2 ms·

It switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, not sure if that makes a difference, I guess it depends where you are

by toby 8y ago

magduf 8y ago
Sprint is really bad outside cities too. Sprint and T-Mobile are the two worst operators if you're concerned about signal quality outside metro areas.
- int_19h 8y ago
  Individually, perhaps, but when you put them together, it closes quite a few gaps. In practice, when I switched to Fi, I got more coverage in places where AT&T's was really bad. Google Fi can also do cellular over WiFi if your phone supports it.
  - joecool1029 8y ago
    I have a device with Sprint. If I run into an area where my primary T-Mobile phones don't get service, they'll do voWiFi using the Sprint connection. Google Voice now supports data calling as well, so you can have same end result of WiFi calling even if your carrier or phone will not do voWiFi. I don't see the appeal of Fi at all.
    - int_19h 8y ago
      For me, the biggest appeal of Fi is that you pay the same data rates when travelling in other countries. The second biggest is the ability to have up to 5 data SIMs associated with the same account, with identical rates and no extra fees.
      - joecool1029 8y ago
        I don't pay for data in other countries. It's throttled unless I buy a day pass. For longer stays I usually buy a cheap local SIM and sign into Google Voice and DIGITS for free calling and number portability. So you have data SIMs that share from the same pool? I use a few hundred GB's per month. How much would this cost on Fi? I currently have 4 unlimited SIM's, a extra voip number, and a low speed SIM with one of my line numbers copied. It costs about $160/mo. If I run into an area where I don't have service, I have a second provider that's also unlimited and costs $4/mo.
- joecool1029 8y ago
  Historically T-Mobile was terrible. They now have native roaming on US Cellular and band 12 (700mhz) and band 71 (600mhz) lowband coverage. This covered a lot of the gaps. Sprint is weird, since they really only have halfassed voLTE they rely on a giant legacy CDMA network that should have been put out to pasture 5 years ago. But they do have the largest number of roaming agreements if all you care about is ability to call (and not have data). They do have fast data but it requires you to be in line of sight of a tower, not have walls or wet leaves in the way, and have a phone supporting HPUA so you can actually upload things. AT&T's network has basically zero investment in recent years, unless in Georgia or a handful of other markets it's the worst of the 4. Poor spectrum planning, low capex, the only reason they are #2 is because they keep buying up companies with customers (shitty Mexican carriers and DirecTV). Verizon still seems best (hardware, spectrum planning, roadmap, coverage), but no plans ideal for my needs. Poor for travel.
  - londons_explore 8y ago
    Get an overseas SIM card with the ability to roam to the USA. Three UK will let you roam to the USA and is $8 per month. $8 is the total plan cost, and there is no supplement for roaming!
  - magduf 8y ago
    >Verizon still seems best (hardware, spectrum planning, roadmap, coverage), but no plans ideal for my needs. Poor for travel. I use a Verizon reseller (Total Wireless); it works great and is pretty cheap for the US. Travel is not a problem with Verizon: Verizon phones are all unlocked, and have SIM cards. Just buy a prepaid SIM card when you're out of the country and use that for data. It's generally much cheaper than any service in the US; on my recent trip in Europe, it cost me 15 Euros for a 3GB SIM card, and I don't think I used half of that in my 2 weeks there, even though I was using my phone extensively for navigation and more.

It switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, not sure if that makes a difference, I guess it depends where you are

by toby 8y ago

It switches between Sprint and T-Mobile, not sure if that makes a difference, I guess it depends where you are

Sprint is really bad outside cities too. Sprint and T-Mobile are the two worst operators if you're concerned about signal quality outside metro areas.

int_19h 8y ago
Individually, perhaps, but when you put them together, it closes quite a few gaps. In practice, when I switched to Fi, I got more coverage in places where AT&T's was really bad. Google Fi can also do cellular over WiFi if your phone supports it.
- joecool1029 8y ago
  I have a device with Sprint. If I run into an area where my primary T-Mobile phones don't get service, they'll do voWiFi using the Sprint connection. Google Voice now supports data calling as well, so you can have same end result of WiFi calling even if your carrier or phone will not do voWiFi. I don't see the appeal of Fi at all.
  - int_19h 8y ago
    For me, the biggest appeal of Fi is that you pay the same data rates when travelling in other countries. The second biggest is the ability to have up to 5 data SIMs associated with the same account, with identical rates and no extra fees.
    - joecool1029 8y ago
      I don't pay for data in other countries. It's throttled unless I buy a day pass. For longer stays I usually buy a cheap local SIM and sign into Google Voice and DIGITS for free calling and number portability. So you have data SIMs that share from the same pool? I use a few hundred GB's per month. How much would this cost on Fi? I currently have 4 unlimited SIM's, a extra voip number, and a low speed SIM with one of my line numbers copied. It costs about $160/mo. If I run into an area where I don't have service, I have a second provider that's also unlimited and costs $4/mo.
joecool1029 8y ago
Historically T-Mobile was terrible. They now have native roaming on US Cellular and band 12 (700mhz) and band 71 (600mhz) lowband coverage. This covered a lot of the gaps. Sprint is weird, since they really only have halfassed voLTE they rely on a giant legacy CDMA network that should have been put out to pasture 5 years ago. But they do have the largest number of roaming agreements if all you care about is ability to call (and not have data). They do have fast data but it requires you to be in line of sight of a tower, not have walls or wet leaves in the way, and have a phone supporting HPUA so you can actually upload things. AT&T's network has basically zero investment in recent years, unless in Georgia or a handful of other markets it's the worst of the 4. Poor spectrum planning, low capex, the only reason they are #2 is because they keep buying up companies with customers (shitty Mexican carriers and DirecTV). Verizon still seems best (hardware, spectrum planning, roadmap, coverage), but no plans ideal for my needs. Poor for travel.
- londons_explore 8y ago
  Get an overseas SIM card with the ability to roam to the USA. Three UK will let you roam to the USA and is $8 per month. $8 is the total plan cost, and there is no supplement for roaming!
- magduf 8y ago
  >Verizon still seems best (hardware, spectrum planning, roadmap, coverage), but no plans ideal for my needs. Poor for travel. I use a Verizon reseller (Total Wireless); it works great and is pretty cheap for the US. Travel is not a problem with Verizon: Verizon phones are all unlocked, and have SIM cards. Just buy a prepaid SIM card when you're out of the country and use that for data. It's generally much cheaper than any service in the US; on my recent trip in Europe, it cost me 15 Euros for a 3GB SIM card, and I don't think I used half of that in my 2 weeks there, even though I was using my phone extensively for navigation and more.