What are /r/GoogleFi's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

This is not a cell phone plan.

It's Google One cloud storage. which lets you back up your computer or add more space to your Gmail and Google Drive.

Just to give some context, I think this was posted to humorously point out that the original price (crossed out in the photo above) is $1.99 and the price at which Google is offering it now is also $1.99. (i.e. same price, there's no discount)

I am not sure why this was posted in this Google Fi subreddit, but there you have it.

It seems like maybe this was a promotion someone saw when they were reviewing their Google Fi cellphone plan on the Fi website.

i have an iphone 11 on a flexible plan at Google Fi and its been great for me (especially on lock down).

I particularly like that I have free data sims for my kid's hand-me-down iphones/iPads to use on car rides or when they go off with their grandparents on trips with out a hotspot. I've always been on iPhone so I could not tell you what I am missing with Wifi calling. Its probably great, but I don't have a clue. iPhone just got Google VPN feature added so that's nice. I'm a NordVPN user so it isn't anything that special to me.

Coverage: T-mobile is generally good for me in the U.S. except in Rural areas, but i've read they are putting up 10,000 or so towers over the next few years.

Cost: Great when i can stay on wifi or remember to download my podcasts and audible books ahead of time.

Will I stick with Google Fi in the next 5 years? Probably not unless Google Fi updates their plans a little. Right now Im considering eventually moving to Mint (also T-mobile towers) when my kids outgrow using data only sims and need an actual phone line.

I wouldn't wait that long, you could get it much quicker from Amazon for the same price and some customer service included. https://www.amazon.com/Google-Pixel-4a-Smartphone-Ultrawide/dp/B08H8VZ6PV/ref=sr_1_3?crid=CV2D8Y3ZRMJ5&dchild=1&keywords=pixel+4a+5g&qid=1617125209&sprefix=pixel%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-3

It's the text portion of their enterprise offering. Will eventually replace Hangouts for consumers. So after all this we're back to GChat...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.dynamite

Yes, many youtubers include paid sponsorships in their videos (more do than don't today), which can't be auto-skipped on mobile, only by hitting skip-ahead enough times to bypass it. Many of those sponsorships are for the countless low-effort VPN services including NordVPN and ExpressVPN, both mentioned in this thread.

https://photos.google.com/settingstry recover storage, and select compress. it won't touch things uploaded from your pixel, "read the learn more" see if that frees up space.. maybe you have pics/albums etc synced from elsewhere...

That's Motorola, great on promises, poor on execution. I have a Moto X4 Android One. Very few updates and really at EOL sooner then it should have been.

https://www.android.com/one/

FYI - If you really want to use RCS and keep your phone on when using the web, you can turn off Fi sync and enable RCS and then use Device Pairing for the web. To make voice calls on the web, you can use Duo.

I always use SMS Backup and Restore, has never failed me and it keeps a backup in Google Drive for me, which I can also store offline.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en

Pretty often, I've got like 100 tabs open right now.

For Reddit I use the Boost app which has data saving, thumbnail, autoplay, video resolution settings, and different options for data vs WiFi

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rubenmayayo.reddit

From the recommendation of another post out here, download Carrier Services from the play store, and it will fix the issue. Worked for me and a bunch of others. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.ims

Edit: wrong link

I use Signal Spy to force it to stay on the carrier I want. I think the signal cuts out due to being underground and buildings blocking it but the weakest signal (Sprint for me) always has a signal so it switched to that and never left it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

It just started working.

Her service was never used in the US. She just transferred from Consumer Cellular to Google Fi eSIM on iPhone while we were in Italy.

In order to get it to work she used ExpressVPN to activate through the Fi App. The service took 3 hours to connect. We manually selected Vodafone, left it there for an hour, then toggled airplane mode and it now works flawlessly.

Uninstalled and restarted phone. Did not reinstall.

