nothing would make the problem to go away. I learned to live with it. My recipients had to learn to live with my cell connectivity too.
Then I noticed that when I reply BAD to the "How was your experience with this call?" automatic text notification, the connection would be improved on the next few calls. Strange. Now I always reply BAD.
Most likely I have a lemon device that never worked properly from day one. Unfortunately I brought up the issue past 14 days and tech support would refuse to replace my Pixel 3.
Oh! One more thing, because Google Fi is using the cellular towers provided by Cellular One, T-Mobile and Sprint most of the time there is no reception outside of the big cities. I crossed the United States a couple of times in the last 10 months. A good half of my road trip I wouldn't have any reception. It got so bad that GPS wouldn't even find a signal and I had to find my way out by guessing where to go while driving on interstates.
I am so done with Google Fi and their Pixel. The only good part of it was the camera. Even the "saving" didn't really work out as expected. I am consistently paying $120-$140/month for two shared lines.
I am moving back to the iPhone land with a traditional service provider effective immediately.
Do not switch Google Fi is the biggest joke on the planet. Google Fi is even a bigger joke. Get this, so Google can't figure out why none of our G Suite customers can use Google Fi with their G Suite account. Instead of even trying to fix the issue, they recommend using a different gmail account for Fi. So now all of our end users have to maintain another account outside of their business...
Do not switch Google Fi is the biggest joke on the planet. Google Fi is even a bigger joke. Get this, so Google can't figure out why none of our G Suite customers can use Google Fi with their G Suite account. Instead of even trying to fix the issue, they recommend using a different gmail account for Fi. So now all of our end users have to maintain another account outside of their business account, biggest joke I have ever seen. Google G Suite is a toy compared to Office 365. Google won't even try and fix any issue they have. Ever since they have moved their support overseas it has been atrocious, I would not suggest using Google anything.
Wow...glad I found this as was about to make the switch to Fi.
Looks like it is consistent and this wasn't just an isolated incident.
Similar issues, I just tried to sign up for Google Fi and ordered the Pixel 3, paid in full up front. Since everything goes through Google Payments, a service I never signed up for, they pulled an outdated address from that system which had not been updated since 2011, rather than using the service address I entered when signing up for service. Getting the phone redirected to the correct address has been a NIGHTMARE with...
Similar issues, I just tried to sign up for Google Fi and ordered the Pixel 3, paid in full up front. Since everything goes through Google Payments, a service I never signed up for, they pulled an outdated address from that system which had not been updated since 2011, rather than using the service address I entered when signing up for service. Getting the phone redirected to the correct address has been a NIGHTMARE with their customer service. I was told the address correction would be sent to shipping on an escalated work order on Monday when the phone shipped, nothing happened. I called Tuesday and a service representative contacted the shipping department directly, I received an email stating the address change had been requested with the courier (Fed Ex) but the phone was still delivered to the wrong address Wednesday morning. I called Wednesday requesting a new phone be sent out with expedited shipping, I also requested to speak with a manager to help make sure this would be done since the customer service reps will openly say that the only options they have are to send in work orders, which apparently go into a black hole and are never addressed. After sitting on hold for 20 minutes for a manager I ended up having to end the call to return to work but was assured a new phone was being sent out. Thursday I had not heard anything, called again requesting a manager immediately to speak with, only to have a service rep tell me the manager reported they were 'unavailable' but that a new phone would be sent out on Friday. Mind you that I have not been receiving any updates about changes being made to my order status or shipping address change since the email Tuesday saying they had simply requested an address change with the courier. Friday I called again only to be told a new phone had not been sent out, they were waiting to resolve the initial issue and reclaim the phone delivered to the wrong address. When I requested to cancel my order, suddenly there was a new tracking number and I was actually to expect delivery some time between 8am and 8pm that very same day... unlikely since I was looking at the Fed Ex site telling me there was no estimated delivery date for the tracking number they had just given me but I took it on good faith only to find out today (Saturday) that they waited to reclaim the phone from the wrong address, what I would now consider a used phone since it had been with a stranger for about 48 hours, and simply sent it out again via ground shipment, not express, with a new delivery date 5 days after customer service told me to expect delivery. I am calling today to cancel my order, which I just should have done yesterday. These issues are all also beside the fact that I requested and was told I would receive a call back from a manager on Wednesday (never happened) and the shipping department on Thursday (also never happened). This company simply has no care or concern for customer relations, they are not afraid to lie, one of the worst customer service experiences I have ever had. I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
It's stated clearly on the Google Fi site, but noting here that tethering with an iPhone internationally does not work. Such a shame.
Had my first issue. I pay for the protection plan, so when I dropped my phone and screwed up the camera I called the plan into action and paid the deductible for a new phone. Support chat was super efficient. Well, the refurbished phone had a defective wifi receiver so I sent that back. Now I'm asking for a new replacement and they are asking for me to pay a new deductible. I'm saying hell...
Had my first issue. I pay for the protection plan, so when I dropped my phone and screwed up the camera I called the plan into action and paid the deductible for a new phone. Support chat was super efficient. Well, the refurbished phone had a defective wifi receiver so I sent that back. Now I'm asking for a new replacement and they are asking for me to pay a new deductible. I'm saying hell no because Google sent me a defective replacement and why should I have to pay for their mistake. Agent in chat this time is taking forever and says there is no way to waive fee. I said there always a way and asked for the next up the chain of command. That person is supposed to email me but we shall we if that happens. After reading some of these comments I'm not too optimistic. If they refuse I'm bailing on Google fi.
The Verge: Google Fi launches a more traditional unlimited plan.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/17/20869599/google-fi-launches-a-more-traditional-unlimited-plan
I recently joined a Fi plan with my iPhone 6s. It was great until it wasn’t. I should have done my research because the only network available on the iPhone is T-Mobile.
I spent an hour with customer support trying to restore my service before heading to a remote work site in central West Virginia. I did not have ANY voice, text or data. According to Fi’s service map, I should have had 2G...
I recently joined a Fi plan with my iPhone 6s. It was great until it wasn’t. I should have done my research because the only network available on the iPhone is T-Mobile.
I spent an hour with customer support trying to restore my service before heading to a remote work site in central West Virginia. I did not have ANY voice, text or data. According to Fi’s service map, I should have had 2G coverage through T-Mobile. Would I have had coverage with a Fi designed device? Maybe. Fortunately my coworker had coverage through AT&T. I tried manually switching carriers but all the carriers in my iPhone settings showed up as Google Fi. Maybe a software update is needed. The real kicker is that customer support had no interest in escalating the issue. I wanted to get to the root cause and make this work. I’ll be traveling for work in Maine late October and this can’t happen again unless I’m willing to bust out some paper maps and a compass. So I have to decide if I want to take the risk with Fi or switch to back to Verizon.
So if you’re traveling to areas where T-Mobile is not available or if reliability in remote areas is EXTREMELY important to you, stick with a traditional carrier.
I am wrapping up my 5th month with my $99 Moto G6. I continue to be happy with the service for a budget plan and a budget phone. My bills are below $30 a month, my call clarity at times could be better but all in all its tolerable. I'm not paying for an $800 phone and I'm not paying $70-$90 a month for an unlimited data plan I don't need.
Based on my experience I would recommend a Moron G6 and Google Fi to other's.
I have been trying to get my Phone app to work for over six months, I am on my second replacement phone. Google Fi doesn't seem to have a clue about how to fix it, because nothing they have tried has worked. I am ready to move to another carrier.
Google FI is trash. I ported my number in 3 weeks ago and my phone still won't take inbound calls. I'm just told they are working on the issue. A phone, at its most basic level, should be able to make and take calls. Their service is poor and they have no time line on a fix.
When you port your number away, they cancel your service and then you wait for the other carrier to get it. So now, I'm down again, waiting on Fi.
I have had fi for over 2 years. I liked it. But now that I have a billing error I may loose my number. It is not worth any amount to do that. Run and do not pass go. I have read about this billing issue with a lot of people and there is now way to pay or port.
I am using G FI for almost a year, Last few months - idon't get signal often, I am using PIXEL 3, call drop, " not in service" kind of msgs- very poor service.
Manash
I am having the exact same issue. Google will not take my payment and will not port my number that I have had for over 20 years. I have several businesses with dozens of employees. And this is my only number. All I did was save one of my employees cards on chrome and that flagged my account. I have sent id and passports many times. And they say they have escalated and will respond...
I am having the exact same issue. Google will not take my payment and will not port my number that I have had for over 20 years. I have several businesses with dozens of employees. And this is my only number. All I did was save one of my employees cards on chrome and that flagged my account. I have sent id and passports many times. And they say they have escalated and will respond in 24 to 48 hrs it has been month. Run like hell from fi. Run.
Your Google Support Inquiry: Case ID [4-9209000027338]
We have been using FI for several years and our Google phones too did not last 2 years either.
4 of our SIM cards work fine abroad and one always has no text or data. Google was not able to fix it. We'll now cancel our contracts to get relyable support when needed.
Google FI support is not even able to understand the problem, nor able to check the support history.
Great article! My husband and I been paying customers of google fi for 5 years and have loved it, but we are currently having a horrible dilemma as they have cut our service without warning while abroad. We are currently up to date on our billing and have never missed a payment. They never notified. We called service line several times about the issue and the google staff claimed they didn't know why we had...
Great article! My husband and I been paying customers of google fi for 5 years and have loved it, but we are currently having a horrible dilemma as they have cut our service without warning while abroad. We are currently up to date on our billing and have never missed a payment. They never notified. We called service line several times about the issue and the google staff claimed they didn't know why we had service and it was probably issues with our phones in a different country and not the service. They told us the issue would probably resolve itself in a few days. After several waiting a week we contacted support 2 more times until I finally spoke to an employee that insinuated they "may have possibly cut off service" but they still refused to admit they had intentionally done so. Requests to speak to a supervisor were not granted. This is not just bad business practice but really teetering on the edge of fraudulent activity.
Well then I am indeed sorry for what you experienced. How did it end?
You say "the details aren't important" but they kinda are. When Chase freezes an account you are notified to contact them immediately. They will then tell you what charges were declined so you can provide another card to the merchant. Come on, everyone knows this.
It's at this point you should have immediately contacted Google Fi (the SAME day) to notify them about the breached card.
The fact that you obviously had possession of...
You say "the details aren't important" but they kinda are. When Chase freezes an account you are notified to contact them immediately. They will then tell you what charges were declined so you can provide another card to the merchant. Come on, everyone knows this.
It's at this point you should have immediately contacted Google Fi (the SAME day) to notify them about the breached card.
The fact that you obviously had possession of your phone a long time before getting disconnected and having your account shut down indicates you hadn't made any attempt to let CS know the charge was declined. You thought you could sit back and see what happens because your phone service was supposed to be charged under a different card. You clearly didn't take any action until your phone service got shut down which was some time later - long after you'd even contacted Google Fi for tech support for the new phone, which you eventually got working.
Maybe you thought they'd reach out to you after they mistakenly shipped your phone without payment - or maybe they wouldn't notice - but instead they simply shut down your entire account for fraud. And by all accounts your husband is using his new Pixel 3 without still ever having paid for it.
I was at first taken in by this 'review' and almost decided against switching from Verizon (who I could rant about for days) to Google Fi. But things didn't add up and I asked my tech son, who worked as an exec for HP for years, to take a look at this. He laughed and said you rolled the dice for a free phone and got caught. He also said he and his son love their Pixel 3's and thinks Google Fi is a good idea - one that will save me about $100/month.
Could this rant be more about click bait for this site than an actual legitimate complaint?
@ Leslie -- Hi, and welcome to OMAAT!
As you'll see from the hundreds of other comments on this post many people have had similar issues with the interlocking payment systems. This wasn't at all a matter of us "rolling the dice for a free phone" -- it's that the security alert triggered by the fraud alert (even when that payment was resolved) created cascading issues throughout the system. Google is aware that this...
@ Leslie -- Hi, and welcome to OMAAT!
As you'll see from the hundreds of other comments on this post many people have had similar issues with the interlocking payment systems. This wasn't at all a matter of us "rolling the dice for a free phone" -- it's that the security alert triggered by the fraud alert (even when that payment was resolved) created cascading issues throughout the system. Google is aware that this is an issue, and I've had multiple conversations with them in the intervening months about how they are working to implement better controls and isolate systems so that people aren't prevented from paying their bills by technological constraints. I've promised to update this post once those things are done, but in the meantime I think it's a reasonable thing for people to be aware of.
We are google fi people for years, and are actually now experiencing the horrible things some of you might have read in reviews. My wife's phone bricked August 3rd , software problem . After jumping a few hoops, they send us a replacement , probably refurbished , charging us a $79 deductible (for what, software failing ?). Then we had to send the bricked phone before a certain date,. We did, but they charge us...
We are google fi people for years, and are actually now experiencing the horrible things some of you might have read in reviews. My wife's phone bricked August 3rd , software problem . After jumping a few hoops, they send us a replacement , probably refurbished , charging us a $79 deductible (for what, software failing ?). Then we had to send the bricked phone before a certain date,. We did, but they charge us the full price . We got the full price refunded , but they kept the the deductible. Did I mention it took 6 days to get the replacement? Then yesterday ... The "new" phone bricked ....back to square one. I am raising hell to get a functioning phone and the "deductible" waived . Like how am I responsible for their software failing on their phone?
Hi Lucky-- Wow, am I glad about finding your excellent site while researching Google Fi. Your thorough commentary saved me from making a potentially nightmarish mistake. A thousand thanks for the great effort and time you clearly spend to fill the site with such a wealth of info and insights! And all presented in a manner that is high-level but still accessible, on pages that are a pleasure to use. Although my husband and I...
Hi Lucky-- Wow, am I glad about finding your excellent site while researching Google Fi. Your thorough commentary saved me from making a potentially nightmarish mistake. A thousand thanks for the great effort and time you clearly spend to fill the site with such a wealth of info and insights! And all presented in a manner that is high-level but still accessible, on pages that are a pleasure to use. Although my husband and I don't travel as much as we used to, I know I'll return here many times--even if only to do a little vicarious wandering.
Best regards.
I also have had much worse experiences with Fi support in the past six months. The phone app on my new Moto G6 stopped working-- constantly crashed. Support had no fix. Finally they replaced the phone. That wasn't a solution, the new phone did the same thing within days of activating it. My solution was to buy a used Pixel 2XL and, after a few days it is doing the same thing. It must be...
I also have had much worse experiences with Fi support in the past six months. The phone app on my new Moto G6 stopped working-- constantly crashed. Support had no fix. Finally they replaced the phone. That wasn't a solution, the new phone did the same thing within days of activating it. My solution was to buy a used Pixel 2XL and, after a few days it is doing the same thing. It must be the Android operating system, or their phone app. Either way, they have had many months to fix it and I'm about done waiting.
The worst part has been the poor, uninformed and unempowered customer service. I've spent way too many hours on the phone and accomplished next to nothing with support.
My experience with Fi was OK until about 6 months ago but even then I think the network switching is more about advertising than anything else. The concept is great, my pixel should pick the "best carrier" and allow me to have the "best service". The reality is this just doesn't happen and forget WiFi. I can have 0 bars of service and full Wi-Fi and the phone will rarely use WiFi.
Then there...
My experience with Fi was OK until about 6 months ago but even then I think the network switching is more about advertising than anything else. The concept is great, my pixel should pick the "best carrier" and allow me to have the "best service". The reality is this just doesn't happen and forget WiFi. I can have 0 bars of service and full Wi-Fi and the phone will rarely use WiFi.
Then there is the issue of "seamlessly switching" which just doesn't happen either. In my home I have 0 bars of service and great WiFi and I have never been able to come home and not have a call drop -- It will drop the call and just ignore the WiFi.
I travel internationally quite a bit and the service is OK, but now that TMO has a decent international option which includes high speed data AND calling is included, It's hard to justify keeping a second number on Fi just from travel.
I will also add that as a 3-year Fi user, I'm sorely disappointed with how support and coverage has fallen to pieces. Service worked great last year when I traveled to Belize, Hong Kong, and Spain. However, on our trip in Italy last month the service fell apart. Worked great for 3 days in Rome with zero issues and for about an hour after we arrived in Milan. Went up to Lake Garda and service...
I will also add that as a 3-year Fi user, I'm sorely disappointed with how support and coverage has fallen to pieces. Service worked great last year when I traveled to Belize, Hong Kong, and Spain. However, on our trip in Italy last month the service fell apart. Worked great for 3 days in Rome with zero issues and for about an hour after we arrived in Milan. Went up to Lake Garda and service disappeared. Pixel 3A would show LTE and within a minute it would go from LTE, H+, H, 3G, to no service. Switching to airplane mode or rebooting the phone would go through the same cycle; connect to service at LTE but drop to no service within a minute. Spent a full day with tech support and followed all their steps in support e-mails and on-line only to get this response:
"This is a follow up email regarding the issue you're experiencing with your Google Fi services at Italy.
Since you were able to use your Fi services when you originally landed overseas, but became spotty once arriving in Italy.
In this case, we won't be able to escalate your case to our higher tier. Our connection quality in different parts of the country can vary, unfortunately. We're sorry for the inconvenience this has caused you, and it's something we're always working to improve.
We do recommend toggling airplane mode and restarting your device, which may help refresh your connection. I'm positive that it would fix your issue. Your patience and understanding is highly appreciated.
If in case the issue still persists, then please feel free to reply to this email. We'll surely help you further."
Poorly written, circular argument (we can't escalate you to another service tier but we'll surely help you further...really????), and the fact they are not willing to back their service are all signs that Google doesn't care anymore. Fortunately we have T-Mobile for our stateside home phones so we could at least get slow data but the $3/min voice call cost sure made us miss being able to call on Fi for dinner reservations or calls back to our hosts.
