Any former RW users here who participated in our Orion Beta in partnership with Google??
The idea was that you’d go to an airport or mall and your phone would automatically connect to WiFi, saving you on network data costs and making life a little easier as you wouldn’t have to manually connect to the location’s WiFi network.
As Betas go, I recall it was a bit of a dud - very few people lived near any of the sites that were initially participating, and the few who did manage to get to a site didn’t have much luck with the auto-connection.
Here we are several years later (I’ve lost count!) and I got this familiar-sounding email from Google Fi this week:
Subject: New features for an even better connection.
Say hello to a more seamless wireless experience.
We’re introducing a new suite of AI-powered features and other advancements that deliver faster connections, clearer calls, and more flexibility across your phones. It’s Google innovation directly in your phone plan.
Available now for Pixel phones
Faster speeds in crowded places.
Count on a connection that’s twice as reliable as our cellular network alone in select indoor spaces, like airports, malls and stores. Wi-Fi Auto Connect+ on Pixel phones seamlessly puts you on premium Wi-Fi in millions of locations, and automatically encrypts your online activity. Just look for the W+ icon to see when you’re connected.
I’ll be going through a few airports later this month. I’ll have to watch for the W+ icon.
I didn’t have the chance (or, perhaps, the interest?) to try that Orion Beta with RW. But I do now have a Google Pixel handset, and look forward to some airport visits in the next months. Well, perhaps might find “premium Wi-Fi in millions of locations” elsewhere?
Can you say whether this W+ program might be available to Pixel handsets not on Google Fi? (We are using Tello, so on the T-Mobile network.)
The email came from Fi, not from Google Pixel Superusers, so even though they don’t say it’s limited to Fi, I suspect it’s a Google Fi feature. One of the footnotes says:
I was a part of the Orion Beta. I don’t remember actually ever being in a situation where I was able to use it.
I’m a Google Fi customer with a half-season package for the Detroit Red Wings. I’m hoping that the technology is rolled out at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Not at all. The nearest shopping center was ~3 miles away. It was an area of nothing but single family homes. The homeowner has Xfinity Internet, so I’m not sure where the W+ reception was coming from. I never even tried connecting to the homeowner’s Wi-Fi. Both my wife and I were connected to W+.