All the recent reviews show that this is a problem. I would not reinstall until the problem is fixed.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.ims&hl=en_US&gl=US&showAllReviews=true

Eh, they usually give at least some warning, but it is really inconvenient.

I used to use the Google Voice widget back when Google Voice had Carrier Integration with Sprint.

When Sprint no longer offered Carrier Integration with Google Voice, I ported my number to Fi and used Carrier Integration with Hangouts. Since Hangouts didn't have a widget, I used the third-party Hangouts Widget.

The widget is very simple. It just watches for notifications. When it sees a notification from Hangouts, it copies it to the widget. The disadvantage of this is that it would miss any messages from before you installed the app. (The Google Voice widget did.) Of course, simply tapping on the widget opened Hangouts, to show all your messages, including any the widget missed.

Now that Fi is no longer offering Carrier Integration with Hangouts and is instead offering Carrier Integration with Messages by Google, I am currently without a widget.

Do you have any ideas?

Fialer app bypasses the phone dialer and calls the Fi interface directly. Just checked on my 3a and Fi info dialer code in phone did not work but did work from Fialer. [There's a free version if you have signal spy]

Ah reception, not the actual handset, gotcha.. did you try to switch to the US Cellular option to see what it's like with them? Perhaps also try the VPN / Enhanced connectivity to see if it helps with anything overall.. do you get good signal strength but just not very fast connectivity? Perhaps play around with Fi Switch to get a better picture and track what is going on and contact Google to see if it can be remedied. Are you showing full 4G coverage on the Fi map everywhere you go?

I feel like outside of that you're left with Verizon, or ATT.. both of which aren't too bad, just a bit expensive usually.. both should fully support you and have visual voicemail / WiFi calling, etc..

Get yourself a password manager with support for facial recognition and use that to login to anything that doesn't support facial recognition. You should probably have a password manager anyway.

Shameless self promotion https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.callpod.android_apps.keeper

Try this, Signal Spy. There is an option in the app now that prioritizes the carrier. Not from Google, but works great. I love seeing the details of my networks and switching manually between carries when Fis can't sense crap quality of the network.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

I know the frustration and I have the solution! This is Hangouts Dialer, different than Hangouts. I had to change the gmail address on the second number, then sign into this app with it. It works GREAT!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.hangoutsdialer

> NordVPN

Do you ever get concerned about how much money they are spending to acquire customers? They're on a bunch of decent sized YouTube channels as paid sponsors (off the top of my head Hydraulic Press immediately comes to mind but I've seen them on at least a half dozen million-plus subscriber channels I follow) and tons of podcasts, probably a dozen of the 80~ I listen to with regularity.

They're also some mostly anonymous Panamanian company and super cheap. Just smells like "we're harvesting your data" and/or "We are a company run by a government agency".

If it's this variant you have no USA LTE bands other than Band 5 LTE, which Fi (TMobile) only has in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

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https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_k20_pro_premium-9884.php

Here are the specs for that phone: https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_rog_phone_ii_zs660kl-9770.php

Looks like it has bands 2, 4, and 12, which should work pretty well for much of T-Mobile's coverage area. It doesn't have band 71 or 66, so in places where T-Mobile have added 600 Mhz, or added carrier-aggregation for faster speeds, you won't be able to take advantage of.

If you've needed Sprint and/or US Cellular with the Pixel 2XL for coverage, you won't get that with the Asus ROG 2. You may be better off getting another Pixel 2 XL off eBay or Swappa.

Thanks - carrier switching wouldn't apply for you then.

Do you know what version (A, B, or C)?

Version A only has LTE band 2, version B only has LTE bands 2 and 4, and version C has LTE bands 2, 4, and 12.

https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_6_zs630kl-9698.php

Version C would be your best choice, and versions A and B would explain much on why you see what you see.

It's quite possible you will be good:

https://www.gsmarena.com/razer_phone_2-9363.php

It has bands 2, 4, 12, 66, and 71, so as long as it's unlocked it should work on T-Mobile like other Fi-compatible phones.