We finished our trip out in Venice and had better but still inconsistent service over the last two days; we would bounce back and forth between LTE, H+, and H (at one point I even saw Edge...didn't think that still existed!!). We have one more trip abroad at the end of the year that I'll take our Pixel and Fi service with us but if the results are the same as it was in Italy, I'm cancelling our Fi service and using that to pay extra to boost T-Mobile to LTE speeds on top of our normal monthly bill.
Would like to add on my experiences. Google fi support is absolutely terrible. They lie to you and deflect. You can never get a real person on the chat support, only pre recordings or chat bots.
I also had a horrible experience...I thought it was just an isolated incident.
I subscribed Google Fi just for going abroad. When I got to Italy, no cellular data at all.
I spent hours on the phone with "Google Fi support," but it was a waste.
And I still have to pay for all the fees. On top of that, I found out the calls I made when I was trying to get help at the airport was not included in the plan. It was an disappointing experience.
The worst. Couple reasons:
1. Unstable service
2. Can't receive text or calls sometimes
When you cancel they will tell you your service is cancelled but still you get charged continuously. When asked they say you have to pause your service.......
I just activated Googlefi on an unlocked moto g6. I have always hated Hangouts, have been using a google phone number and Voice for years. When I found out I'd have to use Hangouts if I ported my Google number, I said no way. An agent suggested starting another Google account and port my google number to new account. I did, and went ahead and used my phone's number for Googlefi. Most people have my...
I just activated Googlefi on an unlocked moto g6. I have always hated Hangouts, have been using a google phone number and Voice for years. When I found out I'd have to use Hangouts if I ported my Google number, I said no way. An agent suggested starting another Google account and port my google number to new account. I did, and went ahead and used my phone's number for Googlefi. Most people have my Google number and home #, but not my cell phone number. I think this will work for me.
I purchased anew Pixel 3A XL, volume doesn't go up high enough for music. Was transferred 5 times by Google with no resolution. I think it's the way it's designed. I like that the Pixel is plastic,
not glass and it does take better pictures than my old Huawei Mate 2, but other than that, I'm not a fan of the Pie operating system layout or Google apps that came installed. It's very cumbersome...
I purchased anew Pixel 3A XL, volume doesn't go up high enough for music. Was transferred 5 times by Google with no resolution. I think it's the way it's designed. I like that the Pixel is plastic,
not glass and it does take better pictures than my old Huawei Mate 2, but other than that, I'm not a fan of the Pie operating system layout or Google apps that came installed. It's very cumbersome and messy. Was going to switch to Google Fi, but after reading this article and the comments, no thank you. I'm getting quite tired of spending hours and hours trying to get tech to work. It's getting to the point that I'm spending more time than I'm saving.
Looks like no one is happy with Google Fi, their Pixel phones, or both. I have a Pixel 3XL that just turned ONE MONTH OLD and have had nothing but PROBLEMS SINCE DAY ONE. HOURS of Google Fi tech support calls that can be VERIFIED. Today they decided I needed a replacement phone BUT GET THIS, it will be a REFURBISHED phone. If you have the phone over 15 DAYS, THAT’S RIGHT, 15 DAYS, you...
Looks like no one is happy with Google Fi, their Pixel phones, or both. I have a Pixel 3XL that just turned ONE MONTH OLD and have had nothing but PROBLEMS SINCE DAY ONE. HOURS of Google Fi tech support calls that can be VERIFIED. Today they decided I needed a replacement phone BUT GET THIS, it will be a REFURBISHED phone. If you have the phone over 15 DAYS, THAT’S RIGHT, 15 DAYS, you only get somebody else’s REFURBISHED LEMON back for your $800, 30 DAY OLD phone! The tech person asked her supervisor if I could get a NEW replacement phone ,at my request due to the circumstances, and was told NO! GOOGLE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES! DON'T LET THEM TAKE YOUR MONEY AND NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT.
SO infuriated with their support team. I was told where to get my device repaired at (a certified partner or whatever of theirs) and that I could later make a claim. When I tried to make a claim after the repairs I was told that I would've had to have done it beforehand. The battery needed replacing (after six months which it shouldn't have - on a Pixel 3) and they were trying to issue...
SO infuriated with their support team. I was told where to get my device repaired at (a certified partner or whatever of theirs) and that I could later make a claim. When I tried to make a claim after the repairs I was told that I would've had to have done it beforehand. The battery needed replacing (after six months which it shouldn't have - on a Pixel 3) and they were trying to issue me a completely new phone (what a waste) but since I was traveling (the entire reason I switched in the first place) there were a variety of reasons why that was not possible. Their policies are NOT helpful and the support staff were robotic and scripted and gave me false info. I am so frustrated with how much they didn't care and how absurd it is I can't make a claim after the fact. Not conducive to travel at all. Or anybody. I need my phone, I can't be waiting on appointments.
I have been dealing with Google Fi for the past week regarding a replacement phone on the protection plan. They insist on replacing my 63 year old husband's phone with a pink phone which has fewer features. Upon looking through the terms and conditions of the protection plan, and a nasty arbitration clause, I realize that their protection plan is worthless and so are their customer service representatives.
4 days ago my Samsung S6 went dead after an update. I tried to log into the Fi account from a chromebook and despite entering all of the information correctly, they blocked the email. I wasn't able to go buy a phone or port the number to another carrier because I wasn't able to log in to the email.
They told me, after chatting and calling constantly, that it was escalated. No timeline given,...
4 days ago my Samsung S6 went dead after an update. I tried to log into the Fi account from a chromebook and despite entering all of the information correctly, they blocked the email. I wasn't able to go buy a phone or port the number to another carrier because I wasn't able to log in to the email.
They told me, after chatting and calling constantly, that it was escalated. No timeline given, no answers as to why I was locked out. No attempt to help me deal with not having a phone because of their issues.
It was unlocked today but I will be buying a phone and switching carriers. I don't travel so my greatest priority is that the phone be accessible and when it isn't I need to address it immediately, not indefinitely.
Throughout the last 4 days I have moved on from some Google products and am looking to dump Gmail and Drive. I just think Google is too big and too aggressive and has moved away from the user experience.
BTW. FCC states no carrier can refuse to port your phone for non payment and it must be done in one business day.
I sent an email to Google legal explaining that their slow response to my lockout was in effect preventing me from porting to a new carrier.
How is Google Fi now in July 2019?
Have they straighten out their main issues? I haven been wanting to switch to G Fi with their new Moto G7 phone...anybody have any recent experiences???
There is one key 'trick' to avoiding the issues with Google Payments. When you sign up for Fi, do NOT use a gmail account.
My wife's nexus phone died, but she cannot access her account because she forgot the password. Customer service was no help. We have tried multiple times using the set of instructions given to us without success. Project fi is still being paid automatically through a credit card for a service no longer available to us. Still unresolved three months after phone died.
I was a happy Google Fi user for about 3 years. Then my disdain started this week. I was suddenly told that I had violated Google's Terms of Service with my GMail account and it was suspended. I have no idea why and they won't give me any details. With my GMail account being terminated, I can no longer use my cell phone to make and receive calls. I can not even access my Google...
I was a happy Google Fi user for about 3 years. Then my disdain started this week. I was suddenly told that I had violated Google's Terms of Service with my GMail account and it was suspended. I have no idea why and they won't give me any details. With my GMail account being terminated, I can no longer use my cell phone to make and receive calls. I can not even access my Google Fi account so I can port my phone number, which I've had for close to 20 years, to a new Fi account or to a new service provider. The appeals process is a joke. I have no idea why my account was suspended so I don't even know what to appeal. They refuse to tell me anything other than I violated the Terms of Service. My guess is someone accessed my account without my knowledge; but how to convince Google of this when they won't even tell me what terms were violated? I'm pretty sure they're breaking the law by not allowing me to retrieve my old phone number. I don't much care for Apple products but I'm seriously considering switching to the iPhone and leaving any product or service that involves Google.
Yep. same scenario. I've been a Google Fi customer since month 1 and support, until my experience last week has been fantastic. Then the s**t hit the fan. My Pixel XL's screen went dark when I made a phone call. Tech support, now in the Philippines, was as helpful as they could be and ended up authorizing a replacement phone for $99 under my plan that I pay $5 a month for.
Then it...
Yep. same scenario. I've been a Google Fi customer since month 1 and support, until my experience last week has been fantastic. Then the s**t hit the fan. My Pixel XL's screen went dark when I made a phone call. Tech support, now in the Philippines, was as helpful as they could be and ended up authorizing a replacement phone for $99 under my plan that I pay $5 a month for.
Then it started to fall apart. The last time I had a replacement phone authorized it was shipped the same day, and I received it the next- couldn't ask for more. My replacement phone was ordered on July 3, so I knew with a holiday the next day there would probably be a day delay. I checked status every day and followed up twice. By Monday (FIVE days later!) I had the my call escalated to a US rep who proceeded to tell me that it was in the shipping system which she had no way of communicating with, and she could do nothing more. I asked to speak with her supervisor. I was told, like the shipping dept., he didn't speak with customers. When I told her this was unacceptable, she told me she was going to end the conversation and proceeded to hang up. My phone was shipped yesterday (SEVEN days after ordering.) This is NOT what Google FI used to be.
SAD, and frustrating.
I am beginning my 4th month , like Keith, above with a G6. My only complaint is occasional call issues when, I presume, the phone is toggling between WiFi and a Sprint/TMobile tower. It isn't always as seamless as I'd want. But my monthly bills are staying under $30 which makes an occasional call issue acceptable to me. I am happy with Google Fi. I do think it is tailor made for people who don't...
I am beginning my 4th month , like Keith, above with a G6. My only complaint is occasional call issues when, I presume, the phone is toggling between WiFi and a Sprint/TMobile tower. It isn't always as seamless as I'd want. But my monthly bills are staying under $30 which makes an occasional call issue acceptable to me. I am happy with Google Fi. I do think it is tailor made for people who don't use a lot of data. If you are hitting the 6 GB level monthly then another provider with unlimited data may be a better option.
Sorry to hear about so many folks with issues, but I see similar issues from people on other carriers. Tmobile was so frustrating, I gave and dumped them and that was just a pay as you go data-only plan for my tablet. I switched a few weeks ago to Fi, got the Moto G6, ported my Verizon number over and in a matter of minutes, was up and running. I even added a 2nd credit...
Sorry to hear about so many folks with issues, but I see similar issues from people on other carriers. Tmobile was so frustrating, I gave and dumped them and that was just a pay as you go data-only plan for my tablet. I switched a few weeks ago to Fi, got the Moto G6, ported my Verizon number over and in a matter of minutes, was up and running. I even added a 2nd credit card to my account and charge Play purchases to one and Fi billing to the other. I have had no issues whatsoever. Love the phone, love the service and love that I have cut my mobile bill in half. I also got a free data sim for my old phone, tied to my plan, which is working flawlessly. I even use a 2nd hangouts number on that one. It's like getting a free backup phone. Long live Fi!
We are in a 'rural' area outside of Tacoma, WA have tried multiple carriers and were possible going to go over to Google Fi, but the problems sound like the past 2 months of problems with T-mobile we are having. We had AT&T, then Verizon and still hardly any coverage even though maps say otherwise.
I too have been dealing with google fi for the past 2 weeks. My phone has shown no signal since i put in the google fi SIM. The customer service is horrible. I get an email every few days with no reply to my responses. This is not worth it.
AppleCare while keeping my iPhone 8 Plus is looking pretty good right now. I started this evening to find out about the pink screen tinting on Pixel 3 because I wanted it over the Pixel 3a. The other day I was in BestBuy and the screens on the Pixel's were tinted pink, Pixel 3 the worst, but the Pixel 3a looked pretty good. Pixel is like a box of chocolates. I couln't understand why they...
AppleCare while keeping my iPhone 8 Plus is looking pretty good right now. I started this evening to find out about the pink screen tinting on Pixel 3 because I wanted it over the Pixel 3a. The other day I was in BestBuy and the screens on the Pixel's were tinted pink, Pixel 3 the worst, but the Pixel 3a looked pretty good. Pixel is like a box of chocolates. I couln't understand why they would advertise sub-grade screens, or displays that were grade B/C. I was going to trade in an iPhone 8 Plus for the Pixel for $329, LOL. I used Google Fi for a number of years and now on T-Mobile for $70, unlimited data for myself and my wife. Still, I was thinking Google Fi could same some money... but my time and sanity are worth more. I bet they didn't wish that I knew more about them than they know about me :) and I probably don't.
Great comments to read as I consider switching. One of my children did switch to Fi. After more than 2 months of trying to port the only number that they have ever had, she gave up and took a new one. Her customer service experience has given me great pause as has what I have read here.
My last google phone - I never had a problem with T-mobile and Pixel 2 travelling in Canada. Today, t-mobile told me the the pixel 3 is no longer compatible with the Canadian frequencies.
A good rule of thumb is to be very careful about goodies been handed out at little apparent cost. There will be often significant unexpected costs. The Google ecosystem is a good example.
In the case of Google Fi, which I've used sparingly for a few years, it's a reasonable backup-phone. In my opinion, it would be unwise to depend on it as a primary phone. Tiffany's article points to the biggest problem with...
A good rule of thumb is to be very careful about goodies been handed out at little apparent cost. There will be often significant unexpected costs. The Google ecosystem is a good example.
In the case of Google Fi, which I've used sparingly for a few years, it's a reasonable backup-phone. In my opinion, it would be unwise to depend on it as a primary phone. Tiffany's article points to the biggest problem with dealing with a behemoth cyber-bureaucracy that is largely unaccountable.
Thank you for writing this article. I could not agree with you more. I have been a loyal GoogleFi customer since October 2016 and spent $3800 on the service at an average of $120/pm. It has served me well but only for the convenience of global data roaming. Three things that have horribly gone wrong lately:
1. Quality of Customer Service
2. Quality of Device
3. Data speed
I was sent...
Thank you for writing this article. I could not agree with you more. I have been a loyal GoogleFi customer since October 2016 and spent $3800 on the service at an average of $120/pm. It has served me well but only for the convenience of global data roaming. Three things that have horribly gone wrong lately:
1. Quality of Customer Service
2. Quality of Device
3. Data speed
I was sent a device that did not work from day 1. I could not make phone calls as the person on the other end could not hear me. First call - we have heard about this and looking into this. No one bothered to call back. I went on travel and had to switch back to older device. When I returned, I went over lame troubleshooting steps fully knowing that the issue is with the hardware. Then they refused to return the phone saying it was past the 15 day period. It took them 45 minutes to get to the supervisor and when I questioned what took so long...The supervisor said You are not the only caller...Well Google Fi, goodbye, you are not the only service provider. In any case, they not only did not refund, they will only replace my device with a refurbished one when I have not used my new phone even for a day.
I feel cheated. This is extortion and unfair business practice. Even Amazon and Costco get 10+ on customer service and Delta gets 8, I will give Google Fi negative 5 (-5).
What are my options? The supervisor Angelina stated that she is the highest person responsible for customer service. So I dont know who to escalate it to? Can I write to Google CEO? Can I write to Consumer Court?
This is plain bad and I am switching over for sure.
As for data speed, it is just about acceptable in metros. Overseas, their contracts seem to have changed and it has badly impacted data speed. It was connecting to Vodaphone network in India and the speed was unusable in most cities.
2018 was my first year transitioning to google (chrome, gmail, etc) and as of late Google Fi. I have an iphone 6s and it did state the IOS version is "Beta" so yes like many of you mentioned....dropped calls, people complaining of how I sound..etc.. Also they virtually give you no grace period. Had some issues with my plastic and cash - thanks to the ex. and I am now after several phone calls and...
2018 was my first year transitioning to google (chrome, gmail, etc) and as of late Google Fi. I have an iphone 6s and it did state the IOS version is "Beta" so yes like many of you mentioned....dropped calls, people complaining of how I sound..etc.. Also they virtually give you no grace period. Had some issues with my plastic and cash - thanks to the ex. and I am now after several phone calls and begging - i am 2 weeks late and no more extensions. also trying to be smart....HAHA.. I pause my data, I was almost to the 15 GB and I have 2 more weeks to go on plan. Now paused, UNPAUSE or Resume not available - this is why i found you guys tonight. So you pause data, you cant find to resume, you click support in the app, well its all web-based so with data paused, i have no way to look up how to resume. Like going down white water rafting and you just decide to throw out your ores. you would think with the app they could include a few articles relating to data usage. and now reading all of your enlightening comments. Think I am going to take action tomorrow. ALSO why is google charging so much (granted cheaper than other LTE Devils) wasnt it google that wanted to provide free internet to the country? - just pissed, broken hearted, frustrated, sad, & confused about what to do.
Like JSP I bought a phone as a gift using a promotion for a phone that had wireless charging. My wife is disabled and has the use of only one hand so plugging in the charger was challenging. We registered it under her gmail account within 30 days as required. ( Bought under my gmail account cause otherwise she would have gotten an email announcing the purchase)
I was then charged $200 because in their...
Like JSP I bought a phone as a gift using a promotion for a phone that had wireless charging. My wife is disabled and has the use of only one hand so plugging in the charger was challenging. We registered it under her gmail account within 30 days as required. ( Bought under my gmail account cause otherwise she would have gotten an email announcing the purchase)
I was then charged $200 because in their mind the phone wasn't activated. Hours with Google FI support got nowhere. At one point they had me send back the perfectly good phone so they could ship a new one as that was supposed to solve the activation snafu. Nope.
