I'm a Canadian that works/lives in the US, but due to COVID-19 I'm stuck in Canada for a while. I wanted to keep my US number since it's what I use for work, so I decided to switch to Google Fi.
Following advice here (and here), I got ExpressVPN to change my phone's IP to Los Angeles in order to activate my Google Fi plan in Canada. The app says it was successful. Calls over Wifi work, but I get no data or can't send or make calls without Wifi. Every network here, Rogers, Bell, Telus, and Freedom, are all listed as forbidden.
After working with Google Fi support, I eventually got an email response saying:
"Unfortunately we can’t grant you an exception at this time. Your international capabilities will remain suspended until we're able to determine that your service is being primarily used in the US as per our Terms of Service. Please make sure to prepare an alternate course of action."
I completely understand this, however I've seen a lot of opposite accounts online from people saying they were able to activate Fi in Canada without issue by using a VPN. Is Google Fi now cracking down on this or did I just get unlucky? I'm on a Pixel 4.
Has anyone successfully activated Fi outside of the US using a VPN?
I often travel to Canada, i would say 90% of my time are in Canada instead of USA, previously i called Google Fi and they mentioned that as long as i am in USA, Canada or Mexico my data plan won't be affected. I am hearing that lots of people mentioned that their data will be disabled once they are out of USA for too long, so i am wondering if i will be affected in Canada. I been using Google Fi for 6 months without issues for now but as you know that Google Fi help desk is pretty useless so wonder if anyone is in the same situation as me who stays in Canada most of time without their data being disabled.
Just to add, i do travel back to USA at least once a week.
Hey y'all - I travel and move a lot between the US and Canada for work, wondering if Project Fi is a viable option to use in Canada as a primary phone option. Thanks for your help!
Specifically:
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What networks does Project Fi roam on, in Canada?
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Is it LTE roaming, or 3G / HSPA?
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What are the speeds like? Since we're roaming, does Rogers / Bell / Telus throttle or deprioritize Project Fi speeds?
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Does Project Fi any provisions for having to use X% of data / calls / etc in the US, like AT&T? Or is it truly global, i.e. I can just use project fi in Canada for a few months exclusively if I wanted to?
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Are there any slowdowns / difficulties connecting to roaming networks? (Ex: if I use a AT&T sim in Canada, every time I reboot my phone, there's a ~1min lag before my phone connects to Rogers)
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Any downsides / limitations to using this while I live in Canada for a few months? Ex: I read online that you can't call some Canadian 1-800 numbers, some Canadian folks might not call you or think you're spam b/c you're an American #, etc
Thanks!
I travel in Canada all the time.
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Fi roams on any and all of the big three networks, Rogers, Bell, and Telus, depending on which has the best signal.
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You get LTE whenever available signal permits.
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Speeds are the same as normal LTE or whatever type of reception you have.
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The Fi terms of service require you to reside in the US and "primarily" use the service in the US. You must use a US credit card with a US billing address to pay for Fi. As far as anyone knows, Fi does not impose numerical quotas such as percentage limits on roaming. There are people who legitimately reside in the US and use Fi internationally for years at a time without problems (e.g. active-duty military).
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Every time you switch between countries, it takes a few minutes for the phone to reprogram the SIM card for the new country. There is no undue delay if you simply turn on or reboot the phone in another country without having switched countries since your last boot.
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The problems you describe are real. You can partially circumvent them by purchasing a Canadian VoIP number and configuring your phone to use VoIP. VoIP numbers are ridiculously cheap. I pay about $2 per month for VoIP.ms.
Sorry I can't provide much detail but my in laws have traveled to Canada several times and their phones worked great. Based on data usage they definitely were not throttled. They have been in Ontario (Sioux Lookout, drive from MN). They also drove to Edmonton Alberta but didn't use much data. I was able to see where they were and the piggies work fine for calls. Not knowing how good the service natively is I don't have a good comparison.