I’m not a T-Mobile customer at the moment, but the Un-carrier’s June “Member Month” celebration is giving me a reason to make the switch because of all the epic offers behind it.

Customers can get gas discounts, a free DashPass by DoorDash subscription, free alcoholic drinks on Delta, hotel travel perks, and much more — all to celebrate 10 years of T-Mobile Tuesdays. The carrier is officially declaring June as "Member Month," featuring weekly drops consisting of high-value rewards and offers that run throughout the month.

“T-Mobile Tuesdays helped redefine what customers should expect from wireless — real value beyond connectivity,” said Allan Samson, Chief Marketing Officer, T-Mobile. "Member Month is our biggest celebration of that commitment yet.”

Each week will bring something different, but the only way to get them is to be a T-Mobile customer. This also applies to Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile Home Internet, and its small business customers. Whether you're looking for everyday relief on your grocery budget or gearing up for summer travel, here is a complete breakdown of what T-Mobile is giving away.

Week of June 2

If you grew up in the '80s, you’re going to love what’s in store for the first week starting today, June 2. That’s because the lineup includes discounted movie tickets to see He-Man battle it out with Skeletor in Masters of the Universe, along with food and drink promotions at 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, and more.

• Member Month swag with magenta picnic blankets for T-Mobile customers.
• Soccer-inspired trio dip bowls for Metro by T-Mobile customers.
• $5 movie ticket for Masters of the Universe with Atom Tickets.
• Free Slurpee drink, coffee, or Big Gulp at 7-Eleven.
• $1 8-piece wings from Pizza Hut.
• $5 off any full-size entrée at QDOBA.
• Sweepstakes for a $100,000 grand prize.

Week of June 9

Are you feeling the pain at the pump? Well, T-Mobile’s “Member Month” offer for week two includes discounted gasoline at select locations that should ease some of the burden of costly gas prices. You won’t go hungry on the road, either, because there are more food discounts and freebies available throughout the week.

• $2/gallon rates for gas fill-ups to drivers in Los Angeles, Houston and Tulsa/Chicago. What’s even better is that this deal isn’t for T-Mobile members either because everyone can fuel up, while supplies last though.
• Additional Shell gas discounts: For this week, T-Mobile is bumping its weekly fuel discount up to 50 cents off per gallon (up to 20 gallons) at participating Shell stations.
• Free goodies at 7-Eleven.
• Three free PanCoins redeemable for a short stack at IHOP.
• Sweepstakes: Chance to win an Austin City Limits Music Festival flyaway trip.

Week of June 16

This week’s offers are the weakest of the bunch in my opinion, but customers in New York City will benefit the most with a night to remember thanks to a free concert with rapper T-Pain. That's on top of the free in-flight premium alcoholic drinks for customers flying on Delta.

• T-Pain concert in New York City.
• Free in-flight premium alcoholic drink for customers flying on Delta.
• Free in-flight Wi-Fi with Delta.
• $9 three-day parking via The Parking Spot
• Free three months of Super Duolingo
• 20 cents off at Shell stations.
• Sweepstakes: Chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime getaway for four anywhere Delta flies.

Week of June 23

T-Mobile is offering its biggest travel and vacation savings during the fourth week of June, featuring major deals on hotel bookings and car rentals. Members can also unlock exclusive partner perks with Hilton, Hertz, and Dollar, plus enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

• Expanded travel perks: 40% off hotels and rental cars
• Up to $2,500 in T-Mobile Cruise credits
• Exclusive partner perks with Hilton, Hertz and Dollar
• Free Wi-Fi on Royal Caribbean cruises booked through T-Mobile Travel
• Three free months of MGM+
• Free Popeyes chicken sandwich (with $5 minimum spend)
• Sweepstakes: Chance to win a Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix trip with flights and a four-night stay

Week of June 30

To wrap up “Member Month,” T-Mobile is introducing T-Mobile Dining Rewards, where members can get up to 10% cash back at thousands of restaurants alongside a free one-year subscription to DashPass by DoorDash. Users will also want to keep a close eye on the T-Life app on Tuesday, June 30, for an exclusive, limited-edition streetwear drop.

