Google Fi Service and Phones 6 month review

I live in an area that borders on a large wilderness preserve in Florida. I live about 1 mile from the wilderness preserve, but the area between me and the preserve is not developed, so cell coverage is spotty, as none of the carriers have put a tower in the undeveloped area.

I tried T-Mobile and Verizon, but coverage was spotty with both of them. Granted, I have a good wifi signal, so wifi calling covers me in and around the house. I lose signal if I'm making a call or streaming music when I go walk/bike through dead spots in my neighborhood.

I switched to Google Fi because my family has 4 phones and the price for 4 phones is $80. I figured if I'm going to get shitty coverage, I might as well get the cheapest shitty coverage. Six months later, here is what my experience has been:

SERVICE:

Google Fi uses T-Mobile and US Cellular, so the coverage should be about the same as T-Mobile, right?

Well, that is what happened. I get service that is indistinguishable from T-Mobile. However, a few months after switching, the dead spots disappeared. I assumed it was because T-Mobile has put some 5G cells in the area. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining.

The monthly plan costs are:

$50 - 1 phone
$80 - 2 phones
$80 - 3 phones
$80 - 4 phones

The rate is $20 per additional phone after that. Obviously, 4 phones is optimal as it comes to $20/month. I pay about @10/mth total in taxes.

The drawback is that you get 35G per person limit before your data is throttled. None of us has ever come close to that limit. Obviously, if T-Mobile in your area is bad, it probably won't work for you.

Also, there are no extras. No Disney+/Hulu/Youtube Premium add ons. That's fine by me. I could buy all I need with the money I save paying 90 bucks (including tax) for 4 phones.

PHONES:

I didn't need phones when I signed up. However, a couple of months after I signed up, my son's phone crapped out on him. I went to the Google Fi website and found an unlocked Moto G Stylus 5G for $149 ($200 off). Pretty good deal. BTW - All phones purchased on Google Fi are unlocked, so the phone isn't going to tie you to the service.

Recently, my wife dropped her Samsung Galaxy S21 into the sink and it stopped working. I was able to order her a new unlocked Samsung Galaxy S23 for $399 ($400 discount).

The only catch with the phones is that you have to activate the phone within 30 days on Google Fi and keep the service for 120 days. That's it. If you drop the service within 120 days, you have to pay the discount back.

Other deals:

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra - $749 ($450 off)
Pixel 6a - $199 ($150 off)
Samsung ZFold - $799 ($1000 off)
Moto G Power - $50 ($149 off)


I have no reason to switch, as my service works fine for me and the price is right.

ETA: Some of the phones pay off the discount over 24 months, so you have to keep the service for 24 months or pay back the discount. Others are only 4 months. I'm not sure why. All of the phones I listed only have a 4 month service requirement. The newer pixel phones have the 24 month requirement. Make sure before purchasing...