For those who are new to Fi, steps to become an existing user and
1. Open an account with flexible plan. Use unmentionable code from existing user for $60 credit.
2. Just to be safe, wait for the first bill to be generated before ordering the phone. This will take couple of days. At the very least wait for a day but I suggest waiting for the first bill generation.
3. Once the phone is shipped you need to activate the phone within 30 days. At this point another counter for new user r**f credit is also running down from 30 days. I strongly suggest you wait for that counter to hit zero before you activate the phone. All the counters will be shown on FI app-billing-Track FI saving and instant rebate.
4. Once the phone is activated on FI by downloading the FI app, you should wait for a day for the counter to go down by 1. At this point you can disable/remove the eSIM and use your current provider.5. At no point during 120 days move the FI SIM to another phone (i.e. do not install FI app on any other phone and log into this FI account). Once the counter reaches 0 you can cancel the line or pause it for next deal.
The total cost will be $650 + $25 (plans cost per month including fees) * 5 - $60 = $715
frontpagegadgetNerd posted Feb 25, 2026 06:02 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
frontpagegadgetNerd posted Feb 25, 2026 06:02 PM
Google Fi Unlimited Premium & Flex Users: 512GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Pre-Order)
& More + Free Shipping$650
$1,500
56% offGoogle Fi
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Comes to like 17.5% in taxes when it should be 1/2 that.
New FI customers can have 512gb for $999
Samsung pricing is insane. Apple is final cheaper by a mile. Samung sales are nonstarters
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Looks like your's is looking fine. Those that had problems, showed: "A new Fi member activated the device" message in the Fi app under the Fi Savings section. The countdown won't happen until you actually activate the new phone.
1) Signed up as a new Fi user Mar 1st and activated Fi on old phone.
2) Bought S26U Mar 2nd.
3) Received S26U Mar 10th.
4) Disabled Google Fi eSIM on old phone.
5) Turned on S26U on Mar 10th. Connect to wifi. Skipped SmartSwitch. Login to Google using same account used to sign up to Fi. Google Fi app activated S26U.
6) Looked in Google Fi app and it showed countdown at 120 days.
7) Checked countdown again on Mar 11...it went down to 119 days.
8) Checked countdown again today...showing 118 days.
We'll do the same steps when my son gets home.
Any referral involve in this at all?
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See my previous post for exact steps we followed from a friend.
"The "Risky" Way: Toggling off the SIM/eSIM
You should not go into Settings > Connections > SIM Manager and toggle the Fi eSIM to "Off."
..
See my previous post for exact steps we followed from a friend.
(i remember seeing someone suggest waiting for the referral promo to end first before activating the phone)
I have two accounts with different emails.
Account 1:
- Activated as a new user with referral code.
- Bought phone on the same day as it allowed to get credit.
Result:
- "New fi Member ...." msg popped up for s26u credit.
- Referral credit is in "Waiting for fi..." status.
Chatted customer service. They confirmed, credit of s26u will show up with in 24 hrs of s26u activation. If not, I need to ping them again and they will escalate to promotion team to add credit manually. They said, they made note to the account so that I will surely get that credit. (As of today, it is still showing that error. So, may have to ping back today or tomorrow)
For referral credit, I will have to wait for another 14 days which is 30 days from the day when I activated the service.
Account 2:
- Activated as a new user with referral code.
- Bought phone after 2-3 days of service activation.
Result:
- s26u $650 credit showed up fine in the account as soon as phone activated.
- Referral credit is in progress.
Chatted customer service. They confirmed, credit of s26u looks good. Countdown will start within 24 hrs. For referral credit, I will have to wait for another 17 days which is 30 days from the day when I activated the service.
Conclusion: Based on above scenario and information, people who ordered the phone on the same day of new activation of the service, are seeing "New fi Member ...." error msg. And that can be resolved by promotion team if it doesn't go automatically.
People who ordered the phone after a day or two of the activation of the service, (as suggested by @gadgetNerd in several post) will NOT see that error but still have to wait for 30 days for referral credit.
And yes, in both activations, I used method:
1) Delete Google Fi eSIM on old phone.
2) Turned on S26U. Connect to wifi. Skipped SmartSwitch.
3) Login to Google using same account used for the service.
4) installed google fi app and activated S26U.
I have two accounts with different emails.
Account 1:
- Activated as a new user with referral code.
- Bought phone on the same day as it allowed to get credit.
Result:
- "New fi Member ...." msg popped up for s26u credit.
- Referral credit is in "Waiting for fi..." status.
Chatted customer service. They confirmed, credit of s26u will show up with in 24 hrs of s26u activation. If not, I need to ping them again and they will escalate to promotion team to add credit manually. They said, they made note to the account so that I will surely get that credit. (As of today, it is still showing that error. So, may have to ping back today or tomorrow)
For referral credit, I will have to wait for another 14 days which is 30 days from the day when I activated the service.
Account 2:
- Activated as a new user with referral code.
- Bought phone after 2-3 days of service activation.
Result:
- s26u $650 credit showed up fine in the account as soon as phone activated.
- Referral credit is in progress.
Chatted customer service. They confirmed, credit of s26u looks good. Countdown will start within 24 hrs. For referral credit, I will have to wait for another 17 days which is 30 days from the day when I activated the service.
Conclusion: Based on above scenario and information, people who ordered the phone on the same day of new activation of the service, are seeing "New fi Member ...." error msg. And that can be resolved by promotion team if it doesn't go automatically.
People who ordered the phone after a day or two of the activation of the service, (as suggested by @gadgetNerd in several post) will NOT see that error but still have to wait for 30 days for referral credit.
And yes, in both activations, I used method:
1) Delete Google Fi eSIM on old phone.
2) Turned on S26U. Connect to wifi. Skipped SmartSwitch.
3) Login to Google using same account used for the service.
4) installed google fi app and activated S26U.
The only thing I did differently was after I activated the phone with the new Fi esim, I turned on data and went for a drive. When I got home, that's when I saw in the tracker that "Activated Device" was now checked.
just want to double check - both referral and the s26u promos are running at the same time?
(i remember seeing someone suggest waiting for the referral promo to end first before activating the phone)
oh and looks like both my son and I will each be receiving a total of $120 Fi credits. our respective referral codes have been used. 😀
"The "Risky" Way: Toggling off the SIM/eSIM
You should not go into Settings > Connections > SIM Manager and toggle the Fi eSIM to "Off."
..
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
"The "Risky" Way: Toggling off the SIM/eSIM
You should not go into Settings > Connections > SIM Manager and toggle the Fi eSIM to "Off."
..
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