Google Fi was the right provider for me 10 years in the past, however not anymore

When Google first introduced what was then referred to as Undertaking Fi on April 22, 2015, I used to be greater than a bit intrigued. As a tech journalist, it was straightforward for me to see the attraction of a provider with versatile knowledge that labored seamlessly within the US and overseas. I signed up instantly.

On the time, it was exhausting to think about a greater choice. Not solely did I like the worldwide protection, however the service itself felt extra like a postpaid supplier. I used the service for greater than six years straight, however quick ahead to 2025, and I haven’t been an everyday Google Fi person since about 2021. I nonetheless reactivate it often for testing, and I’d doubtless use it once more if I began touring extra often.

Whereas Google Fi was the right provider for me 10 years in the past, so much can change in a decade. I journey much less now, and the pay as you go market has matured. Components of what drew me to Fi haven’t actually modified; it’s my wants and the aggressive panorama which have developed.

In its early days, Google Fi felt like a disruptor. It was type of the pay as you go equal of John Legere’s T-Cellular. Fi launched at a time when US pay as you go carriers have been enhancing, however there was nonetheless a transparent divide between pay as you go and postpaid choices.

Then got here Fi: a pay as you go provider that made worldwide knowledge straightforward and inexpensive. It provided easy pricing, multi-network assist, a built-in VPN, and a Wi-Fi-first strategy to calls, texts, and knowledge at a time when Wi-Fi calling was nonetheless unusual within the US.

I’d all the time been hesitant about pay as you go service, however Fi felt like the longer term. Its arrival satisfied me to drop Dash and activate service on my Nexus 6 utilizing a particular invite code.

Again then, Fi had a single plan: $20 per 30 days for discuss and textual content, plus $10 per gigabyte of knowledge. This was earlier than limitless knowledge plans grew to become widespread within the U.S. Probably the most comparable postpaid plans price round $80 per 30 days for 10-12GB again in 2015. If reminiscence serves, plans typically included at the least 5GB by default, although it various.

One of many largest attracts for me was the easy pricing. I labored from residence, so I hardly ever used cell knowledge. As a result of Fi credited unused knowledge, my month-to-month invoice normally stayed low. Usually, I used not more than round 1.25GB right now, which was simply $12.50 on prime of the bottom fee.

On the time, worldwide assist was extra of a bonus than a necessity. However later, after I began touring overseas extra typically, it proved invaluable. I didn’t have to fiddle with APN settings or swap SIMs — the service simply labored. Sometimes, I needed to toggle airplane mode or reboot, however total, it was remarkably easy.

Community switching wasn’t flawless, to be honest. Fi typically defaulted to weaker indicators, although you may drive a change utilizing third-party apps. Nonetheless, it felt like a cutting-edge provider subscription.

Fi initially partnered with T-Cellular and the then-independent Dash. In 2016, it added US Mobile, which was a giant deal in my space. I hoped Google would finally carry much more networks underneath its umbrella, however that by no means occurred. As a substitute, Dash and T-Cellular merged, and US Mobile grew to become extra of a fallback choice. I don’t blame Google Fi for this; the cell panorama was altering rapidly, and as an MVNO, Google had restricted management.

Whilst multi-network assist light, Fi’s total philosophy stayed the identical. Over time, it added limitless plans, worldwide streaming, household reductions, system promotions, and different options. However none of this occurred in a vacuum. The pay as you go market improved, the pandemic decreased worldwide journey, and my very own wants shifted.

Google Fi has slowly developed, however it hasn’t basically modified. Since its early days, it’s been constructed largely round three core concepts:

• US protection via a number of networks

• Seamless worldwide journey

• Easy, clear pricing

Now rebranded as Fi Wi-fi, it nonetheless goals to ship these targets. The distinction is that a lot of its once-unique options are now not unique and, in some instances, arguably now not best-in-class.

Huge protection throughout the US

In 2025, Fi depends solely on T-Cellular’s community. T-Cellular has good nationwide protection now — thanks partially to its Dash merger — however so do most carriers. What used to make Fi particular for me was its means to hop between networks.

I’ve lived in a number of rural areas, so community flexibility used to matter so much. Lately, I stay in a rural area with glorious Verizon-based protection however not-as-good T-Cellular protection. On Verizon, I get robust reception and 5G almost all over the place, so Fi’s single-network setup holds much less attraction to me because it runs on the Uncarrier’s community.

If you happen to want entry to a number of networks, Fi is now not the chief right here both. US Cellular now fills that area of interest, supporting all three main networks and providing superior choices like Warp 5G and Gentle Velocity for automated switching between two networks.

Seamless worldwide journey

Fi was as soon as the king of worldwide journey with $2 per gigabyte of knowledge in over 200 international locations — and it simply labored. Right now, rivals have raised the bar.

All three main US carriers now embody free roaming in Canada and Mexico on most postpaid plans. Some pay as you go carriers do as effectively. Verizon’s premium plans prolong protection to many international locations, albeit at a better price. Pay as you go choices have stepped up, too:

• Mint Cellular: Free calling to Mexico, Canada, and the UK from the U.S. It additionally affords free roaming in Canada or a $20 “Minternational Move” with 10GB of knowledge (works out to the identical $2 per gig because the Google Fi Flex plan costs in 2025).
• Seen: All plans embody limitless discuss and textual content in Canada and Mexico. Increased-tier plans add World Move days, plus broad worldwide texting and calling choices.
• US Cellular: Worldwide calls from the US are included in limitless plans. Increased-tier choices supply as much as 20GB of roaming knowledge usable in lots of of nations, relying on the community (Darkish Star, Warp, or Gentle Velocity).

