T-Mobile Review
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- The Good
- One price with all taxes and fees included
- No contracts and no early termination fees
- No overages
- International roaming included
- The Bad
- Weak coverage in rural areas
- Speed throttling for heavy data users
T-Mobile offers unlimited data without a contract, and with auto-pay discounts to help keep the costs low. Even their throttling only affects users who use more than 26GB of data in a month. That’s a much bigger threshold than the competition.
- Unlimited Plan
- $35 per line
T-Mobile offers a very low rate to customers who pass a credit check and enroll in autopay. As long as you let them deduct the money from your account automatically, you get a rate that is more familiar with prepaid providers, but you get a lot more data before you deal with throttling. If you don’t want to deal with a credit check or enroll in autopay, you can go for the T-Mobile prepaid option and get access to their network without worrying about your credit.
- Coverage Area
- #4 in coverage area
According to RootMetrics, the gold standard of wireless network testing, T-Mobile may be fourth overall, but they sit at a solid third in data availability and speed. In fact, some independent testing shows T-Mobile as the fastest data network, but they lack the coverage to take the top spot consistently. As T-Mobile grows their infrastructure into rural areas, watch out for blazing fast speeds, coast to coast. (Here’s RootMetrics coverage map to compare for yourself.)
- Features
- High-speed network
- Unlimited hotspot service available
- Top-of-the-line phones
With the ONE Plus plan, you get unlimited talk, text and data, along with a bunch of extras. For a $5 per month fee, you can add unlimited hotspot service, free in-flight Wi-Fi on Go-Go-enabled flights, unlimited HD video streaming and a lot more. If you want to take all of those features with you outside of the country, you can for another monthly upcharge. T-Mobile makes it easy to understand your bill and track your costs.
- Extra Fees
- Sim card kit
- $25
- Non-autopay fee
- $5 per line per month
T-Mobile gets rid of a lot of the billing confusion by doing away with early termination fees, activation fees, upgrade fees and other miscellaneous charges. If your phone doesn’t need a T-Mobile SIM card for activation, you don’t even need to buy the kit. Instead, all you pay is your monthly bill, though quoted prices assume autopay. Without enrolling in autopay, expect to see an extra $5 per month per line on your bill.
- International Plans
- International roaming is included in T-Mobile ONE plans
While other carriers have specific plans that you purchase for international travel, T-Mobile includes it all. With simple global roaming, you get free talk, text and data roaming in more than 140 countries, though you will notice slower data speeds. If you’d like to also enjoy unlimited HD video streaming, faster data speeds or 4G LTE mobile hotspot service, you can upgrade to T-Mobile ONE Plus International for $25 per month per line.
T-Mobile: User Reviews
T-Mobile: Comments
T-Mobile, one of the top wireless service providers, distinguishes itself by doing things differently. When the competition got rid of unlimited data, T-Mobile brought it back. When the competition had a ton of added fees, T-Mobile switched to simplified billing. For this provider, it is all about doing things differently.
How Does T-Mobile Work?
Switching to T-Mobile is easy and inexpensive. When you switch, T-Mobile will pay up to $650 in early termination and device fees to pay off your existing contract. All you need to do is buy a new phone through T-Mobile, sign up for an eligible plan and wait to get your final bill after cancelling your existing service. When you get the bill, submit it to T-Mobile, and you will get a prepaid card loaded with the amount up to $650 for ETF and device fees.
If you want to keep your old device you can, but T-Mobile will only credit you for any charges related to your device when you mail in the old one.
You can sign up for T-Mobile service online in just a few minutes or at any participating retail location. The process is quick and easy, and all you need is your billing information.
What Makes T-Mobile Stand Out?
Other carriers say they are different from the competition, but their bills can look awfully similar. Not with T-Mobile. This carrier offers a ton of features and services, all at a single low, all-inclusive price. There’s no “standing on my lawn fee” when you sign up for T-Mobile.
In addition to the straightforward pricing, there’s also straightforward service. You can take most of your domestic services with you when you travel, all at no extra charge. That’s a heck of a good deal if you spend a lot of time out of the country. With coverage that extends to more than 140 countries and faster data options available in more than 70 destinations, you can travel the world with your T-Mobile phone.
All this, and you still get access to the newest and most popular phones. Where other prepaid providers only have a few phone options, T-Mobile offers most of the top phones, including iPhones and Galaxy phones, pretty much as soon as they hit shelves.
Common Reviews of T-Mobile
T-Mobile struggled for years with negative reviews from tech companies and users, all complaining about a slow and clunky network. Recent changes in their infrastructure have changed the game, and T-Mobile is now one of the fastest data providers. Their limited coverage in rural areas is still a negative for those who can’t get coverage or who have spotty coverage in their area, but their map expands every day.
Customer service is another area where, like all wireless providers, T-Mobile struggles. Thankfully, with their new and streamlined billing options, they have fewer complaints than many of their top competitors.
Ultimately, many of the negative reviews on T-Mobile are from people who can’t get their service, not from existing customers.
Can I Get Deals on T-Mobile’s Site?
On the T-Mobile website you might find deals on both phones and plans. You’ll see discounts on services that include autopay discounts, early termination fee offers and more. You can also sign up for multiple accounts and enjoy much lower prices on up to 12 lines of service.
Another thing to watch for is BOGO deals. The T-Mobile website is full of BOGO deals that include everything from substantial cashback when buying two of the same phones to deals that package two different phones. Plus, you can put down a small deposit and break up the cost of your phone into monthly installments. There’s no need to come up with more than $500 all at once when you can make payments with no interest.
For the best price on T-Mobile phones and plans, you should shop through their website. T-Mobile is not available at all retail locations, so you may not see all of their deals if you shop in a store.
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