• T-Mobile Dining Rewards: Earn cash back at thousands of restaurants nationwide. $5 off for new members with an extra $5 bonus for booking reservations through Dining Rewards, plus earn 5% cash back every day and 10% cash back every Tuesday.
• Free DashPass by DoorDash .
• Limited-edition collab: T-Life app will roll out limited-edition streetwear drop on Tuesday, June 30.
• Sweepstakes: Chance to win a $10,000 grand prize or Amazon gift cards.

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T-Mobile has had some hiccups this week, as users started reporting issues yesterday (May 28) with the popular provider. However, it doesn't appear to be affecting the company's mobile signal, but its fiber home internet service. While that means fewer people are affected, it hasn't stopped more than 1,000 from hitting Downdetector to report issues.

The outage lasted multiple hours with no serious decline on Downdetector. T-Mobile finally sent us a response around 2:00 p.m. Pacific/5:00 p.m. Eastern. We were told at that point that the company had resolved the issue and most people should be back online, though it admitted that some people would still have issues as recovery progressed.

On the company's T-Mobile Help X account, there are a few users reaching out about the issue, but the company is just asking them to send a direct message, thus offering no public solution to the ongoing outage.

T-Mobile down — live updates on the fiber outage

T-Mobile Fiber has tons of reports, too

Some users have figured out that there's a T-Mobile Fiber page on Downdetector and are reporting the outage there, as well.

The number is lower, but for a relatively small internet provider available in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and the Carolinas, it's a good number of reports.

And so it begins

Currently, T-Mobile's main Downdetector page has around 1,100 outage reports. Were this a mobile outage, that number would be substantially higher, but since it's home internet that's only available in 10 states, it's a relatively modest number of reports.

Lumos also getting reports

T-Mobile bought out Lumos home internet services in a lot of markets, so it's also seeing a sudden spike in reports, which we have to assume is connected to the ongoing T-Mobile Fiber outage.

Long hold times

As is often the case with outages, hold times have become extremely long on the phone. One X user said they waited more than an hour to speak to someone at T-Mobile, only to be given the standard "we're working on it" speech. According to someone who managed to get through, "it’s a widespread outage with no resolution time as of yet," so we'll have to keep waiting to find out anything new.

The first downturn

We're seeing a small downturn in the number of reports on Downdetector for both T-Mobile and T-Mobile Fiber. Does that mean the outage is coming to an end or are people just not reporting problems as much since it's been happening on and off for a while. Time will tell.

T-Mobile is trying

You have to hand it to T-Mobile; the company is trying to respond to users on X, which is hopefully alleviating some of the strain of people trying to get through on the phone.

Unfortunately, the company is hopping into direct messages with the customers, so we have no way to know what is coming from initial reach-outs.

Up for some, still down for others

Looking through the Downdetector comments, some T-Mobile Fiber customers are saying that things are back and some are saying it's still down for them. Presumably, whatever fix T-Mobile is bringing forward is rolling out gradually, so the users still dealing with problems might just need to be patient.

The fact that it's back for some is a good sign, though!

Reports dropping fast

The reports for T-Mobile and T-Mobile Fiber are on a major downswing, which is great for users struggling to enjoy their home internet.

Holding pattern

At this point, it seems like we're just in a holding pattern waiting for the people who are still experiencing outages to get it fixed.

Hopefully it's all resolved soon so everyone can get back to their normal days!

Reader spoke to T-Mobile

A reader reached out via email and told me that they "just got done with T-Mobile customer care chat and were quoted 4-6 hours for restoration, where I am in North Atlanta suburbs."

Obviously, that timeframe could vary for different regions, but if you're in one of the areas still dealing with problems, just know that as of around 10:30 a.m. ET, that's the approximate time frame.

Downdetector staying steady

Unfortunately, there's not much new to report. Downdetector is hanging in the 300 range still and based on claims of 4-6 hours for a full return, I don't expect much to shift over the next hour or so.

T-Mobile Help isn't much help

Unfortunately, T-Mobile Help on X is still just directing people to DM without offering any public-facing updates on the downtime.

'Up and running where I am'

According to the same reader who messaged us, they said that it "looks like that 4-hour estimate was close and I know they always under-promise and over-deliver on those times…like any good restaurant does with their wait times."