To be clear, none of those worldwide packages fairly match Google Fi Wi-fi even in 2025, as that is one space the place Google has by no means fallen behind, particularly in relation to the Fi Limitless Plus plan.

Google’s greatest plan contains 50GB of high-speed knowledge usable within the US or overseas throughout over 200 international locations. There’s no have to accrue passes or juggle a number of caps. So long as you spend most of your time within the US throughout any 90-day window, Google doesn’t thoughts if you happen to journey extensively. That’s exhausting to beat, although it’s overkill for a lot of customers.

Even for many who journey much less, Fi affords a hidden benefit: reliability. Fi’s worldwide expertise isn’t excellent, however it normally works with fewer hiccups. A fast look at Reddit reveals many customers fighting APN points on different carriers like US Cellular, Mint Cellular, and numerous others. Seen is mostly extra dependable right here, however that is nonetheless a class the place Fi has an edge.

Easy, clear pricing (and as soon as, worth)

I already talked about how Google Fi had extra clear pricing and was typically a greater worth except you consumed big quantities of knowledge in 2015. In fact, tendencies and pricing change. Limitless grew to become extra frequent once more, and even Google launched its personal limitless plan in 2019.

At launch, Google Fi Limitless price as little as $45 per line for 4, or $180 in complete. On the time, this was nonetheless at the least $30 much less per particular person than you’d pay for limitless with any of the large three carriers, sometimes, and but it nonetheless had superior worldwide options. The charges have been additionally fairly similar to different pay as you go limitless plans of the period, relying on the variety of strains concerned.

Fi saved its unique versatile plan (now referred to as Fi Versatile), however its worth proposition weakened. By 2019, Mint Cellular charged $15 a month for 3GB, $20 for 8GB, and $25 for 12GB. In distinction, Google Fi charged $20 only for entry and $10 per gig. Utilizing solely 500MB might nonetheless price $25 a month — greater than Mint’s 12GB tier.

In 2019, I switched to Fi’s Limitless plan, which I saved till 2021. As my touring days got here to a halt, I later downgraded to the then-new Merely Limitless plan, which dropped worldwide options in alternate for decrease pricing. A single line on the time price $60 a month, however three or extra strains introduced the worth right down to $30 every. Whereas not a nasty deal for households, it now not stood out except you wished cellphone offers tied to Pixel or Galaxy promos.

After a couple of months on Merely Limitless, I noticed I didn’t want Fi anymore. I started exploring different pay as you go carriers, and I haven’t seemed again outdoors of labor functions.

In 2025, 10 years after its launch, Google Fi has been overtaken in affordability by carriers like Tello and Mint Cellular, particularly for low-data plans. Even on the limitless facet, there are cheaper choices, although Fi Wi-fi stays similar to different premium pay as you go manufacturers like Cricket and Metro by T-Cellular.

A lot of Fi’s early benefits eroded over time, however that was by no means actually the purpose. Google Fi was designed to supply easy, dependable service wherever, with out hidden charges or complicated roaming costs. Whereas it’s moved away from its unique multi-carrier mannequin within the US, its core philosophy stays intact. The primary distinction now could be that it has higher competitors.

Fi nonetheless shines for frequent worldwide vacationers, particularly in relation to the Limitless Plus plan. Google appears content material protecting Fi Wi-fi a distinct segment product, and that’s okay. It has a transparent audience and but nonetheless manages to draw others, corresponding to households making the most of multiline reductions or followers of the broader Google ecosystem.

Personally, I switched to Seen for my most important line after leaving Google Fi. It was far cheaper than Fi’s Merely Limitless and labored effectively on Verizon’s robust community in my space. Ultimately, I moved to a Verizon household plan to finance a number of units (largely a mistake), although I’m slowly migrating again to pay as you go choices as these telephones are paid off.

I nonetheless check Google Fi often when one thing new rolls out, however these moments are uncommon. Fi Wi-fi hasn’t pushed the envelope these days, and except I begin touring extra, I don’t see myself returning full-time. Barring that, to get me again, Google Fi’s Merely Limitless would want extra beneficiant hotspot limits and a better knowledge cap earlier than throttling kicks in. Decrease pricing would assist, too, particularly for the Versatile plan, which nonetheless costs $20 for entry and $10 per gig, which looks like so much in 2025.

In fact, Google would must be cautious. Worth cuts might undermine the postpaid-like expertise that retains many loyal prospects round. And even then, it wouldn’t be sufficient to win me over, as my largest barrier is Fi’s reliance on T-Cellular. Until T-Cellular’s protection improves in my space — or Fi brings again multi-network assist like US Cellular — I’m not more likely to change again.

Realistically, I don’t anticipate massive adjustments. Google Fi Wi-fi clearly isn’t a serious firm precedence, and protecting the established order appears extra according to its present technique. Worth tweaks, certain. However I don’t foresee any dramatic overhauls (although I could possibly be unsuitable).

That stated, whereas Google Fi is now not my private provider of alternative, it’s nonetheless one of many greatest cell phone service suppliers within the US. I nonetheless typically suggest it to those that journey often or for many who would possibly worth its distinctive perks. It is probably not mainstream, however for the suitable person, it nonetheless delivers.