I'm now fighting it out through the credit card company.
To complicate the situation the phone/purse was recently stolen off the back of her wheelchair. We suspended her service, hoping the phone would be returned.
We gave up on its return, so purchased an unlocked phone with wireless charging. When I went to reactivate Google Fi with this new phone I learned that the remaining 7 months of free service were no longer available to me. (part of the original promotion) They stated I canceled service. Amazing how helpful the woman I spoke to was when we suspended service...
As of today I give up. Will take this unlocked phone and go back to Republic Wireless. Republic is less expensive and better customer service.
I have a different issue mine google fi number. It randomly does not receive incoming calls and the caller gets this message "The subscriber you're to trying to reach is no longer in service, blah blah blah, ... call again if you think it's a mistake".
I've been using Google Fi for almost 3 years, and I've had every Pixel model. I've never had any issues with Fi or any need to call customer support. I've never had any issues with payments and I've never had any issues with service either. I've also had 0 issues with my Pixel devices. As far as "market share", Google wouldn't have a large market share because the service is a piggy back on T-Mobile...
I've been using Google Fi for almost 3 years, and I've had every Pixel model. I've never had any issues with Fi or any need to call customer support. I've never had any issues with payments and I've never had any issues with service either. I've also had 0 issues with my Pixel devices. As far as "market share", Google wouldn't have a large market share because the service is a piggy back on T-Mobile and Sprint networks. As far as old people go, I recommend that you just get an iPhone if you can't figure out Android. Fi allows Apple now as well
I think tech need to address the customer service aspect. As I age (I'm 58), it gets harder and harder to keep up. I usually know more than my peers and they just want to ask someone and get an answer. They don't go on to forums waiting for answers. I even have my 95 yr. old Mother using an android phone so she can have some communication with her grandchildren and get pictures of...
I think tech need to address the customer service aspect. As I age (I'm 58), it gets harder and harder to keep up. I usually know more than my peers and they just want to ask someone and get an answer. They don't go on to forums waiting for answers. I even have my 95 yr. old Mother using an android phone so she can have some communication with her grandchildren and get pictures of her great grandchildren who are spread across the country. But it is very, very difficult (and on limited incomes) to do this. Also the advertising pop-ups, notifications, and such just make it even more confusing. Tech need to address this, because one day we will all be there. So if Google Fi is difficult to use and causes problems, older people just won't use it. But then, I suppose, no one cares about us anyways.
I have had exceptional service for almost 3 years, though Fi. I never drop calls & am saving $50+ every mo. That alone makes all the sense needed. No cust sv problems at all.
In fairness I don't know why the call dropped. And its not typical for me in my location.
I'm sure I've walked out my back door numerous times before while talking on the phone and didn't drop a call.
To be clear I am 5 days short of 2 months with Fi and as I mentioned I am using a Moto G product. Its my third direct experience with Moto G and I...
In fairness I don't know why the call dropped. And its not typical for me in my location.
I'm sure I've walked out my back door numerous times before while talking on the phone and didn't drop a call.
To be clear I am 5 days short of 2 months with Fi and as I mentioned I am using a Moto G product. Its my third direct experience with Moto G and I have been very happy considering they are a "budget" phone.
So my Moto G experience is almost 3 years but my Google Fi experience is just about 2 months.
Craig, I realize that. It just seems like I spend way too much time trying to troubleshoot Google products. My friends that use Apple love them and don't have to fool around with them nearly as much as I do. I had high hopes for Google Fi and almost purchased an expensive phone to use with them 3.5 years ago. But it seems Google just keeps pushing out lots of products that aren't quite ready...
Craig, I realize that. It just seems like I spend way too much time trying to troubleshoot Google products. My friends that use Apple love them and don't have to fool around with them nearly as much as I do. I had high hopes for Google Fi and almost purchased an expensive phone to use with them 3.5 years ago. But it seems Google just keeps pushing out lots of products that aren't quite ready for anyone who doesn't want to spend hour upon hour troubleshooting them. And now reading this, I don't think Google Fi is for me. I have an elderly Mother so I must have phone service 99.9% of the time and dropped calls are just unacceptable. I also have people calling me re: some volunteer work I do and I can't be fooling around with the phone service and billing or have it locking up my account.
Jane,
If you switch to Apple you maybe/probably don't want to go with Google Fi. To get the most out of the service you need one of the 4 options designed for Google Fi. Those phones are supposed to be, in Googles words....... "built with Google Fi’s unique technology to put you on the best signal by intelligently shifting between networks..."
Other phones, like apple phones, will work but not optimally if we...
Jane,
If you switch to Apple you maybe/probably don't want to go with Google Fi. To get the most out of the service you need one of the 4 options designed for Google Fi. Those phones are supposed to be, in Googles words....... "built with Google Fi’s unique technology to put you on the best signal by intelligently shifting between networks..."
Other phones, like apple phones, will work but not optimally if we are to believe Google Fi.
Today I was talking to my wife from inside my house. I assume the call was routing through my wifi on a VOIP protocol. I walked out in the back yard and at one point lost the call. I'm not sure if my Google Fi phone didn't seamlessly move from wifi to either Tmobile or Sprint, whichever one it likes in my yard. Its possible the call was dropped from my wife's end as she was driving in the car. I am going to experiment later when she gets home.
I want CUSTOMER SERVICE that I can call! Tech can't do everything. I've been looking at the new Pixel 3a XL, but dealing with Google keeps me hesitant. Maybe time to switch to Apple if they don't get their act together. Not everyone is a tech expert or has someone who can help them.
Google cannot be trusted with credit cards. They do not take responsibility the way that most other companies do.
Example 1: I entered my credit card in to the Google Fi system. My wife received some photos via Dropbox and then I have a charge on my card from Google *Dropbox. I call Google Fi and they say I have to call Google Play. But I only gave my credit card to Google Fi and...
Google cannot be trusted with credit cards. They do not take responsibility the way that most other companies do.
Example 1: I entered my credit card in to the Google Fi system. My wife received some photos via Dropbox and then I have a charge on my card from Google *Dropbox. I call Google Fi and they say I have to call Google Play. But I only gave my credit card to Google Fi and my wife does not know even a single digit of my credit card.
Example 2: Google Fi charged my credit card $160 extra for non-activation of a phone that I had returned. This is similar to JSP's comment of January 8th. The Google Fi phone support had told me that the way they could fix a simple problem is if I returned the phone I ordered and ordered a second one. Reluctantly I did. However, I had Fedex return the first phone so it never even reached my door. Guess what? Had a hard time getting that refund and now I may be looking at more hours with their abusive phone support to get that $160 reversed!
I will continue to say I have had no issues with Google Fi. I bought a Moto G6 from Google Fi for $99. My previous phone, a Moto G4 which I bought myself and took to Verizon, after 2.5 years, is still working. My wife is using it as her Moto G4 is starting to misbehave. Part of the reason for that, I believe, is she tends to drop it occasionally.
I have been...
I will continue to say I have had no issues with Google Fi. I bought a Moto G6 from Google Fi for $99. My previous phone, a Moto G4 which I bought myself and took to Verizon, after 2.5 years, is still working. My wife is using it as her Moto G4 is starting to misbehave. Part of the reason for that, I believe, is she tends to drop it occasionally.
I have been happy with the Moto G line of budget phones. At $99 that G6 is an incredible deal.
I can't speak to problems people had overseas, but my final straw that got me to leave Verizon was problems we had in Jamaica early March with Verizon.
Thank you everyone for the comments. I was just looking at buying the Pixel 3A XL and maybe trying Google Fi. I have a 95 year old Mother that I call everyday and I also do volunteer work that requires I take lots of incoming phone calls. Having these kinds of problems would be devastating. As a single person I cannot not have my phone! I don't even think I want the Pixel 3a phone now either.
Switched over to Fi from the cash sucking Verizon vampires and haven't looked back. Got a Moto G7 for $250 and just received $95 credit for my Pixel XL that was basically useless.
HI there.
it's seems data of my Google Fi is ridiculous increased. in 5 days, as per FI app, I used 2.4GB of it but on my phone is metered only nearly 500mb. how is that? ok, it might be a difference between phone and network metering but not so big.
for testing only, I use Bahamas sim card as well...difference is so little between phone and network.
with this said, I...
HI there.
it's seems data of my Google Fi is ridiculous increased. in 5 days, as per FI app, I used 2.4GB of it but on my phone is metered only nearly 500mb. how is that? ok, it might be a difference between phone and network metering but not so big.
for testing only, I use Bahamas sim card as well...difference is so little between phone and network.
with this said, I will close this and bye bye. I have few co-workers asking how is working or if is ok to order some; I told them to look for other providers.
p.s - I work on cruise ship and traveling from there to there. as per google fi plan, data is valid whenever is used in this world (countries in their list) at no extra cost, but what they do is fraud.
These fckrs just took $950 from my bank account, leaving my family penniless! I had to wait over an hour just to chat with a customer service rep. Waiting to actually speak to someone would have been three hours! Thier rep said it was a technical issue they are working to resolve! They will email me a resolution in 24-72 hours! Meanwhile, my family has no means of financial support my bill was only $258....
These fckrs just took $950 from my bank account, leaving my family penniless! I had to wait over an hour just to chat with a customer service rep. Waiting to actually speak to someone would have been three hours! Thier rep said it was a technical issue they are working to resolve! They will email me a resolution in 24-72 hours! Meanwhile, my family has no means of financial support my bill was only $258. It was to come out of the account yesterday. I'm beyond inconvenienced. This is a serious hardship for us. Hope we don't run out of gas!
I just have to say, I cancelled a Project Fi group account two weeks ago. I've been trying unsuccessfully since then to port over just one of the numbers to Verizon and still haven't been able to do so. Many hours on the phone and still nothing done.
Went to Italy for a month last fall. Immediately had problems with fi service and they got worse as trip went on. Agents had NO clue how to resolve the issue (seem to be based in non-English speaking country). Once back in the states it's all fine, and no billing trouble as you've noted, so far. I like the service and domestic issues are easily fixed. Hope it stays sane.
I dropped Fi for Wing wireless, an MVNO using ATT network. I get same ATT service area (rural east Texas) that didn't always work on the 3 networks used by Fi.
I dumped Verizon for Google Fi and I have no regrets. It's working fine and I can't speak to customer support because I have no problems. I bought a fully compatible Moto G6 from Fi and it came with the SIM card installed.
"Has anyone else had issues with Google Fi recently? Were you able to get them resolved?"
Yes, by changing carriers. I travel internationally 6 months out of the year and in the US the other 6 months of the year. For many years I carried multiple phones, dual SIM phones and a half dozen other approaches. I need both phone and mobile data and I thought Fi was the answer. Wrong.
In theory it...
"Has anyone else had issues with Google Fi recently? Were you able to get them resolved?"
Yes, by changing carriers. I travel internationally 6 months out of the year and in the US the other 6 months of the year. For many years I carried multiple phones, dual SIM phones and a half dozen other approaches. I need both phone and mobile data and I thought Fi was the answer. Wrong.
In theory it was great, in practice no. The domestic side was no better than other carriers. There was a bit of a savings on international data but the lack of dependability more than negated that. If you spend all of your time in major European cities you may be OK. Start to travel and you're dead meat. Their coverage is no where near what they state and going through the reset shuffle every time you need access to data and/or voice is flat out annoying. Capping the data at 60USD/mo kept me around for another year but even that finally couldn't keep me on. I'm heading to Europe for another 4 month trip the end of next month. I changed domestic carriers a few weeks ago and I'll be taking a second phone to use local SIM cards as I used to do. It works.
I haven't mentioned "support" as it usually takes me a bit of time to swallow my bile and speak rationally to that subject. How you contact them, time of day and other considerations make you feel that there is absolutely no co-ordination in their system. Chat is usually the worst. I get the feeling they use the chat workers to crowd source solutions. You'll spend 5 minutes or so with every different worker as they plead with you for a positive review of a problem they did not resolve. You can present an identical problem to half a dozen chat support workers and then spend hours as they run you through whatever guess work seems to be on tap that day. You can never return to the same worker after trying the page long list of things they suggest. The reason you end up on chat is that it is impossible for your internet connection to support a hotspot to your laptop and a voice connection at the same time. There is absolutely no way you will ever support multiple users on a hotspot as claimed.
Anyway, I started at the beginning of FI and cursed Fi through a very expensive phone (bought from Fi when it was one of only a couple models that would work on Fi) whose battery died after a year and a half and their solution was talk to the manufacturer in China. I cursed them when I spent hours in small to midsized cities and could not hold a conversation for more than a minute without it dropping. I cursed them when I arrived in places that they claimed to cover and I would spend 5-10 minutes before every call resetting the bloody phone and would maybe get service and more likely would not. I cursed them when I received a call from someone who was not using What's App because most of the time using What's App was required to successfully get a voice call or even an SMS text to go through. I knew someone was trying to call me because incessant google notification would tell me so but Fi would not allow a voice connection.
Spending a huge portion of your life cursing is a real downer. My solution was to dump Fi. No regrets.
Just signed up for G-Fi and ported my ph # on my phone and 2nd phone (wife's) number...so I thought. ATT ported to FI and closed my account. Fi phone would not work..kept getting Verizon recording that call could not be completed. After MANY emals, chats, calls FI could not fix my phone (which is a Pixel 3XL) and then bam the phone started working until yesterday (4/25/19) when the Verizon recording started up again....
Just signed up for G-Fi and ported my ph # on my phone and 2nd phone (wife's) number...so I thought. ATT ported to FI and closed my account. Fi phone would not work..kept getting Verizon recording that call could not be completed. After MANY emals, chats, calls FI could not fix my phone (which is a Pixel 3XL) and then bam the phone started working until yesterday (4/25/19) when the Verizon recording started up again. My wife's phone will not work at all with FI app & sim card (only emerg. calls display when trying to dial. Support says they will fix both but so far nothing. Now I worry about porting my phone #'s to another service. Stay away from GoogleFI.
I purchased a phone through the google store (not the fi store which is seperate) on 11/29/2018 because of a promotion which offered the price of the phone in travel gift cards.
The terms of service (attached), stated that it applied to new customers, that ported an existing phone number in and remained in good standing.
I purchased the phone and on receipt of the phone we signed up with my wife's google...
I purchased a phone through the google store (not the fi store which is seperate) on 11/29/2018 because of a promotion which offered the price of the phone in travel gift cards.
The terms of service (attached), stated that it applied to new customers, that ported an existing phone number in and remained in good standing.
I purchased the phone and on receipt of the phone we signed up with my wife's google account. We ported her number from verizon, and have maintained full service since.
We never recieved the promotion so I contacted Google about the issue. They claim that the terms and conditions state you must activate the phone on the Fi account that you purchased the phone on. Note it does not say google account, it says Fi account. and this was the reason they would not honor the $799 promotion (even though we had fulfilled all other terms such as porting the number in for new customers and maintaining the account.).
They are maintaining that a Fi account and a google store account are the same thing. This seems clearly not true, and if it is it is a clear abuse of their position as a phone, email and retail provider.
I cannot understand why a company would penalize a customer for having multiple paid accounts (none of which were associated with google Fi phone service at the time of purchase)
To recap the previous post there was apparently a massive problems with resets and activations at Google Fi that lasted 24-48 hours. That would not have been a deal breaker, everyone has outages (though I barely recall any at TMobile) but Google Fi website claimed they were working on improvements and kept delaying the time to fix.
In the end we left to go back to TMobile.
I now understand why.
First the new Pixel 3xl wouldn't make WiFi calls and the VPN could not be activated, then the phone stopped getting and sending cellular data, no calls, texts, browsing, except on wifi. Moving the sim to an older phone didn't solve the issue, a reset recommended by support didn't help and I couldn't re-install WhatsApp (since it asks for a phone number and obv no calls can get in or...
I now understand why.
First the new Pixel 3xl wouldn't make WiFi calls and the VPN could not be activated, then the phone stopped getting and sending cellular data, no calls, texts, browsing, except on wifi. Moving the sim to an older phone didn't solve the issue, a reset recommended by support didn't help and I couldn't re-install WhatsApp (since it asks for a phone number and obv no calls can get in or out).
Now support says it will be resolved in four hours, that's after two days of no service and of back and forth with support.
Basically if in 4 hours it is not fixed, I'll go to T-Mobile.
My problem starts with activation. I have a Google Pixel 3XL, which I purchased through Google and initially connected with Verizon. So activation became less than seamless. Troubleshooting the problem has been a bear. I found Google reps willing to spend hours on the topic, while I was on the line, but their knowledge level was rock-bottom and after two days, activation has still not been completed.
I know not everyone will be happy with the same company for cell service thats why there are tons of them to choose from but for me Google Fi never gave me problems in the customer service area. My problem with them is indoor coverage and ita not their fault coz theyvare an MVNO. I could never get any signal when I go to any buildings.
As I mentioned in my March 13 post I ordered and received my Moto G6 in 3 days. Google ported all my content to my new phone. So far after a few days I have no complaints. To be fair I have yet to test the phone outside of my town to see how a T-Mobile/Sprint combo will compare to Verizon that I just left. I expect my bill to be half what Verizon was...
As I mentioned in my March 13 post I ordered and received my Moto G6 in 3 days. Google ported all my content to my new phone. So far after a few days I have no complaints. To be fair I have yet to test the phone outside of my town to see how a T-Mobile/Sprint combo will compare to Verizon that I just left. I expect my bill to be half what Verizon was and for that sort of discount I am willing to sacrifice a bit in performance. So far I the only thing I've noticed is the clarity of phone calls when routing through WiFi is not as good as Verizon but it's far from a deal killer.
