Google Fi Review: Mobile Cellular Service for a Citizen of the World

For years, I have collectively used all cell services available in the San Francisco Bay Area, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Just recently, though, I decided to move to Google Fi, formerly Project Fi, after trying it out for almost two years. Yes, you can try it out without having to spend too much. 

Overall, I'd sum up Google Fi in a short phrase: Ubiquitous coverage, reasonable data cost, cheap voice, and free texts. If you're looking for hassle-free cell service or are about to take an extended international trip, I recommend it.

Dong's note: This post was originally published on April 18, 2018, and has been updated to reflect changes in the Fi service.

Google Fi: A cell service like no others

Fi is Google's mobile virtual network that delivers talk, text, and data by leveraging Wi-Fi—it has more than 2 million hotspots worldwide—and cellular networks.

In the U.S., Google Fi uses Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular's cell service, which means it has the coverage of all those carriers combined. Google says your Fi-specific phone will automatically switch to one with the strongest signal in the area with overlaps.

Internationally, Google Fi piggybacks on major local carriers. However, as a user, you only deal with Google, and your phone will always show Fi Network.

The quick breakdown of the Fi service

No contract: You can sign up and cancel anytime. Talk, text, and data are available in more than 170 countries around the world. Virtually all countries I've been to and would like to visit are on the list.

Flat service cost: For $20/month, you get unlimited talk (within the U.S.) and unlimited text (within the U.S. and internationally). Any additional line will cost just $15/month. By the way, you need to be 18 to get a Fi plan or 13 to be part of a family plan.

International cellular talk: While roaming outside the U.S., talk (including calls to a number inside the U.S.) generally costs $.20 per minute for incoming and outgoing calls. It's the same when you call other countries while inside the U.S.

International Wi-Fi talk: This has the same rate as Google Voice: It is always free when calling a number inside the States. Calls to other countries cost between $.01 and $.20/minute.

Data cost: Google Fi charges another $10 per 1GB no matter where you are (in or out of the U.S.), with Bill Protection kicking in at 6GB for the single-user plan—data above 6GB is free. (If you use over 15GB, though, the speed will be throttled down for the rest of the billing cycle.) In other words, for a single line, you'll never pay more than $80 (text and talk included) per billing cycle, period. You can think of Fi as a $60/month unlimited data plan, plus the option to pay less if you use less than 6GB/month.

That said, within the U.S., Google Fi's data cost is slightly more expensive than the unlimited plans of other carriers. However, I prefer how Google Fi charges for data. It gives you the incentive not to use the phone when you don't need to. With Fi, I find myself staring at the screen less, knowing I save money that way.

Notes on data cost

• You pay $.01 per megabyte (1GB ≈ 1000 megabyte). Within a billing cycle, if you use less data than you have paid for, the remaining portion will be converted back into dollars and refunded to your account. In other words, with Google Fi, you pay for the exact amount of data you use. There's no messy rollover or expiration.
• There's an add-on data-only SIM card that works with popular LTE tablets, including Apple's iPads. The SIM itself is free, and you pay the usual $10/GB of data to use it. Note that you can't use a data-only SIM without a regular Google Fi plan.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• You need a Google or Gmail account to use Fi, which is not a shortcoming unless you're a hardcore AOL user. (Even then, you can still open a Google account using your original email.)
• You can't text using a computer by logging into your Google Fi account the way you do with Google Voice. However, you can use Android's Messages for a web feature that works similarly.
• Update: On November 28, 2018, Google changed Project Fi's name to Google Fi and opened the service to the majority of Android phones and iPhones. However, devices designed for Fi, such as Google's Pixel series, enjoy more features with the service.

Easy activation

Signing up for Google Fi is about as easy as signing up for a Gmail account. You can order the service and a new phone from Google and receive the phone in a few days. If you already have a phone, Google will ship you a SIM card for free, even when you want it shipped overnight. I got mine within one business day.

After that, you can use the Google Fi app to activate the service. There's no need to visit a store or call anyone. By the way, if you have the Pixel 2/XL or later, you can activate it using eSIM, meaning you won't need to wait for a physical SIM card.

