Google’s Project Fi service is finally iPhone friendly

If the only thing holding you back from ditching your phone contract and switching over to Google’s wireless service is that you don’t want to invest in a brand new phone, you’re in luck.

After more than three years, Google is finally expanding “Project Fi” in a major way. The service, now simply called Google Fi (it rhymes with “eye”), is finally available for iPhones and a lot more Android devices.

Google’s Fi service has been a popular choice, particularly among international travelers, because its plans are flexible and relatively inexpensive compared with many other carriers. Plans start at $20 a month for unlimited talk and text, and data is a flat rate of $10/GB, regardless of what country you’re in. Any unused data is rolled over at the end of the month and Google lets you pause you service whenever you want so you’re never locked into any contract. 

The catch, up until now, was that the service was officially only compatible with a small number of Android devices. And while there were complicated workarounds that would technically allow you to use a Fi SIM on a non-Fi device, doing so was complicated and sometimes unreliable.

Now, the service will be officially supported on just about any mainstream Android phone or iPhone from the last couple years. (You can view a full list of compatible handsets here.)

Officially supporting iPhones is particularly significant for Fi in the U.S, where tinkerers have long been experimenting with ways to get around Google’s device restrictions, says Google product manager Dhwani Shah.

“There are thousands of people who have been trying to use workarounds… people have been jumping through a bunch of hoops to try and make it [Fi service] work [on iOS],” says Shah. 

But with a Google Fi app, which is used to manage your plan and activate Fi service, now in Apple’s App Store, shady workarounds are finally a thing of the past. 

Google notes that official “designed for Fi” devices will still have the best experience, such as the ability to “seamlessly switch between multiple cellular networks.” But with Google Fi now widening its support, pretty much anyone who has bought a smartphone in the last two years should be able to take advantage of the service.