Step-by-Step Guide – Project Fi with an iPhone 6s

Today I received my Google Project Fi package including a micro SIM card.

Project Fi with iPhone 6sProject Fi with iPhone 6s

The Project Fi SIM card needs to be activated in an Android phone via the Project Fi App.Project Fi with iPhone 6s
Once the SIM card has been activated, you can put it in your iPhone 6s and you should get signal immediately.

Note: You might need to restart your iPhone after the SIM has been inserted to pull the settings from the Project Fi carrier.

Even though you have signal now and you might see 4G on the top, you will notice that the internet isn’t working on your phone.

 

Step-by-Step Instruction To Setup Project Fi Cellular Data

Go to the Cellular Data settings on your iPhone 6s and you should see only the Cellular DATA APN settings configured, as shown below:

project fi

 

In order to use the internet  via Project Fi on your iPhone 6s, change the Cellular DATA APN from alpha to h2g2.

project fi

Note: If cellular data doesn’t start working right away, change into Flight mode and back. This will re-apply your cellular data settings.

Following the steps above, got my iPhone registered with Project Fi and allowed me to start using cellular data successfully.

project fi

 

69 Comments|Add your own comment below

  1. What type of Android phone did you use to activate the SIM card? I am trying on a non-nexus android phone and it does not seem to be working.

  2. Do you use Hangouts for texts and MMS then too? I would imagine the iPhone iMessages don’t work…

    1. I’m using the normal iPhone messaging app. IMessages and texts work fine. The only thing which doesn’t work is MMS.

  3. Hey Jan thanks for this and i just did this with my Iphone 6s plus and i have a few questions.

    Have you or anyone else gotten any messages from google saying that you’re not using the correct phone? LOL 🙂 I was just wondering

    ALso i notice that when someone calls and leaves a message i get a text messages saying error with voice mail please contact project fi or call this number to hear voice messages

    Something else i notice is that when non iphones users text me the text will display the message correctly but you will see strange characters in the message for example

    Hi Eugene (&(*UIOUOIUOIUOU

  4. I never got a message from Goolge saying I’m using the wrong phone but sometimes, it feels like it 🙂 I have seen text messages having something strange at the end of the message but I don’t see it often, since I’m mostly messaging via iMessage.

  5. Hello,
    Do you know if the Google Fi sim works for iPhone 6? I can’t think of any reason it wouldn’t work. I have AT&T ‘unlocked’ iPhone 6 and hoping to activate Google Fi sim in my friend’s Nexus then try it out in my phone. Any insight is very appreciated. 🙂 I’ll let everybody here know what happens if I get the sim card before a reply is posted.

  6. Hi Barry, yes it should work.
    I activated my Google Fi sim on a Nexus but then put it into my unlocked iPhone 6s and it worked just fine.
    There are a couple of caveats however:

    * If someone leaves a voice mail, you’ll get a text telling you the voice message didn’t work but it actually did
    * If you receive a text, not an iMessage, you will see some random characters at the end the message, which can be ignored.

  7. Does the Iphone 6s needs to be ‘unlocked’? I have AT&T and I haven’t unlocked it. Also, will my current phone number work, or will I have to get a new number? THank you in advance!

      1. How exactly do you transfer your existing number, say from T-mobile, to project fi? And once I tell T-mobile to unlock my phone, will I lost my existing number? Just not sure how exactly you can transfer your existing number to Project Fi SIM card?

  8. Does iMessage work just via the email address, or via the mobile number, too? I heard there was an issue there.

    1. Anton, thank you for your comment. iMessage works the same with every provider. Project FI does not change anything on the iMessage behavior. iMessage fully relies on a data connectivity and is not affect by cell service.

    2. I have tested it to work both with the Project Fi’s phone number and if you link it to your iCloud account, you can also send via an email

    1. Hi Mike,
      I have not tested it yet but I assume it will work since it is working for Android. However, you might have to change your APN settings once you’re abroad but I would ask Project Fi Support. Just make sure not to disclose that you’re using an iPhone 🙂

    2. Yes, the project fi sim in iphone 6 worked fine abroad without any issues. Used it in Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine and Thailand.

      As others reported, you will continue to get the error text messages for the voicemail

    3. I used my iPhone 7 in Germany and the Netherlands a few weeks ago with no issues. I had spotty LTE service but always had 3G. Everything worked the same as when in the USA. The biggest difference is the provider says the real roaming partner and not Project Fi when in Europe. Same applies to using an Android with Project Fi in Europe.