I ported 2 lines to Google fi on 2/27/19. One line went fine, the other one I could not send messages. I'm going to spare you the story of at least 4 phone calls and about 10 chats. Now it's March 23rd and I'm being assured the technicians are "working" on it. On one call the manager told me unless I have patience perhaps Google fi is not for me. I do agree, unless you...
I ported 2 lines to Google fi on 2/27/19. One line went fine, the other one I could not send messages. I'm going to spare you the story of at least 4 phone calls and about 10 chats. Now it's March 23rd and I'm being assured the technicians are "working" on it. On one call the manager told me unless I have patience perhaps Google fi is not for me. I do agree, unless you are willing to be without an ability to text for 3 weeks and counting, Google fi for may not be for you. Lastly, their 24 support is a joke, they are trained to provide very basic support, anything outside the scope it's a ticketing system a customer has 0 access to. Will end up loosing my number as I'm going back to T-Mobile. Google, for the sake of decency, please give up.
I've been a Fi user since launch, and an Android user even longer. I've not had any problems so far, so I can't vouch for the quality of customer service, but I've had no problems. I hope I never have to find out. As for the commenter who said "If I'm paying you 100 a month I expect service" - the point is you're NOT paying that much with Fi. Your bill is probably well...
I've been a Fi user since launch, and an Android user even longer. I've not had any problems so far, so I can't vouch for the quality of customer service, but I've had no problems. I hope I never have to find out. As for the commenter who said "If I'm paying you 100 a month I expect service" - the point is you're NOT paying that much with Fi. Your bill is probably well under $50, and can't exceed $80/line/month. But hey, go drop a grand on an iPhone from apple and then $100+/month with Verizon to support those two companies' advertising budgets.
I'm always amused when someone has a problem with their CARRIER, their first thought is to change to a different handset manufacturer. HUH? And if the phone hardwre's defective, do you switch carriers?
Been with Fi since 2015 and I'd advice anyone again from using it. I have used the initial Fi Huawei 6P and the most recent Pixel 3XL phones. Both phones have known serious defections which Google won't do anything about.
In addition, Fi's customer support is outrageously bad. They also did a hoax promotion which now they are trying everything to not fulfill it. It's hard to imagine that Google could be so low...
Been with Fi since 2015 and I'd advice anyone again from using it. I have used the initial Fi Huawei 6P and the most recent Pixel 3XL phones. Both phones have known serious defections which Google won't do anything about.
In addition, Fi's customer support is outrageously bad. They also did a hoax promotion which now they are trying everything to not fulfill it. It's hard to imagine that Google could be so low but it's the unfortunate truth. They don't care about customer at all.
I bought my Pixel xl 3 back in Nov and switched to Goole - fi. I love the price...my phone bill has been averaging about $25 a month but I keep having the same issue on almost an every other day basis. Everything works fine except I don't receive texts. I can send, I receive calls and messenger,& WhatsApp but no texts. Fi support have been really nice and gave me a code that fixes...
I bought my Pixel xl 3 back in Nov and switched to Goole - fi. I love the price...my phone bill has been averaging about $25 a month but I keep having the same issue on almost an every other day basis. Everything works fine except I don't receive texts. I can send, I receive calls and messenger,& WhatsApp but no texts. Fi support have been really nice and gave me a code that fixes the issue instantly but the problem is that the issue keeps happening so I'm torn on whether to stay with Fi or go.
Google Fi was excited until issues started popping up. Sudden lag on the phone, camera issue, etcs.
I took advantage of the promo back at November 28, but then i realize the phone just not ready for the consumer, the promise of google making me believe the phone gets better over time has broken. Up to a point its sitting there collecting dust because i don't want to deal with frustrations anymore, i am using...
Google Fi was excited until issues started popping up. Sudden lag on the phone, camera issue, etcs.
I took advantage of the promo back at November 28, but then i realize the phone just not ready for the consumer, the promise of google making me believe the phone gets better over time has broken. Up to a point its sitting there collecting dust because i don't want to deal with frustrations anymore, i am using Samsung S9 and simply much better phone and less issues.
I can't believe the company that runs the firmware having software issue with its own branded phone, how is that even possible? Nexus was better phone despite made by 3rd party manufacturer, Google you just aren't ready to make your own hardware, just not at right time. Totally understood they trying to cut manufacturer cost, but they aren't there yet.
I was thinking of signing up because the monthly numbers look good for our data usage and I can get a couple Moto G6's cheaper than anywhere else. I figured if I didn't like the service I can take my G 6's and go back to Verizon ( our current provider) or try T-Mobile and their 55+ plan. These comments give me hesitation although as long as the phones show up and work that is a winner for me.
One of the worsts customer service I have seen is from fi-project people. Waiting on the new phone for 5 weeks. It got lost in the transit. The investigation is still open in fi-project. They started charging for the phone in my account.
Called customer service, they said they cannot do it. Asked for the supervisor, she said the same thing, we have to wait until shipping handles this. I asked her for her...
One of the worsts customer service I have seen is from fi-project people. Waiting on the new phone for 5 weeks. It got lost in the transit. The investigation is still open in fi-project. They started charging for the phone in my account.
Called customer service, they said they cannot do it. Asked for the supervisor, she said the same thing, we have to wait until shipping handles this. I asked her for her manager who can resolved this situation since it has been 5 weeks. She has i am the highest authority that you as a customer can talk to .
and she hangs up the phone.
We are paying for the phone that we haven't received. and there is no remedy from fi-project. I do not recommend dealing with fi-project anyone. This the worst customer service company .
I have been with fi since the invitation period. Everything was great in the beginning, but customer service has definitely gotten worse and the value has decreased as cheaper MVNO data plans are around. International travel, switching between carriers and the ability to pause/unpause service are the three features that sets it apart. If you don't take advantage of those things or have a pixel, I see no reason to use fi. I never understood...
I have been with fi since the invitation period. Everything was great in the beginning, but customer service has definitely gotten worse and the value has decreased as cheaper MVNO data plans are around. International travel, switching between carriers and the ability to pause/unpause service are the three features that sets it apart. If you don't take advantage of those things or have a pixel, I see no reason to use fi. I never understood people with iphones that don't travel being excited to switch to fi this past fall. All you are getting is the same second hand T-Mobile service that comes with Mint for $20/mo and 8GB of data.
All of this said, I think you got a lemon. I have a lot of issues with the Pixel 3 xl I ordered to the point where i might return it, but the fingerprint sensor is not one of them. The pixel does fingerprint sensing so well that I wouldn't want it ever taken away for face id to unlock. The placement of the sensor and consistency, means my phone is always ready to go before I even look at it. If that is bad on your phone, something is wrong. It works just as awesome on my awkward Pixel 3 xl as it has on any of my previous Pixels
Thanks for the heads up. I read the article about the Google Fi billing department freezing the customer's account. That is horrible!
I think it is a numbers game at this point. Which cell phone carrier company are you least likely to have a bad customer service experience with if something goes wrong.
If you look at all of the negative online reviews about TMobile on Facebook and other websites, it seems that...
Thanks for the heads up. I read the article about the Google Fi billing department freezing the customer's account. That is horrible!
I think it is a numbers game at this point. Which cell phone carrier company are you least likely to have a bad customer service experience with if something goes wrong.
If you look at all of the negative online reviews about TMobile on Facebook and other websites, it seems that with Tmobile customer service, if something goes wrong there is 99% chance that your issue will NOT be resolved. My experience was that the Tmobile customer service people have some kind of quota and will try and get you off the phone within 2 minutes or less. It is an awful tactic of saying they are going to put you on hold to look into the case and then just switching you to wait on hold indefinitely for another customer service operator who does the same thing. It is an infuriating experience and I blame Tmobile corporate greed for wasting customer's time just to increase company profit. It also seems like Tmobile is in the middle of upgrading its software, billing and networks all at once, which they are not disclosing, but, I am guessing it is one of the reasons they are such a hot mess. Plus they seem to be taking on many new customers with out the capacity to handle the increase. They talk about all of the "customer service experts" that you can reach on Facebook, but they seem just as bad, if not worse because they make claims like they "would be honored to handle your problem" only to give you a "higher end" run around than the call center representatives.
If you look at the online reviews of Google Fi (which probably has less customers than Tmobile so it is not a great comparison) there are many fewer complaints than Tmobile. It looks like there is a 10 percent chance at Google your problem will not be resolved. One of the reasons, I think is that Google Fi is not a profit center for Google. It seems like the goal of Google Fi is to keep customers in the Google eco-system rather than make a profit. Thus, there is less incentive for Google to try and screw over the customer because of "bottom line" corporate financial mandates.
One thing I learned from the article about a customer's bad experience with Google Fi billing is that it might be a good idea to have a back up credit card on file with Google in case Google decides that your primary credit card has been compromised.
I am going to try Google and see what happens. If it is bad, I will let you know.
I am leaving Google Fi after being with them for only a few months. On 11/28/2018 at 8:02 p.m. MT (7:02 p.m. PST), I bought a new phone (Pixel 3) in order to get the travel promotion (a value of $799). The travel promo was advertised to run until 11/28/2018 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
I was recently told by Google Fi that I do not qualify for the travel credit because they prematurely ended...
I am leaving Google Fi after being with them for only a few months. On 11/28/2018 at 8:02 p.m. MT (7:02 p.m. PST), I bought a new phone (Pixel 3) in order to get the travel promotion (a value of $799). The travel promo was advertised to run until 11/28/2018 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
I was recently told by Google Fi that I do not qualify for the travel credit because they prematurely ended their promotion that night at 7:00 p.m. PST (two minutes before I placed my order). I was not informed the promotion had ended early at any point during the ordering process (my order was already in the shopping cart at 7:00 p.m.). I was told the promotional terms were "revised" and that there was nothing they could do. If I had known the promotion had ended prematurely, I never would have spent $800.00 and switched cell carriers.
None of the Google Fi representatives I spoke to (supervisor level or otherwise) were empowered to help the customer. My experience was terrible and I'll go back to Verizon.
Don't do it! Over a month later and I'm still dealing with the headaches of trying to switch to Fi. Ordered a new Pixel 3 with my new service. A week later when I was supposed to have it, my order was delayed for some untold reason. 2 calls later I find out the phone is backordered. 2 weeks later still no phone, I call to check and my account has an 'administrative hold' that...
Don't do it! Over a month later and I'm still dealing with the headaches of trying to switch to Fi. Ordered a new Pixel 3 with my new service. A week later when I was supposed to have it, my order was delayed for some untold reason. 2 calls later I find out the phone is backordered. 2 weeks later still no phone, I call to check and my account has an 'administrative hold' that no one could explain or even tell me when my phone might ship. I tell them I have to cancel because I need a new phone now. They say they can't cancel my order for some reason and send it to the higher ups, who call me back and ensure me it will be take care of without wasting anymore of my time. Ha! I go get a new phone that day from Verizon and low and be-freakin-hold wake up the next morning to an email saying my phone has shipped from google! I call and asked what happened to cancelling my order and they say it was already processing to ship the day before, when I spent hours on the phone with multiple people.. When I told them the only way I wouldn't cancel my order was if it could ship the next day, which they couldn't tell me for some reason, even though it was in the process of getting boxed up and ready to send probably while I was on the phone unable to find out that very information. I get assured the phone won't be shipped and I won't be charged, but wake up 2 days later to charges for the phone on my card.. at this point I'm done and call my card company to dispute charges, and send Google an email telling them so. Well as this article points out, this causes them to freeze my google pay account. Since I have to continue functioning as a human in this day and age, I call my card to undispute, so they can pay google and google can refund me and my pay account won't be frozen. Well that all happens, but then they rebill me immediately for the same amount! Another email with their rep and they say the recharge isn't showing up on their end, so I have to send them my bank statement to prove it. I just did and am awaiting a final refund and to be done with all their bs!
Fi is horrible, we switched under a promotion deal and had called to ensure we were following the guidelines of the promotion correctly. They directed us to purchase our new pixel three handsets from the Google Store and not the google Fi store, apparently thats completely different. When we started looking for our credit we were told it sucks to be you, you do not get a credit. On top of it the phones have...
Fi is horrible, we switched under a promotion deal and had called to ensure we were following the guidelines of the promotion correctly. They directed us to purchase our new pixel three handsets from the Google Store and not the google Fi store, apparently thats completely different. When we started looking for our credit we were told it sucks to be you, you do not get a credit. On top of it the phones have issues, the customer service is terrible and they play the game of pass the caller. I plan to take to two pixel three handsets down to the local landfill,
I recently cancelled after 3 years. I purchased a Moto x4 from them and had two warranty issues in a year. Both times they had to do an authorization hold for the full value of the phone, which is more than I even paid for it. And that's 432 bucks. If I'd had a pixel it would have been a lot more. The first time it happened they released the funds after I sent back...
I recently cancelled after 3 years. I purchased a Moto x4 from them and had two warranty issues in a year. Both times they had to do an authorization hold for the full value of the phone, which is more than I even paid for it. And that's 432 bucks. If I'd had a pixel it would have been a lot more. The first time it happened they released the funds after I sent back the old phone after I got the replacement and called them with the return packages FedEx tracking. That was September. My 2nd warranty claim, I called with the tracking number, and talked to FIVE customer service agents at google that said they couldn't release the funds by verifying the tracking number. They said I had to wait for them to receive the phone and processed it. LUCKILY google got the tracking number automatically and released the funds. Even after I told google that I'm still getting customer service messages saying the phone is in transit and I'll have my funds released when they have the phone. I've had my funds four four days.
I cancelled with those idiots
I can't even get in the game with Google Fi. We want to switch and get 2 of the Pixel2's but they keep denying my credit to pay over payments! We both have credit scores in the 790's and I have double checked with Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion...they all confirmed that my credit is stellar and there are no signs of fraud or ID theft. Everyone agrees that I should talk to Google Fi about...
I can't even get in the game with Google Fi. We want to switch and get 2 of the Pixel2's but they keep denying my credit to pay over payments! We both have credit scores in the 790's and I have double checked with Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion...they all confirmed that my credit is stellar and there are no signs of fraud or ID theft. Everyone agrees that I should talk to Google Fi about it...but I can never get a live person...and there is no contact email for them!
Does anyone know anyone who can hook me up to clear this up? I'd love to try Google Fi but according to them, I'm not worthy of even financing $1500 worth of Pixel!
What's more - they (Google) will close your Pay account if you simply dispute an erroneous charge - even if the company that generated the erroneous charge was Google itself!!!!
"When you dispute a charge from Google with your credit or debit card issuer, we automatically close your payments profile. We do this in case of fraud."
https://support.google.com/pay/answer/9039712?hl=en
I think it is egregious that Google penalizes the customer when they make a...
What's more - they (Google) will close your Pay account if you simply dispute an erroneous charge - even if the company that generated the erroneous charge was Google itself!!!!
"When you dispute a charge from Google with your credit or debit card issuer, we automatically close your payments profile. We do this in case of fraud."
https://support.google.com/pay/answer/9039712?hl=en
I think it is egregious that Google penalizes the customer when they make a billing error - rather than owning the problem and resolving it without undeserved consequences to the customer!
Case in point - When Google sends a replacement device on a warranty claim, they put a hold on your CC for the replacement item, you send in the old device on time and in good condition, they take too long to process the return and charge your CC account for the replacement - when they have already have received the return!! You cannot dispute that charge on your CC account as that will cause Google to close your Pay account risking ALL Google services.
Apparently a company with 100 BILLION $s in the bank can't afford to hire enough people to process returns in a timely fashion.
Tiffany
Appreciate you posting this.
I've had my credit card that's tied tied to Google Pay stolen 3x in the past two years, and while stolen CCs are a hassle in their own right, I haven't had any issues related to Google. And I'm a heavy user. I use Google Pay, purchased my Pixels/Google Homes/etc through the Google store, subscribe to Play, use Google storage, Adwords, etc, and in all of my stolen card...
Tiffany
Appreciate you posting this.
I've had my credit card that's tied tied to Google Pay stolen 3x in the past two years, and while stolen CCs are a hassle in their own right, I haven't had any issues related to Google. And I'm a heavy user. I use Google Pay, purchased my Pixels/Google Homes/etc through the Google store, subscribe to Play, use Google storage, Adwords, etc, and in all of my stolen card cases never had any such issues. And the cards stopped working temporarily.
For me it's always come down to getting the new credit card number into Google Pay, and then everything sorted itself out.
So I like to stay on top of issues like you've had, and am curious what bullet I unwittingly dodged in my instances.
I travel a ton overseas and signed up for Google FI for their overseas data plan primarily. I'm using an iPhone X's Max with the dual SIM. So my e Sim is my Verizon number and the physical Sim is my Google fi number. Before I go overseas I have my Google FI handle all data and my Verizon just for calls. Works great and I'm not throttled at. 5gigs and paying 10 bucks a...
I travel a ton overseas and signed up for Google FI for their overseas data plan primarily. I'm using an iPhone X's Max with the dual SIM. So my e Sim is my Verizon number and the physical Sim is my Google fi number. Before I go overseas I have my Google FI handle all data and my Verizon just for calls. Works great and I'm not throttled at. 5gigs and paying 10 bucks a day with Verizon travel pass. Also I keep my number with Verizon. It's a little more expensive to do it this way but it works great for me who spends a majority of my life on the road.
I have been a customer since it was known as Grandcentral. Over 20 years, I have had the same phone number. I have been very happy with google. However, everything changed last year and I will no longer do business with google ever again. I am in the process of leaving their ecosystem and I block all IP addresses that have anything to do with google.
I purchase the new pixelbook, top of the...
