Google Fi Suddenly Strikes
migrant.substack.com
migrant.substack.com
From a European perspective, coming to America/Canada is very expensive. You have to have a very fancy phone plan to "freely" roam there, and you'd know about it.
This is a case of poor planning. I'm not sure Fi is the bad organisation here.
In France, with a normal subscription, I can roam freely in 3/4 of the world with 25GB of internet without additional charge: https://i.imgur.com/l2bjCz9.png (red parts: unlimited calls + 25GB of data, orange part: 25GB of data but limited calls).
And it's like 20€ / month…
Not sure how feasible it is or what I'd have to work around, but aside from that, it makes more sense than any plan I've used stateside.
2. This was literally a selling point of this.
3. During circumstances like a fucking war happening, if you're making decisions as a company you need to ask the hard questions and create the environment to ask those questions.
Let's stop giving excuses for companies. This is entirely on Google for not communicating and not thinking 5 miles beyond their HQ of the impacts of their shit.
This isn't to say they can't make mistakes. Just that if they do they should learn from them.
FYI "Google Fi" has never allowed more than 6 months abroad and it's never been a selling point for being outside the US for that length of time.
I don't think "Project Fi" was ever clear on what the maximum limit would be until at some point before 2019 (can't find when specifically) they started strictly enforcing a 6 month limit, you can find many Reddit posts at the time of people running in to this issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/comments/89w4vp/extended_...
I also think there should be exceptions extenuating circumstance but even if there are significant legal barriers to provide that I think the failure here, as is often the failure with Google Fi, is the lack of communication.
Google Fi has your phone number and they have an app installed on your phone, they have multiple ways they could give you a heads up that your about to hit your abroad limit. Google Fi offers you the ability to pause your service, it would be easy enough to notify you 2 months, 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 week, and then daily that you are about to hit that termination date unless you pause your plan or return to the US. Then you could get a local sim and pause the Google Fi service with ample warning.
Like, why can't I share my YouTube premium with my partner? It's stupid as hell and Google really just ruins my UX with it.
You can, its just not free. Family plans are $18 for 5 people (individual plans are $10).
I understand the reason why they have the restriction in place - roaming costs money and is only profitable for occasional usage. An always-roaming customer would be a net loss for the business.
However, the system should be built to allow the customer to pay the true price of roaming and extend their stay if they need.
(Disclosure: I work for Google, speaking only for myself)
> this is a known policy with Fi
Fi _heavily_ hypes their support for being able to travel to 200+ counties and still provide service. I’d wager most Fi users on HN bought it for this very reason. I wonder what fraction of those read that fine print and know they can be screwed by simply using the service they believe are paying for.
I sympathize with the OP’s circumstances. It would be nice if Google customer service could make exceptions. But I would never rely on that. I never rely on any single service working all the time everywhere. Two phone numbers, multiple email addresses, two bank accounts. US companies are rarely set up to deal with expats, nomads, or anyone living outside the normal lines.
Most of the newer iPhones support either two nano SIMs or built-in eSIM plus physical SIM. Takes a few seconds to set it up.
TOTP 2FA (Authy, Google Auth, etc.) does not need cell or internet, it’s time-based. SMS 2FA is harder to accommodate, for that I suggest a US number with Twilio that you can forward to any number in the world.
Whenever I set up a second sim on my iphone I lose most of my contact details so somehow they seem to still be tied to my sim?? (I have no clue)
I used to do that as well, and still have Google Fi, but aggravatingly, all its integrated features fell victim to Google's butchering of messaging services. You can no longer get or send SMS via hangouts, and can no longer get voicemail notifications online: both appear to require that you be actively connected to mobile service, like every other provider.
Considering that these were major selling points, it's particularly annoying that they just disappeared.
Fi isn’t the best solution for everyone. You can find other services if you need a US phone number that can forward and receive SMS. I used Twilio too.
I needed a US number that my customers could reach me on wherever I was, in case of emergencies, because I do a lot of system admin and infrastructure work. The OP had a different problem: cheap roaming and calling back to the US.
Then there is the ever growing Google Graveyard. I wonder how long Fi has?
What is "Messenger" and what is "message web interface" and what exactly is it that he desperately needs to sync?
Contacts? Aren't they already store on the phone when you sync against gmail?
SMS? Aren't they already stored on the phone? The same with call history, right?
My current setup is to use Airalo for e-sims to get data access and Devyce to get a virtual UK phone number that can receive SMS messages. I do have a Google Fi number, which I can access the SMS messages via the web interface, but I haven't found it to be particularly useful (It predates Devyce).
The Devyce mobile app is a bit clunky, but it's heading in the right direction and it's been capable of both making calls and receiving text messages.
I would pay quite a bit for a service where it just worked globally, even with varying data restrictions and costs per region (within reason). Unfortunately most roaming seems focused on extracting the most amount of money out of the short-term traveller as possible.
I also can't understand why operators like Vodafone don't use their global clout to outperform in this regard.
https://support.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/223179348-Porti...
Edit: OpenPhone.co looks interesting
- traveling with covid
- needing to extend a visa after 20 days in the EU (Ukraine is not a Schengen country so he just entered) even though it’s 90 by default.
- thinking it “works in 150 countries” without limits
- attaching a sob story and unnecessary medical details about how much he needed for this to not happen
Since the lockout happened at least 17 days after he got the fever, he most likely does not have covid and can definitely fly back to the US, just like he flew with covid to Spain.
But of course that’s more inconvenient than just blaming someone else.
While I applaud some degree of non-military pressure to help end the war, I think there should be certain areas that are off-limit to such tactics.
These include: basic telecom and internet access, basic payment and disbursement systems, basic transportation, basic identity and profiles, etc.
I mean I think Fi should be more chill about exemptions but I’m not sure how it warranted an article.
Perhaps as a cautionary tale about relying on SMS 2FA long term…
> I have never received any email
> Please check if you have blocked the system automated emails. Lohitha · 1:46 PM
> I have not 1:46 PM L
> I have never seen the email And I cannot find it in my gmail account: I am looking now 1:47 PM L
If you're cutting off someones phone service, you could at least try to call them/send a SMS before, instead of just an email. Just like if you cut off someones email service, you'd expect at least one email before that happens.
Subject: Your international data roaming will be suspended soon
Contents:
As a reminder, Fi's Terms of Service require you to use our service primarily in the United States (territories not included), and it looks like you've been predominantly using Fi abroad. In 30 days, we'll need to suspend your international roaming data capabilities unless you start using Fi in the United States again (territories not included). Your calls and texts will not be impacted.
We may grant exceptions for military members and state department workers who are serving abroad. Please complete the following steps to request an exception.
Go to offers.sheerid.com/google-fi/government
Fill out the verification form (make sure to use your corresponding Fi email address)
Submit the required documents
Your phone number is safe on Fi until you cancel service or move it to another provider. If you believe you received this message in error or have any questions, please contact Fi support.
Yeah, I understand it's a concern that the virus might continue spreading by that action, but if I felt like my life was on the line (eg: not going on a random vacation), I think I'd do the same thing, even if I had COVID.
Ukraine in a normal state: Yes, don't fly anywhere if you have COVID.
Ukraine while being invaded by another country: Yeah, lets get you out of there. If you have COVID we'll work around it somehow, as we want to save lives, which is the whole point behind COVID restrictions in the first place.