Only to be available, at least at 1st, on their top-of-line Nexus phones, offers, among many other things, "switching to wifi any time it can, to save you data costs". Tell me about it. Its what my Alcatel tablet, easily Google/Android's bottom-of-the line device because of lousy camera & 1-speaker sound system; otherwise it is a jackrabbit-quick tablet, no complaints on that account, is already doing. And what I've been cursed out here about. Because some of you just don't believe there's no way to turn off auto-connect.
Moral discussion about whether unsecured wifi is fair game or not aside, all info-givers agree that any shared wifi, including w/password, puts users at risk to hackers. Wonder if Google Fi is going to do anything about *that*.
Pricewise Fi looks like it will be a very good deal for people whose data use is under, say, 10GB/month. Better than T-Mobile's current structure, which is already maybe cheapest out there.
Google Fi will be piggybacking on a combo of Sprint's & T-Mobile's networks, not building their own.
Google's new Fi system
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ghostjmf
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Re: Google's new Fi system
My post is too long for me to add to it via tablet window, so:
Google's site for Fi says it will encrypt your data whenever it glues you to a wifi hotspot, which site says it will have vetted. That's what they say. Anyway.
Google's site for Fi says it will encrypt your data whenever it glues you to a wifi hotspot, which site says it will have vetted. That's what they say. Anyway.
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Jeemie
- Posts: 7303
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Re: Google's new Fi system
You can turn off Android auto-connect to wifi. I've told you that. And it won't connect to any wifi network, open or closed, that you haven't vetted anyway.
I, personally, don't do it because I want to hook up to wifi whenever I can.
I, personally, don't do it because I want to hook up to wifi whenever I can.
1979 City of Champions 2009
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ghostjmf
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Re: Google's new Fi system
Jeemie:
On this Alcatel tablet, I can't find a way to turn auto-connect off. Under settings, wifi does have an "on vs off" place to tap, but if you don't tap "on", after maybe 30 seconds it turns wifi on anyway. If you then turn it off again, it will stay off for a while, but not your whole session. There are legions of complaints in Android forums about this, many from gamers who had their games interrupted by the auto-connect.
As for vetting wifi; I've had several, which are trying to sell me a service, for which I tap "forget". They come right back.
On this Alcatel tablet, I can't find a way to turn auto-connect off. Under settings, wifi does have an "on vs off" place to tap, but if you don't tap "on", after maybe 30 seconds it turns wifi on anyway. If you then turn it off again, it will stay off for a while, but not your whole session. There are legions of complaints in Android forums about this, many from gamers who had their games interrupted by the auto-connect.
As for vetting wifi; I've had several, which are trying to sell me a service, for which I tap "forget". They come right back.
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Jeemie
- Posts: 7303
- Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:35 pm
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Re: Google's new Fi system
The that's a symptom of your low-quality device because when I switch my wifi off, it stays off unless I turn off my phone and turn it back on (I haven't found any setting that tells it to remember whether I had wifi on or off before I turned off my phone).ghostjmf wrote:Jeemie:
On this Alcatel tablet, I can't find a way to turn auto-connect off. Under settings, wifi does have an "on vs off" place to tap, but if you don't tap "on", after maybe 30 seconds it turns wifi on anyway. If you then turn it off again, it will stay off for a while, but not your whole session. There are legions of complaints in Android forums about this, many from gamers who had their games interrupted by the auto-connect.
As for vetting wifi; I've had several, which are trying to sell me a service, for which I tap "forget". They come right back.
And if I forget a network, it stays forgotten unless I encounter it again...but it will ask to connect, not just automatically connect.
But again- I don't see why you would mind these features of wifi- you use wifi, you're not using data- which is all right by me!
And my Android phone has wifi calling, which is another super-excellent feature, especially when I'm in places where there's wifi but poor cell reception.
1979 City of Champions 2009
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ghostjmf
- Posts: 7452
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Re: Google's new Fi system
Jeemie:
Sometimes the only wifi available is one of those networks (xfinity is the one that intrudes most around here) that is really trying to get me to subscribe, & won't let you onto the internet. Sometimes the only wifi available requires a password not given out, but Alcatel connects me to it anyway. In those cases, I'd like my "off" choice to mean "stay off".
Otherwise, the differences between wifi & 4G as far as goes internet are getting really blurred for me. But after deciding against a Chrome laptop or Microsoft Surface partially not only because of the expense (especially for the Surface) but because I'd have to depend on a wifi hotspot I'd buy, probably the FreedomPop, & I thought T-Mobile's advertised 4G network was a better bet, I find I'm mostly on wifi.
And T-Mobile 4G doesn't exist in parts of Maine to which I go. And their 2G is useless for internet. My T-Mobile phone piggybacks on AT&T or US Cellular in those places, but the tablet doesn't.
Sometimes the only wifi available is one of those networks (xfinity is the one that intrudes most around here) that is really trying to get me to subscribe, & won't let you onto the internet. Sometimes the only wifi available requires a password not given out, but Alcatel connects me to it anyway. In those cases, I'd like my "off" choice to mean "stay off".
Otherwise, the differences between wifi & 4G as far as goes internet are getting really blurred for me. But after deciding against a Chrome laptop or Microsoft Surface partially not only because of the expense (especially for the Surface) but because I'd have to depend on a wifi hotspot I'd buy, probably the FreedomPop, & I thought T-Mobile's advertised 4G network was a better bet, I find I'm mostly on wifi.
And T-Mobile 4G doesn't exist in parts of Maine to which I go. And their 2G is useless for internet. My T-Mobile phone piggybacks on AT&T or US Cellular in those places, but the tablet doesn't.