It lets you put in specific addresses and see what kind of combined coverage you can expect for any given city or neighborhood.
So where to begin in figuring that out? Well, you can start by checking Google's official Fi coverage map. That's an important question - and unfortunately, there's no simple nor universal answer, as it ultimately all depends on where you are and how Fi's networks perform in your area. Will I get good coverage, then? How will it compare to what I have now? Your phone just shows that you're connected to Google Fi - but behind the scenes, the device continuously seeks out the best possible network for your location and bops you around as needed. How does this network switching mumbo-jumbo even work?!Īutomatically and silently on a day-to-day basis, you'll never even think about it or be aware that it's happening. That's one of its distinguishing features, in fact: When you use Google Fi with a phone that's designed for the service, it's able to seamlessly switch you between those networks based on which one has the strongest service at any given moment. Cellular, since Sprint and T-Mobile are in the process of becoming one and the same). Cellular (so eventually just T-Mobile and U.S. In the U.S., Fi uses a combination of T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. What networks does Google Fi actually use, then? It doesn't have its own network like AT&T or Verizon instead, it has an arrangement with those same sorts of carriers that allows it to tap into their networks and repackage access to those pipes under its own brand and arrangement. In other words, it's kinda like a high-tech landlord. That's a fancy name for an entity that provides wireless service - y'know, the thing that allows you to make and receive calls and use mobile data from that shiny rectangle in your pocket - without actually owning the network infrastructure behind it.
Google Fi is technically what's known as an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator. What exactly is Google Fi - or Project Fi, or whatever you want to call it?