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T-Mobile, the fourth-most popular carrier in the United States in terms of subscriber numbers, announced today that it is launching a new promotion whereby any new, eligible customers will not have pay a single cent in downpayment for a new phone when signing up to a T-Mobile USA plan. Customers can now receive new devices for free and spread the cost over the terms of their contract, which in most cases is 24 months.

Screen-Shot-2013-07-26-at-3.35.03-pm.png
In the case of the iPhone 5, customers pay an extra $27 a month on top of their standard price plan, which includes any minutes, text messages and internet access, with no interest payable. Prior to this, the iPhone cost $145.99 upfront plus 24 monthly payments of $21, giving a total cost of $649.99 - under the new plan, customers pay $648 in total for the device. It is important to note here that this promotion is only valid for the 16 GB model; the 32 GB and 64 GB models are not available at a special promotional price.

T-Mobile's recently initiated JUMP plan, which is designed to allow customers to upgrade their phones twice a year after paying an additional $10 device fee, can be combined with the new $0 downpayment program. According to T-Mobile, the $0 price promotion is available for a limited time, though the company did not specify an ending date.

Article Link: T-Mobile USA Announces $0 Downpayment on All New Devices
 

GoCubsGo

macrumors Nehalem
Feb 19, 2005
35,741
153
T-Mobile is making it easier and easier to switch. I need to find out how their coverage is in my area.
 

freediverdude

macrumors 6502a
Dec 26, 2006
573
0
Hmm, now people are going to get used to not paying anything for their devices up front on all these new plans. What's next, financing of the monthly service over more than one month? lol
 

bacaramac

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2007
1,424
100
Wow, pretty impressive for those wanting no up front costs for the phone. If/when Tmobile builds out their network to work better, I'll jump ship.
 

boshii

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2008
3,699
784
Atlanta, GA
T-Mobile is the leader of this revolution and their plans give customers the best deal.

Their network may not be the greatest, compared to AT&T and Verizon, but I have no problems with them in my city.
 

Lindsford

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2012
531
18
What a gimmick. They are just moving the money you pay around. You're still gonna end up netting the same $$ years ago at the end of the day. Meh.
 

madsci954

macrumors 68030
Oct 14, 2011
2,725
658
Ohio
I don't know why, but the CEO is starting to sound like those "crazy eddie" salesman of old.

You want an iPhone!?!?!? And how much will you put down!?!? $150!? $145?! How about $0 down!?!?! I'm slashing prices everywheeeeeeeere!!!!!!!
 

darkslide29

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2011
1,860
886
San Francisco, California
Dear T-Mobile,

Make up your mind.

Sincerely,

The Public


I think they mean that T-Mobile first offered the iPhone 5 for $149 (and installment payments after that), for the first 14 days of availability. Then it changed the down payment to $199 (or was it $179?, plus installments). Not sure if it changed again after that, but here is another change, this time at a $0 down payment.

If you plan on jumping to T-Mobile in a month, odds are the $0 plan may be gone by then, in favor of a new strategy. Who knows.

Not a bad thing in my eyes, as this is probably them trying to figure out the best formula to get the most customers.
 

boshii

macrumors 68040
Jul 6, 2008
3,699
784
Atlanta, GA
What a gimmick. They are just moving the money you pay around. You're still gonna end up netting the same $$ years ago at the end of the day. Meh.

How is it a gimmick? You pay for the phone $0 down and pay in monthly installments interest-free. Their plans don't include the price of subsidies like the other carriers, and they're also cheaper. Once your phone is paid off, you stop paying for it and you no longer see that amount on your bill. Plus, there's no contract so you're free-to-go or upgrade as you please, as long as you finish paying for the phone.

With other carriers you're locked into a 2 year contract and keep paying for your phone even after it's paid off. If you decide to renew and keep the same phone, you're going to keep paying for the phone for another 2 years. You get raped horribly.
 