It's not fully up and running yet, though

Despite anecdotal evidence from our readers and comments on Downdetector, there are still people without internet access, as reports haven't fully subsided. Currently, T-Mobile has 298 reports, and T-Mobile Fiber has 190, both indicating that some areas still don't have internet service.

It's back down in Georgia

We've received another update from a reader in Georgia that the fix didn't last long. They said the internet "only stayed on for about 23 minutes and has been down for almost another hour now ."

Clearly, there's still something not quite right with T-Mobile Fiber.

Down in Virginia

A reader let us know that their service in Virginia is out. Though it could be more of a systemic problem for them.

"Our internet is very slow because our T-Mobile fiber has not worked in over a week. So we are using T-Mobile home internet as a backup and are over our data limit. When will the T-Mobile fiber system be working again? We are in Norfolk, Virginia."

No acknowledgement from T-Mobile

We are several hours into the T-Mobile Fiber outage with claims form some people saying that it's lasted more than 11 hours for them.

Tom's Guide has reached out to T-Mobile about the outage but the company has not responded.

Meanwhile, the support account on Twitter is getting hit with people complaining about the outage; however, from what I've seen, the support staff there only pushes users to DMs or tells them they need to speak to the Fiber team.

Elsewhere, I don't see any announcements from T-Mobile.

T-Mobile responds!

A T-Mobile spokesperson reached out to Tom's Guide with this statement:

"We’re aware of an issue that impacted some T-Fiber customers earlier today. Service has since been restored for many of the affected customers, and restoration efforts are ongoing.

T-Fiber teams are continuing to work as quickly as possible to fully restore service soon, and we apologize for the inconvenience."

No clear timeline

A reader commented that their email went down around 2:00 am Eastern today. It took until 11:53 am for the company to notify them, they said.

However, they said that T-mobile said "an email forth coming to notify of restoration but provides no timeframe."

From what I can tell, recovery is ongoing which means some people may still lack connections.

Reader response

Reader says their 5G home internet is working while the fiber is down.

"T-Fiber, specifically, is what’s affected. My T-mobile 5G home internet is working as a backup while fiber is down."

It just drags on

Normally by now on Downdetector we would have seen reports dry up especially once a fix was initiated by the relevant company.

However today, the T-Mobile outage continues to drag on sitting around 300 reports since 2 a.m. Eastern.

It's honestly not clear when this will settle for people.

T-Mobile still down for some

I logged off for the day at 4 p.m. ET, assuming everything would be back to normal before I went to bed. Just for kicks, I decided to check Downdetector to see what was happening, and to my utter shock, there are still 288 reports of people having problems with T-Mobile's fiber internet.

Despite T-Mobile's best efforts (including the response we posted earlier, which claimed service was "restored for many of the affected customers"), things still seem broken for at least some of T-Mobile Fiber users. If you're among them, at least you know the company is aware of the issue and is trying its best to fix it.

Reports seem to have stabilized, but not gone away

Despite T-Mobile assuring us yesterday that service has been restored following the problems, reports on DownDetector continue to trickle through. Reports are just under 200 at the time of writing (about 4 a.m. ET), which could mean that lingering issues continue into a second day if users wake up and find their home internet still affected. If that's you, let us know in the comments box below.

A reminder that T-Mobile gave us an official statement on the outage yesterday:

"We’re aware of an issue that impacted some T-Fiber customers earlier today. Service has since been restored for many of the affected customers, and restoration efforts are ongoing.

T-Fiber teams are continuing to work as quickly as possible to fully restore service soon, and we apologize for the inconvenience."

On the rise again?

We saw a sharp drop in reports overnight, down to as low as 40, but that could be largely because almost everyone in the impacted areas was asleep. Now that the eastern portion of the U.S. is waking up, reports have jumped back to around 240, indicating that some T-Mobile Fiber users are waking up to find their internet still broken.

We'll keep this blog updated as we learn more. Hopefully, things get sorted this morning so everyone can get back to normal.

Fiber still chugging along

There's still some red showing on the T-Mobile Fiber Downdetector page. It's better and the main T-Mobile page is yellow now, but there does appear to be a few straggler outages happening out there.

