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T-Mobile Announces 'Test Drive', A One Week Network Trial With a Free iPhone 5s

nutmac

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,059
7,332
As an AT&T subscriber, sounds like a good deal to me. I will try it out and see if the coverage is good enough. I have T-Mobile iPad and I am afraid data coverage inside the building is so so at best.

If it works out, I will be returning the phone, and switch to T-Mobile when iPhone 6 comes out.
 
T

Trevasta

macrumors newbie
Oct 31, 2009
9
0
A couple errors in the article:

1) "T-Mobile negotiated deals with those streaming companies so that data from those apps don't count against a customer's data plan"

T-Mobile didn't negotiate with any of these companies. They will simply not charge customers for using the data from these apps.

2) "T-Mobile announced UnRadio, which allows customers on a Simple Choice plan to gain access to Rhapsody's entire music library for free"

In order to qualify, a customer must subscribe to the current unlimited data plan. The simple choice plan itself is not enough. Even older grandfathered data plans will not be eligible.

Both of these were stated during the Uncarrier 5.0 event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWHq52mG2UE
 
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mattkilla420

macrumors member
Jun 18, 2009
77
0
san diego
They did this 10 years ago with the razor phone (remember those cool metal flip phones) I was 18 and the rep told me it was absolutely free to try out for 30 days I would owe nothing what so ever. I try it out but give it back before the trail expired. The next month I got a bill saying I owed them $50 for the phone and texts I used. My rebellious self refused to pay because I had been told there was fee and to me there was nothing the rep said about paying for phone usage. I was young and did to think about 'of course they are going to charge for usage!' But at the same time, even to this day I think I should not have paid. It went to collections and I payed it off, but a year or so later another collections agency said I still owed. Tech has obviously changed now so young people should know better then I did bit in case anyone is wondering, you'll still pay for the data/phone/texting charges.
 
whoknows87

whoknows87

macrumors 6502a
Aug 8, 2012
676
31
S.Florida
unplugme71 said:
As a loyal AT&T customer since 2007, I thank T-Mobile greatly. They have done so much to change the carrier market which AT&T has followed in many cases.

I've saved money on my AT&T bill by a LOT, have better quality and value of service, and additional savings on new 2 year renewals. All of it was because of what T-Mobile has done.

Now if AT&T were to adopt free data for iTunes Radio and Pandora, I would be even more thrilled!

So while I am with AT&T still, I thank T-Mobile for everything they have done and continue to do to make my service even better. Kudos!
Click to expand...

ATT just raised activation and upgrade fees with 2 year contracts ...
 
R

randian

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2014
784
362
mattkilla420 said:
Tech has obviously changed now so young people should know better then I did bit in case anyone is wondering, you'll still pay for the data/phone/texting charges.
Click to expand...
Pray that T-Mobile isn't that stupid. Advertising a free trial and then charging you for it would be a PR disaster.
 
R

randian

macrumors 6502a
Jan 15, 2014
784
362
Don't forget this isn't just about T-Mobile. It's also a chance to try out the iPhone and IOS7. I have a Moto X and would love the opportunity to have a live test of an iPhone. A quickie in-store test doesn't cut it.
 
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Mobster1983

macrumors 6502a
Sep 8, 2011
653
476
This is an awesome idea. I love t-mobile, and tried them out when the iPhone 5S came out. Switched over from Verizon. Unfortunately, their service in my particular area wasn't that great so after a couple months I cancelled and went back to Verizon. This expiriment cost me a lot of money, and that is exactly what prevents many people from switching. This will allow people to test their network and if it works, I think many will switch over. The areas where I had service with t-mobile, were much faster than Verizon. The only problem was their service did not stretch to the areas I mainly work and live in.

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The carrier said that Apple is providing "tens of thousands" of iPhones for Test Drive, and expects more than a million users to use the program within the first year. In 1984, Apple itself used a similar test drive program to get people to try out the original Mac.
Click to expand...

This is kind of hidden in there, but I think this may be the biggest news of all, and a genius idea on both sides. Anyone with an android phone who doesn't want to risk buying an iPhone and not liking it, can now test drive an iPhone for a week. I think this is just as big of a benefit for apple as it is for t mobile. Hence why Apple is probably providing those phones for free or a very reduced cost.
 
ron7624

ron7624

macrumors 68020
Oct 14, 2011
2,228
437
Houston, Texas area
Streaming anything uses up data like wild. The free streaming with the music apps is gonna drag a bunch of people in. Bur, They really do have to beef up their network. I've got one of their 200 free data sims for my iPad and have very poor reception where they claim 4g. My ATT LTE in the same spot is super solid.
 
Arndroid

Arndroid

macrumors 6502a
Oct 3, 2013
903
461
Leave it to tmobile to take something that already exists, make it worse and then promote it as earth shattering.

You can return phones for up to 14 days with most carriers so test driving a 5s while they place a $700 hold on your credit card is not awesome, it is chicanery.

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swingerofbirch said:
We just did this experiment but paid (and are getting our money back). We are supposedly in "Good" coverage according to T-mobile's map but had absolutely no coverage. We went from being worried about using our 1 GB of LTE per month to realizing we'd never be able to use any. Back on Verizon. I do like T-mobile's approach to things and maybe it's a good company for some areas, but not where I live.
Click to expand...

