Category: Project Fi

For T-Mobile and Project Fi subscribers, there has been a lot of discussion around T-Mobile’s LTE Band 12.  This coverage from the carrier is in the 700MHz frequency range and is really helpful for those in urban areas (gets through buildings a bit better) and rural regions (goes out from the tower a bit further).  While most of know that T-Mobile has the 700MHz range, there hasn’t been a huge amount of information on exactly where it is rolled out in the US.  Most of the time those of us on Fi or T-Mobile simply depend on other users who post “I have Band 12 in such-and-such city” to know if it is there or not.

Now your life just got a little easier.

Spectrum Gateway is a site that gives great insight into T-Mobile’s network coverage but they have a specific area that is dedicated to the 700MHz range to show you were it is available here in the United States.  Not only that, the map shows you where the carrier has applied for coverage but does not have it just yet. It is a wealth of information and can really help you as you plan a trip to know if you can expect Band 12 on your devices (assuming it supports it) as you travel.

[Update]  Thanks to reader Andrew Mikolajczyk who posted another code that is available.  See it after the break along with the rest of the codes.

Like any mobile provider, Project Fi has a list of Dialer Codes that force your Nexus device to interact with the service in a certain way.  This could be, for example, to force your phone to only use T-Mobile, or Sprint or even repair a bad activation.  Generally speaking these codes should only be used in specific circumstances with the guidance of the Project Fi support team.  However, if you want to try them out, you can do so and you will find all of them after the break.

A word of warning before you jump ahead.  While I am publishing these codes, Google can change them and I make no guarantee they will work for you.  Further, you use these codes at your own risk.  Dialer Codes will force a behavior and to “unforce” that behavior, you may (likely) have to reboot your device.  Note also that these codes are aimed for Nexus devices.  Given that Project Fi is not officially supported on any other devices other than Nexus devices (6, 5X and 6P), your mileage may vary on other devices you have connected to Fi.  It should work but again, no promises, guarantee or warranty implied.

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.

If you have been reading my site for the past few months, you know that I recently switched over to Project Fi after being an AT&T customer for over 17 years. You can read my review of Project Fi here but you can find all of my Project Fi related tips, tricks and How To’s at this link.  One of the key advantages of the service is the ability to switch between T-Mobile and Sprint, the two providers that make up Google’s MNVO (Mobile Network Virtual Operator).  In principle, the way it works is that whichever carrier has the stronger signal in your area is the one you will connect to but as you travel, you may switch from Sprint to T-Mobile or vise-versa.  The challenge is that you never really know which network you are on at any given moment and that fact, along with several other key features, is why Signal Spy is a must have app for Fi users.

Signal Spy is an app you may have heard of before as it was know as Fi Spy up until a few weeks ago after what I think was a discussion between the developer Novvia and Google’s legal team. 🙂  The name aside, Signal Spy gives Fi users the ability to not only see what carrier they happen to be using but also what LTE band they are using with that carrier, their Wi-Fi information (if connected) and the ability to force your Nexus device to switch from one carrier to another.  I have been using the app for several weeks now (I’m part of their beta program) and now that it is out and available for everyone, it should be an app that Fi users download right after the Project Fi app itself.  Even if you are not on Fi, you can still get some really useful information out of Signal Spy that makes it worth the download for anyone.

For the purpose of this review I am going to assume that you are a Project Fi user so I can explain all the features and usefulness of the app.  If you are a non-Fi user, keep in mind that your mileage will vary on what you can see in the app.

Signal Spy – Free (In-App Donation) – Download Now

One of the big benefits of Project Fi is the ability to place Wi-Fi calls.  What that means is that if I have a call come in to me or I place a call and my Wi-Fi signal is measured as being stable and fast enough by Fi, the call will be placed over my Wi-Fi connection instead of cellular.  So what is the advantage of this?  Think about a time where you had plenty of Wireless signal but no cellular signal.  But even in a scenario where you have ample cellular coverage and Wi-Fi coverage, Fi will chose the Wi-Fi first based on the principle of Least Cost Routing.  It costs Google less (remember, your talk minutes are free from Fi but Google still pays for any minutes you use) to place a call over wireless than cellular.

While I covered Wi-Fi calling in my review of Project Fi, on this particular subject I was a bit vague in showing exactly how this worked.  Hopefully this post will clear things up for you.  To be clear, I’m not talking about calls made via Hangouts.  That’s a whole different subject. No, I’m talking about calls placed with the Google Dialer app that is built into your Nexus device – just like you would if you were using cellular.

So how then can you tell if your Fi call has gone over Wi-Fi?  It’s pretty clear and I’ll show you after the break.

Update: I have received confirmation that your data between your cellular/data SIM and your data SIM are pooled.  So if you have 5GB of data, that is your plan for both devices.

Update 2:  It looks like the vast majority of Fi users can now order the Data SIM.  Just go to Accounts>Your Plan and you can add it to your plan.

The Project Fi team has announced that existing customers will be able to start ordering data only SIMs for a select range of devices as soon as today.  It is something many have been waiting for from the service and once your SIM is ordered through your account, you will be able to use Fi at the same rate you do on the cellular/data plan:  $10 per month per gigabyte used.  Google has published a coverage map which is available at this link so you can check the data coverage area in your area.  This coverage map is good for both cellular/data Fi users as well as data only users.

Existing Project Fi subscribers can order their free data-only SIMs from the “Account” page on the Project Fi website. This change is rolling out gradually, you should see the option to order data-only SIMs sometime in the next couple of days.

I have reviewed my account page on Project Fi and I’m not seeing the ability to order the SIM just yet but I will update this post once I see it has rolled out as you too can keep an eye out for it.

If you are curious about Project Fi, you can read about my experience with the service including my travels here in the US.