If you can't order online, you can probably get one for $10 a Best Buy, which includes a $10 credit towards the service.

Based on the LTE bands listed here, it looks like the phone doesn't support any of the T-Mobile bands (you need at LEAST bands 2 and 4).

You might also want to read this article.

Verizon requires phones added to their network to be "white listed". By this I mean, they have a list of IMEI numbers that they allow to access their network. Also, the LG G7 comes in several variants (the Unlocked US that Fi sells and a Verizon version).

https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g7_thinq-9115.php

> the Google One VPN won’t let you assign an IP address from a different country manually. Instead, Google assigns you an IP in the region you’re connecting from.

For $9.99/mo (or $7.99/mo), I will just keep ExpressVPN.

I wouldn't trust a Google VPN. They don't let you choose a server location, and undoubtedly they keep logs, so there's really no effective privacy to it.

NordVPN or ExpressVPN are the best VPNs to use.

I am not sure if this was resolved for you or not, but try using Signal Spy app. If you setup the settings right it will copy the proper codes to your clipboard as they are different on the pixel phones versus other android phones. I had a similar issue with an S22 Ultra and my Pixel 6a. Support claimed I would need new Sim cards for both, using this app fixed that issue. Also, using the default google dialer is also key. Let me know if this helps at all.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

I tried several different NordVPN servers for activating outside the US but it didn’t work for me. It’s possible to activate outside the US but might need to try another VPN provider or use a work one if you have it.

Yes, that matters. On Samsung there is already a separate Voicemail app (enabled if supported by the carrier). In that case the Google Phone app does not activate the VM function.

From the Play Store: > Visual Voicemail^(1, 3) > > [...] > > 1. Available only on some devices that have Phone pre-installed.

This functionality is also hidden if you installed a third party VM app (for instance, T-Mobile Visual VM or DIGITS).

That's really a function of the Google Phone App being factory-installed, which means it's the same for Sony, Nokia etc.

(In contrast, Samsung, OnePlus, etc have their own Phone + VM apps, which may or may not work with Fi; they also don't transcribe voicemail).

One thing that the Pixel has that's missing from the others is "live transcription" of phone conversations. (Personally I found that annoying and turned it off, but some may like it).

You could switch to a different backup tool.

I've found this works pretty well. It even backs up RCS messages too. The only issue I've seen is it restores RCS messages as MMS. Not a deal breaker as it still restores the message. I've not looked back to see if "reactions" restore.

The problem is that Google fi doesn't actually allow you to pick a network and sometimes the automatically provided network is not the best one. For this reason I have created the Fi Switcher application that allows you to quickly switch between networks and even choose a preferred network to keep you connected to that network indefinitely. Check it out here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.serratocreations.fiswitcherpro

Hello, It is very likely that your device does support Automatic carrier switching, the keyword is automatic. The problem is that Google fi doesn't actually allow you to pick a network and sometimes the automatically provided network is not the best one. For this reason I have created the Fi Switcher application that allows you to quickly switch between networks and even choose a preferred network to keep you connected to that network indefinitely. Check it out here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.serratocreations.fiswitcherpro

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.ims

It's a hidden support app on your phone. There's actually a number of them that you never interact with but enable various functions.

I have T-Mobile. I use wifi calls. They work pretty well for the most part.

EXCEPT if I connect to NordVPN. After first connect to NordVPN (via Nordlynx), I am not able to have inbound or outbound wifi calls. This still has a problem even after I disconnect from NordVPN.

The only way to fix (that I've found) is to reboot. THen wifi calls work ok until I connect to NordVPN again. Again, the problem occurs whether I am connected or even disconnected to Nord.

Instead of turning off 2FA (which is horrible advice), consider multiple 2FA methods.

Google (obviously) supports Google Authenticator - use that. Then use its Transfer Accounts function to copy the accounts from one phone to another so you have a backup.

