On Project Fi? Hold Off on Android N

If you are a Project Fi user, the first technical preview of Android N may not be for you.  In various forums and social sites across the web – Google+, the Product Forums and Reddit – Fi users have run into a wide range of problems with their devices after installing Project N.  This has included some bricked phones (to be fair though, there have been non-Fi users impacted by that) and users simply not being able to get the service to work even after clearing app caches and data.

The news of issues shouldn’t come as a complete shock given the nature of this first beta of Android N.  It is certainly not fully baked (think of it is a cake with a gloppy center right now) and while some users have had seemingly no problems, for Fi users, the inability to make calls or use data is, well, kinda a big deal.

To be clear, not every Fi users who has upgraded to Android N has had an issue.  In fact many have reported zero issues with the Fi app or their service since upgrading.  But there is a seemingly larger than a small minority who have had issues that have interrupted their ability to use the service.  If you have it installed on a Nexus device that isn’t your daily driver, no harm, no foul.  But if you did install it on your daily phone, you need the ability to make calls reliably and get data reliably.  That, it seems, is the struggle right now.

Android N

If you have upgraded to Android N and are having no issues, count yourself lucky and hopefully you won’t encounter any issues.

If you have upgraded and are having issues, you can always unregister your device on the Android Beta Site and you will be reverted back to Marshmallow (but you will get a squeaky clean install and any data not backed up will be lost).

If you have not upgraded but are tempted, look away from the shiny object.  One, as I’ve outlined, you could encounter some issues that could pose to be a real problem if you need your phone.  Two, and equally as important, there is no support from the Fi team if you are running Android N.  There are plenty of places to get support but don’t expect it from Google.

As for me, my main Nexus 6 is not running Android N.  It is still on Marshmallow and will remain so probably until the release this summer.  I’ve been beta testing too long to risk my daily driver on it and would recommend you do the same for now.  At least at this point.  Maybe another three or four betas in, things will stabilize a bit.