How to Switch to Google Fi (2025): Plans, Tips, and Advice

All prices above are for a single line paid monthly. Google periodically offers half of the special offers and other specials, generally only if you bring your own phone.

Activate your chip

Once you have chosen your plan and you have registered, Google will send a SIM card. It took a few days to my physical SIM to arrive, but I will gladly take the slight delay if that saves me from the establishment of a physical carrier store. If you use an iPhone, Google Pixel, a Samsung phone or another device that supports ESIM, you can configure FI with an ESIM instantly.

Once your chip arrives, you will need to use a SIM tool to remove the SIM tray and insert the SIM card into your phone. Then download the Google FI application (you will have to be on Wi-Fi to do it because your chip does not connect to the network yet) and follow the steps there. If you wear your old phone number, it may take a little more time. For me, after setting up a new number, FI was operational after about 5 minutes. There you go.

I have traveled and lived in rural areas in the past 7 years, and I tried just about all phone and hotspot plants – none of them is near this simple. The only closer is Red Pocket Mobile, which I always use in addition to Google FI. There are cheaper plans, but in terms of ease of use and reliability, Fi is difficult to beat.

Use of Google FI as hotspot

You can use Google FI as a simple way to add cell connectivity to any device that accepts a SIM card, such as a mobile hotspot. You will have to activate your Google FI SIM card with a phone using the Google FI app, but once activation is finished, you can put this chip in any device your plan allows. If you opt for the plus plan, it means that you can put your chip in an iPad, an Android tablet or a 4G / 5G mobile hotspot. However, you are still linked by the 50 gigabyte data limit, so be sure not to go too crazy with Netflix.

Alternatively, consider ordering a SIM card only. Google allows you to have up to four if you are on the premium or flexible unlimited levels, which means that you can keep four gadgets – a spare phone or tablet – connected to the Internet. The warning is that they cannot make phone calls or receive SMS. You don’t have to use your phone to activate the SIM first. You can order a SIM only in the plan section of your account, under the devices and subscriptions. If you have an ESIM device only you want to connect, you can press Connect your tablet And FI will offer a QR code that you can scan to activate the SIM card.

Frequently asked questions

• Do I need a Google account? Yes, you need a Google account to register for Google FI, but you don’t need to be all on Google to use FI. I have an Android phone, and I use Google Apps because that’s what we use here at Wired, but apart from work, I don’t use any Google service other than FI, and it still works very well.
• Is Google FI to follow each of my movements? Yes, but your current supplier too. The conditions of use of Google FI say that Google does not sell what is called the network network information customer – things such as the call location, the details and the features you use – to any other person.
• I travel and I want to use Google FI abroad. Will it work? The conditions of use of FI forces you to activate your service in the United States, but after that, in theory, this should work anywhere FI has associated a network in the country. The wired publisher Julian Chokkattu used FI in several countries during travel. However, based on the comments of wired readers and reading travel forums, it seems that most people are cut if they are out of the United States for more than a few weeks. I would say that I do not plan to use Google FI to realize your digital nomadic dreams.

Tips and tips

There are several features available via the Google FI application that you might not discover at the beginning. One of my favorites is an old Google Voice feature that allows you to transmit calls to any phone you like. This is also possible in Google FI. All you have to do is add a number to the FI transfer list, and each time you receive a call, it will ring both your mobile phone and this secondary number, whether it is a domestic phone, a second cell or the airbnb phone in which you are. This is very practical in places where the strength of your signal is uncertain – buy the call to a fixed line. Likewise, it may be useful to activate the Wi-Fi call function for times when you have access to Wi-Fi but not a cell signal.

Another feature that becomes more and more useful because the number of spam calls I receive is always upwards is the blocking of calls. Android and iOS call applications can block calls, but this sends the caller directly to voicemail, and you always end up obtaining voicemail. Block a call via the Google FI application and the appellants receive a message saying that your number has been disconnected or is no longer in service. As long as they know, you have changed numbers. To configure this, open the FI application and look under Privacy and Safety> Manage contact settings> Manage blocked numbers, And then you can add any number you like to the list. If you change your mind, simply delete the list.

One last thing to mention: I did not cancel my Google FI service despite the passage to Starlink for most of my Hotspot needs. Instead, I have just suspended my FI service using the application. In this way, if I need it for any reason, I can reactivate it very quickly.