I have been a customer since it was known as Grandcentral. Over 20 years, I have had the same phone number. I have been very happy with google. However, everything changed last year and I will no longer do business with google ever again. I am in the process of leaving their ecosystem and I block all IP addresses that have anything to do with google.
I purchase the new pixelbook, top of the line, the pen, the bluetooth earbuds and the pixel 3. Absolutely nothing worked as promised. Nothing. Google gave everybody an extended warranty and so I felt good about everything. How wrong I was. They took away my warranty and told me I had to seek a third party repair service from an authorized repair service. I was not happy about this naturally, give than I received a defective phone, but I need it for work and the fact that it would not place calls was a complete show stopper. Working at additional cost was something I would write off of my taxes as a business expense - like I say not happy - but at least a serviceable. None of the authorized third party 'repair services' will service customers in my state. Bluetooth doesn't work at all, and when it does it is very unreliably... Wifi doesn't work at all - and the pixelbook will never pair with the phone. The phone can only make calls over wifi and can not be used as a hot-spot and much more.
I know this isn't typical - but it is what I received and all I sought was a working device from google. Additionally, the supervisor I spoke with changed my warranty so that I was out of warranty. I have never experienced such a careless about the customer attitude in my life and I used to work for CenturyLink. I ended up giving all the google stuff away to Charity so I can write off my bad purchases, but I feel bad about it as I can no longer recommend google for anything...
Google cost me a lot in false promises and bad customer service, I recommend you get away from them before you have issues like some of the others of us have had. Once things go wrong it is to late.
I had a comparably ridiculous problem with Fi a few days ago and ended up screwed out of $800...
I messaged Google Fi support after buying two Pixel 3's and adding a friend to my group plan and, in a logged text chat, they confirmed very clearly that I was eligible for the promotion and would receive the $800 Fi credit after a month elapsed. Then fast forward to today...I contacted them again because I...
I had a comparably ridiculous problem with Fi a few days ago and ended up screwed out of $800...
I messaged Google Fi support after buying two Pixel 3's and adding a friend to my group plan and, in a logged text chat, they confirmed very clearly that I was eligible for the promotion and would receive the $800 Fi credit after a month elapsed. Then fast forward to today...I contacted them again because I hadn't seen the promotional credit yet, and they told me I wasn't eligible because I bought the phones from the Google Store and not the Google Fi Store (my bad, but it's an honest mistake and they literally had looked at my exact order and told me I was eligible). Except now I'm past my return window and can't even return the phones, and they offered me zero recourse. No Fi credit, no store credit, no refund, no returns. I talked to several low-level people in foreign call centers, got passed around for an hour, and eventually ended up talking to the "highest level customer-facing support person" in the US. He even acknowledged my case made total sense and that they had screwed up, and then told me there was literally nothing he could do. For what it's worth, I believe him. He sounded depressed as hell and probably is forced to tell customers bad news all day without having the power to do anything about it...
I like the cost/features/etc of Fi generally speaking, but honestly the main reason I use it is because Google has historically acted "less evil" than most other carriers and it felt like the ethically superior choice. Not sure I'll be able to view them in the same light after all of this...
I have sung the praises of Google Fi ever since signing up in 2017.... until tonight.
1 out of 5 Stars. Called over a week ago regarding device protection issue. The rep said they would consult with the next level up and send an email. No email after a week.
Tonight I called again. After a lengthy conversation and several long periods of holding, she said they would call back within 40 minutes....
I have sung the praises of Google Fi ever since signing up in 2017.... until tonight.
1 out of 5 Stars. Called over a week ago regarding device protection issue. The rep said they would consult with the next level up and send an email. No email after a week.
Tonight I called again. After a lengthy conversation and several long periods of holding, she said they would call back within 40 minutes. After an hour and a half, I called back. The problem, they said, had been "resolved". NO! It hadn't.
He asked if I would stay on the line to give feedback on the call. Sure! Then I was disconnected.... what a surprise!
So much for the great customer service -- totally disappointed!!
Google had a good thing going. They are destroying it.
Why do so many people here keep saying switch to iPhones? Are people aware there are other Android phones other than the Pixel? This is an issue with Google Fi, not Android.
I got a Google Fi sim but I won't be using the service because if you have to replace your phone for any reason while you're not in the USA, you'll have to come back to the USA to get the new phone working. I spend most of my time travelling, so it's just too much of a risk to have this as my only sim.
I share Verizon service with 3 of my friends, for a total of $35/month. Verizon is not as easy as T-Mo or Fi when traveling, but it's by far the best service I've found here within the USA. My iPad has a $20/month T-Mo SIM which gives me all the 4G data service I need in Canada or Mexico and my phone connects for WiFi calling. Worldwide I get T-Mo's 128Kbps service included in my...
I share Verizon service with 3 of my friends, for a total of $35/month. Verizon is not as easy as T-Mo or Fi when traveling, but it's by far the best service I've found here within the USA. My iPad has a $20/month T-Mo SIM which gives me all the 4G data service I need in Canada or Mexico and my phone connects for WiFi calling. Worldwide I get T-Mo's 128Kbps service included in my $20/month or can buy high speed packages. For 4G data I swap in my Apple SIM and use GigSky for Data and WiFI call through them from my iPhone.
It's not at all as easy as Google Fi, but there are no weird payment issues as you describe. And while Google talks a good game, MNVO service in general just isn't as good as what T-Mo, Verizon or AT&T provide to their "primary" customers.
Otherwise I'd be trying Google Fi or Xfinity Mobile...
But I check every year nonetheless. Maybe one day.....
My iphone was activated for Fi before the number had been ported over from my current carrier. I gave up after 3 weeks trying to get it to work but my Fi account is still live and I'm being charged monthly. I've asked Fi support to cancel my account and refund all the charges since I haven't used the Fi sim ever but they keep saying they're unable to.
Have you considered switching to republicwireless.com? Disclosure: I work there.
While I haven't had the payments mess that you've described (ugh!) I have seen the service level fall off a cliff over the last 3 months. I'm a 3 year Fi user and huge advocate, until now. I've had a number of emails fall into the customer service abyss. It's bad.
I ordered Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on launch day from Google Store, for my wife and I, respectively. But instead of receiving the white Pixel 3, a black XL 3 arrived instead. The run-around that followed reminds of your story with Fi, Tiffany.
I kept the phone because Google Store couldn't process a return authorization, being that the IMEI on order didn't match the phone possessed. Not long later, I dropped the...
I ordered Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL on launch day from Google Store, for my wife and I, respectively. But instead of receiving the white Pixel 3, a black XL 3 arrived instead. The run-around that followed reminds of your story with Fi, Tiffany.
I kept the phone because Google Store couldn't process a return authorization, being that the IMEI on order didn't match the phone possessed. Not long later, I dropped the XL 3 and shattered the screen. But Assurant couldn't process a replacement because Google Store updated the IMEI but not the model in the insurer's system. Strangely, no one could change the information.
Only after six weeks, a bazillion support calls, and my writing two stories for a tech site news site where I contribute did Google Store escalate my case beyond the government-like, Catch-22 processes and end my customer service nightmare.
Here's the thing that may sound familiar to you. Later I learned, regarding Google Store's forensic analysis, that, like your husband, a rejected credit card charge caused the problem. In my case, the misshipment occurred. On the day I ordered the Pixels, I also ordered several other new products from Google Store. The quick succession of charges tripped an Amex fraud hold, which cleared within a few minutes but apparently was delay enough.
I had been ready to switch to Fi before reading your story. But when comparing the like bureaucratic mayhem of our experiences and the potential disaster losing my phone number attached to two-factor authentication across sites, I can't take the risk.
Thanks for you warning, but I am also sorry to read it. Fans are every company's best marketing evangelists, and the last people who should go through the experience that you describe.
I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile in late 2014 due to Verizon reducing their coverage in the areas I was most frequently in. I've never looked back and haven't had to -- T-Mobile's been awesome. We signed up for a business plan and we have our own rep.
Even in multiple hurricanes now, T-Mobile's been up when Verizon's been down. T-Mobile's coverage has been good, international works great. My office's systems were designed with...
I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile in late 2014 due to Verizon reducing their coverage in the areas I was most frequently in. I've never looked back and haven't had to -- T-Mobile's been awesome. We signed up for a business plan and we have our own rep.
Even in multiple hurricanes now, T-Mobile's been up when Verizon's been down. T-Mobile's coverage has been good, international works great. My office's systems were designed with 56k modems in mind, so 256kbps unlimited international's fine for me. Free GoGo Wifi on the plane is a nice bonus. I could pay less, but doubt I could get more for the money.
@Jorge Piquer: Perhaps you don't use your phone for business -- I do. Just in the past month I've had time-sensitive telephone calls which: prevented laying off 400 workers, got critical medications to villages and med-evac sick villagers to hospitals. Also dealt with a natural disaster and recovery from it. When you're dealing with >100 different parties, a change of phone numbers or lack of service is highly disruptive in a time-critical environment.
They are cheap for sure. But once you are securely in their talons and you make a mistake, or in my case if they make a mistake then you're screwed. Even if you didn't consolidate your information, they do it and it affects all your purchases.
I tried it
For a month but it is way more expensive than T-Mobile when you compare data cost. It’s not a good deal and other phones don’t work well with it
I switched to Fi in August and have had a hell of a time with their service and the brand new LG V35 Thinq I purchased from them. I financed it. And it arrived broken. A hairline crack across the screen, barely visible. I called them immediately to get a replacement: turns out they want to put a $900 hold on one of my accounts to send me a new phone. Mind you, I also...
I switched to Fi in August and have had a hell of a time with their service and the brand new LG V35 Thinq I purchased from them. I financed it. And it arrived broken. A hairline crack across the screen, barely visible. I called them immediately to get a replacement: turns out they want to put a $900 hold on one of my accounts to send me a new phone. Mind you, I also am paying for the protection plan. But I am also disabled. I cannot a) put $900 worth of my very fixed income aside until they decide to release it, or b) try their other "solution", send back my phone first, meaning i'm disabled without a phone which can't happen, and I have no ability to transfer any of my data to the new device. Said phone also has major issues. Fi switching is not working at all. My phone inevitably lands on the Sprint network and stays there even when the signal is poor, which is pretty much everywhere. I have been trying for six months to get a replacement phone. I have explained over and over that I'm disabled and can't be without a phone as it could put me at risk. The agents I've talked to have revealed that they have zero ability to escalate the situation or do anything different to help accommodate me. I'm disgusted and stuck now.
I am having the same issue. When I asked for $80 dollars they promised if I move to Google Fi I was told that promotion was not from them. I was passed around Google eco system and I never saw the money
I let it go. Recently I bought a Pixel book and then cancelled it within hours because I thought slate is what I want. They send me cancellation notice and everything was...
I am having the same issue. When I asked for $80 dollars they promised if I move to Google Fi I was told that promotion was not from them. I was passed around Google eco system and I never saw the money
I let it go. Recently I bought a Pixel book and then cancelled it within hours because I thought slate is what I want. They send me cancellation notice and everything was fine. Then I bought a slate with pen and earphone. A day later I got am email saying my purchase was cancelled due to non payment. I called my credit card company and and they told me they didn't stop payment that the merchant is allowed to charge the amount when they chose to.
Then I got an email saying my Google Fi (which is on auto pay) will be suspended due to non payment. Since mine is prepay I have ten more days to is this service any way. Non of the people I talked to would hear what I tell them and insisted I didn't pay! When I asked for a manager they don't have the power to it but I was told a manager will contact me via email within 24 hours. There was no email but they suspended my service. My next bill is not due for about ten days when they suspended it. Now I live in limbo. I am so frustrated I am not adverse to thoughts of jumping off a cliff just to illustrate how unfair big corporations are.
Oh and now I got an email saying they are shipping Pixelbook (which I had cancelled) and have included with it the pen and the earphone I tried to by with the Slate!
I've had fi for years, have had some dropped call issues at the start, but three phones later still no problems. I did have a similar payment issue but it wasn't that complicated to solve - and what you described can happen on any android device regardless of carrier if you have payment issues.
Its not perfect, and obviously not for everyone, but love how simply it works overseas.
No more buying Sim cards every country I go.
This is EXACTLY why you never use Google services for mission critical items when payments are involved. This EXACT same scenario occurred for Google Cloud Services! The entire business was taken down due associating a debit card to the GCP account which runs through Google Wallet/Pay. The entire business was taken down for days while we tried unsuccessfully to get the situation resolved by uploading identification, account info, on an on SEVERAL TIMES. We had...
This is EXACTLY why you never use Google services for mission critical items when payments are involved. This EXACT same scenario occurred for Google Cloud Services! The entire business was taken down due associating a debit card to the GCP account which runs through Google Wallet/Pay. The entire business was taken down for days while we tried unsuccessfully to get the situation resolved by uploading identification, account info, on an on SEVERAL TIMES. We had to transition to AWS and the situation was still left unresolved!!!
I appreciate reading of Tiffany's experiences. But it does sound as if the largest issue is with Google Pay. Our house is 100% Pixel and Fi. No issues so far. But obviously reason for concern. Thanks for the warning.
No issues here whatsoever. And I never give out my "real" number--I've had a GV number for several years. If Google flubbed things up on this account, no biggie--I just dump one account, move to another, start over. Done. That is far better than dishing out 4x as much per month for greedy Verizon, or dumbing myself way down to the level of stupidty for a farking iphone. Or especially, whining about it on the Internet.
Google builds a system, and expects everything to work around that system like a clock. If the system has faults, they will try to find workarounds rather than fixing it because that means changing the system which is already volatile. So they would rather have thousands of agents coming up with workarounds and excuses than hiring engineers who can fix it quickly. I understand their point though. They are eveywhere, so even the smallest change...
Google builds a system, and expects everything to work around that system like a clock. If the system has faults, they will try to find workarounds rather than fixing it because that means changing the system which is already volatile. So they would rather have thousands of agents coming up with workarounds and excuses than hiring engineers who can fix it quickly. I understand their point though. They are eveywhere, so even the smallest change could lead to a catastrophic failure. I can only pray and hope that the bad experience you had does not happen to me.
Yes! I was sent a replacement device for my Pixel 3 which I would up returning. I have proof that it was received, even who signed for it, but I kept getting email messages about returning it--which I replied to with links to the proof of delivery. Then, they charged me the full price if the phone which THEY HAVE. I am going on a week trying to resolve this. My next step is going...
Yes! I was sent a replacement device for my Pixel 3 which I would up returning. I have proof that it was received, even who signed for it, but I kept getting email messages about returning it--which I replied to with links to the proof of delivery. Then, they charged me the full price if the phone which THEY HAVE. I am going on a week trying to resolve this. My next step is going to be letting my credit card company dispute it--although it sounds from your article, that will lead to even more issues.
@John Amen! I used to have to try to find wifi everywhere as I refused to pay $10 a day with Verizon. As I mentioned before, I think Verizon's data usage count is also skewed. My first month on Fi it said I used 1/3 the data compared to Verizon. I did not change my phone usage routine.
I too have had major issues with the customer service of this company. I tried to get there Black Friday deal for a pixel 3 and I joined Google fiber to get it. My life has been a mess since! The phone never came and that is not Google's fault because they did ship it. The problem was someone stole it before it even got to my house. As I said, this is not Google's...
I too have had major issues with the customer service of this company. I tried to get there Black Friday deal for a pixel 3 and I joined Google fiber to get it. My life has been a mess since! The phone never came and that is not Google's fault because they did ship it. The problem was someone stole it before it even got to my house. As I said, this is not Google's fault, but they needed to help in the investigation so I could get a case going. I called them for a week straight and no one could help me. They told me my situation was sent to the shipping department which apparently has no phone because they can only email out and the customer service can only email them. This has been so frustrating to deal with. I needed to activate my phone by the 28th of December to get there promotion I asked for and paid for, but it took nine days for this Google fi shipping department to finally email me on Christmas day. The email said they did their part, which I agreed with, and now it is my fault if I gave them the wrong address. By this time I was being Angy. Had they even read my report? So I emailed back and let them know that I just needed them to contact those that were supposed to ship my phone and help them with the case. The next day they responded that they would send me another phone. They cancelled my plan cause I couldn't activate a phone I never had by the 28th. I received my phone but now I got a bill saying I need to pay over $200 dollars by the 12th because I cancelled services with them. They cancelled the service because I didn't have a phone yet!!!! Now I am waiting again on this department that was supposed to email me within 24 to 48 hours to get this resolved, but just like before, they have not emailed me and it will be a week Friday. I hate this service with a passion. I wish I would have stick with att. I just wanted cheaper service and now I can see that this is a case of " you get what you paid for". The whitest service I have ever encountered. I would never recommend it to anyone.
I chose Google Fi because I travel outside of the US about 20-30 days out of the year and got tired of paying $10 per day with Verizon. And in Europe, when you change countries, you are charged per day and per country $10 so at times, I paid $20 since I was in two countries in one day! That's Verizon for you!
My monthly fee with Verizon with 2GB of data was $65/mo and...
I chose Google Fi because I travel outside of the US about 20-30 days out of the year and got tired of paying $10 per day with Verizon. And in Europe, when you change countries, you are charged per day and per country $10 so at times, I paid $20 since I was in two countries in one day! That's Verizon for you!
My monthly fee with Verizon with 2GB of data was $65/mo and with Google Fi, I have been paying $25-30 per month. That's a big difference including the no roaming fee outside of US!
Google Fi's service can be frustrating but there were few moments with Verizon as well. I think ALL mobile carriers have their great locations and bad locations. I saved the codes to change from T-Mobile to Sprint and back for Google Fi. This helps at times when one service is weak and it does not change automatically.