Also generate and save backup backup codes as a last resort. Store these in a secure place on a device you control, for instance a laptop, or USB drive that you keep with your important documents.

Thank you for the quick response! Yeah - I can foresee issues with the teenagers wanting to access TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat since those appear surgically attached to them. We use Private Internet Access VPN which may help, but otherwise they will be fine using iMessage / SMS.

You need an Apple device to set up AirTags, but once set up you can use Android.

https://www.lifewire.com/using-airtags-with-android-5188775

Direct link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect

Is this a new account or new device? New account not going to work. Activation a new device on your existing account should work, but I couldn't get it to work on an iPhone - does work on a Pixel. I use TunnelBear VPN.

If you didn't get this fixed, you need to change the VPN protocol settings in ExpressVPN to something other than Automatic. Use the speedtest app or website to test which protocol is faster for you. That worked for me.

In addition to G1, there is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore which is a good app.

Not a phone recommendation, but if you are having a charging port issue that is not purely a design problem with the phone, you may want to consider a magnetic charge cable. These offer a few advantages: fewer plugs/unplugs of port (since connector stays in port, then magnetically couples to cable), connector blocks debris from getting into port, and any force that could cause a cable to damage the port normally will typically just cause the magnetic connector to disconnect from the cable.

They are a little more expensive, but not by much. For the ones I buy, each cable comes with a USB-C connector and a micro-USB connector, so I have extras for all my devices (ear buds, battery bank, tablet, etc). These are the ones I get: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PGFH7FR

There are other types and brands as well, and even that company (NetDot) makes a few different versions that are incompatible, so make sure to avoid discontinued ones.

Hope this helps with your new phone (whichever one you get).

I am just about to do a post about Google acquiring some AWS IP space. They turned it on around 4:30 PDT and I could not connect to my self hosted email and webserver that blocks AWS. I had to alter my firewall. On the outside chance it may be that expressVPN blocks AWS.

You should contact ExpressVPN.

Google's spam control is a feature of their Phone app (preinstalled on Pixel and Sony, among others). There does not seem to be any additional spam controls in the Fi settings.

Texting via the Google Messages portal is available for any carrier, you just need to have their Messages app installed and set as the default SMS app. (It's factory-installed on many Android phones like Pixel and Sony Xperia, though not Samsung). Follow the instructions for device pairing on the site. Essentially, the web portal sends and receives messages via your phone.

This app also supports RCS ("Chat Features", "Advanced Messaging").

Alternatively, if you are on Fi you can choose to "synchronize messages with the web". In this case you can send and receive texts, make and receive calls, and access your voicemail all on the site, similar to Google Voice, without needing your phone to be online.

How it works is that Google essentially intercepts all your communication on their servers, and your phone uses data to send/receive texts over the Internet. However, for this reason, Chat Features are not available when this option is enabled.

Google Authenticator is an app. Instead of registering with SMS you register with Google Authenticator. What you're logging into will show a QR code and you scan that with Google Authenticator. Then the codes show in there instead of via a text.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2

When I say get lucky I mean that websites/apps often only support SMS. Maybe all the ones you use will support Google auth.

P.S. there are other apps like Google Authenticator.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 128GB Green.

Available at Amazon (at the time of posting anyway. Just to note that the phone is generally available even if Google seems to be having issues with shipping one.)

It will be in the Settings within the Google Messages app. If your phone does not have this preinstalled (for instance, Samsung) then you can install it and choose to make this the default SMS app.

Licenses are for spectra (frequency ranges), not frequency ranges. n7 is a subset of n41, and would technically be "licensed" to T-Mobile.

But you are right, this is most likely an issue with LTE Discovery. It would be interesting to see what another app (say, CellMapper) has to say about this.

The address is in the ".uscellular.com" domain, so a legitimate (non-scam) bookmark. Chrome does allow networks, employers, etc. to impose restrictions and customizations.

This is one of several reasons I instead use Firefox, also on mobile.