The 2026 World Cup kicks off in just over two weeks, and for the first time, the tournament will be split across three separate countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. That means, no matter where soccer fans are from, they may end up crossing multiple international borders to attend all their games

If you've got experience with international travel, you'll know all about the pains of trying to use your existing data plan in a different country. Data roaming can be prohibitively expensive if you're not careful, and it pays to have a plan in place so you can stay connected without hopping between different public Wi-Fi networks. The good news is that multiple U.S. carriers have anticipated this, and have launched travel plans specifically for the World Cup

So whether you're traveling to North America for the tournament, or a U.S. resident crossing over into Canada and Mexico, here's what you need to know about staying connected throughout the World Cup.

AT&T

AT&T has launched a new short-term eSIM package for travellers visiting North America for the World Cup. This system is powered by "eSIM by AT&T" and gives travellers the flexibility to pay for connectivity when they need it.

This means you can buy data passes valid for one, seven, 15 or 30 days, complete with unlimited data and 5GB of hotspot access. The single-day pass is only valid in the U.S., and costs $4 a day. The other three options do offer coverage for Canada and Mexico, but you will have to pay a premium for it. Here's the rundown of the prices, inclusive of tax and other fees.

These plans only include data, and don't include voice or text messaging. So if you need to stay in touch with others, be it family back home or other members of your group, you'll need to use IP-based services like WhatsApp.

Existing AT&T customers can take advantage of the carrier's "International Day Pass," which lets you use your existing plan as if you were still in the U.S. This is available in 210 locations around the world, including Canada and Mexico. This costs $12 a day, and you're automatically charged for 24-hour access whenever you use data on your phone outside the U.S.

T-Mobile

International travellers visiting the World Cup can sign up for T-Mobile's US Pass eSIM, which 50GB of high-speed 5G data within the U.S., and 5GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico. Once you use up those allowances, your connection will be downgraded to 3G, which means noticeably lower speeds. Hotspot data is also included, but the amount you get id dependent on which pass you purchase.

Here are the prices for the different US Pass eSIMs, which do not include taxes or fees. However, each pass does include unlimited calls and text messages across North America.

Existing T-Mobile customers may be able to get international coverage as part of their existing package, but the level of that coverage depends on which sort of plan you're actually signed up for. For the most part, you get an allowance of high-speed data, after which you get unlimited data throttled to either 256kps or 128kbps speeds. Here are the allowances for Canada and Mexico with unlimited calls and texts:

• 30GB: Better Value, Experience Beyond, Go5G Next plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 15GB: Experience More, Go5G Plus plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 10GB: Go5G plans. Throttled to 128kbps thereafter
• 5GB: Max, Plus plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 5GB: Magenta, One plans. Throttled to 128kbps thereafter

All other plans are charged at $0.01 per megabyte of data, $0.25 a minute for calls, and free unlimited texts. Those of you who have T-Mobile's T-Satellite connectivity will also be able to use that in Canada, if you ever find yourself without cell service.

Verizon

Verizon is the official Telecommunication Services Sponsor for the 2026 World Cup, and even offered free game tickets to its customers. Despite this, the carrier hasn't announced any specific World Cup-branded deals for customers travelling to games. Though it does offer various plans and perks for existing customers who are partaking in international travel.

The good news is that roaming in Mexico and Canada is actually included with all Unlimited plans — but it's not quite the same as using your phone at home. 5G and 4G data have a 2GB daily cap, and after you use it up, you'll be restricted to 3G data speeds. There are no restrictions on how much 3G data you can use, so you won't ever be cut off, but you will have to deal with much slower download speeds as a result.

If you don't have an Unlimited plan, you can pay for a Verizon TravelPass instead. Once added to your plan, these passes will offer unlimited calls, texting and data when you leave the U.S. TravelPass costs $6 a day in Canada and Mexico, which is half the price it would cost if you went elsewhere. If you choose to stick with Pay as You Go roaming, then you'll be charged $2.05 for every megabyte of data you use. A megabyte is not a lot of data, and at those prices, a single gigabyte will end up costing you over $2,000. Obviously, you do not want that to happen.