Recently my phone switched to Android 9 and issues started to happen. But I expect that there will be a software upgrade to fix these issues. One way is to revert back to Android 8 and your issues will be resolved. IMO
Everyone calm down! There is no perfect service! It will get better!
@Mark: "This is not about the Fi service. This article is about Google support and billing. ... Please don’t knock the service or the phone. "
Read the article. Nowhere does Tiffany knock the phone, and she forthrightly says she's very happy with the service - as long as it works. If Google's support and billing are incapable of letting her actually use the service, then it's perfectly legitimate to complain that the service is...
@Mark: "This is not about the Fi service. This article is about Google support and billing. ... Please don’t knock the service or the phone. "
Read the article. Nowhere does Tiffany knock the phone, and she forthrightly says she's very happy with the service - as long as it works. If Google's support and billing are incapable of letting her actually use the service, then it's perfectly legitimate to complain that the service is non-functional.
Frankly, the radio silence from Google regarding the disastrous customer service and support failures over the last few weeks is incredibly arrogant. They need to acknowledge that they have a problem and tell us what they're doing to fix it.
First and formost. If you have a credit card, cash card, or any payment medium hacked, used fraudulently. Stop using it immediately and report it to the issuer and credit bureau. No mater how important it is or needed to have access to financial resources. The nightmare you cast by continued use will make it more difficult that can not be imagined. And I'm not talking about Google. If you don't believe me, ask the credit bureau.
I must say that I am not particularly shocked that this service has stopped being as great as you previously felt it was. It seems that happens a lot with Google services. They do search very well - better than anyone. I have used Gmail for, I suppose, a decade now. But a lot of their ancillary offerings seem to come and go. For example, Google Plus - it was THE next big thing, now...
I must say that I am not particularly shocked that this service has stopped being as great as you previously felt it was. It seems that happens a lot with Google services. They do search very well - better than anyone. I have used Gmail for, I suppose, a decade now. But a lot of their ancillary offerings seem to come and go. For example, Google Plus - it was THE next big thing, now it's gone. To me their Android approach to mobility is fractured across different providers (you may better understand that with my next statement below! :) )
I am a die-hard Apple guy and I appreciate Apple going all-in on the things they do do. That being said, I am considering doing some home automation this year and I am not sure that Siri/HomeKit is the best option. But if I go another route, I cannot see going Google Home for the reasons above: I don't have the confidence that, even if it's the best choice now, that it will be supported for years to come. Frankly, I am interested in the Alexa option, but that's a different discussion.
I keep two credit cards in my Google Pay account and I never have issues laying my bill. Been a Fi customer since the invite-only beta and have never, ever experienced a problem like this. I even had both of my linked cards cancelled due to theft and misuse and never had my whole account locked. No service is perfect, but this clearly angry article is bashing the entirety of Google Fi because of this...
I keep two credit cards in my Google Pay account and I never have issues laying my bill. Been a Fi customer since the invite-only beta and have never, ever experienced a problem like this. I even had both of my linked cards cancelled due to theft and misuse and never had my whole account locked. No service is perfect, but this clearly angry article is bashing the entirety of Google Fi because of this one bad experience about suspected fraud. An experience which, by the way, is a clear outlier and not at all a common theme for Google Fi users. It's a bit like saying, "well my house burned down from an electrical malfunction and the insurance company didn't pay out immediately so they could investigate for possible fraud, so no one move to Chicago ever again and anyone currently living there should move ASAP." Your one bad experience, which isn't Google's fault at all, is just that. One bad experience.
Phone companies are required by law to port your number out when you start service with a new carrier. According to the FCC, a company can't refuse to port your number even if you have an outstanding balance or unpaid termination fees.Oct 30, 2015
I thought about jumping from Tmobile to Googly Fi, due to faster data speed, but getting an actual support person on the phone toll free, when I have issues abroad really cannot substituted. I had issues in tmobile while in Peru and Brazil, I got a person on the phone in a matter of minutes and they solved data problems I had. They even called back to make sure the fix worked.
I also...
I thought about jumping from Tmobile to Googly Fi, due to faster data speed, but getting an actual support person on the phone toll free, when I have issues abroad really cannot substituted. I had issues in tmobile while in Peru and Brazil, I got a person on the phone in a matter of minutes and they solved data problems I had. They even called back to make sure the fix worked.
I also did not like that not having a "google fi" phone would require me tinkering with the phone or working with caveats. That text message you get from Tmobile saying welcome to country X, without having to make any changes to the phone is what I want.
While the international 256kb speed is not much to talk about, but it is sufficient for google maps, facebook, web browsing, and even uploading photos to facebook and instagram. Also, the other perks like inflight data, messaging, etc..
Tmobile raised the voice call rate, but I bypass that by forwarding all my calls to my Google voice number before departing on international trip. Then I use Google hangouts to receive and make calls using the Tmobile free international data, but at Google voice rates. The speed is sufficient to make voice calls on hangouts and skype. Not sure about the tmobile plan with 128kb, but definitely sufficient on 256kb plan.
This article is useless. Change the title. This is not about the Fi service. This article is about Google support and billing. The Fi and Pixel 3 have been great for me. I also ordered through the travel promo (and so did my friends) without problems. Please don't knock the service or the phone. They have been great for most of us.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It's only through publicly aired feedback that maybe Google will listen and respond. I'm a new Google Fiber user. So far so good, generally speaking. I've had a few hiccups that make we weary, particularly in light of your article. Google Fi is on a "short leash" as far as I'm concerned, meaning I will not hesitate to drop them if I don't get the support expected of a company of their stature.
I don't get people complaining for low cost services. If you aren't happy, Verizon or AT&T will be happy to have you. Everything has a price.
I am also shocked how often you seem to use the support service, I don't think you represent the normal average user.
So, basically you hate Fi because you can't use you credit card points? I agree, customer service went from amazing to awful. But everything you started your article with is still true. Cheapest plan, unmatched international service. Sorry you don't know how to use your phone and have to call tech support all the time. As a service member living in Japan, nothing beats Fi.
@ Mark B -- Welcome to OMAAT! I don't hate Fi at all, and have happily given them a few thousand dollars over the past three years. The problem is that they've made it impossible to give them an additional $27, no matter how hard I try.
That is why you should always travel with 2 phones with 2 or different carrier, many great dual SIM phones out there.
I have experienced most of the same issues and also noticed the sudden downhill change in support with pixel 3 and this phones issues. On top of all this my trade in of my pixel 2 xl and my husband's pixel 1 were ripped off with bogus claims that they had damaged screens so we both got way lower trade in values than they are worth with zero response from service team except they are...
I have experienced most of the same issues and also noticed the sudden downhill change in support with pixel 3 and this phones issues. On top of all this my trade in of my pixel 2 xl and my husband's pixel 1 were ripped off with bogus claims that they had damaged screens so we both got way lower trade in values than they are worth with zero response from service team except they are "looking into it"... For 4 weeks now. I'm disappointed that after 2 years I need to call it quits with Google fi., It was great until it wasn't.
The service definitely took a nosedive when it rebranded. I've used Fi done it was invite only and while I've had issues, I've been and to get in touch with somebody via chat instantly or email in a few hours. Since November it's taking days for emails to be answered, some of them have been answered with an emails that just asks you to reply if you still need help, and I've gone to the...
The service definitely took a nosedive when it rebranded. I've used Fi done it was invite only and while I've had issues, I've been and to get in touch with somebody via chat instantly or email in a few hours. Since November it's taking days for emails to be answered, some of them have been answered with an emails that just asks you to reply if you still need help, and I've gone to the chat and there have been over 100 people in front of me.
I've also had issues with international service. One of the great features was being able to use WiFi calling to call the US for free and use the US based rates for international calls. I was recently in the UK and I couldn't make a WiFi call. Nothing would work. The things that work in the US to force it, airplane mode and turning WiFi on for example, wouldn't work and I was forced to pay the 20c a minute cellular rate. I going back to the support issues, I tried to get help but even though I contacted them over a week before I left the UK, I didn't get any sorry if resolution until I was back in the US where WiFi calling worked just fine.
Support and international coverage are two of the top things that sold me on Fi and with those not being what they were, I'm starting to wonder if Fi is worth it now. It's not like the price is a distinguishing thing anymore either, there are many options that are the same or cheaper.
Stumbled upon this article. Maybe we are the lucky ones but we have not had a single problem at all. We started with Project Fi and have only noticed improvements with the transition to Google Fi. My wife and I both have the Pixel XL. She did have to return her first pixel for a display issue but that was covered under warranty. Surprised to hear of all these complaints after the positive experience we have had.
I had to leave Google Fi because of the dropped calls. I went with Total wireless which has bad customer service too but the calls don't drop and the call quality is so much better. Verizon towers seem to work better for me.
get a cheap plan, that lets you have free call received, then get magic jack, works for me, I,m on three in the uk, $11 dollars(yes eleven) unlimted text, unlimited talk 5gig, plus 6 dollars a month for another 5 gig if needed, all in uk, but allows cqlls from most countries , to a uk number> USA Canada, Spain, thren to call USA, on wi fi,(and again, you can use you 5 g, say in spain) you use say messenger, and others works for me , plus they let you cap fee,s ,
sound like Uber support team
Sorry you had trouble with Google Fi. I have no statistics to refute your experience but my guess is your discuss are less than normal and more than likely isolated. I have owned a Pixel 1, 2 and 3 and I love them without hesitation. They work flawlessly. After 30+years in Verizon I switched to Google Fi and love it. I use Google Pay (tap n pay) for everything I possible can and it has...
Sorry you had trouble with Google Fi. I have no statistics to refute your experience but my guess is your discuss are less than normal and more than likely isolated. I have owned a Pixel 1, 2 and 3 and I love them without hesitation. They work flawlessly. After 30+years in Verizon I switched to Google Fi and love it. I use Google Pay (tap n pay) for everything I possible can and it has always works with zero issues. When I once experienced a minor glitch with a Google Pay transaction tech support was exceptional at resolving my problem. That has been my experience.
I'd switched to Google FI during the recent big promo. Even while in the US, the strength of the cellular signal and the clarity of voice calls were unmistakably inferior to what I got with Verizon. Then shortly after starting the service, I went overseas and things fell apart. I was in Singapore and could not get a consistent cellular service, even when there was a strong signal/connection. That was simply not what I thought...
I'd switched to Google FI during the recent big promo. Even while in the US, the strength of the cellular signal and the clarity of voice calls were unmistakably inferior to what I got with Verizon. Then shortly after starting the service, I went overseas and things fell apart. I was in Singapore and could not get a consistent cellular service, even when there was a strong signal/connection. That was simply not what I thought I'd signed up for so I decided to contact Google FI support. I could not reach anyone by phone so sent them an email. What I got in response so horrified me that I immediately contacted Verizon and asked them to switch me back (which they were able to do rather easily because I was still within the time window during which switchbacks could be done easily):
"Thanks for contacting Google Fi support.
We are receiving a lot of emails right now, so it may take up to 5 business days for us to get back to you.
Please note that you may be able to find answers on support.google.com/fi/community to questions such as:
......
......
The Google Fi Support Team"
To wait 5 days before getting urgently needed support on my mobile phone was simply unacceptable, especially since I got used to getting Verizon phone support 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
Google, why oh why? I have everything on Google drive and use all there service. My phone bill is automatically taken out on the 8th, received an email telling me my auto pay is received. Weird it's only the 1st but whatever. Whatever turned into WTF. Not only did my payment went through but they stopped my service for non payment and after I sent them my account info verifying it was charged they still can't turn my service on.
I did the mistake of leaving my 2 year Verizon carrier and joining Fi. I can not agree more with you regarding awful customer service. I feel like going there and personally shaking them to wake up and do something with issues i have been facing. Its only been 15 days that i joined, but i have had it with them ! Never had such lousy support from cell phone carrier! I m getting out.. so much time wasted!
I have issues with my Pixel 3 and my home wifi. A bunch of simple apps like Amazon and eBay don't work without having the VON turned on. Worked great with my Pixel 2.
Also the last time I talked to support about two weeks ago about issues with my account credits. The agent on chat repeatedly told me to contact Experian regarding my credit. Clearly not understanding my simple explanations. In my opinion...
I have issues with my Pixel 3 and my home wifi. A bunch of simple apps like Amazon and eBay don't work without having the VON turned on. Worked great with my Pixel 2.
Also the last time I talked to support about two weeks ago about issues with my account credits. The agent on chat repeatedly told me to contact Experian regarding my credit. Clearly not understanding my simple explanations. In my opinion I was talking with a highly skilled yet still obviously flawed A. I. Of course it wouldn't admit that it was. But some red flags made it obvious.
What does any of this have to do with the actual Google fi service itself? The first complaint is about the phone (welcome to the world of today's phone almost every phone you buy now is guaranteed to have some problem miniscule or not). The second is about the payments screwup. Neither has anything to do with the quality or availability or cost or whatever of the service itself. Im sticking with Google fi for now
Tiffany,
So sorry to read about your troubles with Fi. Thank you for writing!
I was just about to sign up when I read your story. I will keep looking. I don't need those kinds of troubles. Lots of MVNO's and $1k phones out there!
Listen up folks if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true!!
If it wasn't flawed somehow, everybody would...
Tiffany,
So sorry to read about your troubles with Fi. Thank you for writing!
I was just about to sign up when I read your story. I will keep looking. I don't need those kinds of troubles. Lots of MVNO's and $1k phones out there!
Listen up folks if it sounds too good to be true, it probably IS too good to be true!!
If it wasn't flawed somehow, everybody would be using it!!!
I feel like I dodged a bullet by reading this article.
Thanks again!
Tippany, I would abandon ship,, call it a lesson learned, buy an iphone, get set up with a different MVNO, and consider myself lucky it didn't cost me more $$$.
God bless
I am a huge Google fan and use most of their products. I was excited to use Fi on my Pixel but after 6 months I had to switch back to my legacy carrier. The customer service was great but the service was spotty and unreliable. I had more dropped calls than I have ever had and as much as I wanted to love Fi I had to give up.
You need to email a google VP of customer service and stop spinning your wheels. Whenever I’ve exhausted ALL the normal channels with no success and no hope in sight, I email an executive email address and they reach out within a few hours. Works every time.
Change your card pay your bill port your number. I used FI for two years. They didn't turn off your service without warning before contacting you first. I would update this article to say this. I guarantee you didn't ask for much help because I had to do this once during my time with fi and support was fast and efficient.
@ Jon -- Welcome to OMAAT! The issue here is that when your Google Pay account is locked, it doesn't matter how many times you try to change your card or pay your Fi bill; they literally have no way to process your payment. And you can't port your number with a delinquent account. So everyone is just stuck.
I too have had issues with Google Pay and I am blocked. I've managed to survive without it. My biggest issue with Fi is that it does not play nice with Google voice which I use in my home. That was a deal breaker.
Have purchased 4 phones thru Google (Project) Fi and been with them for over 3 years. Never experienced any of the problems discussed by the author and commenters. Fi was a real benefit used in Europe and Mexico and I watched my Verizon friend struggle with their phone in Puerto Vallarta. Often these type of personal experiences bring out the complaint departments in all of us. I hope the author isn't using her soapbox vindictively.
@ Michael Monteleone -- I've also had great experiences with the product, and the network! It's the changes to the support team and the bonkers payment processing system that have me concerned.
I too have had an awful experience with their FedEx preference for signature to deliver before even having a chance to start the service! I was looking forward to trying out Google Fi, as well as the pixel 3 since I was in the market for a new phone and a carrier and will also be traveling internationally soon. I made the order and was told to expect delivery 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, and...
I too have had an awful experience with their FedEx preference for signature to deliver before even having a chance to start the service! I was looking forward to trying out Google Fi, as well as the pixel 3 since I was in the market for a new phone and a carrier and will also be traveling internationally soon. I made the order and was told to expect delivery 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, and if that wasn't bad enough, I was not given the expectation that I needed to be home during the day when everyone is at work and sign for the delivery. By the end of the second week it was great that they were delivering sooner then there original promise however no one was home and FedEx did not allow me the option to pick up at FedEx do to Sender preference. After FedEx's failed second attempt, subsequent comments indicated some other vague reason why they did not make more attempts, they were supposed to try for at least one more, but sent the phone back to the sender. Mind you this whole time everyday when I checked the FedEx website that I registered for, it was stated that delivery would be made by the end of the next day. Considering that my last phone had become inoperable, I had been extremely patient but ultimately decided enough was enough and went with a budget carrier , MetroPCS, a low to mid-grade LG Android phone, and so far I am very surprised and satisfied. Amazon makes expensive deliveries every day without needing a signature. Google had a great opportunity for a customer and lost .
I've had Google fi since day one. On three different Google phones. I use it internationally successfully. But mostly I use it in Vermont where I can't get a cell signal but can get WiFi inside my house. So Fi let's the 3XL phone behave as if it were getting a cell signal.
It is absolutely miserable to deal with Google Fi Support. I kept thinking I was talking to chatbots. My family had been with Project Fi for a few years. We upgraded two Nexus devices to two Pixel 3 devices recently. One of them is lemon. That's when the nightmares began.
Hi Tiffany! My name is Cameron, and I am a volunteer Product Expert! I would like to help get your case escalated. If you would not mind could you provide me with the case ID you received from FI support in a DM?
I have no love for Google due to their widespread censorship on YouTube, but Google Fi is the best phone service. Just had to order a replacement phone since my screen got cracked and the transaction was flawless. Your experience was a fluke.
I have a Moto Z2 Force on Sprint. I know Sprint is not the best for LTE, but I'm paying $55/month + $5 phone lease, get free Hulu and they recently upped hotspot from 10gb to 50gb! If I'm out of service, I'm out of service....it's not gonna kill me. I know what I'm paying or.
