T-Mobile USA to Carry iPhone Beginning April 12th, Using New 'Uncarrier' Payment Plan

[El Burro]

The questions nobody seems to be asking or answering is:

1) Do you have to buy the iPhone through T-Mobile or can you bring your iphone from Verizon or ATT to TMobile once your contract through Ver/ATT is over. In other words, can your $199 phone from Verizon/ATT be used on T-Mobile?

2) On their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB."

How is that unlimited? You're still not getting unlimited 4G internet.

3) Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

 

[MauerFan]

You're missing a key point. So it's $100 down, then you pay $50 a month for unlimited text, talk, and 3G data, plus 500mb of 4G data. Plus you have to pay $20 a month for the phone itself. So it is only $70 a month. Where are you getting $90 a month?

Maybe he added the extra $20 for unlimited data?

 

[ziggyonice]

I wish T-Mobile luck in their endeavors.

I like that they're taking a different approach to wireless, but it's clear that it will be an uphill battle -- especially with the limitations of their network.

Still, any competition to the traditional models that the big carriers love is fine by me.

 

[Illuminated]

Maybe he added the extra $20 for unlimited data?

That's what I'm assuming. That unlimited data is optional.

 

[jman240]

The questions nobody seems to be asking or answering is:

1) Do you have to buy the iPhone through T-Mobile or can you bring your iphone from Verizon or ATT to TMobile once your contract through Ver/ATT is over. In other words, can your $199 phone from Verizon/ATT be used on T-Mobile?

You can bring your phone from ATT if it's unlocked. Verizon uses CDMA so its not compatible as far as I know.

2) On their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB."

How is that unlimited? You're still not getting unlimited 4G internet.

You can pay an extra $20 for unlimited 4g, this is also unlimited but its unlimited 3g. You can eat all you want just not as quickly so to speak. There is no overage. They probably give you the 500mb to get you hooked on the higher speeds.

3) Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

Yes I would imagine there is a credit check unless you buy the phone at full price.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

It's a contract in the same way a financing deal is a contract. You wouldn't be bound to them for the wireless service....just payments for the phone.

 

[DipDog3]

Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

Yes, but any service (AT&T, Verizon) requires a credit check.

If you have bad credit, AT&T isn't going to give you a iPhone either. That's why you would have to go the prepay route.

 

[herr_neumann]

The whole reason that T-Mobile is moving away from a subsidized pricing model is because of the effect it has on their margins. I fail to see how this increases their bottom line significantly as opposed to the old model. The carrier is still paying for the phone up front and having the customer reimburse them. Haven't they only changed the way in which they receive this reimbursement? In the form of "payments" rather than outrageous data cost.

Purely speculation here, but based on other industries they probably have set up a bankruptcy remote finance company (Tbank) that is handling the financing side of things. Tbank is then handling the risk associated with buying a huge amount of phones and financing them to the customers. By shedding this risk it improves the balance sheet of the carrier.

 

[bbeagle]

1) Do you have to buy the iPhone through T-Mobile or can you bring your iphone from Verizon or ATT to TMobile once your contract through Ver/ATT is over. In other words, can your $199 phone from Verizon/ATT be used on T-Mobile?

No - you don't have to buy the phone at TMobile, as long as your phone is unlocked and will work on their network. Verizon phones won't work on TMobile's network though.

2) On their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB."
How is that unlimited? You're still not getting unlimited 4G internet.

It's UNLIMITED, just the speeds are slower. Just like you can use your car to drive UNLIMITED miles on 30mph roads or 65mph roads. The speed has nothing to do with the UNLIMITED part.

TMobile's network is a LOT slower than both AT&T's and Verizon's. You will notice the difference coming from those carriers, and rue the day you switched.

3) Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

There is a credit check to sign up, yes. And, it's basically a 0% loan if you want to look at it that way.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

The questions nobody seems to be asking or answering is:

1) Do you have to buy the iPhone through T-Mobile or can you bring your iphone from Verizon or ATT to TMobile once your contract through Ver/ATT is over. In other words, can your $199 phone from Verizon/ATT be used on T-Mobile?

2) On their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB."

How is that unlimited? You're still not getting unlimited 4G internet.

3) Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

Not only is it a 0% loan.....you're getting it for under retail price. $580 total from T-Mobile vs $650 from Apple.

 

[badmac78]

The questions nobody seems to be asking or answering is:

1) Do you have to buy the iPhone through T-Mobile or can you bring your iphone from Verizon or ATT to TMobile once your contract through Ver/ATT is over. In other words, can your $199 phone from Verizon/ATT be used on T-Mobile?

2) On their site it says "Speeds slowed up to 2G speeds after 500 MB."

How is that unlimited? You're still not getting unlimited 4G internet.

3) Is there a credit check for this? Supposedly this is a 0% APR loan.

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans

Says pretty clearly on their site that you can bring your own device.

 

[mossme89]

Let's see... $20/month (iPhone) + $50/month (base rate) + $20/month (unlimited data) = $90/month for one line.

I pay $100 for Verizon and 2GB of Data. I would rather pay $10 more a month for a far more grown out LTE network that Verizon offers.

You forget that drops to $70/mo if you choose to keep your phone after 2 years.

 

[unlimitedx]

Yes because I want Verizon's network... it's much more grown out than T-Mobile's... at least in my area.

Props to Verizon's marketing department. Tmobile's new business model is now a threat to the big 2. Tmobile's network has actually improved considerably in the last year, esp their reframing strategy

 

[ghostface147]

Verizon uses CDMA so its not compatible as far as I know.

Any Verizon iPhone 5 is factory unlocked and ready to be used on any GSM provider (AT&T and T-Mobile in the US) worldwide.

 

[blackhand1001]

Does it support the AWS spectrum. If it doesn't its a waste and your better off buying a phone that does.

 

[radiohead14]

are there any current T-Mo customers here in the NYC area? if so, how are you guys finding building penetration for their signal? i'm currently with VZW and looking to switch to T-Mo once my contract is up next year, but I've heard the higher frequency bands of T-Mo is not even close to as good as VZW's.

 

[Daveoc64]

Does it support the AWS spectrum. If it doesn't its a waste and your better off buying a phone that does.

Yes, it does.

 

[jman240]

Any Verizon iPhone 5 is factory unlocked and ready to be used on any GSM provider (AT&T and T-Mobile in the US) worldwide.

Good to know. Only have the ATT one myself. Is this only the iPhone or are other VZ phones this way?

 

[Plutonius]

This question has been lingering for a while.

Sign up with the payment plan, cancel 1 month later. obviously T-Mobile would expect you to either return the phone, or pay the full unsubsidized value (reduced by the amount already paid) of the device.

Isn't that a "contract" ?

The phone purchase part of the plan is a payment installment plan (you own the phone). I have not seen specifics but I believe that if you cancel your T-Mobile service you can either

1) Pay off the remainder of your installments on your phone.
2) Keep paying the monthly installments (until you pay off your phone) even though you no longer use T-Mobile.

I doubt they would allow you to return the phone.

It is not considered a contract since you are buying the phone with an installment plan and you can cancel the T-Mobile service at any time.

 

[gmanist1000]

You're missing a key point. So it's $100 down, then you pay $50 a month for unlimited text, talk, and 3G data, plus 500mb of 4G data. Plus you have to pay $20 a month for the phone itself. So it is only $70 a month. Where are you getting $90 a month?

$20 more a month if you want unlimited data.

 

[aajeevlin]

I'm curious how is Tmobile's network compare to Sprint's network. I've had Tmobile, ATT, Verizon (currently). This new tmobile deal look very decent if you spend most of your time in city and such. Most people works indoor all day with continuous wifi coverage. Most of the time I need 3G/4G is usually when I'm driving to/from work or weekend. I think it's worth a try, if you are tight with money.

 

[ghostface147]

Good to know. Only have the ATT one myself. Is this only the iPhone or are other VZ phones this way?

As far as I know, this only applies to the iPhone 5.

 

[jman240]

$20 more a month if you want unlimited data.

Just so you're aware both offer unlimited. The only difference the extra $20 makes is that its at 4G speeds the whole time.

 

[jason2811]

What're the prices for the 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5? I assume it's an extra $100 deposit respectively?

 

[1984]

What happens to the $30 plan with 100 minutes, unlimited text and data (5GB of 4G)?