Summary: Terrible customer service representatives, poor cell service, known defective phones.Avoid Google Fi phone service at all costs. Do not trust anything CS tells you and be prepared to be verbally abused by some of them. Google Fi service is the worst of any carrier we’ve had over the decades (all the usual top carriers) – it cuts out, disconnects, doesn’t ring or connect and drops or garbles calls. CS will lie and tell you anything just to get you off the phone and can be rude, and one was verbally abusive. They appear to answer to no one (and will tell you this if you ask for a supervisor). Do NOT let them talk you into trading in good phones like we did with our Samsung Galaxy S-Series for their crappy Google Pixel phones – THERE IS NO COMARISON. First, you WILL NOT get the credit off your bill for your trade-in that is promised, even when it’s in writing. CS plays dumb and says it’s out of their hands to correct anything, and they will not let you speak to a supervisor…EVER. Next, the Pixel phones have known battery issues that Google has refused to address, either they swell and catch on fire - we’ve had two batteries swell so far (out of four phone lines) - or the battery connectors fail…repeatedly.In addition to the swelling batteries we've already experienced, my Pixel phone, and its refurbished replacement, have gone out for the 2nd time in 9 months months with the same battery connector problem, which renders the phone completely dead. It's a known defect in the battery connector. Each time CS said there will be no extended warranty deductible to either repair or replace it with a refurbished phone because they actually tell you "this is a known issue". Then, to get me off the phone, I'm told to contact a uBreakiFix service center saying "they'll work out the warranty". But the service center explains you have to set up any warranty repair through Google Fi first…so it's back to CS again, and each call takes 1-2 hours because they are so poorly trained that they have to repeatedly put you on hold to ask a supervisor questions. They’re located in the Philippines so there is also a language barrier and you’ll have to explain yourself at least a dozen times before they minimally appear to grasp the problem (they don’t listen so be prepared to repeat yourself continually). And you WILL pay your deductible in the end, even if the last replacement phone you paid a deductible on goes out with the same issue within months.This last time, after Google-directed calls to Ubreakifix, and my second call back to Google I was told, after an hour, the issue had to be escalated to tech. After waiting on hold for 30 minutes the rep came back and said they were too busy and would email or call me. She refused to give an estimate on when this would be. It's going on two days now with no contact and I am still without the use of my phone. This is typical of Google Fi if you have to get a replacement phone, expect to be without your phone for at least two weeks. This is now the fourth time we've experienced this due to battery connectors or battery swelling. In the past 20 years prior to having Google Fi service, we had to get a phone replaced exactly one time, which was through T-Moblie and it was replaced overnight for free. Their phone warranty is worthless…. These battery connector problems usually cannot be repaired so they send used replacement phones that are not reconditioned and you get another old battery that will either swell up, or the slightest knock will dislodge the cheaply soldered connector that only holds up for about the first 1-2 years of the phone’s life. (It seems intentional to force you to buy an upgraded phone, similar to what Apple got busted for in court with battery drain problems.) You’ll also pay the deductible every single time… even if the battery is defective within months of receiving the warranty replacement phone. I was told if it goes out, even within a week, you will have to file a new warranty repair or replacement request with a new deductible which starts getting expensive. For this reason, my family and I are going back to T-Mobile or Verizon, both of whom now offer family plans that are competitively priced against even the best Google Fi plan. Note that Google Fi has a one-star average review here on Trustpilot, and also anywhere that isn't a fake pay-to-play review website. Heed the warnings. Don’t believe the pay-to-play review websites or even the pay-to-play review articles, all of whom have their own agendas which are to support Google which in turn “supports” them, not the consumer. Too bad Congress doesn't initiate an investigation, or perhaps someone will initiate a class action lawsuit.