T-Mobile offers basically unlimited worldwide service now!! Add $50/month to your plan and use your phone nearly anywhere in the world and have zero worries. Full high speed data, no charge calls or sms, and unlike their first offering, this can be set to a recurring monthly charge -- no re-ordering the service every day like before. Of course that is still available should you choose. I did suggest this to them. Can't take credit...
T-Mobile offers basically unlimited worldwide service now!! Add $50/month to your plan and use your phone nearly anywhere in the world and have zero worries. Full high speed data, no charge calls or sms, and unlike their first offering, this can be set to a recurring monthly charge -- no re-ordering the service every day like before. Of course that is still available should you choose. I did suggest this to them. Can't take credit for it, of course, but they did listen.
At the same time, VZ offers 5 monthly international passes per month on their top plan. So if you travel not too often, then this could be better.
Thanks for the info about Fi.
Fake news. I pay with a credit card from fi website. Not sure what they are talking about
@ Amitoj -- Yes, we do too. But then Fi takes those credit cards, and runs them through Google Payments, which is where the problems start.
Team iPhone & T-Mobile all the way!
Thanks for the detailed write-up. As always, you do a great job of giving the facts.
So far, I'm pleased with Fi. I have an old Nexus 5, my needs are few, and I'm happy to pay c. $25/month for a phone that works wherever I go. But Customer Service has been unacceptable. I once had a problem with Hangouts. The Customer Service folks simply could not/would not understand that my phone options were...
Thanks for the detailed write-up. As always, you do a great job of giving the facts.
So far, I'm pleased with Fi. I have an old Nexus 5, my needs are few, and I'm happy to pay c. $25/month for a phone that works wherever I go. But Customer Service has been unacceptable. I once had a problem with Hangouts. The Customer Service folks simply could not/would not understand that my phone options were different from the options they kept listing for me. I even sent screen prints showing that my options were A-B-C. The reply was: "I see that your options are X-Y-Z, so here's what you do..." It was surreal. And I guess this was when Customer Service was phenomenal.
Oh, well. With the help of the internet and some clues from Customer Support, I messed around until I got Hangouts working again.
But if I ever get a serious problem, I will consider switching asap.
My Fi tale of woe is not as harrowing as yours, Tiffany, but annoying nonetheless. I started using Fi about a year ago, and it worked very well both at home and abroad. I was so pleased that I moved my wife and kid's phones to Fi during their big signup promotion. But on a recent trip to Greece, my phone (and my wife's) Fi-optimized phones refused to connect to LTE. Funnily enough, my daughter's...
My Fi tale of woe is not as harrowing as yours, Tiffany, but annoying nonetheless. I started using Fi about a year ago, and it worked very well both at home and abroad. I was so pleased that I moved my wife and kid's phones to Fi during their big signup promotion. But on a recent trip to Greece, my phone (and my wife's) Fi-optimized phones refused to connect to LTE. Funnily enough, my daughter's iPhone always connected to LTE.
Fi support was completely useless. They told me they had to escalate the issue and I'd get an email in a day or so. Well, the email came 12 days later - long after I returned home. The email did not even contain an apology for the delay. WTF? (Not that I care about an apology, but come on - Google should have some shame.)
My guess is that Google is just overwhelmed with all the new sign-ups and the accompanying volume of technical and customer service issues. But this had better improve - certainly if I ever experienced a shut-out from phone service like your husband did, Fi would lose me as a customer forever.
I bought a new Samsung in October and tried to remove my Surface to Fi when it was possible in December. Unfortunately the SIM card is not working with my phone. For three weeks I have not been able to get through to the customer support numbers they provided. Does anybody have a customer support number that works?
I signed up during the promo in November and my bills so far all show $0 due lol. I guess I am satisfied with them :)
I've had Fi since inception, two phones in and v had to speak to them just a few times and without saying anything that will cursev my luck I'll just say that I don't feel the same way about never using them. Sucks to be those with rotten experiences. Better luck next carrier!
Interesting thought but the problem isn’t Fi. I used Google for other products such as domains and was suddenly unable to login to my account, so my domains were now gone. When it came back I moved everything as fast as I could.
Fi is different - I just use for international calls while traveling so the number isn’t important and neither is the account. It is the only thing attached and it gets locked...
Interesting thought but the problem isn’t Fi. I used Google for other products such as domains and was suddenly unable to login to my account, so my domains were now gone. When it came back I moved everything as fast as I could.
Fi is different - I just use for international calls while traveling so the number isn’t important and neither is the account. It is the only thing attached and it gets locked I write it off and cancel the card. Using it as your primary number makes no sense because of the inherent danger.
Still want to find a reasonable replacement for Voice, but have not yet, so keeping my fingers crossed...
I'm so sorry many of you are having difficulties; often only the bad side gets reported. I have been using Fi for over a year, first with a Pixel 2 XL and now with a Pixel 3 XL. The phones work well; the service works well and the billing has been great. (Just to be clear, I do not work for Google, I do not own Google stock.)
Some ideas;
1. Being that they are a NVMO they probably fall ubsee the purview of the FCC, this must violate some rules there. File a complaint
2. Sue them for breach of contract.
3. Get in touch with an AP reporter it will go viral but most importantly it will get it resolved really quickly. I got this story in my Google feed but that is only because I have an interest in Google. You need this on the AP wires. Not hard to get on with a story like this
I stick to tmo and my $30/month 5gig prethrottle plan. You don't pay anything more by default for international roaming but it's at 2g speeds. So when I travel I pay them an extra $20 for that month to get 3g international data. It has served me well. I don't like taking time out of a trip to set up my phone and hope everything goes smooth. Spent an hour once in Thailand getting the phone straighten out.
It's concerning that the known problems and support ecosystem of ProjectFi(now Google fi) had not deterred you sooner from recommending this service based on your implied standards/needs.
The issues you reference are not new and while it's understandable that you would not want to continue with Fi after having to deal with said issues. It's odd that now after you had to deal with them, the service is not only not good enough for you...
It's concerning that the known problems and support ecosystem of ProjectFi(now Google fi) had not deterred you sooner from recommending this service based on your implied standards/needs.
The issues you reference are not new and while it's understandable that you would not want to continue with Fi after having to deal with said issues. It's odd that now after you had to deal with them, the service is not only not good enough for you and those interested in switching to it. But others on the service should consider moving away from it as well.
This reads to me like someone using their platform as a tool to get their issue with Google resolved. Understandable, as am no stranger to calling out a vendor via social when a ball is dropped. But to use your readeship as a means to an end, in addition to having recommended a service without understanding the short comings....
@ Will -- Did you read the post? I was previously unaware of these issues, and my experience had been great. Upon learning the depth and scale of problems, I've changed my opinion. If it were just me having bad luck I wouldn't say anything here, but as you've said -- there are a shocking number of people experiencing nonsense with ProjectFi, and that changes the equation for me.
FedEx "lost" my Pixel 3 and it took them 6 weeks to get me a replacement. They're definitely doing terrible with customer service right now.
Honestly, I joined / giving them a try for the travel card promo. If they dont get their sh*t together by the end of the promotion period, I'll take my (free) phone and go back to TMobile
W just switched to Google Fi. You have to ask somebody to call back from the Fi app to get good support. E got me SIM cards and it solved the drop call issues. I wouldn't have chosen Fi if I had known how bad and hard it would be, but hoping our problems are resolved for now.
I travel frequently and use a Chinese branded Android phone. I use a data only SIM from Surfroam.com. They charge reasonable rates in most countries and charge by the MB. Their customer service, although only accessible by email or FB messenger is excellent. I wish they would give commissions for recommending them! If i am going to stay in a particular country for a few days I'll get a local SIM so that I can...
I travel frequently and use a Chinese branded Android phone. I use a data only SIM from Surfroam.com. They charge reasonable rates in most countries and charge by the MB. Their customer service, although only accessible by email or FB messenger is excellent. I wish they would give commissions for recommending them! If i am going to stay in a particular country for a few days I'll get a local SIM so that I can get a local number and in some cases, they even offer free SIMs at the airport (this was true in both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands). Try calling a hotel or other business from your Tmobile, Fi phone, etc. and the costs will quickly add up if you are able to call at all.
Apple forces you to download all apps from their own store. This is non-starter for me. I have found one too many times there are apps that I need that are not available in the country where I am traveling. With Android, I can simply download from another site and sideload them.
Why not email the CEO?
Google's customer service is horrible.
It makes it even worse considering how great it used to be.
I've never had an issue with Fi. I was with Verizon for many years, haven't looked back since switching to Fi. Your mindset as far as how you use data changes with Fi. Instead of mindlessly using data, I only use it when I need it. Last month, my bill was $26. Good luck coming anywhere close to that with any other carrier. I haven't had a need for their support yet and considering in...
I've never had an issue with Fi. I was with Verizon for many years, haven't looked back since switching to Fi. Your mindset as far as how you use data changes with Fi. Instead of mindlessly using data, I only use it when I need it. Last month, my bill was $26. Good luck coming anywhere close to that with any other carrier. I haven't had a need for their support yet and considering in the 16 or so years I've owned a cell phone I've never needed support, this article is irrelevant.
So you'll be returning all the signup commissions you got after recommending this so strongly just months ago?
As a security specialist for a large consulting firm, I'm surprised each time I encounter an allegedly forward-thinking company, department or user that has put all/most of its eggs in the Google basket. Using Google search, Chrome, Gmail, G Suite, and Fi is not a secure strategy. Remember, you are Google's product, not its customer.
T-Mobile offers the best plan for international travelers.
@JSP - I did the same thing when I bought my wife's phone, except I had no trouble switching it over to her email account.
Upgraded my phone to Pixel 3XL, had issues activating the service back, it's been over a month and still no resolution.
Support is the worse giving different and irrelevant answers everytime, and non-existent escalation, never got any answer from them. They are prioritizing new deal inquiries rather than support existing customers.
Moving to another service provider, I had enough.
Great article, Tiffany. Spot on.
2 years and 2 months ago, I had similar nightmares with Project Fi. I dared to buy a Google Nexus phone as a birthday gift for my daughter. With extended warranty coverage added, just because Dads do that.
To do so, I had to use my Gmail email address (a requirement for a Project Fi purchase) and my credit card. We were very excited when it arrived, only to get...
Great article, Tiffany. Spot on.
2 years and 2 months ago, I had similar nightmares with Project Fi. I dared to buy a Google Nexus phone as a birthday gift for my daughter. With extended warranty coverage added, just because Dads do that.
To do so, I had to use my Gmail email address (a requirement for a Project Fi purchase) and my credit card. We were very excited when it arrived, only to get ducked into a black hole morass of Google bureaucracy when we tried to ACTIVATE the gifted phone. Since it was registered to MY Gmail address, it was virtually impossible to reassign this brand new inactivated phone to HER Gmail account. What should have been a simple database field correction, became a days long mangled up mess. In the process, as absurd as this may seem, Google Support required that we abandon the monthly accidental damage coverage, in order to re-register a brand new inactivated phone. Absurd.
That's not the worst of it. 30 days later they charged my card some $175 because I had received a new phone but did NOT activate it! This began a lengthy battle over this overcharge by Google Payments, which as you accurately describe, their US Support group was unable and empowered to resolve. After 8 years as a call center supervisor for an IT company doing worldwide support, I was stunned beyond belief.
After days of calls, someone from Google -INDIA finally called me and stopped this insanity of charging me for an inactivated phone now reassigned to my daughter.
Apparently, Project Fi never conceived of anyone buying a phone as a surprise gift, and I was punished for that, and we lost the AD coverage to boot. This took weeks to fix.
To be fair, my daughter is working in Japan, and the phone service has been working fine for 6 months. The cost is reasonable.
The problem,though, and we saw this over 2 years ago, is that the polite. Intelligent US support group were not empowered to fix a simple billing overcharge issue. If that support center is now overwhelmed and understaffed, God Help Google Fi customers.
@ JSP -- Ugh, that's ridiculous.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I actually switched to Fi using your referral code and have been happy about the almost "free" roaming service when traveling overseas.
I did however had a terrible experience with Gmail recently. When Gmail switched to the new interface last year it messed up a few of my draft emails where I have stored information collected for years. These long draft emails were truncated and the information contained in...
Sorry to hear about your experience. I actually switched to Fi using your referral code and have been happy about the almost "free" roaming service when traveling overseas.
I did however had a terrible experience with Gmail recently. When Gmail switched to the new interface last year it messed up a few of my draft emails where I have stored information collected for years. These long draft emails were truncated and the information contained in the messages were completely lost. I tried to contact Google but never heard back. I have since switched to using Notes on my iPhone.
Meh, can say the same about every other large company. Works great until it doesn't. Paypal, Amazon, Google, Yahoo - all insanely incompetent when anything out of the ordinary occurs.
A few people's bad luck doesn't make an entire product or service bad. Otherwise no one would patronize most any of the major companies - travel and otherwise. I'd try contacting the FCC and anyone else that would help, though.
Thanks for sharing, Tiffany. I am new to Fi and had some issues contacting CS when I signed up last month, but figured it was just due to the busy holiday season. What you mention was one of my fears in switching over from Verizon. Not your specific issue, but just that Google isn't a very customer focused company since so much of what they do is offer free. I hope that as they expand...
Thanks for sharing, Tiffany. I am new to Fi and had some issues contacting CS when I signed up last month, but figured it was just due to the busy holiday season. What you mention was one of my fears in switching over from Verizon. Not your specific issue, but just that Google isn't a very customer focused company since so much of what they do is offer free. I hope that as they expand the work on beefing up their customer service. While I agree with most people that when you don't have a specific, odd, or just not run of the mill issue, they are fine, but when something unique happens their level of service leaves something to be desired. And I'm not expecting great, just something similar to Verizon or another big service provider.
Someone above mentioned that hopefully they'd take notice, and while I am not a big social media user, I did take a minute to tweet this story and share my own frustration while tagging Google Fi. I would encourage anyone else hoping for them to notice to do so as well. May make no difference, but if they hear from enough people maybe they will invest a little more in improving their customer service.
I signed up about a month ago or a bit more when they had a promo
They have horrible support.
I have been without service for some time and they have not refunded me a cent. So I am paying for nothing. I will be changing my carrier
I couldn't agree more! I've been with Fi since day 1 and always praised it's service, and customer service, to anyone who would listen, it WAS phenomenal. Then I ordered a Pixel 3XL in November and ported and existing number from T-Mobile and the nightmare began. They screwed up the order in every single way possible, I ordered 1 through the Google store for a promotion, cancelled it to order another one from Fi the...
I couldn't agree more! I've been with Fi since day 1 and always praised it's service, and customer service, to anyone who would listen, it WAS phenomenal. Then I ordered a Pixel 3XL in November and ported and existing number from T-Mobile and the nightmare began. They screwed up the order in every single way possible, I ordered 1 through the Google store for a promotion, cancelled it to order another one from Fi the following day because of a new promotion and subsequently had to place 4 separate orders to get 1 phone because of sales channel restrictions. One phone that was sent out and received back by them was never refunded, even though I had a FedEx delivery receipt that they had received it back, it took over a month to figure things out and issue me a refund.
The worst was when I received the phone and ported my number over, there was a clear discussion with the rep (I have the conversation recorded thankfully) that I DID NOT want to lose my existing Fi number, as I was going to use it and add another line. I was assured I would not lose it, but low and behold, they lost the number and it has now been 6 weeks of them trying to fix it.
Although everyone I talk to is nice, and they all ASSURE me that it will get escalated to the appropriate department for recovering a number and "you'll hear from them in the next 24 to 48 hours", I never hear from them and have to start all over and tell my story again, get promised a resolution again, and repeat. I'm on my 4th attempt as of today.
The customer service is friendly, but when it comes to organization and efficiency, it is abysmal. I seriously have never experienced such terrible customer service in my life, and I was with Sprint at one point and currently have Comcast! It's very hard to be worse than those 2, but Google has lowered the bar significantly.
T - Mobile all the way, US based customer service has been fantastic. Free international data is usually fast enough to do Skype voice calls.
I’m probably one of the last holdouts still using a windows 10 phone, I know I’ll eventually have to switch and android is not even on my radar, the worst most convoluted operating system ever.
Not to mention google knows everything that happens on one of there phones and...
T - Mobile all the way, US based customer service has been fantastic. Free international data is usually fast enough to do Skype voice calls.
I’m probably one of the last holdouts still using a windows 10 phone, I know I’ll eventually have to switch and android is not even on my radar, the worst most convoluted operating system ever.
Not to mention google knows everything that happens on one of there phones and it is not to you benefit. As Apple says what happens on your phone should stay on YOUR phone.
Three years and not one single issue. Average bill has been $38 monthly. I can pay early and have had plenty of times where I was credited to my account. This is entirely nitpicking and when you look up other providers(who by the way, have way more negative feedback and horrible support) there is always the standard "I'm having problems with my phone, calls dropping, customer support etc) I recommend Fi to anybody....cool thing about...
Three years and not one single issue. Average bill has been $38 monthly. I can pay early and have had plenty of times where I was credited to my account. This is entirely nitpicking and when you look up other providers(who by the way, have way more negative feedback and horrible support) there is always the standard "I'm having problems with my phone, calls dropping, customer support etc) I recommend Fi to anybody....cool thing about support is you can see.what number you are and waiting is never long. People have become so "fast food" they expect everything to be perfect except themselves. I have family on Verizon, T mobile and AT&T and all of them complain about billing, support and call coverage and they pay hundreds more monthly than I do.