These people so giddy for this will also be paying. They will have a $699 hold placed on their credit card. If you just buy the phone and return it after a week the net effect would be the same.

I don't get why so many people this is some new magical door opened to them. Although to be fair that has been the totality of tmobiles marketing the last few years. Taking something that already exists and claiming it is brand new.

Just like you tried out tmobile and found their coverage inferior, so could anyone else, no need for this loaner program, which is them just selling you the phone and refunding the money if you return it and fine you for stuff like turning on find your iPhone.

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cowbellallen said:
Wow, T-Mobile is really stepping up it's game. This is a fantastic example of a company taking on the customer's risk in order to get more customers.

It's going to work very well for them. Nice to see a company make big changes like this in the name of competition.
Click to expand...

Yeah charging people $700 for $700 phones is taking on a lot of risk.
 
M

macconservative

macrumors regular
Jun 17, 2008
169
84
Massachusetts
Arndroid said:
Leave it to tmobile to take something that already exists, make it worse and then promote it as earth shattering.

You can return phones for up to 14 days with most carriers so test driving a 5s while they place a $700 hold on your credit card is not awesome, it is chicanery.

----------



These people so giddy for this will also be paying. They will have a $699 hold placed on their credit card. If you just buy the phone and return it after a week the net effect would be the same.

I don't get why so many people this is some new magical door opened to them. Although to be fair that has been the totality of tmobiles marketing the last few years. Taking something that already exists and claiming it is brand new.

Just like you tried out tmobile and found their coverage inferior, so could anyone else, no need for this loaner program, which is them just selling you the phone and refunding the money if you return it and fine you for stuff like turning on find your iPhone.

----------



Yeah charging people $700 for $700 phones is taking on a lot of risk.
Click to expand...

If you buy a phone then return it within 14 days you will be charged a restocking fee. That is about the only difference with this program. This might be good for the people that do not want to go through the hassle of porting their phone over, canceling their other carrier and then finding out that the coverage is not the greatest. I am current T-Mobile customer and I would rather that they focus on filling in the holes of their network instead of worrying about how many more streaming services they can add. I am about ready to switch back to one of the other carriers because I am hitting too many dead spots driving through Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
 
M

malexandria

Suspended
Mar 25, 2009
971
427
Awesome

that's pretty awesome! I'm actually out of my ATT Contract in September - they've been trying to get me to upgrade my iPhone, so i'd totally try this. Although I will say while I hate ATT, I like that they get my bill correct and their customer service has been solid - if you complain on twitter. They cut my bill in half and when my 4S broke last month they gave me a 5 as a replacement. But I hate the fact that they don't have a reasonably priced "unlimited" plan. It'd be nice to be able to stream my music service instead of downloading every album/playlist.

Anyhoo, T-Mobile's LTE between DC - Nyc is usually pretty rock solid and I've gotten 30 to 40 mbps on avg. It sucks in Orlando, FL and is ok in Vegas and LA. ATT doesn't work much at all in Vegas.

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mattkilla420 said:
They did this 10 years ago with the razor phone (remember those cool metal flip phones) I was 18 and the rep told me it was absolutely free to try out for 30 days I would owe nothing what so ever. I try it out but give it back before the trail expired. The next month I got a bill saying I owed them $50 for the phone and texts I used.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened with me and I ended up with a $6k bill after 2 days of use and then they knocked it down to $187 on something that was supposed to be a FREE 30 day trial.
 
B

BruiserB

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2008
1,731
705
afurry13 said:
I will totally do this in the fall before the iPhone to see how I like their network before making the switch.

As long as they get the iPhone 6 and the network holds up in Minneapolis, I'm totally dropping AT&T.
Click to expand...

The network is great in Minneapolis! Have been using them for 18 months now. It was a bit spotty at first, but since they turned on LTE, it's been great. I'm mostly in Minneapolis and western burbs.
 
M

megapopular

macrumors 6502a
Aug 21, 2007
737
10
cowbellallen said:
I mean, I guess it's cool that you get free music streaming.....

... but is it not weird that T-Mobile is going through your usage to see what apps you're using?
Click to expand...

They wouldn't have to go through your app usage, they'd just tag the servers that feed Pandora, iTunes Radio, etc... And if your data feed for your MAC address comes from that server then the data wouldn't go against your monthly usage.
 
penajmz

penajmz

macrumors 68040
Sep 11, 2008
3,797
4,029
New York City
Can anybody say how T-Mobile is in NYC? I am thinking I may switch but honestly AT&Ts service is pretty solid for me and I don't wanna throw away my grandfathered unlimited data plan.
 
osofast240sx

osofast240sx

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2011
2,539
16
penajmz said:
can anybody say how t-mobile is in nyc? I am thinking i may switch but honestly at&ts service is pretty solid for me and i don't wanna throw away my grandfathered unlimited data plan.
Click to expand...
#1 in NYC
 
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C

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,452
1,242
Charlotte, NC
This is another pretty significant move by them. At the same time it's allowing people to test out an iPhone and iOS so I'm sure Apple is loving this deal as well. Makes sense though since I believe tmobile is the only carrier where the iPhone isn't yet the biggest selling phone.

Looks like TMO is heading for another 1 million+ subscriber growth quarter. All the more reason that the Sprint merger should be shot down.
 
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