- Even if the promotion shows up , wait at least 24 hours after becoming a customer before purchasing the phone so that Google Fi's systems properly register you as an existing customer
- Activate service with the sim that ships with the s25 (assuming you are not using eSim)
- Do not use the sim that comes with the s25 that you use to activate in any other phone (if its a physical sim)
- Don't use a different Google Fi sim, especially from another account in the s25 during the 120 day countdown
- It is fine to use sims from other carriers in the s25 after you activate and your countdown has started
I am copying the contents of the Wiki from last years s24 deal written by hpham_53, which is very helpful
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Info on Activating the Fi Phone, Tracking your Promo Discount, Completing the Promo and Pause/Cancel Fi Service after 120 days ====== added on 2/1/24 by hpham_53
* Activating the Fi S24 phone
When you get the phone:
1. The SIM is already installed in the phone, although the phone box is sealed.
2. Turn on the phone, connect it to WiFi and log into the same Google account that was used to purchase the phone.
3. Download and install the Fi app from Google Play Store.
4. Leave WiFi ON. Run the Fi app. It will insist that you turn Data ON. Go ahead and turn Data ON. It might use a few MB of Data before switching to WiFi. If FI charges you for that Data at all, it will be 1-3 cents added to the 2nd bill.
5. Go through the activation process with the app which will transfer your Fi service from yourl old phone to the S24.
6. Your S24 phone should be activated on Fi then. Make some test calls/texts to make sure that the phone is working on Fi.
* Tracking Your Promo Discount
Log into your Fi account on the web site. There's a countdown in your Billing-->Fi Savings-->In Progress that shows how many more days your Fi service has to remain active. About 24 hrs after you activated the Fi SIM, the In Progress Tracker should show a checklist with entries like: Bought a phone, Got a discount, Activated the SIM, Stay xxx more days on Fi. Make sure the "Activate the SIM" entry is checkmarked and it shows 120 days to go. Then for a few days after that, keep checking the In Progress to make sure the countdown is decreasing each day. The countdown is updated at the same time each day (around the time of day that you activated the Fi SIM).
* How to Verify that your S24 promo was Earned
There's a countdown in your Billing-->Fi Savings-->In Progress that shows how many more days your Fi service has to remain active. The countdown will never say zero day. On the 120th day, it will stay at "1 more day". On the morning of the 121st day, the countdown should say "Stayed (past tense) active on Fi for 120 days in a row". Then later in the day, the In Progress column disappears, and the promo discount gets moved to the Earned column. At that time or later, it's safe to Cancel or Pause your Fi service.
You can use this Date Calculator: https://www.timeanddate
Enter your activation date as the Start Date, select Add 121 days and it'll show the date when it's safe to cancel/pause your Fi service.
* How to Cancel your Fi service
In your Fi account, click on Account-->Your Plan, scroll down until you see "Leave Google Fi". Click on that and follow the on-screen instructions. You'll have the options to Let Go your Fi phone number, or Transfer To Another Provider. (There used to be an option to port it back to Google Voice, but I think it's no longer available). If you choose to let go your Fi number, your Fi service will be cancelled IMMEDIATELY. If you choose to port out, your Fi service will remain active until your Fi number has been ported out to another provider.
* How to Pause your Fi service
In your Fi account, click on Account-->Your Plan, scroll down until you see "Pause Service". Click on that and follow the on-screen instructions. Your Fi service will be paused and Automatically Resumed after 90 days, unless you cancel it before 90 days are up. Once it's Resumed, you can leave it Active, or Cancel it, or Pause again (I don't know how many times you can Pause). If you have a lot of remaining referral Fi credit (which is not refundable), you can choose Pause instead of Cancel to wait and see if there will be new Fi promotions in the future to use up your Fi credit.
============================================================
Steps I took as a former Fi subscriber to get this deal: https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=
Strong recommendation: For people who activate service on a BYOD device to become an existing customer, wait a minimum of 24 hours (recommended 48 hours) before purchasing the S24. Those who activate and purchase the same day usually have major issues. The countdown timer will not be triggered and you will have no choice but to forfeit the discount or return the phone. You can try to contact support and ask to escalate to a specialist which may or may not have success and will likely eat up your return window.
For those that purchased same day, it seems that given early data points including mine that Fi has manually approved the promo after escalating. Unknown if this will consistently be successful by others in future, though.
The link to the original wiki is here https://slickdeals.net/f/17239057-select-existing-google-fi-customers-256gb-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-unlocked-650-min-120-days-service-activation-req?peid=24d02e
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if they say reactivate and counter works, I can always keep eSim and use other provider with physical sim.
Wanted to do all steps by keeping 24 hrs time window.. (just to be safe side
UPDATE:
So, did factory reset and deleted fi eSim and started to use s25u with other service provider. It worked for other service provider. My counter is going down on fi saving with no issue.
1. FB marketplace has good reach and but many young people are using something else like OfferUp, mercury, reddit so post in those places for better reach.
2. Post the ad on Friday night instead of middle of the week. My ad in the middle of the week got less than 10 clicks while the Friday one got over 600.
3. Post it before the new version is released and confirm the sale. I did not do it this time and got a lower value.
4. It might take a couple of days but people are willing to pay good money for Ultra. So wait atleast the whole weekend and Monday after posting before accepting lower offer.
Hope this helps
Once I ordered, the $600 off counter appeared at 120 days (it didn't count down, but it appeared). It shipped via Fedex. During the delivery, I got a notification in the app saying there was an issue and to contract them for a refund. I checked Fedex tracking...apparently some issue with the label, but Fedex fixed it and continued shipment.
But the $600 off counter disappeared in Fi. The phone delivered, and I start activating it. It works with the esim, I can make calls. But FI app is stuck on "Testing Fi Service" for hours, then "Can't connect to Fi". The $600 off counter still hasn't shown up yet.
Maybe this means I'm only paying $400 for a new phone, since the 120 day counter isn't showing up. Or maybe I'll be getting a $600 charge after 120 days.
Wondering if anyone's had this issue before...
I am in a very similar situation.
Ordered, had problem with shipping and tracking page said to contact Google Fi for a refund, FedEx ended up shipping the phone anway, got the phone, activated, no timer countdown for over two days.
I am not sure if I should trust him or return the phone.
I've done this with closing an account and it works but not porting.
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I am in a very similar situation.
Ordered, had problem with shipping and tracking page said to contact Google Fi for a refund, FedEx ended up shipping the phone anway, got the phone, activated, no timer countdown for over two days.
I was thinking about keeping the service on for 120 days to prove that I did keep it on for that long. But I heard their customer service isn't the greatest, and didn't want to argue with them. So I played it safe and returned it.
If you intend on keeping it, I'd be curious to know if you were/weren't charged.
I was thinking about keeping the service on for 120 days to prove that I did keep it on for that long. But I heard their customer service isn't the greatest, and didn't want to argue with them. So I played it safe and returned it.
If you intend on keeping it, I'd be curious to know if you were/weren't charged.
Did you contact them at all? If so, what did they say?
I've done this with closing an account and it works but not porting.
Thanks!
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Thanks!
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