Verizon does not offer any shorter-term plans, which means you can't just sign up for a few days and temporarily enjoy the carrier's roaming plans. However, its subsidiary Visible is a totally different story.

Visible

The Visible eSIM travel pass is powered by Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G network, and is designed to offer travellers unlimited data within the United States. The plan also includes 500 minutes of calls from the U.S. to 85 different countries and unlimited texting to over 200 countries. Don't expect ay hotspot data, though.

Sadly, this generous data allowance does not extend to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visible only offers 2GB of high-speed data in those regions, after which you'll be relegated to 3G speeds — though you do get unlimited calls and text messages.

The prices are easily some of the best around, thanks to Visible offering a $10 discount on each plan with the code FIFA10. This means you can expect to pay the following for each of the four passes, inclusive of taxes and fees.

Existing Visible customers from the U.S. can take advantage of the carrier's Global Pass if they plan on travelling to Canada or Mexico for the World Cup. This pass includes 2GB of high-speed data per day, with coverage downgraded to 3G thereafter, as well as unlimited calls and texts.

Coverage in Canada and Mexico is $5 a day if you have a standard Visible plan, but anyone with a Visible+ or Visible+ Pro plan has roaming already included at no extra charge.

Ultra Mobile

Ultra Mobile, which is owned by T-Mobile, has just launched some new international plans designed for all travellers — including those heading to Mexico and Canada for the World Cup. However, they do not appear to be suitable for international travellers, or anyone who isn't already an Ultra Mobile customer.

There are two different kinds of international "Go Roam" passes on offer at Ultra Mobile right now.

The Go Roam Mexico Data Pass offers 5GB of high-speed data over a period of 30 days. This plan is included with all Unlimited plans, but can be added to any other Ultra plan for $5. The Go Roam World Pass is available for either 5 or 15 days, and covers 200 other countries around the world — including Canada.

A 5-day pass is $5, bundled with 1GB of high-speed data, 100 minutes and 100 outgoing texts. The 15-day pass is $10, which offers 5GB of high-speed data, 300 minutes and 300 texts.

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It seems rare that major companies would want to collaborate on something to positively affect the regular consumer these days. But some of the best phone carriers are doing just that, in an attempt to end dead zones.

No, not the novel by Stephen King, or the excellent movie starring Christopher Walken. We're talking about wireless dead zones: areas with no compatible cell signal that cut you off from all mobile services — including calls and data. 

The announcement is fairly light on details, but according to Verizon, the deal will not involve building a bunch more cell towers across the country. Instead, it's going to focus on satellite connectivity and beam a connection to your device from space from a "unified platform."

The overall aim is to, in the words of the big three, "nearly eliminate" dead zones within the U.S. This will involve reaching areas that have been underserved by major carriers, and providing reliable backup connectivity options if traditional cell signal breaks down — such as during emergencies or natural disasters.

What other benefits are there?

Customers will also apparently benefit from a consistent and simpler satellite connection, regardless of which carrier they're signed up with. That means better connectivity and faster rollout of updates and new features for everyone at the same time.

The carriers say that this will also "drive industry progress by enabling competition, fostering innovation, expanding access, and simplifying integration." The main reason is probably that working together makes it easier (and cheaper) to offer improved satellite connectivity than going it alone.

The announcement does make a valid point about satellite spectrum being scarce, and teaming up means they don't have to constantly fight just to license a fraction of the available spectrum for their customers. More access to spectrum should mean better connectivity for the end user, so long as the big three aren't allowed to dominate the skies and prevent other satellite-based companies from getting a look in.

The deal hasn't been finalized yet, and since this is only an agreement in principle, there's always a possibility that these plans will fall through. Assuming the lawyers can push this through, there's no set timeline on when the plans will actually come to fruition. So we're just going to have to wait and see how these plans pan out over the next few years.

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Recently, Mint Mobile announced a new 5G home internet and unlimited wireless plan that promises both for a pretty fair, wallet-friendly price. Powered by T-Mobile's 5G network, the Mint Mobile bundle offers home internet service and mobile service for an upfront cost of $540 per year, which breaks down to $45 per month.