Careful with your terminology here. By "real" 5G, do you mean standalone?

Fi uses the T-Mobile network, which uses these 5G bands and indicators

• n71 (~600 MHz, NSA): "5G" indicator
• n41 (~2.5 GHz, NSA): "5G UC" indicator
• n258/n260/n261 (~24-39 GHz, SA): "5G UC" indicator

That said it may be different indicators for unlocked phones. My Sony Xperia 1iii shows "5G" also when on n41.

You can install CellMapper to see what 5G bands (also in NSA mode) is being used.

I was just able to activate my new sim while abroad. Spin up an OpenVPN server with AWS (instructions here , connect to this server via the OpenVPN app on your phone and you are good to go! I also switched location off, and while the sim card had to be turned on, I changed to manual selection of networks and left it unselected.

Turning your laptop into a hotspot using ExpressVPN and trying gets blocked by Google. NordVPN doesn't turn your Mac into a hotspot.

Go to https://contacts.google.com/, click on Settings (the cog wheel in the upper right corner), More Settings, and make sure "Phone Number Country Code" is set to "United States".

On a desktop/laptop, go to gmail and sign in with your username and password. You'll be prompted to choose a 2FA method and on the bottom of the list you can pick to enter one of your backup codes. Once you're in, change your 2FA to use something other than your phone number such as the Google Authenticator app on your new phone.

If you don't have your backup codes, you're out of luck and need to contact Google as others have commented.

I use an open source firmware on my Linksys router called OpenWrt. It has more options than the standard Linksys firmware. Configuring a VPN on the router is simple. NordVPN provides step by step instructions on how to configure it.

Most modern Wifi 6 routers have a section in their web-based utility to setup a VPN on your network. If you do go the open source route, you need to check the OpenWrt website to see if your router is compatible. There are also other open source firmwares like DD-Wrt that you can look into as well.

Google Fi VPN probably has less servers near you compared to your other VPN service. I use NordVPN and I generally lose about 10%+ of my bandwidth if I try to connect to a server outside of my city. Remember, a VPN tries to obfuscate your activity by sending your traffic to a server and then having that server essentially be the routing point for all your traffic. The farther that server is physically from you, the longer those packet hops are going to take, reducing your bandwidth.

I have a VPN set up on my router at home so all devices that are connected to the local network are automatically routed through a VPN. I do have services like Steam do split tunneling, that way I can game at without it passing through a VPN. For most normal tasks, however, I run everything through a VPN.

It's likely from cell tower work in your area (5G upgrades and/or Sprint equipment decommissioning from the T-mobile merger). Did reinstalling the Google Fi app help? You might also benefit from searching for an app called Carrier Services. Make sure it's updated to the latest version from Google Play Store and clear its cache and storage, then restart the phone. If cell tower work was completed or continuing, you might not see improvements until upgrading your phone to a 5G model now.

Have you tried using a "switcher" app to force your phone to one of the other carriers? The only carrier in my area that's in any way reliable is T-Mobile so I need to occasionally force my phone back to T-Mobile if it latches onto one of the other carriers. This is the switcher app I use...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy&hl=en_US&gl=US

You can always download the Google Phone app and set this as default.

You won't get visual voicemail within the app unless it's preinstalled on the phone though; but then again on a Samsung, there is a separate "Voicemail" app that should be visible if the carrier supports it. (Not sure about Google Fi + Samsung).

Or buy a 12v power supply and see if that will do the job. I don't have the camper near me or I could give you the amperage that the modem uses but you would buy something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078R93PSY/

Basically, through user error you are now castigated Google Fi for,your problems. It has its problems for sure but yiu caused this, not them. Recontact customer service and they can probably help you through this. Use the link below,to find your contacts.

https://contacts.google.com

You can actually control which radios are affected by Airplane mode.

