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Old 09-14-2019, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Wartrace,TN
7,892 posts, read 12,597,313 times
Reputation: 16096

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I'm thinking about ditching tracfone when my minutes/airtime expire and subscribing to Google FI. It is a bit more expensive but I am intrigued by the notion you can use three major carriers and wi-fi hotspots on the phone. I live in a rural area and it is really "spotty" when tied to one carrier. I recently tried an ATT based tracfone and it didn't work out at my home but it was really good in the immediate area. (I could drive a mile from my house and get more bars than I did on my Verizon based phone)

My question is this; Anyone use Google Fi and are you happy with them?
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Old 09-15-2019, 12:01 PM
 
1,620 posts, read 1,334,945 times
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According to Wikipedia, Google Fi uses Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Three UK. It sounds to me like that would work best for people in cities. I can't see how rural areas could have more or better coverage with those than with Verizon or ATT.
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Old 09-16-2019, 05:11 AM
 
Location: Wartrace,TN
7,892 posts, read 12,597,313 times
Reputation: 16096
Quote:
Originally Posted by noodlecat View Post
According to Wikipedia, Google Fi uses Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Three UK. It sounds to me like that would work best for people in cities. I can't see how rural areas could have more or better coverage with those than with Verizon or ATT.
Ah, I didn't know which networks they used. Looks like a "no go" where I'm at. I really appreciate the response Noodlecat, you saved me some time, aggravation and money.
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Old 09-16-2019, 12:27 PM
 
1,620 posts, read 1,334,945 times
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The 4 major carriers in the US are Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile. and Sprint. They own the vast majority of the cell towers, with Verizon and AT&T having more coverage in more rural areas. I believe U.S. Cellular owns a few towers but not many. Other MVNOs (resellers) like Tracfone, Cricket, etc. have no towers of their own at all but instead buy and resell airtime from the big 4.

If you are looking for better signal at your house, you might check locally for a small regional MVNO. There may be one in or near your area that has a few of their own towers and also either buys airtime from one of the big 4 or has roaming agreements with them.
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Old 09-25-2019, 04:40 PM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,501,820 times
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Not worth it. Mint Mobile is not only cheaper but uses the same services as Google FI with Tmobile. Sprint isn't used but that's ok because Sprints spectrum sucks.
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Old 10-01-2019, 12:27 AM
 
8,275 posts, read 3,754,030 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
Sprint isn't used but that's ok because Sprints spectrum sucks.
Unless you're in a major city... I was just in NYC and I was getting 260mbps. Band 41 w/ mimo is impressive. My Verizon phone doesn't get close to that. I don't have T-Mobile to compare.
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