You probably haven't had to use it very much, then. I've been using for as long, and it took so many of those years just to be able to finally receive pictures and group texts. (I think those two have only really worked for a year or two now.) When group messaging was broken, it was really broken; I missed out on conversation entirely, or received the messages such that each participant had their own individual thread.

And even today, I still often find situations where I have a new voicemail despite my phone never ringing. I even check the call log on my phone and nothing ever came in.

The MMS updates and this new suite of UIs are definitely welcome additions if you ask me, and hopefully indicative that the service isn't circling the drain after all (which I've been anticipating for some time now).

I had the same positive experience until I got a Nexus 6P and decided to try Fi (living in a remote area w/ only wi-fi). The new phone and services were outright hostile to Voice, so I created a new number and left voice alone. Really glad I did, but it will probably be a year before I start handing out the voice number again.

I've been using it for at least 6 years and have had a very positive experience. It's been a set-it-and-never-think-about-it experience for the most part.

I think I avoided the issues that you have just do to a nice (accidental) little quirk, though.

I have my Google Voice account associated with my (grandfathered-in) G-Suite address, and Project Fi only allows you to sign up wiht a Gmail address. Therefore, I was able to port my old Verizon number to my @gmail address (which rarely gets used) that's associated with Project Fi and keep my GVoice number where it was, at my G-Suite address.

So I'm currently using my Nexus 5X on Project Fi with both my carrier number (which I've had for probably 15 years now) and with my GVoice number (which I've had for 6+).