Weird…Google Fi stopping our data/cell service!..What???…Why???…

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This bushbuck, most likely Gordy, stood directly in front of the trail cam. It picked up this grasshopper close to his eye.

Last night, e received this email message from Google Fi, our data and phone service provider:

Google Fi

“As a reminder, Fi’s Terms of Service require you to use our service primarily in the United States (territories not included), and it looks like you’ve been predominantly using Fi abroad. In 30 days, we’ll need to suspend your international roaming data capabilities unless you start using Fi in the United States again (territories not included). Your calls and texts will not be impacted.

We may grant exceptions for military members and state department workers who are serving abroad. Please complete the following steps to request an exception.

  1. Go to offers.sheerid.com/google-fi/government
  2. Fill out the verification form (make sure to use your corresponding Fi email address)
  3. Submit the required documents

Once SheerID verifies your status, Fi will process your exception and you’ll be notified via email. This process usually takes 20 minutes, but up to a day in some cases. Visit our Help Center for more details.

Your phone number is safe on Fi until you cancel service or move it to another provider. If you believe you received this message in error, please contact Fi support.”

This is Thick Neck. He hasn’t been coming around as much as he did before Gordy claimed his territory. We can distinguish Gordy and Thick Neck from TN’s thicker neck and Adam’s Apple on his throat. Zoom in to see this anomaly.
As a result of receiving this letter, this morning I spent 45 minutes talking to their customer service department for a solution to this ridiculous policy. After all, we purchased a Google Pixel 4XL for its ability to provide international calling, texts, and data.
Also above, it says, “Your calls and texts will not be impacted.” But, after talking to the customer service department, we found this statement not to be true. Within hours or a few days of cutting us off, our ability to make a call or text will also be suspended.
Apparently, during the past year, Google Fi, a global cell service company, owned and operated by Google, made a decision to control how many phone calls, texts, and data a customer uses while outside the US. This is ridiculous. But, in speaking to an upper supervisor, after going through a few other people, they are going to “try” to come up with a resolution for us.  We should be receiving an update by email later today.
If they don’t, we’ll have a problem when we get to the US at the end of March. We won’t be able to use MAPS to get to Karen and Rich’s house in Apollo Beach or make a call to let them know we are on our way. Then, we’ll have to spend our one week in the US working on getting a new provider that is suitable for international travel.
Several kudus were in the garden including Bossy at the forefront.
We’ve already checked out some options online and there are some but all of them will cost us much more than we’ve been paying the past few years.
After spending so much time on the phone about this issue this morning, I’m behind on getting my steps done before we leave at 3:15 pm, 1515 hrs, to meet Rita and Gerhard at Two Trees overlooking the Crocodile River. It’s been so hot lately, we haven’t felt like going. But today it is only 81F, 28C, with the dew point at 70, so it should be comfortable by that time. It’s amazing how high humidity can make lower temperatures feel so uncomfortable.
Otherwise, not much else is going on here. The animals have returned to our garden after the busy holidaymaker’s weekend has ended. I have everything prepped for tonight’s dinner for when we return from the river. All that is left is making Tom’s white rice, cooking the green beans, tossing the salad, and cutting up our leftover meat; chicken for me, roast beef for Tom.
We heard from friend Karen that their wedding was a huge hit. The only glitch was that her brother got Covid in Florida and wasn’t able to walk her down to the aisle. Instead, her adult son Jack did the honors. We wish we could have been there. If we had, it may have seemed that we brought the Covid with us since many people in the US are terrified to be around anyone from South Africa. And yet, the number of cases is so much less per capita here in South Africa than in the US. Sensationalized news rules the world.
But, soon we will see Karen and Rich and most certainly we’ll all have a great time together. We are all looking forward to that time in about six weeks.
We will report back on what Google Fi came up with in regard to a solution for our ongoing world travel cell service.
We hope you have a pleasant day.

Photo from one year ago today, February 15, 2021:

What’s with the uneven ossicones? Too cute for words. For more photos, please click here.