Google Fi’s Messages for web and RCS will work offline in the future

Google today officially detailed the new Fi Web Calls & Messages that started rolling out yesterday. The MVNO acknowledges that there are a “few changes to how things work under the hood.” 

Compared to before (known as “Sync with Google Fi”), your phone must “remain powered on and connected to the internet (via Wi-Fi or mobile data)” to send SMS and now RCS. This is because Google is using the existing Messages for web platform — messages.google.com/web — available to all users on any carrier, including Fi users before today that did not need calling or voicemail on the web.

Google revealed today that it is “actively working to bring you RCS capabilities even when your phone is offline in the future.” There is no specific timeline. This was a big complaint about the new system from legacy (Hangouts era) users.

The carrier shared that “Sync with Google Fi” users can continue using the legacy SMS system until February 2026. However, signing out (like to try the new Web Calls experience) means “you will not be able to sign back in.” 

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Additionally, you must sign-in to Google Messages for web using your Google Account that is linked to your Fi account. 

In other updates, Google is aware that “moving between the webpages currently opens a tab each time, and we are actively working to streamline this user experience to prevent tab clutter – a fix for this is incoming!”

If fi.google.com/webcalls is not yet available, it’s still rolling out to all accounts.