Download Tasker, do the following:

• Under Profiles tap on the [+] button, then select Event → Tasker → Monitor Start
• Tap on the [←] (Back) button, and from the popup choose New Task. Give it a name like "Monitor Start".
• Tap on the [+] button to add an action, then Net → Airplane Radios
• Check the radios you want to control by the Airplane mode switch (e.g. Bluetooth, Cell, NFC, Wifi, Wimax; that last one is obsolete).
• Tap on [←] (Back). You can try to execute this rule via the [▸] (Play) button at the bottom, but it will fail due to missing permissions. Just hit [←] (Back) again for now.

Follow these instructions to give Tasker various permissions to change this setting. You can check that it works by hitting that same play button again afterwards.

F-Droid uses a separate repository from Google Play. Keep in mind that Trojan software is malicious code or software that looks legitimate. You mentioned you have way more faith in F-Droid than Google Play. Google Play is required to use Google Fi. If you enjoy ethical hacking or are just technical enthusiasts, then F-Droid, rooting, switching repositories, etc., might be okay on a secondary device. However, for your primary phone, I would not recommend it. To use F-Droid, I believe you had to unlock the bootloader at some point. The latest version for Carrier Services is here. When you click the link from your phone, is there a variance? Does it ask you to install or update?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.ims&hl=en_US&gl=US

At some point, the carrier services app became infected. If you've exhausted all other resources, why not perform a factory reset on the device?

I use an app called FiSwitch to do this. It just uses the same dialer codes that you can enter manually, but it's a bit easier than remembering them. It costs a couple of dollars, but has a bunch of other features too (although I never really use those). I felt like I got my money's worth with it.

Use the free Signal Spy app and you can easily change between T-Mobile and US Cellular whenever you want or set it to automatic. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

If you can, pair the above guy's suggestion about SIM swap with a friend with testing out Signal Spy's ability to force connect to your desired cell carrier

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

I use Signal Spy and you can easily change between networks, but it is only available for Android.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.novvia.fispy

Like No-Smoke stated, if you have your physical sim, you will be fine. What you are actually doing is "moving your number " to another device (do it frequently).

It is important to use a VPN set to any server in the US.

You can use any phone, but another Pixel is best.

On your 'new' phone, power on, connect to wifi, get a VPN, (I use PIA, but others say TunnelBear has a free trial), logon on to a US based server, download the Fi app (if not a Pixel), install the sim, go through the prompts, selecting the Google account associated with Fi, accept move the number to a new device, few more clicks and done. May require a reboot to initiate the signal, I just toggle the sim on/off in the Settings.

The website can receive calls! And make them, just click that tab.

I use free TunnelBear usually even though I have Express VPN subscription, seems to work better. Your old pixel should active on esim with no sweat, start VPN before you login to the app and good to go.

• Signed out in app
• Removed e-SIM in settings
• Restarted phone
• Enabled TunnelBear VPN
• Activated Google Fi

No such luck. I either get "No mobile network is available" for when the SIM is enabled or "Failed to complete your call" for wifi calling.

I tried changing the roaming and wifi calling settings.

>

I didn't know about this website and just paired it. SUPER HELPFUL! Unfortunately certainly crypto exchanges require to actually CALL me on my Fi number to verify me from time to time. I'll try to see if I can get the phone activated using a VPN. Do you know of ExpressVPN will work? I also have an Android phone I can use. I'm desperate at this point and will go back to using my old Pixel.

I am. I figured it out, Google Fi's VPN checking also checks the IP for a list of common VPN ranges.

• AWS is blocked
• Mullvad is blocked
• Tunnelbear works
• I assume any residential IP works

I have a new problem now: I'm unable to make outgoing calls.

SMS works fine. I talked to support and they said that my international services are suspended because I activated the account outside of the US (I didn't let them know I did this, the account was flagged before I even talked to a rep).

Depends on the phone. For a Pixel just take your sim out, get on wifi with a US VPN (I use TunnelBear) and login to Google Fi app and activate, will provision your esim.

Install your local sim and choose to use it for calls and data.

