So, Google Fi has started to welcome more phones into its fold and you’re thinking of joining in with your current phone? Here’s all you need to know about BYO before you bring your own.
If you’d rather completely replace your phone, Fi has a range of Android offerings designed for its network. Google offers 24-month financing and affordable device insurance plans with reasonably low deductibles on most repairs. Devices are able to switch between all of Fi’s contingent networks in the United States — Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular — plus networks in more than 170 international destinations as well as seamlessly access more than 2 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the nation and access specialized network tools like Google’s VPN encryption.
These unlocked phones can only purchased from certain sources and some must be made for the North American region. These devices are:
[one_half]
- Pixel 3 (Fi/Google)
- Pixel 3 XL (Fi/Google Store)
- Pixel 2 (Global)
- Pixel 2 XL (Global)
- Pixel
- Pixel XL
[/one_half][one_half_last]
- Nexus 5X
- Nexus 6P
- Nexus 6
- LG V35 ThinQ
- LG G7 ThinQ
- Moto G6
- Moto X4 Android One
[/one_half_last]
For other devices, iPhones must be running iOS 11 or later and Android phones should be running on Nougat (version 7) or later. They must be unlocked and support LTE Bands 2 and 4 — in essence, relegated to T-Mobile’s network. International roaming is available, but iPhones will not be able to use mobile hotspot outside of the United States.
iPhones will also not be able to use voice and SMS over Wi-Fi. Some of the listed Android devices will be able to, though — Samsung devices, in particular, must use Android Messages as their primary texting client, but they cannot make calls over Wi-Fi.
Other devices not listed here may work with Google Fi, as they have while it was still known as Project Fi, though they have not been tested by Google.
[table]
OEM,Models
Apple,iPhone XS / iPhone XS Max / iPhone XR / iPhone X / iPhone 8 / iPhone 8 Plus / iPhone 7 / iPhone 7 Plus / iPhone SE / iPhone 6s / iPhone 6s Plus / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPhone 5s
Essential,PH-1
Huawei,Mate 20 Pro / Mate 20 Lite / P20 / P20 Pro / Mate 10 Pro
LG,V40 ThinQ / V35 ThinQ (carrier editions) / G7 ThinQ (carrier editions) / G7 One / Stylo 4 / V30S / V30 / G6 / V20 / Stylo 3 / X Venture / X Charge / X Power / K30 / K20 Plus / Aristo 2 / Aristo 2 Plus
Motorola,Moto Z3 / Moto Z3 Play / Motorola One / Motorola One Power / Moto G6 Plus / Moto G6 Play / Moto E5 / Moto E5 Plus / Moto E5 Play / Moto Z2 / Moto Z2 Play / Moto Z2 Force / Moto G5S / Moto G5S Plus / Moto G5 / Moto G5 Plus / Moto E4 Plus / Moto Z
HMD Global,Nokia 7.1 / Nokia 8 Sirocco
OnePlus,OnePlus 6T / OnePlus 6 / OnePlus 5T / OnePlus 5 / OnePlus 3T / OnePlus 3
Samsung,Galaxy Note 9 / Galaxy S9 / Galaxy S9+ / Galaxy J3 (2018) / Galaxy J7 (2018) / Galaxy Note 8 / Galaxy S8 / Galaxy S8+ / Galaxy S8 Active / Galaxy J3 (2017) / Galaxy J7 (2017) / Galaxy S7 / Galaxy S7 edge / Galaxy S7 Active / Galaxy S6 / Galaxy S6 edge / Galaxy S6 edge+ / Galaxy S6 Active
[/table]
As for service pricing, the base package for unlimited calls and texts costs $20 with extra lines up to six total are an additional $15 each. Data, whether used domestically or internationally, costs $10 per gigabyte and is prorated for every hundredth of a gigabyte, or a cent for every 0.01GB.
Fi’s Bill Protection feature caps data costs after 6GB of use in a month for individuals, meaning that service will never cost more than $80 per month under normal circumstances. The more people in a group plan, the lower the individual threshold will be — six members on a group plan will only have to use 3GB each before Bill Protection is activated.
Individuals who use more than 15GB in their cycle will have speeds throttled to 2G levels, though customers can request through the network to pay the standard $10 per gigabyte rate for full-speed data beyond that mark.