Google Fi is Google’s attempt to get into the world of wireless service providers. What they are promising right out of the gate is cheap deals and great coverage. To be honest though this venture into providing wireless services is an attempt to have a complete business. What we mean by that is, ideally Google wants you to buy a phone from them, if it’s one that they manufacture directly, that’s much better. So Google Fi for iPhone isn’t necessarily a priority that Google has in this business venture. Now, that doesn’t mean that if you have an iPhone you won’t be able to get access to Google Fi.
What we are going to cover in this article is pretty much everything that you need to know before you take your iPhone and switch it over to the Google Fi network. One of the fears that people have is that Google and Apple are not companies that have been known to see eye to eye in the past. We are literally talking about the two rival phone operating systems going head to head. Is this a little bit like trying to run windows programs on your Mac? Well, yes and no. We could say that at this point Google Fi for iPhone is like trying to run windows on a Mac 20 years ago. Any time before that odd unification that they almost went through and the now possibility to download Microsoft Word for a Mac without a care. Let’s get right to it then.
Can You Have Google Fi With iPhone?
The quick answer to this question is yes. There are a couple of things though that you have to keep in mind. For example, Google Fi allows you to buy a phone from them if you’re willing to commit to a long term plan. Similar to what you can find from any mobile carrier out there. If you look through all of the phones that they have available for sale you’re going to notice very quickly that none of them are iPhones. Here is the first truth that you have to know, at least it is true at the time of writing for this article.
“You can have Google Fi for iPhone, just don’t expect to be able to buy an iPhone directly from Google and have Google Fi automatically active”.
This is something that we don’t expect to see changing any time soon. Again this is part of the feud that has been going on between the IOS and Android operating systems. We could see a bit of a surprise like that time Bill Gates joined Steve Jobs at the Apple convention. Sundar Pichai, and Larry Page probably won’t be crashing a Zoom with Tim Cook any time soon.
What Can You Do To Have Google Fi With iPhone?
The quickest way that you can potentially get this done is to pick the bring your phone option directly on the Google Fi site. There you’re going to select the type of iPhone that you have and they’ll essentially give you the instructions that you have to follow to activate Google Fi for iPhone. Ideally, you’ll want to make sure that you’re bringing along an unlocked iPhone into the exchange. That way you won’t have to deal with essentially breaking up with your current service provider to then head over to Google Fi. If you are still with a particular service provider, specially if you bought the phone from them, select that provider on the site and you’ll see a list of instructions on what to do.
In most of these cases, the instructions are just going to say that you should find a way to unlock your phone. There are multiple ways to get that done. Certain service providers are actually nice enough to unlock it for you at their stores if you have completed your contract and the payment of the phone. If you want to look for different options on how to unlock your iPhone here is an article that we have on the site that covers that already. From there, you just have to visit the site and follow the instructions that are given. Essentially, it’s just pick a plan and make sure you input the right information. The bottom line is that to have Google Fi for iPhone you need to bring your own device, and preferably make sure that it’s unlocked.
What iPhone Devices Are Compatible With Google Fi
The first thing that you’re probably going to want to check before you even hear about whether or not Google Fi for iPhone is worth it, is if your device is compatible with Google Fi. From what we’ve been able to gather overall compatibility is actually not a main issue. Here is the list of the iPhones that are compatible with Google Fi as provided by Google:
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8 & 8 Plus
- iPhone 7 & 7 Plus
- iPhone 6S & 6S Plus
- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone SE
- All phones must run iOS 12 or higher.
Some older devices won’t be able to have access to the 5G network. Therefore, it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to bring them along for the ride. Essentially if you have an unlocked phone though there is a chance that you can activate Google Fi on it.
Google Fi With iPhone is In Beta
This legend, “Google Fi for Iphone is In Beta” is what you’re going to be seeing when you log into the Google Fi site and you try to get your iPhone to run on that network. What does it mean that Google Fi for iPhone is in beta? Well in simple terms it means that if you are wanting to connect to the network on an iPhone you won’t be able to obtain the full benefits of the service. To be able to decide whether using this network with an iPhone is worth it or not you’ll have to decipher if the features that are a bit suspect are important to you.
