FlyerTalk Forums - Google Fi: Anyone care to post their experience?

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- - Google Fi: Anyone care to post their experience? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1688964-google-fi-anyone-care-post-their-experience.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by LordHamster (Post 27540829)

Hangouts Dialer works for me... try resetting your phone. Once you have hangouts dialer installed, you should see the phone dialer available within your Hangouts APP as well.

Remember when making phone calls to use the format +1-999-888-7777 where 1 is the country code and 999 is the area code.

As for cost:

Google FI uses the old Google Voice / Hangouts infrastructure and billing structure for the most part. VOIP calls to the US/Canada from anywhere are free... calls via wifi to other destinations are billed as if you were making a long distance call from home.
https://www.google.com/voice/b/0/rates?hl=en&p=hangout

Last week I was in India. If I used cellular... then normal FI roaming applies and I'm charged 20 cents/min no matter where I call.

If I used Hangouts dialer, it makes the call via VOIP. This can work over wifi or the cellular data network. If I was on the cellular data network then the voip called used a small amount of data from my allotment. If I was on Wifi, it used nothing obviously...

From India, using Hangouts dialer (Voip or wifi) to call the US/canada costs nothing as the rate is free. If I use Hangouts Dialer to call other countries (including India where I happened to be) the price was whatever the normal US-International rate was for the destination. In my case using Hangouts Dialer, if I was calling India, the rate was 1cent/min. Calling Germany? 1-4cents / min depending on the recipient's provider. etc.

https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6157794?hl=en

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letitride3c (Post 27541245)

Trying to figure out your setup & hardware - Pixel smartphone on Fi network, easiest might be to make a free call to Fi support from abroad - they can troubleshoot for/with you while on the call & check your settings (or, chat online w. tech support)

Hangout and Hangout Dialer Apps are both fine, just checked and use it here (inside the U.S.) - no issues. If your Android OS is up-to-date and you're already tried a simple reboot - set aside a few minutes to call or do a live, online chat with Fi support, it's free & they are pretty qood without being on hold, unless the legacy ones.

WiFi calling to the US (from overseas) are free and for as little as 2 cents, 4 cents (some slightly higher, made a few at 8 cents a minute) are still very, very cheap. When we're on cruise ships - WiFi calling onboard using "their" App & satellite network was 79 cents a minute (vs. traditional maritime call from the stateroom at $4.99 USD a minute,) ouch !! Given the quality of the Fi connections with their 100+ partners, I'm okay with that.

In a few countries, Hangout calling is blocked or not available, for whatever technical, governmental or operational reasons (they are noted in the user's guide/info, easy to look up) ... fallback plans for us are typically Skype.

I rebooted my phone and now I am able to make a call via Google Hangouts. It is a little misleading to say it is a dialer. Basically I am required to lookup a contact (even if that contact is not in my phone). Via the search box I enter the # I want to call - and then, although that contact is not in my phone I am able to click a button saying "voice call". It does not show a dialpad like other dialer apps. And further it wasn't even available as an option prior to the reboot post Google App Play install. In any event it is there now. Thanks!!

EDIT: Unfortunately after trying to make a call it still doesn't work. Ridiculously frustrating to be abroad and not be able to make a call!

Well - after a long call and chat with Google Fi Support I figured out why I can't make calls: Thailand is not a supported country:

Don't see the phone call feature?
If you are outside of the U.S. and don't see the option to make calls, the feature probably hasn't been made available in your country. Here is the list of countries it won't work:

Countries where calling in Hangouts and Gmail is not available https://support.google.com/hangouts/...id&hl=en&oco=1
Argentina
China
Cuba
Egypt
Ghana
India (Users in India can make calls to all countries except to locations within India.)
Iran
Jordan
Kenya
Mexico
Morocco
Myanmar
Nigeria
North Korea
Peru
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
South Korea
Sudan
Syria
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam

Count me among as a very happy Google Fi customer: I've traveled to Italy (via the UK) and Brazil in the last month, and it all worked perfectly. No problems with calls, SMS, or data. Nothing required any intervention on my part. I'm very happy I made the switch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelinSperry (Post 27541710)

I rebooted my phone and now I am able to make a call via Google Hangouts ... It does not show a dialpad like other dialer apps. And further it wasn't even available as an option prior to the reboot post Google App Play install ... after a long call and chat with Google Fi Support I figured out why I can't make calls: Thailand is not a supported country:
...

That's good to know, a simple reboot helped fix some of your trouble - now, you are ready to go once you are out of Thailand :D with this feature. Uploaded 2 attached *.JPG images - first with the Hangout main screen, tap the button/spot in the middle at the bottom of the screen, it will bring up the Hangout Dialer screen, as shown next.

This is on my backup Motorola that's set mostly to be WiFi only and Hangouts
calls displaying the Google Voice # - also, very important - for those Hangout Calls, you need to have Google credits available (this one has zero balance, the GV line on the Nexus 5X still has a positive balance of over $9 - refill/start with as little as $10 ... as these calls are separate from Fi charges)

Don't need any credit balance for callings within the US but you do need it if calling other countries or while traveling abroad, i.e. calling from TPE to ICN at 4 cents a minute (and, that's when I realized Hangout doesn't work anywhere in South Korea ... much like Thailand.)

