X

Google Fi promises coverage boost with dual connect tech

Pixel 4 users could see seamless network switching.

Rae Hodge Former senior editor
Rae Hodge was a senior editor at CNET. She led CNET's coverage of privacy and cybersecurity tools from July 2019 to January 2023. As a data-driven investigative journalist on the software and services team, she reviewed VPNs, password managers, antivirus software, anti-surveillance methods and ethics in tech. Prior to joining CNET in 2019, Rae spent nearly a decade covering politics and protests for the AP, NPR, the BBC and other local and international outlets.
Rae Hodge
Google Fi iPhone
Jason Cipriani/CNET

Why settle for connecting to just one cellular LTE network when you can connect to two? If you've got a Pixel 4 or Pixel 4XL from Google Fi, you'll be able to do exactly that in the coming weeks. 

Google Fi on Tuesday said customers will start seeing better coverage via its new dual connect technology. Google Fi uses local Wi-Fi networks to patch calls and let you send texts and browse the internet. If Wi-Fi coverage isn't available or too weak, the network will then switch to US carriers T-Mobile, Sprint or US Cellular's networks. By connecting to two LTE networks at once with Dual Sim Dual Standby hardware, Google Fi says you'll hardly notice when you're switched to a better network. 

"While one network is used at a time for sending data or making phone calls, dual connect technology improves your connection by keeping both networks ready for use at a moment's notice, and allows for more frequent network switching," Google said in a blog post

Dual connect technology will be available in the next few weeks for Pixel 4 phones purchased through the Google Store or Google Fi. Google said the technology will expand to more Designed for Fi devices over time.