Unlike a traditional ISP, which requires a router, Mint Mobile's version requires a wireless gateway that connects to the closest T-Mobile cell tower and broadcasts Wi-Fi to your domicile. The plan promises download speeds of 133-415 Mbps and upload speeds of 12-55 Mbps.

You can pair it with the best cable TV alternatives to save some money as you cut the cord.

With that in mind, how does Mint Mobile compare to other home internet and mobile bundles?

We've chosen 5 internet providers that have a larger national presence for comparison.

Mint Mobile offers only one MINTernet plan, while the other companies offer at least three plans with varying speeds and prices.

For this comparison, we've chosen plans with similar pricing and mobile offerings to Mint Mobile's plan. If you want faster speeds, you'll need to pony up more per month. As an example, 1 gig internet at Spectrum is $70 a month.

These are also for plans with 1 line. T-Mobile has a plan that includes internet and 3 phone lines for $175, but no one else seems to offer a similar plan. Also, the phone bill for some companies is still separate, so you may be able to find separate deals that could save you some money temporarily.

Additionally, many of the larger companies offer deals on your first 12 months at a discount that then returns to the normal rate. We've included the normal rate so you can see the standard non-deal price.

In some cases, there are also additional offerings. T-Mobile's highest-tier internet plan, for example, comes with a Wi-Fi Mesh extender to expand the network throughout your home and gets you Wi-Fi 7.

Both Xfinity and Mint Mobile do promise a 5-year lock, excluding taxes and fees.

Some drawbacks

Additionally, there are some drawbacks, because you're using a 5G cellular network, speed can vary due to network traffic. Mint's plan also doesn't include HD video streaming.

Fiber internet service tends to be more stable and offers higher speeds, though it's more expensive across the board.

And to be clear, these companies don't offer service everywhere. You'll need to enter your address to see if your neighborhood can get service.

As an example, Verizon recently purchased Frontier, but that hasn't led to an immediate expansion of service availability. I live near a Frontier building, and yet my neighborhood isn't available for Frontier or Verizon home internet.

Mint is the winner

Overall, it appears Mint Mobile's offerings are the cheapest compared to comparable plans from other major providers.

As always with Mint, the upfront cost can be jarring if you're used to monthly payments, but it remains the cheapest option available if you want home internet and mobile bundled.

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After winning a waiver from the FCC, Verizon has been quick to update its unlock policies, making it harder for customers to leave with their devices for a rival carrier. The changes don't affect just people who use Verizon, but also several MVNOs that piggyback on Verizon's network.

Compared to AT&T and T-Mobile, the policies are largely the same, especially when it comes to prepaid devices. AT&T appears to still respect the 60-day window that was waived for Verizon.

Here's how the big three compare.

How we got here

In January, the Federal Communications Commission agreed to waive a 60-day phone unlock requirement that had been imposed on Verizon since 2008, when it acquired licenses to use the 700 MHz spectrum. It was reupped in 2021 when Verizon bought TracFone.

Verizon has argued that the shorter unlock window contributed to "device fraud" and increased phone prices. The FCC agreed.

“Today, criminal networks are specifically targeting Verizon handsets due to the company’s unique unlocking policies,” the FCC’s filing said.

As Ars Technica reported in January, the company almost immediately introduced a new unlocking policy for TracFone and other prepaid brands that enforced a 365-day lock period. That affects brands like StraightTalk, Total Wireless and Walmart Family Mobile.

Verizon associated MVNOs

If you're unfamiliar, an MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. Simply, these are carriers that utilize a larger carrier's network to offer services.

Verizon partners with more than a dozen MVNOs that use its networks. Some of them are partially or wholly owned by Verizon like Visible and TracPhone. The largest and most visible one is Xfinity Mobile, which offers cell service for customers who also get internet from Comcast.

Verizon's key MVNOs are:

• Xfinity Mobile
• Twigby
• Ting
• Spectrum Mobile
• Page Plus
• Pix Wireless
• Credo Mobile
• Lively
• Net10
• Reach Mobile
• Red Pocket
• Straight Talk
• Total Wireless
• TracFone

Verizon struggling

Reportedly, Verizon is struggling to retain customers. The most recent earnings call reported a 32.6% decline in operating income and a cancellation rate of 0.95% among postpaid phone customers, a much higher rate than in previous quarters.