Hangout on N5X running Nougat (7.0) is V14 on mine - if you don't or can't find the Dialer screen, uninstall, reboot first and reinstall both App, then reboot and it should be there ... I think :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letitride3c (Post 27544164)

Thanks! those photos are exactly where it is located. One thing to note for others like me... I have two gmail accounts due to the fact that I wanted to keep my old Google Voice # as well as port my old Tmo number into Fi. The dialer only shows on the account that has my Google Voice # and not my primary gmail account. Since I rarely use the 2nd account I didn't know to look there and found it by accident.

At least I know how to make calls now once I get into a supported country.

I wonder why certain countries aren't supported. Isn't this a VOIP service? That is, aren't we making calls over the web rather than over cell service? In such case, who cares what country we are in as long as we have wifi. Obviously I'm not well versed in VOIP.

I didn't realize I had to download the separate dialer app on the Nexus 5x. Thanks.

-David

Quote:

Originally Posted by TravelinSperry (Post 27544348)

I wonder why certain countries aren't supported. Isn't this a VOIP service? That is, aren't we making calls over the web rather than over cell service? In such case, who cares what country we are in as long as we have wifi. Obviously I'm not well versed in VOIP.

I don't think it is tech related. It is probably a legal issue for most of the countries on the not supported list.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIH Prem (Post 27544384)

I didn't realize I had to download the separate dialer app on the Nexus 5x. Thanks.

-David

Me either. It is not part of the instructions supplied with Google phones. And not only that when I spoke with Google Fi support about it the fellow said you must download it in the USA before you leave. I said how am I supposed to know to do that? He said people research it online. Huh?!?! I said why would I research something like this? How would I even know to do that? And if this app is required to make calls - why wouldn't it be pre-installed on Google phones like the dialer is??!?? Or mentioned in the instructions with my new phone? He had no answers and just kept repeating that others google it and find out. :confused: :mad: :confused: :mad:

Oh and btw his info was wrong as I was able to download the hangouts dialer app from abroad and I assume it will work when I arrive in a supported country (although that has yet to be seen).

Quote:

Originally Posted by freecia (Post 27544406)

I don't think it is tech related. It is probably a legal issue for most of the countries on the not supported list.

Looking at the country list I agree. Although South Korea? And Mexico? Hmmmm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by freecia (Post 27544406)

I don't think it is tech related. It is probably a legal issue for most of the countries on the not supported list.

Yep, it's a legal/regulatory issue.

If you VPN back to the US, you can use Hangouts dialer (or the sidebar in Gmail) as if you were in the US. I've done it in Mexico. Call quality suffers a bit thanks to the extra latency, but if your wifi connection is fast and your VPN doesn't suck, it's perfectly usable.

Hangouts dialer should also work over a cellular data connection with Fi (or any other US cell carrier) in countries where they have coverage even if Hangouts normally doesn't make phone calls there because the cellular data routes back through the US.

Just got an email from Project Fi, the kind I usually ignore, with the subject

Happy Holidays from Project Fi

but it was worth opening since I got $10 in Google Play credit from following the link and playing some silly game where you have to click on items on the screen after given some clues.

Keep an eye out for it and good luck! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerd (Post 27580578)

Is this the same as the snowflake in the Fi app? I tried tapping on that but it redirects to a browser saying I need to be on desktop Chrome, or an approved Project Fi device -- I'm on my Nexus 6P :( but outside the US, so I wonder if that's throwing it off.

Fi/T-mobile service has been pretty good this trip -- cruising to Aruba, Curaçao, Cartagena, Panama, Costa Rica. Have generally had signal on land (or even close to it :)) except in more remote places, and H or LTE most of that time.

I just got a 10 dollar Play Store credit from the holiday game.

Worth checking it out.

I have had Google Fi for about 6 weeks or so. Managed to visit two countries that aren't on the list. Marshall Islands and Micronesia. Got a message from the Fi app when I landed that basically said sorry no service here.

I had a nice 4g connection in the Philippines, and good service on both Trinidad and Tobago. It really is great to have to worry about international data roaming anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorak (Post 27582172)

... I think this was simply a browser issue and not related to geographic location. My default browser is Dolphin but I was able to access the game via Chrome and "play" both last week and this week, including the $10 Play store credit.

I noticed also in the app that there's now a refer-a-friend credit for of $20 each for both the referer and the referee, which is timely for me as after our experiences on the cruise a friend of mine is very interested in signing up now :D maybe we can start a FT conga or something.

How well does Google Fi work with iPhones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by miamiflyer8 (Post 27609552)

How well does Google Fi work with iPhones.

Pretty well it seems. You have to activate service in a supported phone but then you can switch the SIM card to another phone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectFi/c..._in_an_iphone/

http://www.provideocoalition.com/use...-consequences/

Do a search inside this thread only for "iphone" for some experiences:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...l#post26972499

Data Point- in addition to a Tmo data only sim, I use Project Fi in a Nexus 6. It initially had some issues but when I did a factory reset, it has been perfect since (this was in Greece). Was just in Argentina, Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. It connected immediately, had LTE, in both cities, and phone calls were fantastic. Two gb of data has been working for me, but really their policy of billing for what is used makes it a no brainer to just buy 1 gb and use what you want.