No Switching Networks For iPhones
Perhaps one of the most intriguing features that Google Fi brings to the table is the ability to “switch” networks. Essentially what this means is that you can hop on networks of different service providers to see which one has better coverage in the area that you’re in. Google Fi works with what used to be 3 national networks to provide coverage. These networks were T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular. What you can do with the regular Google Fi service is jump from one network to another to be able to get the best coverage available. This feature is not available for iPhones.
At this point in time it seems that the beta version for iPhone equals no 5G for iPhone. This is not something that is explicitly referenced by Google Fi. Yet, it does promise a 4G network and it does tell users directly that on an iPhone you’re staying on the Google Fi direct network at all times. Presumably this network does not offer 5G coverage. Even if you could 5G coverage, which we suspect you will shortly, the network hopping feature is certainly one of the most interesting things that the service brings to the table. It could certainly deter many folks who were looking to bring their iPhones to the service.
Texting To Android Phones Can Be A Bit Iffy
If you’re a big texter this is something that you may want to take into account. Google Fi does make the promise that iMessage is going to work right out of the box without any type of trouble. What you could have a bit of trouble with is wanting to text to other phones that are not iPhones. The main problem that we see here is that Google Fi is essentially sending out a buyer beware sign on their own product. But there is no real clarity as to whether or not it will work or won’t work. From the data that we’ve been able to gather there are mixed reports. To where some people say that they can text fine, others are having a bit more trouble.
If you are someone who does their texting through different mobile apps anyway this could be something that you are not overly concerned about. As well as if you’re someone who apparently only contacts people that have iPhones. We are not going to judge you on that end. All that we are saying is that if you are used to only iMessage or texting through other apps then you should essentially be fine. As we mentioned for the network issue we understand that this could end up being a deal breaker for some folks. We are going to try and take all of these elements into consideration in our final verdict.
Google Fi International Coverage
Google Fi has one of the most interesting international coverage plans in the wireless service industry today. Essentially if you have an unlimited plan with them you’ll also have unlimited calls and texts in any of the 200 destinations that they offer coverage in. A lot of service providers make the promise that you’ll be covered in a bunch of countries and everything is going to be good and great. As we’ve discussed in other articles one of the main issues that you’ll have is speed. With T-Mobile for example you expect to reach “whooping” 2G speeds with their regular coverage. If you want to go faster (up to 3.9G allegedly) you’ll have to pay an extra fee.
We are a bit skeptical about the Google Fi international option, but there are accounts that the speed is actually decent compared to what some of the other service providers are offering. The thing is, there’s not a lot of transparency with Google about speeds. Since having an iPhone on the Google Fi network doesn’t give you any wiggle room you’re essentially stuck with what you can get. The lack of clarity when it comes to the speed at which you can navigate really puts us in an awkward situation when evaluating Google Fi’s international coverage.
Google Fi With iPhone Worth It?
We’ve essentially been dancing around this answer through the whole article. What we ultimately would say is that it can be worth it in very specific situations. It’s hard to say right now it would make sense for every single person who owns an iPhone to stop what they’re doing and switch over to Google Fi. In many ways iPhone owners on this network are second class citizens. In that, since the operating system is in beta you’re going to have to input certain codes to access particular features. You’ll be getting your voicemail through the Google Fi app and not the regular app on your phone.
The network shift was one of the elements of Google Fi that was super interesting when it first came out. Since the T-Mobile and Sprint merger you’re missing out on less if you will as an iPhone Google Fi user. It’s not 3 networks that you’re jumping from with Google Fi it’s just 2. The texting situation is a big problem that we know is essentially keeping a lot of people from Google Fi. Also, other networks are stepping up to the plate when it comes to rates. We could still say that Google Fi rates are on the lower end of the spectrum. They are not out of market low rates anymore though. Particularly for individual plans.
When can it make sense to take an iPhone and put it on the Google Fi network? If you have an old device that you want to get coverage on for cheap, you may look into this option instead of a prepaid plan. What we keep coming back to though is that you mostly already have to have a device for it to make sense financially. Even if you’re getting lower rates from Google Fi than another phone company you’d have to buy an iPhone outright and unlock it before you move to Google Fi. Even if you get it on credit from the iStore or whatever, the investment could prove to be a bit steep. Particularly, when to be honest iPhone users on Google Fi are “second class” users of the network. As long as the compatibility of Google Fi for iPhone is still in a beta stage as an iPhone user you won’t have all of the benefits of the network. That’s a tough sell for many people.