CEO Dan Schulman blamed it on price increases "without corresponding value," friction in billing, onboarding and customer service, and a shift to MVNO carriers.

A Market Force Information survey from 2025 found that Verizon customers, on average, spend $157 a month on their phone bills, the highest among the big three. Customer satisfaction was quite low as well.

Between price hikes, several major outages in the last six months, and now this harsher unlock policy, Verizon is doing itself no favors.

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The scores are in for the U.S.A.'s Big 3 mobile carriers in Ookla RootMetrics's State of the Mobile Union Report for the second half of 2025. And it's clear that Verizon comes out on top this time.

Reports like this can be a good way to judge which of the best phones carriers is going to be the best for where you live. And given that RootMetrics' findings are based on 3 million tests conducted from July to December 2025 across the country, and in 125 major urban areas, it's safe to say it's pretty thorough.

The big winner is Verizon, which won five of RootMetrics' eight headline awards outright, and tied for another two. Its haul of trophies includes wins for overall performance and reliability, plus it scored best for general 5G performance, while also improving its download speeds in metro regions.

AT&T tied for three awards, putting it in second place. It came second on a state-by-state basis too, and managed to improve both its metro test results, managing to meet gold standard of 100 Mbps download speeds in the 125 metro test regions for the first time.

T-Mobile shares just one award - U.S. Network Speed - with AT&T, earning it the bronze medal. That said, the UnCarrier still managed to have the highest 5G availability nationally, while also improving on a state and metro level too. City-dwelling T-Mo users do especially well, as it's the only carrier of the three tested to manage 100 Mbps download speeds in every metro tested, with all but one of those also hitting the 200 Mbps mark.

In the 1H 2025 report by RootMetrics, AT&T earned four outright wins and tied Verizon for data performance and text performance. And Verizon won for network responsiveness and video performance.

Good to know — especially if you're in the market for a new phone

While anyone subscribed to Verizon is probably feeling a little smug right now, none of the big three did disasterously badly in this set of testing, so don't feel like you need to immediately escape your contract to sign up to Verizon if you're not already a member. However, it's perhaps worth keeping in mind as phone releases for 2026 start to get into gear.

The big one to keep in mind is the Samsung Galaxy S26, which is should be revealed by the end of February and go on sale in March. But the crystal ball suggests we may see the Google Pixel 10a, and perhaps an iPhone 17e, shortly after that. If you're planning to upgrade, it could be worth investigating if buying any of these phones with a Verizon contract is the best option for you, or maybe T-Mobile if you live in one of the city regions where the network fared particularly well.

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You can't turn on your TV these days without clapping eyes on an actor touting the merits of one of the Big Three U.S. phone carriers. And in each one, the actor looks right into the camera to tell you the wireless carrier they're representing has the best network.

The latest instance features Luke Wilson strolling around a wind-swept prairie and declaring AT&T to be the phone network to beat. This ad echoes a T-Mobile spot that debuted a few months earlier, in which Billy Bob Thornton strolls around a different wind-swept prairie while singing the praises of the Uncarrier.

Meanwhile, Verizon offers neither wind-swept prairies nor late '90s leading men in its ads, but it does include the claim that its network happens to be the best.

Three ads for three phone carriers all claiming to offer the fastest, most reliable wireless service — so which one is correct? The answer depends on whose data you're using.

Comparing the phone network ads and their claims

Let's start with the T-Mobile ad, since it was the one that triggered this latest round of "My network is better than yours" back and forth. T-Mobile rolled out the spot in June around the same time it was previewing its soon-to-launch satellite connectivity, and the ad featured Billy Bob Thornton proclaiming that the Uncarrier had overtaken Verizon in the network performance rankings.

"Now the best mobile network in the U.S. is T-Mobile," Thornton says in the ad. "Some fancy experts finished a network test, and T-Mobile sort of opened a can of whoop-up."

The fancy experts in question are from Ookla, a mobile testing firm, which had just released its Speedtest Awards for the first half of 2025. In that testing period, T-Mobile posted the best Speedtest Connectivity score, which measures speed, video streaming and web browsing performance. T-Mobile scored 79.95 in that metric, compared to 75.49 for Verizon and 72.47 for AT&T.

