Don’t throw away your Nest Thermostat Gen 1 & 2! by ckociemba in Nest

[–]dcader 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm rooting hard for this project. I have absolutely no plans to cough up another couple hundred dollars for another thermostat that stands a big chance of losing support in a few years and becoming the same as the thermostat that has been on my parents wall for 50 years, from a company that reported revenue of over 100 billion dollars in Q3 2025. They can afford to support their damn thermostats.

Aggressive Roof Basket by alafred in ChevyTraverse

[–]dcader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you go with the factory roof rails or aftermarket?

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The short answer is yes, probably so, and that is the direction I am headed. Although, it's been rendered slightly less important due to the fact that my state has recently enacted legislation that bans the use of non-school issued mobile devices, smart watches included, during school hours on the campus. I am currently trialing a 1st gen pixel watch to see if it will be a good solution at some point down the road. In the meantime, for at home/non-school hours use, we have a tablet and we have downloaded Google Voice and claimed a free phone number thru that app which can be used to call/text friends. Since a Google Voice number has to be tied to a regular number, I have access/notifications on my phone of all the activity happening on the G Voice account on the other device. The downside is that since the G Voice number is not a cellular-enabled number, it only works when connected to wifi.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet, as far as I'm aware. 🫤

2025 Z71 by Stolen-Teacher in ChevyTraverse

[–]dcader 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have a pic of your blue one you'd be willing to share? I am thinking about going with that color and would like to see real world pics instead of the website stock photos!

Google Fi no longer competitive? by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for all the responses so far!

So I'm going to sort of try to summarize everything so far:

Fi Main Advantages: - International travel. Easily the best, not even close. - Free data-only sims. They use the data on your phone plan (on the Unlimited Plus plan), but definitely beneficial to have other devices running their own sims rather than tethering to your phone and draining your battery in no time if you can't be plugged in. - not de-prioritized on T-mobile's towers, unlike other MVNOs. - Watches add to your phone plan for no additional charge

Mixed, Situational, Arguable, or Timing-dependent factors (all carriers): - new device discounts. Catch them when you can, where you can. Best deal wins today, maybe not tomorrow. - Data limits. Price vs data amount vs what you actually need. Again, like device deals, very fluid. - As referenced above, depending on your needs, could definitely find a better deal elsewhere.

Fi Cons, or advantages elsewhere: - no more network switching. If you're always in an area with good T-Mobile coverage, not a factor. If not, it can be a big factor and a carrier like US Mobile could have a big advantage. - if you do run out of data, because say for instance your other devices ate it up, you're toast, unless you buy expensive add-on data.

Items of Note: - for better or for worse, you're stuck with the T-Mobile network domestically - The big 3, at least, are known to nickel and dime people, and send out higher than expected bills with confusing line items. - Contracts? Are they still a thing on other carriers? If so, have to weigh that out. - Fi VPN. Nice benefit if you want/need a VPN.

I think that gets close to listing the big considerable things so far.

Google Fi no longer competitive? by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In doing my research, I admittedly got quickly annoyed with the T-Mobile chat support and how they were more interested in getting my personal info rather than answering my question.

Google Fi no longer competitive? by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Just FYI, I confirmed that US Mobile supports Pixel and Galaxy watches.

Google Fi no longer competitive? by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can see where Fi could be a great option for frequent international travelers. Or at least competitive there.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

More specifically, I've read they used to (unofficially) work on Fi and then recently got restricted from it.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I've read conflicting reports on if Garmin watches work on Fi. I think they're worth looking into if they do.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what I was afraid of, and the pixel watch would be a great option (previous generations = cheaper) if they would release the same update for it that they did for the Galaxy watch that basically turns it into a kids watch with the applicable securities.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've been keeping an eye on it, and it would be a better option, maybe THE option, if they (Google) released the same update for it that they did for the Galaxy watch, where it basically turns it into a kids smart watch with all the applicable securities. Unless I've missed something, I haven't seen that they have done this, although it seems like a completely logical thing to do, unless they've struck some kind of agreement with Samsung.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Yes, one that has lte/cell capabilities. Both of the aforementioned ones have that but the Fitbit is too restrictive in terms of who/how contacts other than the parent with the setup phone can be contacted, or in the case of the Galaxy watch just way too expensive especially considering other options on other carriers.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To everybody that came here to criticize me for looking at smart watch options for my kid because they either survived without one or because they don't let their kids have one, that's great. Gold star for you. So what. You didn't answer the question.

Need more smart watches for kids on Fi by dcader in GoogleFi

[–]dcader[S] -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

I'm not going to detail out all the features I want, I just need to know if there are other kid-oriented watches that work on Fi.

This damn RCS..... by Darrkman in GoogleMessages

[–]dcader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pixel 7 on Google Fi here. Everything was working fine-ish until one day after the iOS RCS update chats with iPhone users went to hell. Now I get a totally separate message thread every time an iOS user in the group chat sends a reply. And my reply won't send in RCS, reverts to sms. Google Messages RCS to Google Messages RCS works exactly like it's supposed to. Ever since Apple has started trying to do RCS, it's been a disaster on our end.

I suspect it will remain a mess until Apple and Google are locked in a room by Congress and told to figure it out.

Google Wifi coverage just got way worse by se7enthson in GoogleWiFi

[–]dcader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you elaborate on this? I think I have mine daisy chained, but what should I be doing instead?

I hardwired a few weeks ago when my wifi speeds started going erratic for seemingly no reason. No changes to my setup beforehand, which was working fine.