Why I love Google Project Fi

I have been an enthusiastic user of Project Fi for more than two years! I see a lot of people making posts about what to do about their phone when they travel, and for me, Project Fi has been the answer. It is lovely to bring my phone out of airplane mode and see it connected to LTE before I reach the gate. It is even more lovely to see this in every country I have been to on my travels so far! And that my data rate is the same, no matter where I am!

Pro:

• It is less expensive than most major carriers ($20/month for unlimited calls/texts in the US, and $10/gig of data almost anywhere in the world with a max of $80/month total and 15gb of high speed data.) For reference, I use about 2gb of data a month, so this is a great deal for me!
• You are only billed for the data you use. If you use 0.5 GB one month because you’re always on WiFi, your bill will reflect this!
• Coverage is good. Much better than any of the partner networks alone. Sprint, T-mobile, and US Cellular combined is very nice! I’ve driven across the US on routes 70, 80, and 90 on Fi and have had good service throughout.
• It works in 170+ countries (here’s a helpful reddit showing places that aren’t covered)
• There is a family/friends plan now
• They have an honest assessment tool, complete with detailed coverage map
• Decent international calling rates from the US

Con:

• Only a few phones work on Fi, and Fi-able phones are pretty expensive.
• No coverage maps for international coverage
• Phone can sometimes lose connection when switching between carriers (I had this issue on Nexus 6P, not with the Pixel 2)
• You don’t get any of the benefits of being part of any of the individual networks (for example, no free internet on Delta flights from T-Mobile.)

Places where I have used Fi successfully:

• Road trip from Iowa to Washington/Oregon via Yellowstone
• Road trip from Iowa to San Fran via Vegas
• All over NYC
• Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire (I had some connection issues in Bonare)
• Iceland (all around the ring road, even in places that seemed quite remote!)
• Norway, including Tromso, Finnsnes, around Senja
• Northern Finland including Kautokeino (I had data but was having trouble making cellular calls)
• Netherlands (Rotterdam, Amsterdam)
• Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt, Wuppertal, Mainz, Garmish-Partkirchen, Leipzig…)
• Tokyo
• Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Sorong, Maumere, and whenever we were near a cellular tower in the Banda sea)

Places where Fi has had issues:

• Bonaire (service didn’t work for 3 days after arriving, not sure why.)
• Finland (needed to make a call due to car mishap, no luck… but I could use Facebook messenger no problems.)