Should You Upgrade to Google Fi on Your IPhone?
Earlier this week, Google announced that its division of cellular service provider Project Fi has moved from beta to a full-fledged Google Fi product. The name change is fine, but what’s really interesting and exciting about all of this is that as part of the move, Google Fi now officially supports the iPhone.
Back when it was “Project Fi” – two days ago – users could take their SIM card and insert it into the iPhone. You had to change some settings, but it will work. But now it’s Google Fi …
You still need to change some settings for it to work.
Technically, Google Fi support for the iPhone is currently in beta testing. IPhone users have limited options, and in some cases, you guessed it, you may need to change some settings to achieve full functionality. However, Google Fi’s unique pricing scheme is very interesting and you might not want to give up on the idea of a switch just because of disruptions. So let’s talk about what switching to Google Fi as an iPhone user would mean, from the fields you need to check to the money you may or may not be able to save.
First things first. You must have a new iPhone to use Google Fi, as the service is only compatible with models no older than iPhone 5S or SE and running iOS 11 or later. Your phone also cannot be locked by your carrier: if you bought your phone from your current carrier rather than buying it directly from Apple, you may have to ask it to unlock it .
Assuming your iPhone is compatible, iPhone owners using Fi have access to a limited “beta” version of the service that doesn’t include some of its top retail outlets. Fi, as an MVNO provider that leverages the infrastructure of other service providers, allows some users to switch between the networks of multiple carriers, including Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular, in order to get a better service. However, an iPhone connected to a Fi network receives cellular services and data through the T-Mobile network. IPhone users will also not have access to a Wi-Fi VPN for added security. To be honest, these features currently only work with certain phones that are “designed for Fi,” but they are also some of the strongest advantages over the mainstream carrier.
There are also some technical issues that interfere with some of the phone’s basic functions. When using Fi, iPhone cannot make Wi-Fi calls or use the phone’s visual voicemail app. Instead, you can call your inbox to listen to your voicemail, and you can receive the transcript sent to you in a text message. While iMessage works fine, iPhone users will need to take additional steps to enable SMS and MMS text messaging. Finally, the phone cannot be used as a data hotspot outside of the United States. None of these features are necessarily huge waste – it’s as good a reason as any to tell people not to leave messages for you – but it’s a long list of inconveniences. which you can avoid elsewhere.
That said, no matter what, there’s a good reason why you might want to consider using Google Fi even if you have an iPhone – the pricing structure . Google Fi charges $ 20 a month for phone and text messaging, and $ 10 per gigabyte of data, up to a maximum charge of $ 60. In other words: it’s $ 80 for calls, text messages, and unlimited data, but you can get a discount if you’re low on data. If you love to travel, this will be an added plus: the phone works in 179 countries and there are no roaming charges.
The service is even more cost effective when you are a member of a family plan. Each additional user or device costs an additional $ 15 per month and increases the maximum data cost, albeit a smaller amount per user. That’s $ 155 for 10GB or more between two users, $ 170 for 12GB or more out of three, $ 205 for 14GB or more out of four, and so on. Remember that you can always spend less if you’re thrifty in how you use the data. … On the other hand, while Google has promotions to help subsidize the cost of new phones , those prices are for the service only, not the phone.
Put it all together and it seems like Google Fi is an interesting new option, but it might only appeal to a certain type of iPhone user. If you’re traveling the world of data and / or using a family plan and don’t mind jumping through a few hoops, it might be worth your while. For everyone else … Well, I guess you’ll have to calculate, look at the problems, and figure out what you think. Or visit the Google Fi app for more information.