While I'm sympathetic to OP's situation, this is a known policy with Fi. When I moved from the US to Spain I searched whether my Fi would continue to work when I moved. There are countless reports of people's service being terminated once they've spent enough time abroad. My Fi got turned off after about 3 months out of the U.S (we had already activated Vodafone SIMS anticipating the termination). On the Fi support page: "If you try to activate Fi abroad or use Fi service predominantly internationally, you may have your international capabilities suspended." They make exceptions for government employees and military which is why the support technician asked that question.
I'm this case it seems to have been ~6m outside the US (September to March). The issue with the reminder (which was supposed to have been sent 30d before ending service) seems key, since if that had worked the OP wouldn't have been surprised ("suddenly strikes") and would have had time to make other arrangements.
(Disclosure: I work for Google, speaking only for myself)
> If you try to activate Fi abroad or use Fi service predominately internationally, you may have your international capabilities suspended.
> this is a known policy with Fi
Fi _heavily_ hypes their support for being able to travel to 200+ counties and still provide service. I’d wager most Fi users on HN bought it for this very reason. I wonder what fraction of those read that fine print and know they can be screwed by simply using the service they believe are paying for.
The policy is one thing. But being unwilling or unable to make any policy exceptions even in the case of illness or being stranded abroad is quite ridiculous.
The problem is that it’s most likely never been built to allow overrides in the first place.
I understand the reason why they have the restriction in place - roaming costs money and is only profitable for occasional usage. An always-roaming customer would be a net loss for the business.
However, the system should be built to allow the customer to pay the true price of roaming and extend their stay if they need.