  9. Hi, I am using iPhone 6S with the Project FI.
    It works fine, with all existing futures. The k you for your advice!!!
    Only what does not work the Visual Voice Mail. Is any adea how to make it to work?
    Also, I got a new number but how can transfer my existing number to Project Fi?
    Thank you.

    1. visual voicemail doesn’t work with Project Fi on iPhone.
      Regarding the transfer of number, contact Project Fi support, they’re really quick and helpful

      1. Everything works fine with 6s.
        Have a question, – the option in setting for WiFi Calling is missing, can not turn it Off or On. Is that option (WiFi Calling) still available with Project Fi? It works automatically or we have to set it up somehow? Thank you

  10. Hello, Google Project fi automatically paused my service and I don’t know why. I have been using my unlocked iphone 6+ and I suspect this is the reason. Have you heard of this case and what I should do?

    1. I haven’t seen this before but I would just ask Project Fi’s Support and see what they say.
      You might want to avoid mentioning that you’re using an iPhone.

  11. Everything works fine with 6s.
    Have a question, – the option in setting for WiFi Calling is missing, can not turn it Off or On. Is that option (WiFi Calling) still available with Project Fi? It works automatically or we have to set it up somehow? Thank you

  12. I used my project Fi sim in an iPhone 6S in China. LTE roaming on China mobile worked great. Does anyone know if it switches between t mobile sprint and us cellular in an iPhone or if it’s stuck to just T-Mobile?

    Thx!

    1. For the previous message… I was unable to put my project fi sim card in my iphone 6s, I’m able to send regular text message. But I’m unable to send picture message. Is there a setting I need to change?

  13. This doesn’t work for me. All I get is “no service” my sim has been active on project fi for a few months now and when I put it back in my 5x I get signal. iPhone 6s is unlocked. Any suggestions?

      1. I can confirm you do not need to be in USA to activate. As long as you have a North American version of the recent Nexus phones, it will activate where ever you are.

        1. To add to that, I activated in Australia and now run my Australian Sim and a project fi Sim side by side in a OnePlus 3.

          Very handy running businesses in 2 countries.

          Just make sure you setup your project fi voicemail on the nexus before moving the Sim.

          1. Tom,

            Thanks, how did you activate from outside the US? Yes I have a US nexus and US Sim. Google tell me I must be on Tmobile.

          2. I just inserted the sim & went into “Network Operators” selected the local network that Project Fi partners with.

  14. I have an iPhone 6s and changing the apn to h2g2 didn’t work for my data. Is here anything else I can try?

  15. Hi, I have a Verizon iPhone 6s Plus, Can I able to use it on Project fi? The phone is unlocked! is normal text massage also working? Any data Issue?

  16. i find that using the iphone’s mobile hotspot feature with the fi sim is a lot less than optimal.
    connected devices are getting not even a third of the internet speed that is achieved by the iphone alone. in addition to the “h2g2” change for the CELLULAR DATA section of Cellular Data settings, i have also entered “h2g2” as the APN in the MMS section, plus additional values for the MMSC, MMS Max Message Size, and MMS UA Prof URL fields. i got these additional values from another website. could this be affecting the speed for connected devices?

  17. Hey I have the 6Splus and this is not working for me, just keeps saying no service. I am in Japan and I get service on the google phone. The iphone model I am using is A1687

  18. Hi Jan

    This is an awesome article! I’m trying to get the sim to work in an iPhone 5 which doesn’t seem to have the APN settings in cellular data. Any recommendation on how to address? Will putting in the fi sim be adequate to show the option to change APN?

  19. I wanted to pick up an iPhone SE to use with my Fi SIM, I’m guessing this shouldn’t be an issue since it uses the same chipset as the 6S? How well/bad is SMS from a Fi SIM iPhone to an Android user? I often send iPhone to Android text, just wanted to make sure that functionality would still work?

  20. Hi Rits,
    FI sim world on iPhone 5. Need to go to cellular–cellular data options–cellular data network where u can change the APN.

    Hi Jan,
    Using an iPhone with FI only gets connected to T MOBILE and cannot be connected to Sprint or US cellular. I read this from other blogs. Is this true?

    1. Thanks Sai! It doesn’t actually show now on my iPhone since I have an AT&T sim inside. Cellular data is on but there are no options available to click. Maybe when i change sims and put in the FI sim it will change? Or have an option to click cellular data then?

  21. While in France, When trying to hotspot on iPhone 5s, popup message says to contact T-Mobile.
    Anyway around this?
    Also cannot get network to say “Project Fi”
    Activated SIM on 5X in USA

  22. My messages go through hangouts instead of iMessages. I can send through iMessages but when the sender replies it goes through hangouts. Can this be set to go through iMessages? Otherwise the phone works fine.

