Tag: Project Fi

Back in May, Google announced three new phones were coming to the Mountain View company’s MVNO service, Project Fi.  At the time of the announcement, the Moto G6 was immediately available while the LG G7 and LG V35 were slated to be available in June.  While it is a few days late, both of the LG flagships are now available to order.

The LG G7 ThinQ is priced at $749 ($31.21 per month for 24 months) while the LG V35 ThinQ is priced at $899 ($37.46 per month for 24 months), putting it up there from a pricing perspective with the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Google has made it easier for parents to manage their children’s phone usage by adding Family Link support on Project Fi.  Now parents can add their children to their Fi account for the same $15/month and can manage the amount of data they are allotted each month as well as when their phone can and cannot be used.

Aimed for parents who have kids under 13, Family Link is designed to help parents manage everything from sites available for their kids, to which apps can be installed, and now their phone usage through Fi.

Good news this morning for Moto X4 owners who are on Project Fi.  Your Android Oreo 8.1 update is now ready to download.  The update follows up the Oreo update back in December for the device which is the first non-Google branded phone to work with Google’s MVNO service.

If you have a X4 on Fi, you should have the update available by checking for it in the device’s settings under the About phone section.  It is a small update given that it is incrementing the Oreo build on the device but it is always a good ideal to download these types of updates via WiFi.

Three years ago on Sunday, Google launched Project Fi.  The MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) solution combined T-Mobile and Sprint as carrier options for the Nexus 6 and allowed for seamless switching between the two carriers automatically.  Fast forward to today, you still have T-Mobile and Sprint in the mix but now you also have U.S. Cellular in there for additional coverage.

The idea was a unique one and remains so today.  Project Fi also brought low cost data usage at the time of its launch, particularly for those who traveled internationally.  That part of the service has improved too as you are not longer as severely throttled on your data speed as you were back three years ago.  As for the cost, it still remains mighty competitive in the market.

Subscribers of Project Fi have a new feature coming to the Android Messages app for SMS and MMS.  Smart Replies is something that has been in Google Allo and Google Inbox for some time now and the feature is now rolling out to Fi subscribers.

Like Allo and Inbox, when a text message comes into your Android Messages app, you will see options for replies in three small bubbles just above the text box where you type your replies.  Backed by Google’s AI, smart replies understands the context of the message you were sent and offers quick, one tap replies to those messages.

Google is finally offering a reasonable replacement to those that have struggled with defective, often bootlooping, Nexus 5X on Project Fi.  Customers who have the 5X and have the $5 per month Device Protection Plan on the device, can now get a Moto X4 as a replacement.  The $69 deductible payment is still required but this is far better than the $53 check that was offered by Google on defect 5X’s just a few weeks ago.  If you didn’t want that $53, you could get a $100 Google Store credit.

The Nexus 5X has been plagued by bootloop issues where the device would simply be stuck in a mode where it is simply never is able to get past the boot up screen on the device and actually load Android to run the phone.  Not all phones were effected of course but many where, prompting some class action lawsuits against Google and LG.