Category: Android Phone

There are times when Project Fi just doesn’t behave like it should.  It’s rare but it happens and when it does, figuring out how to sort yourself out can be a real time saver.  Recently I had an issue where I was receiving calls but it would ring once or twice then roll to voicemail.  I did some testing, restarted my Nexus 6 and cleared the app cache but nothing seemed to work.  The strange thing was, it started somewhat out of the blue.  One day I was fine, next I wasn’t.

I spoke with the Fi support team and I got this series of instructions to solve the issue.  And solve it, it did.  While the steps are a bit involved, it is worth having these instructions handy in case you ever run into this problem.  Obviously I can’t promise or guarantee that this will work 100% for you as it did for me – but it should.  As you will see after the break, the process is pretty involved and invasive. Also be aware that this involves clearing your device’s cache.

To go through this process, you will need to have your Nexus device running on Project Fi and will need to have a paperclip or SIM pin tool to extract the SIM from your device.  The step-by-step instructions on how to solve the 1 ring problem can be found after the break.

While the concept of Project Fi is to provide users with the option of two carriers, T-Mobile and Sprint, there could be a time and place in the US where neither carrier has sufficient coverage. It is rare but it could happen. In that case, what happens to your Nexus phone on Fi? The news is actually really good both from a coverage and price perspective.

Keep in mind that if you are connected to Wi-Fi and it is strong enough, you can still take and make calls.  Last month I posted an article on how to tell if your calls are happening over Wi-Fi so you can refer to that for more details.  But assuming that you don’t even have that available, Fi kicks in to “Domestic Roaming”.  That means that it will use whatever carrier is available to get you connected to make those calls.  In my research of this topic, there have been multiple Fi users who have reported that when T-Mobile or Sprint was not available, their Nexus devices connected to AT&T or Verizon for coverage.  This happened automatically for those users who had roaming enabled (Settings>More>Cellular Networks on your device).

I should be clear that I personally have not experienced or used Domestic Roaming.  In all of my travels I have always had T-Mobile or Sprint available to me.

So what does that cost you as a Project Fi users if you happen to go onto the AT&T or Verizon network?  Absolutely nothing.

The big box retailer Best Buy is now another option for those of you who are looking to pick up the new Nexus 6P.  This weekend the US retailer started selling the aluminium finished 6P with 64GB of onboard storage for $499.  That is the same price as the Google Store but you can pick it up locally at many of the brick-and-mortar stores and of course order it online for delivery to your home, office or your local Best Buy.

To this point here in the US you have pretty much had to go to the Google Store to get the Nexus 6P although you have been able to find them sporadically on eBay or Amazon.  The rumor was that Best Buy would be picking up the 6P at some point but it was unclear when it would be and, more importantly, if it would be during the holiday season.  It made it – barely – which certainly is a good sign as Google works to get the phone out to other outlets.

Nexus 6P at Best Buy – 64GB $499

If you are looking for a budget Android phone with great specs, the BLU Vivo Air LTE could be an option for you. Today over at Amazon, you can pick one up for only $149, a savings of $50 and you can still get it in time for Christmas with 2-day shipping. The US based company BLU has become known as company that offers Android and Windows Phones at a competitive price with reasonable specs.  The Vivo Air LTE is a great example of this and while the specifications aren’t going to set the world alight, they still aren’t anything to dismiss.

• Super AMOLED 4.8-inch HD Display;
• 8MP Camera with Sony IMX 219 Sensor + LED Flash with HD video recording (1080p), 5MP Wide angle Front Camera
• 16GB internal with 2GB RAM,
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, 64-Bit 1.2 GHz CPU
• 4G LTE: T-Mobile: Supported Nationwide with Bands 2/4 including MVNO’s on T-Mobile such as Metro PCS, Simple Mobile, Go Smart, Straight Talk, AT&T: Limited Support for markets where AT&T has rolled out Band 2 and 4.Does not support Band 17

Keep in mind that the 16GB of storage on board is what you will get – there is no MicroSD slot.  Again, for some this isn’t a deal breaker but you need to be aware of it if you are considering picking one up for yourself or a gift. And as you probably have sorted out for yourself, the phone is unlocked and will pretty much work with any GSM carrier.

You will also note that it will have Android Lollipop running on it.  What about Marshmallow?  More on that after the break.

BLU Vivo Air LTE – SALE $149- Amazon

Good news from Sprint this morning for those of you who have an LG G4 on their network.  The Android Marshmallow update is rolling out to devices starting today and while it will be a phased, users should see the update in a matter of days.  The new build version from Sprint is LS991ZV9 and brings Marshmallow 6.0 to the G4 along with Sprint Global Roaming capabilities.

The good news is once again that the updates to Marshmallow appear to be taking far less time to roll out than Lollipop ever achieved and while some carriers are still dragging their feet on it (AT&T, I’m looking at you), they too are getting updates out much faster than before.  T-Mobile here in the US has probably been the best example of it.

There are some big benefits to for LG G4 owners who get the update including what I think is the killer feature of Marshmallow, Doze, along with some other nice new features.  You can read my review of Android Marshmallow to get the highlights of the release.

Google Now on Tap continues to evolve and the latest update to the contextual information feature has had a new feature added:  Screen sharing.  The update comes courtesy of an update to the Google Search app for Android, taking that app (and the engine behind Now on Tap) to version 5.7.14.19 for those keeping score at home.  That build and this feature is specifically designed for Android Marshmallow so if that hasn’t hit your phone or tablet yet, you won’t see the feature.

Essentially what this update does it take a screen capture of whatever you are viewing on your screen.  While you can capture your screen using the combination of the Power+Volume Down key, having this just a couple of screen taps away will make it easier and faster for many users.  It has been in beta for a week or so now and there have been several posts that it is coming but now it has rolled out to the Google Play Store and is widely available.