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Comment by gordon_freeman | Hacker News Reader

Any idea if they are planning to get this work with Project Fi service? I've always wondered what changes in hardware are required to get it compatible with Google's Fi service. Anyone knows?

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I ordered Project Fi service recently, got my SIM card over 2 weeks ago and to this still still am unable to activate it and use the service. Their support has gone back and forth with me, and even escalated it to engineerse but nothing has been done to resolve the issue. Moreover they typically respond days later and ask me vague questions like whether or not I enabled Project Fi within Google Apps policy settings (I did that long before calling support). The whole thing has been a clusterfuck to be honest and I'm waiting one final response before I just cancel the whole effort outright and keep on keepin' on with AT&T. The sad part is that I purchased a 5X just for this.

^ Same question! I love Google Fi, but am considering rolling off if I can't get a decent phone on-network (without doing the iPhone hack).

What do you find problematic with the Pixel?

I currently use a Nexus 6, and I run into issues with the battery as well as general performance when the battery is low (despite turning off battery saver). Otherwise the phone is fine (if a bit too large and less sexy than an iPhone). I'm also becoming more concerned about privacy, and in that respect I think Apple will probably always care more than Google.

Just one man's opinion, but if you're looking for a quality phone for Project Fi, the Pixel is all-around very good, especially relative to the Nexus 6. I can't speak directly to the Pixel XL, but I've been more satisfied with my Pixel than any iPhone or Android device to date, and the general sentiment from tech reviewers seems to echo my opinion on it.

I switched from N6 to Pixel XL, and difference is very significant: no lags at all, I now don't know what more I would want from the phone. For N6, I think they had some hardware bug in memory card controller, which degradated performance because of some data fragmentation.

1 - a lack of waterproofing from an iphone priced device. I bring my phone skiing; I kind of think that's table stakes for a $750 base price phone.

2 - I used a friend's phone; I didn't like the fingerprint scanner on the back. ymmv.

These are obviously nitpicks, but the Pixel is $900 out the door (128g, tax, case, etc.)

(Reached maxdepth) the pixel 2 is likely coming out in a few months. From https://fi.google.com/about/faq/#supported-devices : """ Why is Project Fi only available on the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Nexus 6, and Pixel devices? These devices are the first smartphones that support our network of networks. They work with the Project Fi SIM card, which supports multiple cellular networks, and have a state-of-the-art cellular radio tuned to work across network types. """

The first part about SIM support seems much more relevant than the second part about their state-of-the-art radios. The Nexus 6 came out in November 2014. Carrier oligopolies are the reason for this as far as I can tell.

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