Data saver only stops apps from using mobile data in the background. If Spotify had a notification active or was still 'open', it probably wasn't considered as being in the "background".

The best way to restrict mobile data completely is to use a 3rd party app like NetGuard. Google actually had their own app, Datally, but discontinued it a couple years ago.

here ya go. It shows this app but its in the default spot on the phone. I didnt touch a thing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chating.messages.chat.fun&hl=en_US&gl=US

it must be the one that came with it because like the dialer I cant uninstall it!!! OMFG this phone sucks

https://imgur.com/a/BUy6H3d

1. Learn to use a VPN and teach your in-laws. Strong VPN and NordVPN have good options for China and both have very very simple Apps that can be loaded to your phone for one-click connections.
2. For yourself, get a local China sim card and KEEP IT. I have about 7 sim cards in my travel bag for various countries. Although Fi will never cut off my data because I'm a gov employee, I still use local sim cards because its drastically cheaper and faster than fi. My NordVPN autoconnects using the app.

This is why I travel with both esim and physical sim in 2 phones.

Depending your duration,

1. Unsure how much assistance to expect from Fi

2. Order a Fi sim from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Google-Fi-SIM-Card-Kit/dp/B07P5GP11P?ref_=ast_sto_dp via International shipping

Could have a friend or family buy a Fi sim from Best Buy and mail it directly

1. Use a vpn to activate the A32

2. Anything else will take longer and cost more

Port your number from Fi to Voice. Then install the Voice app your phone, so that you can receive incoming calls to your US number.

Voice wants you to have a US mobile or landline number to forward calls to, but you can ignore this. Instead you can tell the Voice app to send/receive calls over data.

> graphene uses its own homebrew dialer.

The Dailer app is AOSP.

Would recommend spending some time reading through https://grapheneos.org and not some second and third hand misguide misinformation.

1. Two SIMs? You can only have one phone number. Is that second SIM a data-only SIM? The 5a should arrive with one SIM, but I wouldn't even use that. I'd go eSIM, just by booting up and logging into your Google account. It will get provisioned automatically.
2. Again, you can only have one active cellular SIM active at any time, unless the SIM is data only or from another carrier.
3. Docs and photos should be backed up to Google Photos and Drive to assure preservation.
4. Don't think it affects past photos, but am not certain, myself.
5. Smart Lock does not use the SIM for determining when to be unlocked. https://get.google.com/smartlock/index.html

in addition to an app by app breakdown, I use a third party data monitoring app on my android phone(it doesn't have a native aggregated monitoring feature on its own)

this is the app I use off the google play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=info.kfsoft.datamonitor

I have yet to find a similar app for ios.

If your phone runs Android and your PC runs Windows you might also want to take a look at Microsoft's "Your Phone" companion app. It does messages, calls, notifications and you can mirror most other phone apps on the PC as well.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work with WiFi-delivered SMS/MMS that Google does, so it's not that reliable with Fi. But when I was on AT&T it worked great. The only times I had any trouble with it was when either the phone OR PC got an updated version and it needed to be updated on the other. Other than that it was solid.

You would lose this. Instead, you would get an option to synchronize messages (only) with your phone by scanning a QR code, and the sending/receiving happens via your phone so it needs to stay connected.

What I did (I'm on US Mobile now, a Verizon MVNO) is to port your primary number to Google Voice. This has a similar web interface to Fi; you can make/receive calls and texts as well as check your voicemail there. This will implicitly cancel your current mobile plan, so for your new plan you'll want to choose the option of getting a new number. Once you install the Voice app on your phone, you have the option of making/receiving calls over WiFi/cellular data (using your Voice number) or using your mobile plan (with your new number).

I use AdGaurd, downloaded directly from their website instead of the play store (just load https://adguard.com/apk on your phone).

