The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL have a sweet little feature called Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS), which we were the first to tell you about after spending some time with them the day Google made each phone official. It’s not completely new to the Pixel family (Pixel 3a had it), but to get more out of it, Google has cooked up an exclusive use for it with Google Fi.
Google announced today that a new dual connectivity feature is coming to the Pixel 4 line that will allow it to connect to two of Fi’s LTE networks at once. Since Fi is able to use T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular networks, they can use DSDS it seems to connect to two at a time and make a switch from one network to another with even greater ease.
Google Fi was already pretty great because of its ability to switch to a better network when needed, but this will make that transitions so quick you might not even notice it happening.
In order to take advantage of dual connectivity, Google Fi users will have to keep the eSIM inside their Pixel 4 active, as well as a physical SIM from Google Fi. You should be able to order one of those for free if you don’t already have one.
With both, you can setup DSDS by opening up your Pixel 4’s settings and then into “Network & internet.” From there, you should see a listing for your current network along with a “+” button next to it. By tapping that “+” button, you’ll walk through a series of instructions to get DSDS going. It’s not hard to do.
Again, dual connectivity won’t arrive for a “few” weeks still, so you don’t necessarily need to do any of this today. You could probably prepare some by ordering a physical SIM from Google Fi or just wait until they start rolling it out.
Google does plan to bring dual connectivity to addition Fi-supported phones. My guess is that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will be some of the first. Once it’s all live, we’ll let you know.