Well I am currently having a nightmare issue with Fi. I have been with them since the beginning and love the low price bill and the service up until I decided to take advantage of the promotional deal to buy one pixel 3 and get credit for the second. Then all hell broke loose. Every time I speak with them I get a different answer. I'm not sure if at this point I will ever...
Well I am currently having a nightmare issue with Fi. I have been with them since the beginning and love the low price bill and the service up until I decided to take advantage of the promotional deal to buy one pixel 3 and get credit for the second. Then all hell broke loose. Every time I speak with them I get a different answer. I'm not sure if at this point I will ever get the credit they promised and the last call they were escalating it to someone who would get back in touch with me in 4 to 6 weeks...no not days, weeks...I am appalled. I believe they were not ready for the expansion and everything and everyone got screwed over when project Fi changed to Google Fi...SMH...just waiting to see. They are still the lowest price out there but if customer service sucks I may need to reevaluate since that's the reason I left Sprint and switch to Project Fi in the first place. I'm hoping they will get it together but I'm not sure it will ever be the same.
I've been with Fi for over two years with two people on a family plan. I had an issue with billing once, called to get it resolved, it took a bit longer than it should have but it was resolved and they gave me an extra credit for the trouble. I don't ever see myself switching.
Large tech companies are terrible at customer service. There's no way to reach them.
They all just want you to fill out a web form and will get back to you when they feel like it.
Most of my feelings were captured by your article and you even gave me more reason to leave. I've been with Fi since the beginning. I've lived every minute of it. But like you, I capitalized on the Black Friday deal for the pixel 3 xl before the expansion announcement. I received my phone, had an issue that rendered my phone useless and there was no way through to support. I tried for a week...
Most of my feelings were captured by your article and you even gave me more reason to leave. I've been with Fi since the beginning. I've lived every minute of it. But like you, I capitalized on the Black Friday deal for the pixel 3 xl before the expansion announcement. I received my phone, had an issue that rendered my phone useless and there was no way through to support. I tried for a week after going back to my old phone which I'm thankful I hadn't traded in yet. Multiple calls, emails, tweets ... And nothing! I'm just trying to figure my best way out after my credits are used.
still happy with my Tmobile international travel data plan all covered
Knowing Google Fi was not 100% compatible with my iPhone was already a deal breaker to me. I want to have nothing to worry about when it comes to technology. Apple is expensive but it just works. You add ATT or Verizon and you are good to go. Until Google realizes there is a world out there that does not run in their ecosystem I am sticking with the basics.
First support for me has always been abysmal. I would get a completely different, and usually uninformed answer with each call back (billing issues). I was owed a service credit on a promo purchase, after 4 months and dozens of calls, Find support refused to give me an address for certified mail. I was forced to send demand fr payment to Mountain View HQ. If you ever need anyy not available online or in the...
First support for me has always been abysmal. I would get a completely different, and usually uninformed answer with each call back (billing issues). I was owed a service credit on a promo purchase, after 4 months and dozens of calls, Find support refused to give me an address for certified mail. I was forced to send demand fr payment to Mountain View HQ. If you ever need anyy not available online or in the app, you're completely screwed
I still love my Pixel (1), and the service itswlf
Pay $90 for 3 lines, but still consider leaving due to horrible service
Both my wife and I have had a lot of good interactions with Fi support over the last couple of years (even got a free Pixel XL out of it), but we've also never had a billing issue.
Google Payments is kind of weird, I noticed that I have a Google Merchant account, although I've never tried selling anything with Google. If I try and edit the account, it tells me it isn't activated,...
Both my wife and I have had a lot of good interactions with Fi support over the last couple of years (even got a free Pixel XL out of it), but we've also never had a billing issue.
Google Payments is kind of weird, I noticed that I have a Google Merchant account, although I've never tried selling anything with Google. If I try and edit the account, it tells me it isn't activated, but it also won't let me delete it.
Is there no way to just change the credit card number on file with his Fi account? You should probably be using the family plan anyway, it saves us a fair bit every month.
@ M.O. -- Nope, the cards on the Fi account aren't even the ones having issues, it's that Fi takes whatever cards you have linked and runs them through Google Payments. So they can't process anything.
We have separate accounts for work reasons; it has historically made things easier, even though it is a smidge more expensive.
Im feeling the issue now with the flaws of Fi. Loved it for the 170+ countries i dont have to pay extra in but found out how flawed they were when I returned a defective Pixel 3XL and got an email from Capital One a month later saying they attempted to charge me for it. Have the email saying we got your device back, Fedex label/Signature, Fi website shows returned but every chat and call...
Im feeling the issue now with the flaws of Fi. Loved it for the 170+ countries i dont have to pay extra in but found out how flawed they were when I returned a defective Pixel 3XL and got an email from Capital One a month later saying they attempted to charge me for it. Have the email saying we got your device back, Fedex label/Signature, Fi website shows returned but every chat and call is a "we have to escalate the issue" Going on a little over 2 weeks and still no resolution. Just sad becuase things use to be amazing but they have lost their magic
T-Mobile is sufficient for my travel needs. The free slow data is sufficient for browsing the web/facebook and using google maps. As cheap as tmobile is it is an awesome service
Has anyone tried the Gigsky data only eSIM with one of the new iPhones?
Sounds interesting.
Email the FCC with a consumer complaint (well, when the government shutdown ends). Hopefully someone will take your complaint seriously. It similar to filing a DOT complaint against an airline.
Agreed that Google support is great in self-service land, but active assistance is non-existant.
That said, I haven't had any problems with Fi. Given the fact that I get LTE speeds abroad, I'm not planning to give that up.
Google support is great until it isn't. When you are unlucky to be stuck with something that is not getting resolved, escalation is non-existent and problems will last forever. See multiple bugs related to Android, Pixel and Nexus devices. I fear the day my main account ends up stuck in one of these Google Support Black Holes.
I have an iPhone and so far so good. I actually switched due to your article and even used your referral code. I think this article is skewed in a few ways. First, the issues you have with your phone isn't related to Fi per say, while I understand it's also a google product, shouldn't be a knock on the plan itself. Second, Fi allows you to enter more than one credit card, so if...
I have an iPhone and so far so good. I actually switched due to your article and even used your referral code. I think this article is skewed in a few ways. First, the issues you have with your phone isn't related to Fi per say, while I understand it's also a google product, shouldn't be a knock on the plan itself. Second, Fi allows you to enter more than one credit card, so if they couldn't charge the primary on file, they charge on the other card. This should minimise the non payment issue if your primary card gets deactivated for fraud, etc.
I would also like to highlight that Fi indicates I use a lot less data compared to Verizon for similar usage. Call quality so far is also very similar. Not sure if I've been hosed by Verizon all these years. Fi cut my monthly bill in half.
@ Bill -- The problem is that it doesn't matter what cards you have linked to Fi, or how many. He's never specifically linked his Google Payments account to Fi, they're just tied through his Google ID. None of the cards in his Payments account are listed in Fi, there are no fraud issues with any of the Fi-associated cards, or anything Fi-related.
So the crux of the issue is that if you have any...
@ Bill -- The problem is that it doesn't matter what cards you have linked to Fi, or how many. He's never specifically linked his Google Payments account to Fi, they're just tied through his Google ID. None of the cards in his Payments account are listed in Fi, there are no fraud issues with any of the Fi-associated cards, or anything Fi-related.
So the crux of the issue is that if you have any Google issues, it can become a Fi issue, which is not good if you rely upon your phone.
Oh no you had a hiccup and the world is going to end. This is anecdotal nonsense. Every tech company has had issues somewhere. I've had Google Fi since the original Pixel debuted and have had zero issues. I've converted many friends and coworkers (a whole year worth of free service worth of people) and none of us have ever had a problem. Fi isn't a priority for Google, they've made that clear, which is...
Oh no you had a hiccup and the world is going to end. This is anecdotal nonsense. Every tech company has had issues somewhere. I've had Google Fi since the original Pixel debuted and have had zero issues. I've converted many friends and coworkers (a whole year worth of free service worth of people) and none of us have ever had a problem. Fi isn't a priority for Google, they've made that clear, which is why it hasn't gained much traction. They just don't advertise it. But they've still done an excellent job with it. Plus I never pay more than $32 a month. Even overseas. No other carrier even comes close.
@ Jorge Piquer -- I am glad you have never had issues! Like I said, I haven't had issues either until very recently, which is why I think it's important to know how the issues can cascade -- especially since it's different than a typical phone company.
Great writing.
This post is a particularly good example of Tiffany's writing. I doubt anyone else could have made this topic, this story, as readable, entertaining and powerfully persuasive. At the end, I find myself almost frightened. Beautiful.
Thank You, Tiffany, for always sweating every paragraph, every sentence, while watching the big picture. This piece is a great example of why OMAAT is at the top of the game.
Definitely NOT a lounge act.
@ DenB® -- Awww, too kind, thanks!
This is really a big deal for me. Terrifying. I'm a Google Fi fanatic - I love the service, I've referred numerous others, etc. But. This is enough to make me reconsider staying with them.
Curious if it showing up on a blog with this level of followership might trigger Google to look at the problem and even provide an official response.
Haven't used Google Fi, but have recently had weird issues with Google Pay. Through Spotify, I received a free Google Home Mini. I placed the order, but Google cancelled it without explanation. In online chat, the rep said there was missing information on the credit card on my Google Pay account, insisting that I hadn't completed the online form. I pointed out that (a) there was no charge on the order, so they shouldn't have...
Haven't used Google Fi, but have recently had weird issues with Google Pay. Through Spotify, I received a free Google Home Mini. I placed the order, but Google cancelled it without explanation. In online chat, the rep said there was missing information on the credit card on my Google Pay account, insisting that I hadn't completed the online form. I pointed out that (a) there was no charge on the order, so they shouldn't have contacted my credit card, and (b) I had previously used that card to buy a book from Google.
I was interested in Google Fi; thanks for the warning!
All of the support issues you mentioned have a benefit -- it is extremely hard for fraudsters to socially engineer a SIM swap on your Google Fi account, then drain your accounts that use your phone for one-time code verification. For that reason, security professionals love Google Fi.
Thanks Tiffany. I am very appreciative of this update. I’ve been thinking about switching to google Fi ... based largely on your recommendations. Not now.
The potential privacy violation alone is enough to make this service a non-starter for me... It IS Google after all.
Switched over during the promo and have yet to have a problem. The bill was only $38 this month too so that's a plus!! I haven't had to speak to customer service at all other than when porting the numberhowever, so I can't vouch for that. My new Pixel 3 works great as well. Maybe you just got a lemon.
Has anyone gotten the T-Mobile plan with international coverage?
Interesting, I wasn't aware of any of these issues. It sounds like a true nightmare and I knock on wood that it won't happen to me. I have been very happy with Fi (and my Pixel 3 btw, it has been working perfectly so far so I think you may just have had bad luck with yours ).
However when I go online to chat with the support staff, I DID notice that it...
Interesting, I wasn't aware of any of these issues. It sounds like a true nightmare and I knock on wood that it won't happen to me. I have been very happy with Fi (and my Pixel 3 btw, it has been working perfectly so far so I think you may just have had bad luck with yours ).
However when I go online to chat with the support staff, I DID notice that it is not as great as it used to be. It feels like yet another crappy offshore support center that reads off of scripts.
But when all is said and done, the convenience of having service overseas is unmatched - I have quite a bit of international travel coming up so it's priceless to me. So I'll keep using it until something goes wrong, but I'm hoping Google (of all companies) will figure it out, they must have heard about it by now.
You didn't even mention the "invalid sim card" issues that happened with the Moto X4 when they pushed the Pie update down our throats. I can understand that bugs happen, and you can't always catch everything before release. But it shouldn't take a month to release a patch!
Here's a thread describing the issue.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MotoX4/comments/a83d7r/pie_invalid_sim_card/
I've had an iPhone on Project/Google Fi since early 2016. I've never been an Android user so none of the Android and/or Google ecosphere has ever held my attention, like Google Wallet. As such, none of my functionality is tied to Google. And, touch wood, I've never had an issue with my billing. Based on the story, it sounds like folks who bought new Pixel phones are the ones saddled with Google's expansion issues, which...
I've had an iPhone on Project/Google Fi since early 2016. I've never been an Android user so none of the Android and/or Google ecosphere has ever held my attention, like Google Wallet. As such, none of my functionality is tied to Google. And, touch wood, I've never had an issue with my billing. Based on the story, it sounds like folks who bought new Pixel phones are the ones saddled with Google's expansion issues, which is very unfortunate. Like @Jason, I've not had a single issue in any aspect of service with iPhone. And while I wouldn't call myself an Apple or a Google/Android fanboy, I would suspect (hope?) that Google has this sorted fairly quickly given how large they are and how much they've invested in this program. Fingers crossed for you, and for all of us. Fi has been a godsend for me and several folks I know.
This is exactly why I've never switched. Your phone (and its service) are so essential to everyday life that I wouldn't trust it to Google. Timely, human customer service is just not in their DNA. If I'm handing you $100-ish a month, I'm sorry, but I expect that.
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with them but I've been with Project/Google Fi for over three years now and I can report that the only time I ever contacted support was when porting over my number and that was fixed in five minutes - I haven't had a service issue since! I even upgraded phones from Nexus 6 to Pixel 2 with no trouble. However, all this was before they expanded operations a...
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with them but I've been with Project/Google Fi for over three years now and I can report that the only time I ever contacted support was when porting over my number and that was fixed in five minutes - I haven't had a service issue since! I even upgraded phones from Nexus 6 to Pixel 2 with no trouble. However, all this was before they expanded operations a few months ago so I'm hopeful things will be fixed by the time Pixel 4 comes out and I upgrade phones again...
@ Ted -- Yeah, support used to be amazing, so there's a definite difference these days.
Google is like the government , they have virtually unlimited revenue, lots of bureaucracy, as a whole everything seems to function but when you take a peep inside it’s a big mess.
you have just discovered the perils of free stuff AKA google.\ its great until you need service and since the google ecosystem is not inherently based on consumers paying for it, when things go wrong nobody cares.
(although as you mentioned , on fi you are a paying customer so that level of service is unacceptable)
@ abe -- Yep, exactly. It's one thing if the free stuff doesn't work, but when the stuff you pay for (or are trying to pay for) has the same support level, I have concerns.
I picked up Google Fi during their big promo in December. Decided it made sense to use as a data only plan for the iPads in the family and so far so good other than my own confusion on order extra SIM cards. Didn’t realize at first there was a difference between the regular SIMs and the data only SIMs.
As an iPhone user however playing around with the Pixel 3 on a recent...
I picked up Google Fi during their big promo in December. Decided it made sense to use as a data only plan for the iPads in the family and so far so good other than my own confusion on order extra SIM cards. Didn’t realize at first there was a difference between the regular SIMs and the data only SIMs.
As an iPhone user however playing around with the Pixel 3 on a recent trip was just frustrating. For one, I have most of the information Google wants to store on me (search history, etc.) set to off/pause. It boggles my mind how many of the basic services don’t work if you have it set as such. You can’t even get “OK Google” to go if you don’t enable voice search history. “Hey Siri” doesn’t have that problem.
So far my only real qualm with Fi though, as opposed to Android, is that if you are in a country that isn’t included you are just SOL. There is no option to pay more, your service just wont work. Vietnam for instance fell into this category.
As such I’m sticking with ATT for my main line for the foreseeable future and will continue to use Fi for data when it makes sense.
Thanks for the write up Tiffany. I'm planning on trying Fi out when I go to Europe for a week later this year. The plan is to get a cheap Fi-enabled phone on eBay and then use the service for a week. Even though it would be a new number, it should be cheaper than Verizon international and I can easily have friends/family contact me on the alternate number for a week. Do you see any risks with that approach?
@ Sam -- Nah, if you're nimble and it's not your primary device I wouldn't be as worried.
I would not trust Google Fi to be reliable anywhere. It's good for us because my son has a different carrier so we can depend on his phone when we need to which is pretty often. I would not use it as your primary carrier.
Sorry to hear that. From what I’ve heard, google has always had these issues.
Question- were you really having a lot of issues with your phone, to the extent you were calling customer service often? I have an iPhone and have never had those issues. Why not go to that?
@ Jason -- It was more because we were beta testers at first, and I use most technology on the edge cases, so things just come up. Until this phone I didn't ever feel like it was an excessive number of issues.
hangouts is amazing for juggling multiple GV numbers, haven't had a single issues and I rely on it on a daily basis
Fi itself I only use when traveling overseas and have not have any issue. It doesn't taken market share because of apple junkies
Yeah I am currently having trouble with my Google pay as well. Tried purchasing an unlocked pixel 3 and paying outright for it. Google deemed my payment info as fraudulent so I had to upload my CC and ID, and 2 weeks later it still has not cleared. I am inches away from just buying an iPhone, this is ridiculous. The play store won't even let me download free apps until this gets resolved.
@ Tav -- Yeah, same situation here. Can't even download free apps, or do anything that might communicate with Payments.
Keep us posted Tiffany! Curious to see if Google is finally able to resolve this.
When you originally posted about Google Fi a few weeks ago, I said that there had to have been a catch - otherwise Google Fi would have taken massive market share. Looks like that was indeed the case.
Sounds horrible! Are you moving back to a legacy carrier then?
Absolutely
Yep. Google Fi is great until it isn’t, at which point you lose your number and just surrender.
IMO Hangouts, etc. is just a colossal mess and has been for half a decade with Android. I switched back to iPhone and it’s a much better experience- iMessage and FaceTime are on point by comparison. Don’t know why anyone would pay iPhone prices for a Pixel, which is really just terrible HTC engineering.