Zenbound

macrumors newbie
Jul 26, 2013
1
0
Well don't trust T Mobile to tell you if you will have good coverage. I and been dealing with them for two weeks. Before I switched they said I had great coverage but when I activated I couldn't get a signal from my home. Two weeks of going back and forth with tech support they told me that I would need to upgrade to a 4G phone. Well they wouldn't even offer to help with the upgrade. This was yesterday. Now I see they are giving the phones out for free. They seem nice at first but poor service and clueless tech support. They can keep they promotion.
 

oneMadRssn

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,961
13,939
I think they mean that T-Mobile first offered the iPhone 5 for $149 (and installment payments after that), for the first 14 days of availability. Then it changed the down payment to $199 (or was it $179?, plus installments). Not sure if it changed again after that, but here is another change, this time at a $0 down payment.

I think first it was $99 down, $20/month for 24 months = $579
Then, they raised it to $145 down, $21/month for 24 months = $649
Now, it's basically the same at $0 down, $27/month for 24 months = $648
 

darkslide29

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2011
1,860
886
San Francisco, California
Unfortunately for me, I work in the basement of an office building that gets very poor building penetration by the T-Mobile signal. My iPhone 5 gets "No Service" almost as soon as I walk into the building.

Oddly enough, with an AT&T sim in the same phone, I get a 4/5 bars or so, with LTE. I haven't tested the Verizon network on a phone, but my iPad 3rd Gen with Verizon gets 4/5 bars with LTE as well.

So it must be the lower frequency spectrum that AT&T and Verizon use is better at building penetration. The higher frequency that T-Mobile uses just doesn't get to me.

For those interested, I am in the San Francisco Bay Area. Besides in my office, T-Mobile was very impressive, with LTE speeds on par or faster than AT&T is giving me.

It is unfortunate that I don't have any windows near me to give me even a bar of signal, so I could have made the permanent switch . Everywhere else (home, commute) it works just as well or better than AT&T.
It just irks me to be unreachable for 9 hours or so due to the No Service.
 
Last edited:

neuropsychguy

macrumors 68020
Sep 29, 2008
2,354
5,533
I think they mean that T-Mobile first offered the iPhone 5 for $149 (and installment payments after that), for the first 14 days of availability. Then it changed the down payment to $199 (or was it $179?, plus installments). Not sure if it changed again after that, but here is another change, this time at a $0 down payment.

It was $99 initially with $20 a month after that. Then it increased to $150 up front and $20 a month. Now it is $27 per month for 24 months ($648). All plus tax. The initial launch deal was the best. $0 down with the rest spread out isn't a bad deal though - an interest-free loan on the money.
 

darkslide29

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2011
1,860
886
San Francisco, California
I think first it was $99 down, $20/month for 24 months = $579
Then, they raised it to $145 down, $21/month for 24 months = $649
Now, it's basically the same at $0 down, $27/month for 24 months = $648

Ah, you're right, it was $99 down at first. My memory was way off and making up numbers :eek:.
I did not know the differences in total payment though. Thanks for the clarification.
 

darkslide29

macrumors 68000
Oct 5, 2011
1,860
886
San Francisco, California
It was $99 initially with $20 a month after that. Then it increased to $150 up front and $20 a month. Now it is $27 per month for 24 months ($648). All plus tax. The initial launch deal was the best. $0 down with the rest spread out isn't a bad deal though - an interest-free loan on the money.

Thanks for the clarification, your numbers are correct. I was way off. :eek:
 

doncornelius

macrumors newbie
Feb 14, 2011
11
0
Are there any web sites or apps that have community-driven cellular coverage maps? Maybe speedtest.net would suffice?
 

jdechko

macrumors 601
Jul 1, 2004
4,230
325
How is it a gimmick? You pay for the phone $0 down and pay in monthly installments interest-free. Their plans don't include the price of subsidies like the other carriers, and they're also cheaper. Once your phone is paid off, you stop paying for it and you no longer see that amount on your bill. Plus, there's no contract so you're free-to-go or upgrade as you please, as long as you finish paying for the phone.

With other carriers you're locked into a 2 year contract and keep paying for your phone even after it's paid off. If you decide to renew and keep the same phone, you're going to keep paying for the phone for another 2 years. You get raped horribly.

I emboldened the most important part of this whole discussion. Of the 3 carriers that have done this, only on T-Mobile does your overall monthly payment go down once you've paid off the phone. Both AT&T and VZW make you keep paying the same inflated rate (and double charging you for the phone along the way).

Still though, if you must stick with AT&T or VZW, the traditional subsidy is still the best way to go. Just make sure you upgrade every time you are due.
 
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