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[Update: Back up] PSA: Some Google Fi users unable to make phone calls, here’s how to fix it

At the end of last year, Google rebranded Project Fi to Google Fi, to indicate that their cell service was ready for the big leagues. Today, Google Fi has hit a major snag, leaving customers unable to place or receive phone calls, but thankfully there’s a simple fix.

Google Fi customers nationwide have reported, as spotted by Android Police, that their devices are currently unable to place or receive phone calls without a WiFi connection. It seems that SMS and mobile data are unaffected by the issue.

Google has acknowledged the issue on their Google Fi Product Forum, and claims that a proper fix is on the way.

Our team is aware of an issue with placing and receiving calls on Fi and is actively working on a fix. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

In the meantime, if you’re affected by this issue and need to get back to placing phone calls as usual, there’s two simple ways to do it. The easiest fix is to simply switch to Google Fi’s WiFi Calling, if at all possible, as WiFi Calling seems to be unaffected by the issue. This of course has the drawback of not being very mobile.


Update: According to the Google Fi Product Forum, the service is back up and fully functional for customers. No official word has been shared yet on what caused the issue.

UPDATE: This issue should now be resolved. Please let us know below if you continue to experience any additional issues. Thank you for your patience and sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused.


Google has also provided a workaround fix to make and receive phone calls on your Google Fi number while on cellular again. The trick is to use the Google Hangouts Dialer app with your Google Fi number. Here’s how to set it up:

  1. Install the Hangouts Dialer app from the Play Store.
  2. Open the left-hand menu, and select Settings.
  3. Under Account, tap the email address associated with your Google Fi account.
  4. Under Google Fi Calls & SMS, make sure Incoming Calls is set to On.

Once you’ve done that, incoming calls should begin to work again, and outgoing calls can be dialed from within the Hangouts Dialer app. Be sure, once the Google Fi outage has passed, that you turn Incoming Calls back to Off or uninstall the Hangouts Dialer app. Otherwise, your device may ring from two apps simultaneously when receiving a phone call.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for the outage to pass and for more details from Google on what exactly happened.

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Avatar for Kyle Bradshaw Kyle Bradshaw

Kyle is an author and researcher for 9to5Google, with special interests in Made by Google products, Fuchsia, and uncovering new features.

Got a tip or want to chat? Twitter or Email. Kyle@9to5mac.com