The activation process takes just a few minutes if you get a new phone number—you can pick an available number based on the area code of your choice—or use an existing Google Voice number.

If you want to transfer your phone number from a different carrier, including a landline number, that can take a few days, depending on the provider. But you can also initiate the process using the Fi app.

Total flexibility

If you already have a cell plan that you want to keep (or that you can't get rid of due to a contract), you can use Google Fi only when you travel outside the U.S. I did this for a long time.

Upon returning from your trip, you can pause Fi (up to 90 days at a time). You won't need to pay during the pause but can still use Wi-Fi to receive or make calls and text messages. Talk, data, and text using cellular won't work during this time.

The best thing is you can resume and re-pause the service at any time. As long as you pause for more than 24 hours or more, your account will receive credits for the time you're not using the service, which is $.66/day.

If, for some reason, you want to get rid of Google Fi, you can cancel it. In this case, Google Voice users, take note: You have the option to convert your number (back) into a Google Voice account with all previous history intact. And by the way, if you reactivate within six months of the cancellation, the process is quick, and you won't need to get a new SIM card.

Seamless, consistent, fun experience

From a user's perspective, Google Fi works the same everywhere, inside or outside the States.

There's no need to contact the carrier before the trip to activate international roaming, sign up for a new data plan, and so on. You can pick up your phone and go, knowing that everything remains the same for the most part.

Each time you arrive in a new country, the Google Fi app sends you a "Welcome to..." notification, which includes the cost details for calls and data at the new location. If you arrive in a country where the cost is too high, which has never happened to me, by the way, you can pause service right then and opt to use Wi-Fi only.

I've traveled to some 15 countries in the past two years, in Europe and Asia, and the data service has been consistently excellent. However, once in a while, I found myself at a place without cell reception, and local users had no service there, either.

In terms of data speed, I generally get somewhere between 3Mbps and 30Mbps, both in the U.S. and in other countries. Keep in mind that performing a speed test eats up data pretty fast, so I didn't do a lot of that, and neither should you. But overall, I have never had problems with Google Fi's connection speed.

Talking using Google Fi was always excellent, however.

Some shortcomings

Indeed, during my international trips, Google Fi's voice quality wasn't consistent. At times, the connection suffered from a significant delay, and my friend and I talked over each other on the other end. This delay also happens when I call other countries from the U.S., though less frequently. In all, this has never gotten to the point of unbearable, but I hope it will improve.

Another concern is that of privacy. Using Fi means you're even more connected to Google. Recently, Fi included a new feature called Enhance Network, which is a free VPN service. Enhance network, once turned on, helps keep your connection secure but will also route your phone's Internet traffic, including that of its Wi-Fi, through Google.

Finally, I find the $20/month cost for talk and text a little too high. Most of the time, Google Fi's talk and text are routed via cellular or Wi-Fi anyway. Also, if Google lowers the cost of data by 50 percent, even just for the U.S. market, that'd make Fi so much more appealing.

Conclusion

Overall, Google Fi is not perfect, but it's better than most alternatives.

In fact, for those living in the U.S. but frequently traveling internationally, this is by far the best cell service yet. It makes preparing for a trip abroad much less of a hassle and significantly lowers data costs during the trip.

AT&T, for example, charges you $60 per gigabyte if you sign up for an international data plan—six times the cost of Google Fi's data. If you want to pay as you go, AT&T will cost you $2 per megabyte, ththat's00 times more expensive Google Fi. By the way, 2MB is about the amount of data you need to upload one high-res photo to social media.

Of course, you can bring an unlocked phone and get a SIM card in the country of destination. This extra work is kind of a hassle since you'd unlikely know which SIM and where to get it the moment you arrive. And when you do, calling or texting home will cost a lot extra. Also, you can always use that SIM in another country.

That said, for your next extended international trip, do yourself a favor and get Google Fi. It'll instantly make you feel like a citizen of the world as far as mobile service is concerned.