T-Mobile Announces 'Un-carrier Unwrapped' Promotion Offering Free LTE Data for All Customers for Three Months

[JAT]

That is why I have not switched, no reception at my job.

Do you have wifi? You can use wifi to fill in where the network is weak.

Explicit phone subsidies that stop when the phone is paid off, Sprint halving prices, T-Mobile giving out free unlimited high-speed data...

Sprint is not "halving prices", they are offering a marketing double-speak where they claim to cut your current payment in half if you switch to them. But, it wouldn't cut my payment in half. I have 9 devices on my account, and their deal only applies to 5 of them at most.

 

[definitive]

It's only on their single line plans. If you have 2+ lines it's stll $30 per line. TMO (and other carriers) are significantly cheaper as family plans anyway. But you aren't wrong. Bummer for single line users.

Not sure what that means, but I have a 3 line family plan, and when I try to switch one of the lines to unlimited, it shows the upgrade being $45/m

 

[TroyBoy30]

hard to use free data with no reception

 

[Sketchr]

But you have to be enrolled and use "Binge" to get the free unlimited, right? So it's a catch for those who prefer to stream HD.

 

[0007776]

Back in the day (and it's still not as uncommon as it should be) you always paid $X and got a "free!" phone with your plan.

The reality, of course, was that part of the monthly cost was a subsidy for the cost of the phone. The universal ripoff of that system is that when the phone is paid off (your 2-year contract is up for a new phone), the price doesn't go down. So cellular carriers almost universally screwed people who didn't upgrade their phone as soon as they were eligible. Basically every month you kept your phone past the eligible upgrade date, you were giving ~$20-30 to your provider for nothing in return.

I remember how it was. And when the payment programs started it was pay $X and get a subsidized phone or pay $x plus $20-30 for a phone but don't pay anything upfront and you can upgrade early. The upfront cost was less because if you were getting a smartphone you'd have to pay one or two hundred dollars for the phone when you started the contract while with the payment plans you didn't, but over the course of two years you payed a lot more with the new plans. They made it more comparable, but that was though price increases to the subsidized plans rather than saving the customer money.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

This is just another T-Mobile publicity stunt. I feel sorry for Verizon and AT&T who are made to be the bad guys while this sort of dishonest marketing is going on.

The free unlimited on TM is a fair deal. So, it doesn't apply to 5% of TM subscribers? The other 95% are very happy with their gift. Go enjoy your overpriced Verizon service and, oh...your free 1GB data they are handing out as a gift. Don't use it all in one place!

 

[C DM]

Give me a break man, Verizon and AT&T want to get you enjoying as much data consumption as possible because it drives people into penalties and increased data packages.

I'm paying $140/mo for 3 lines of unlimited everything on T-Mobile. After getting hit with penalties for busting data caps constantly on AT&T I don't even bother thinking about it now.

Yeah, there're the occasional tradeoffs in coverage but I honestly encounter it very rarely living in California. I have been extremely happy with my whole experience since switching a year and a half ago.

Not the part that was addressing.

Leader in giving away free things when they don't have to (a leader sets trends while everyone else follows them). They deserve to be the carrier with the most growth, that's for sure.

It's nice that they are doing all these types of things, but let's not pretend they are doing it all out of the goodness of their heart. It's just as much of a marketing thing to get more users as any other marketing thing is from any other carrier.

 

[Sketchr]

At the end of the day, the publicity stunts are good for the consumer. No, this move isn't out of the goodness of T-Mobiles heart, there is no such thing with any carrier. This latest was done to lure customers. And this is good for all of us no matter which carrier(s) we are on. It forces the others to make a move. Competition is wonderful. Thankfully, the mergers failed...

 

[KidPub]

He is a nightmare CEO for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

He's also a nightmare CEO for the parent company. How many times now has Deutsche Telekom tried to get rid of TMO?

Perry

 

[JackieInCo]

But you have to be enrolled and use "Binge" to get the free unlimited, right? So it's a catch for those who prefer to stream HD.

I'm not turning on Binge to get this deal. I barely use half of my 10GB in my 4 line $120 10 GB plan. You have to use all the data plus go through the 10GB bucket stash to even get to the unlimited. I will never even use the bucket stash.

 

[jcmeyer5]

I'd love to try it, but I really really really have to have good service in my area, and TMO isn't it. Their coverage just stinks in my area.

 

[mrbrown]

So, here is the thing: it says you need to enable BingeOn for this to work. But to enable BingeOn you need a data plan of at least 3Gb. And the basic tier in Simple Choice is 2Gb (upgraded from 1Gb). Thus, it is NOT available to all simple choice customers. Now, I don't have a problem with this not being able to the basic tier. But I feel it's dishonest to state it's available to ALL simple choice customers.

You are slightly confused.

Binge On is available to all Simple Choice customers, including those with the base 1GB plan. However, Binge On will count towards your data usage on the 1GB plan - in other words, it down samples all video services to 480p and nothing more. This unlimited deal applies to any customer who enables Binge On, including 1GB customers.

 

[GhostRaider]

Okay so T-Mobile is offering free memory upgrades to all iPhone 6s models on Cyber Monday!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news/cyber-monday.htm&ved=0ahUKEwje--quyKnJAhVD3WMKHeBmD7oQFggqMAU&usg=AFQjCNEpTZ4pajhPm1cFBWV3gUcSKTPyUg&sig2=bra3WbbYDDXuIMTgljXFk

Honestly Idk how T-Mobile does it but this gives T-Mobile a big reputation boost

 

[Chatter]

I have 4 lines for $120 with 10GB data for each line. I could not be any happier with T-Mobile then I am now.