  23. I’ve been using my Nexus 5 with project fi, but have come to Canada and bought a new unlocked iphone 7 and put the Fi voice/data sim card in it. It is in and out of service, but the data does not work at all unless on WiFi obviously. I changed the APN settings like you said… anything else I should try??

    1. I have had the same trouble. One hypothesis: the local carriers screen the IMEI for Canadian-origin iPhones and won’t let these use the Project Fi network even if they are unlocked. That is only a hypothesis after much frustration with this. I would be eager to hear from anyone who has been able to get data working on a Canadian-bought iPhone.

  24. I received my new nexus 5x and 2 sims. I activated the sim for my Nexus5x and all works for Project Fi. I removed that sim and tried to activate the sim to put in my wifes iPhone 6 and it will not activate the sim. Any thoughts? When I put the unactivated card in iphone it DOES show Project Fi signal though.

    1. I am seeing this same issue. I can’t activate the 2nd sim on my Nexus 5x. It says “No sim card”. I put in the iPhone and it says no sim card as well. Has anyone had success activating 2 sim cards from the same phone?

  25. I have ordered Project Fi for my girlfriend’s iPhone (she is finally leaving AT&T). Her iPhone 6 is unlocked, and my Project Fi SIM card works in her phone. However, I can not activate HER sim card in my Nexus 5x phone. Google support tells me that my Nexus is associated with my account, and that the only way to activate Project Fi service is NOT on ANY Google Phone (Nexus 5x, 6, 6P…), but on one that does not currently have Project Fi.

    So I have two question:
    1) Is that true or am I doing something wrong/
    2) If she were to buy a Nexus 5x, can she sell it (to be used on another carrier) after she uses it to activate Project Fi service for herself?

    Thank you!

    1. Michael,

      Turns out that Google seems to be on to some of the work that others are doing, a SIM needs to be activated in a google phone, and when I reset a phone that was the primary account owner to try to activate a second account it wouldn’t work. Called fi and they said I would have to remove the original account from the phone to activate the second account. Unknown if removing the primary account would have worked and kept service running. We ended up getting another 5x that just sits dormant right now.

      Next plan is to move the 5x to another carrier to activate it and then keep google voice on the phone. It really is more challenging to get them to work on an iphone. And no MMS support.

      Alpha did work for data for me.

  26. My husband has been trying to activate my new unlocked Iphone 6s with google fi with no luck. He first tried activating the sim in Pixel and it didn’t work. Then he tried using a co workers Nexus (who also uses google fi) and it didn’t work. It kept trying to connect to the co workers fi not start a new account. Do you think we compromised the sim by putting it in the Pixel first? Or by trying to use it in already exisisting fi nexus phone?I SO don’t want to give up my new Iphone =-( Any input would be appreciated!

  27. I have a question here.

    I received the first SIM card that they sent out, successfully activated it with a Google Pixel phone, and now have it working in my iPhone 7. I’m planning on using this as “data-only” while traveling to several countries abroad, using the GoogleHangouts app to make calls rather than the actual iPhone phone app.

    I am waiting on the extra data-only SIM cards to arrive. I had them assign a new phone number, but I’m curious now, if I activate one of the new data-only SIM cards the same way that I did before, and put it in a different iPhone, is this new SIM card assigned its own #?

    How will this work if 2 different SIM cards from the same account are in 2 different iPhones at the same time? Thanks!

  28. You can’t use 1 google fi phone to activate multiple SIMs on different accounts. This is not a Google thing, but rather a Spring and US Cellular limitation. CDMA requires the IMEI of the phone to be locked to the account. The SIM card is actually only for while on the T-Mobile network. When you activate the phone the first time with a new SIM, it activates the SIM with your phone number but also sends along your IMEI to Sprint and US Cellular to add to their database. Then when you try to activate a new account on the phone, Spring/USC send back an error to Google telling them the phone is already associated with another account.

    The data-only SIM is actually a completely new line of service, not a duplicate of your phone’s SIM. You can verify by putting your data-only SIM in an iPhone. iMessage will grab the phone number associated with the data-only SIM and try to add it as a valid iMessage address. It’s a random phone number. You won’t be able to make calls though since you have no phone service on the data-only SIM via Google. Therefore, you can put the two SIMS in two separate iPhones at the same time. One will have your real phone number and cellular phone calls and one will just have data. You’ll need to use Google Hangouts on the second phone to send/receive calls/texts with your primary phone number using VOIP.

  29. I think the new update of Google Voice in the ios breaks the visual voicemail 🙁 I can’t seem to access it anymore

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