Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Some users have noticed that there seems to be no way to change Google One or add a billing method after switching to Google Fi Essentials from an older plan that included Google One for free.
- The good news is that the problem resolves itself in about a week after Google Fi releases its connection to Google One, and it will be downgraded to a free plan once the process finishes.
- You’ll get an alert that Google One has expired and a grace period to renew without losing your existing stored items.
If you recently switched to the new Google Fi Essentials plan, you probably already knew that Google One would no longer be included. For many users, the savings are worth losing the feature, but what if you want to keep Google One and pay for it yourself? Several users on Reddit, including Waitin4Godot, have run into this exact issue.
Unfortunately, if you switched from a plan that included Google One for free, you’ll notice there’s no way to upgrade, add a payment method, or change anything from the included Basic plan. Any attempts result in a 403 error. The good news? This isn’t a real problem — it’s just part of the switch-over process.
While Google could have communicated this more clearly via email or text alerts, it typically takes about a week after switching to Google Fi Essentials for your account to fully downgrade and for Google One to be released. You’ll eventually get an email confirming the expiration, at which point you’ll be able to resubscribe immediately.
If you’re worried about losing files due to being over the free storage limit, don’t be. I can personally confirm that Google One offers a grace period in these cases, giving you time to renew without losing access to your data. I certainly wouldn’t wait around too long, though.