Same here. Though I have been with them since Voicestream

 

[M5RahuL]

I wonder, what do people who already have Unlimited LTE with TMO get ? A few bucks off our monthly bill would be nice.. time to tweet TMO!

 

[C DM]

Okay so T-Mobile is offering free memory upgrades to all iPhone 6s models on Cyber Monday!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news/cyber-monday.htm&ved=0ahUKEwje--quyKnJAhVD3WMKHeBmD7oQFggqMAU&usg=AFQjCNEpTZ4pajhPm1cFBWV3gUcSKTPyUg&sig2=bra3WbbYDDXuIMTgljXFk

Honestly Idk how T-Mobile does it but this gives T-Mobile a big reputation boost

I was wondering how they would do a memory upgrade, but turns out it's storage.

Basically a discount of $100 more or less, similar to discounts other places are offering.

 

[cchs2014]

Thinking about switching over from sprint.

Do it! I switched from Sprint during the 6S launch. I was very hesitant, but the difference is night and day! T-Mobile really is great.

 

[JackieInCo]

I was wondering how they would do a memory upgrade, but turns out it's storage.

Basically a discount of $100 more or less, similar to discounts other places are offering.

I bought my 5S two years ago using that cyber Monday deal only they never charged me for the 5S after getting it. The same thing happened with my Note Edge, I ordered it and it never appeared on my bill. The only two phones I actually paid for in the past out of four phones were my Note 4 and my 6+.

 

[tennisproha]

He's also a nightmare CEO for the parent company. How many times now has Deutsche Telekom tried to get rid of TMO?

Perry

I bet you're about to tell us.

I bought my 5S two years ago using that cyber Monday deal only they never charged me for the 5S after getting it. The same thing happened with my Note Edge, I ordered it and it never appeared on my bill. The only two phones I actually paid for in the past out of four phones were my Note 4 and my 6+.

What?! How did you go about pulling that off? Please explain your process in detail!

 

[JackieInCo]

I bet you're about to tell us.

What?! How did you go about pulling that off? Please explain your process in detail!

I didn't do anything special. I ordered the 5S two years ago on the free memory upgrade thing for cyber Monday. I paid for overnight shipping, got it and activated it. They were supposed to start charging me about $14/ month for 24 months but never did.

The Note Edge was ordered in January. I got it, activated it but the phone never showed on my EIP. They unlocked it a few weeks later when I called as it showed as paid in full although all I paid was the sales tax, it was zero down.

 

[tennisproha]

Any idea of what the offers might be for other carrier' customers, like at&t? Thinking about upgrading at&t lines then switching so t-mobile can pay off our ETFs. Dont wanna jump the gun if t-mobile offers a ridiculous offer. Although I would need to then switch within the week.

 

[mikefla]

So all the news sounds great but what is really going on in the front end for the customers. I tried Tmobile a few times in the past year for 1-2 weeks at a time and the coverage was terrible. They say they been doing a lot the last year or so are you seeing any difference? I'm looking to hear from those using an iPhone 6S or similar device that supports the additional new band tmobile is using. What is service like in NY, NJ, CT, PA now? Do you see improvements, better indoor coverage or coverage where no coverage existed before? I also hear about a year ago they were looking to add MIMO type antennas to all towers to improve range, etc are you seeing this benefit? I'm thinking about testing the service again and am curious what real users are seeing out there.

-Mike

 

[mikefla]

Great news. Too bad T-Mobile hiked the prices on their data plans about a week ago, so their unlimited plan went from being $30/month to $45 for new subscribers, and their reception quality isn't as good as their competitors'.

What unlimited plan you speak of that costs $35 or even $45? Are you talking about data, if you are I believe that is not correct.

-Mike

 

[Makosuke]

Honestly Idk how T-Mobile does it but this gives T-Mobile a big reputation boost

It's pretty simple: T-Mobile for the last year or so has been running at around a 1-5% profit margin. AT&T is around 8-10%. Verizon is 12-13%. (Sprint lost money every quarter but one since 2007; presumably they're still in business thanks to SoftBank's $5B cash infusion after some bad WiMax decisions and buying Nextel.)

Although it's obviously more complicated than this in reality--there's a lot going on, and financials are more than just a bottom-line number--in general terms AT&T and Verizon have used their monopoly-like status and general pricing/feature collusion to keep a pretty good chunk of operating income for their shareholders. T-Mobile, for whatever reason, is currently willing to run at much tighter margins, so the consumer gets more and the shareholders get less.

In a well-functioning industry (which US wireless carriers have traditionally not been) this kind of thing usually pushes the whole industry toward thinner margins and better prices. That seems to be changing now, although it's impossible to say whether this can/will continue and spread further long-term, or what will happen if T-Mobile eventually does get a really big chunk of subscribers.

 

[lordofthereef]

Not sure what that means, but I have a 3 line family plan, and when I try to switch one of the lines to unlimited, it shows the upgrade being $45/m

We have a four line plan, currently 10GB data each. When I log in to adjust the data I am able to select the $30 option for one or any number of those lines.