Google Nexus owners can now get a taste of the company’s Fi – Project Fi, that is – without having to jump ship with their traditional wireless carrier.
The company on Tuesday said it is opening up access to the Wi-Fi Assistant technology used in its Project Fi wireless service for all Nexus device owners.
Google said the technology, which allows the device to automatically connect to open Wi-Fi hotspots, will be available to all Nexus users in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom and Nordic countries, regardless of wireless carrier. Users will be able to toggle the service on in the settings app by tapping on Google and entering the Networking tab.
The Wi-Fi Assistant is a critical component to Google’s Project Fi offering.
Launched by invitation in 2015 and opened to the public in March, Project Fi is a hybrid mobile service that jumps back and forth between Wi-Fi and LTE signals from Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular, depending on which is the strongest in the vicinity. The Wi-Fi Assistant facilitates the transition without Project Fi users having to take any action.
For users on wireless carriers other than Fi, the change could help save their data allowance by offloading traffic to the Wi-Fi networks, CNet noted.
Google said the Wi-Fi Assistant will roll out to Nexus users over the next several weeks, starting with those in the United States, and will be available on Android 5.1 and up.
Filed Under: Carriers