It runs as a local always on VPN and intercepts all network traffic locally (it is not sent to a central server, it is local). From there it blocks both domains (by blocking the DNS request itself) and by IP address. If you enable the advanced HTTPS features it will also block DNS over HTTPS requests and run more advanced ad blocking (again, all on your local phone). It also has an advanced protection mode that you can pay for, but all the features I just described are in the free version.

This method is a bit more advanced but has a huge benefit- it blocks ads in all of your applications, not just in a browser.

I'm actually experiencing wicked fast VPN performance.

I was waiting at a Chinese restaurant in suburban CLE yesterday and got 178mbps download and 52 up over cellular WITH the VPN turned on on my Pixel 4XL.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/a/5820974818

Ironically, at home on my much faster wifi, I was only getting 150mbps down and 35 up. Which isn't ideal... but more than usable and plenty good for a mobile device IMO.

RCS Messages is how we get iMessage like features outside the Apple walled garden. I guess im not that worried about integrations since most of my messaging apps don't really have that. I do use Franz though.

Try using Signal. It's like FaceTime and iMessage in one package that works on Android and cross platform. Betting you're probably missing a few texts you're unaware of too, Signal would take care of that as well. Can do just audio or video calls. https://signal.org/install

Gonna take this opportunity to plug Signal.

It's like iMessage or WhatsApp, but better since it's developed by a non-profit and fully e2ee. I also love group chats on it because everyone is color coded differently, like Android messages used to be.

The other guy is way more verbose and detailed, but basically an sms is still an old-school bullshit sms no matter if it goes through a vpn or no.

Signal is a modern, data based messenger that goes over the internet. It's like imessage or whatsapp, but open source, e2ee by default, and developed by a non profit organization who's goal is to give secure, private communication tools to the masses.

Switch to Signal: https://signal.org/install

Sounds like you need the Google phone app. The Verizon app is probably locked to Verizon which you don't have anymore.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.dialer

Try that. Otherwise 🤷‍♂️

Download the app. Most of the surveys I get are about recently visited stores, usually asking how I paid and if I'd upload a receipt.

So the more you go out/shopping the more likely you are to get surveys.

My brother has like $40 saved up

It depends if you have a head unit that supports it. Most built-in ones that come with cars don't. There's a list here that lists some cars that do, and a number of aftermarket head units support it. My 2XL works fine with my Kenwood DNX995s, need to make sure the 4a will as well.

Edit: This is a better link of compatible cars rather than phones.

This could have been Googled.

This isn't an issue with Google, it's inherent to all VPNs. All of them will slow the connection to some degree. Pretty sure Fi warns of this and possible increased data usage somewhere too.

https://signal.org/blog/signal-desktop/

>Signal Desktop is a Chrome app which links with your phone,

You're clearly the one who's not doing research. I tried to have a reasonable conversation about this.

Very good point, I forgot about data roaming since there's little to no need in the city, but crucial in rural areas and during roadtrips.

I use this table to determine what plan works best for me. For plans with no data roaming charges, Tmobile Connect 5GB goes for $25, Teltik for $30 for 6GB, and even Altice Mobile (under AT&T) for $30 with 20GB. Of course these might be deprioritized lines, but for the cost, they can't be that bad.

Fi is pricey since they don't charge extra for service abroad, don't charge extra for data-only lines/SIMS, and I could be wrong but from what I understood, Google Fi was not deprioritized.

Otherwise for the city slicker what just wants to call and browse the internet, the points I made above stand.

When my wife got her 3 there was a one-day deal: get 100% of what you pay Google for the phone in Hotels.com credits. She got an $800 phone, we got $800 in credits we use for travel. I found out about the deal early in the evening with just a few hours to go and had to email my wife about it. She still loves her Pixel 3, and we still have a few hundred in credits left.

So yeah - I would do the same thing if they did this today to get a Pixel 5 ( and then sell MY Pixel 3.)

Can you have the messages.google.com webapp with an icon on your phone's home screen? That's pretty much what they do nowadays. Youtube TV is just tv.youtube.com with an icon and fullscreen on Android.