If you’ve been thinking about trying Google Fi, now might be the perfect time to take it for a spin. The airline is testing a trial program for new customers that allows you to view the service for free for a week using the eSIM on your device.
When you sign up for the trial period, you get a number that you can use for the week. With it, you’ll receive unlimited talk, text and data, including the ability to use your phone as a mobile hotspot. When the week is over, you can decide to sign up for the service and keep that trial number, or sign up and transfer your existing number to the service, 9to5Google reports.
Like all good deals, there are a few caveats. The trial itself is in beta, which means it won’t be available to everyone. Google also limits the amount of data that free trial users can access. During the trial you’ll be able to use up to 10GB of data as normal, but after the first 10GB it will start throttling your data connection so you’ll experience slow speeds – something it doesn’t do with Google Fi subscribers (throttling starting at 15 GB for the lowest tier and 50 GB at the highest).
That said, 10GB of data is a pretty decent wallet to go into the week with, and you should be fine for most normal use. In addition to all this data, it also gives you access to Google Fi’s spam blocking and VPN services.
A big advantage of this trial, which especially supports eSIMs, is that you don’t have to wait for a physical SIM card to arrive in the mail. If you’ve been thinking about trying the service and were worried about coverage, a week is also a decent amount of time to determine if you’ll be able to connect in the places you travel to most often, especially since Google recently made the switch to exclusively to use T-Mobile’s network.
If you decide to sign in for good, Google Fi plans start at $50 for an unlimited plan for one person with 5GB of hotspot tethering per month. The free trial should start appearing for qualified people on Google Fi’s website on Thursday.
Google Fi
Google Fi is a prepaid phone provider with coverage and features targeted at Android users. It stands out by offering an unrivaled international roaming feature with competitive prices when you bring multiple lines. Google Fi also makes use of multiple cellular networks for strong 5G and Wi-Fi coverage in both urban and rural areas.