If you thought AT&T was going to take that lying down, you were badly mistaken. The carrier dispatched Luke Wilson to tell its side of the story in an ad that's airing regularly during this month's World Series coverage.

"AT&T is America's first network and it's still the best," Wilson assures us. "That's not me talking, that's the scoreboard."

Or rather, that's the word from Rootmetrics and its testing report covering the first half of 2025. In that report, AT&T gets the nod for best overall network performance, while also winning top honors for network reliability, network speed and call performance. AT&T and Verizon were joint winners in Rootmetrics' data performance and text performance categories.

T-Mobile didn't exactly come up empty in the Rootmetrics report. It's cited for having the best 5G availability, meaning you're most likely to get a 5G signal in more locations. Rootmetrics also called out T-Mobile's "stellar speeds in major cities."

As for Verizon, its current ads are more focused on a promotion that lets AT&T and T-Mobile customers bring in their bill to see if Big Red can offer them a better deal. But the carrier does include a nod to its own network performance in those commercials.

"Better deal, best 5G network," the ad notes, with the fine print in the commercial pointing to the same Rootmetrics report cited by AT&T. And that report does recognize Verizon for offering the best 5G experience along with the fastest and most reliable 5G performance.

And the winner is ... everybody?

Normally, when you have three different companies claiming the same thing, you'd have to assume that two of them are incorrect. But in this instance, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon can all point to third-party reports that back up their claims.

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The death knell for 4G networks may be ringing soon as T-Mobile is reportedly going to phase out 4G coverage starting in 2026, making LTE-only devices obsolete.

According to a leaked document discovered by The Mobile Report, the network carrier is set to transition away from 4G next year, which will include ending support for 5G non-standalone (5G NSA) devices as well.

The older 2G and 3G networks started shutting down in 2022, with T-Mobile only just ending its 2G network in February of this year. Doing away with the older networks opened up frequencies for 4G and 5G migration, improving the reach of the newer networks.

Per the document, T-Mobile has already started dismantling its 4G network with plans to use those frequencies for 5G over the next two years to support 5G Standalone (5G SA). Currently, 5G SA is the main version of 5G and doesn't rely on 4G infrastructure.

The document notes that LTE will exist on T-Mobile networks until 2035 to support legacy devices, likely IoT products and industrial applications, but performance will be significantly degraded.

How does this affect your device?

The first 5G phones started showing up in 2019, and most handsets available today are built for 5G. If you've bought a new phone in the last three to four years, the disappearance of 4G shouldn't affect your device at all since it's likely already 5G-capable.

During the 2G/3G transition, T-Mobile offered compatible devices, so it could do something similar for people on 4G or 5G NSA phones. What the dismantling of 4G should do is speed up 5G, giving the network access to more channels and frequencies.

Currently, T-Mobile's network has 600 MHz n71 (low-band 5G) and 2500 MHz (mid-band 5G) frequencies. The older 4G network uses 2, 4/66, 12, and some 71 frequencies; removing 4G opens those up to new 5G bands.

One example of an older device (which I still have) is the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which supports 5G NSA and requires an LTE and 5G signal to work, but does not support 5G SA.

Additionally, many 'dumb' phones like flip phones only support LTE. T-Mobile currently sells a TCL flip that cannot connect to 5G.

A stepping stone to 6G

The retirement of 4G on T-Mobile's network should be mostly completed in 2028, just in time for the arrival of 6G. Qualcomm has already promised that it will have 6G devices ready by 2028. Though the standard isn't expected to take effect until 2030.

Apple has reportedly been working on 6G since at least 2021. And a study from October of 2024 found that 6G is 9000 times faster than 5G, capable of sending 1TB of data per second over the network.

It's expected that 6G will most likely be built on top of existing 5G infrastructure. That said, reportedly, T-Mobile didn't use legacy 4G infrastructure to bring 5G to its customers starting in 2020. This means that it will be easier for T-Mobile to switch off 4G in favor of 5G.

As for AT&T and Verizon, those companies did use legacy 4G infrastructure so it may take them longer to transition the network.

T-Mobile's response

Tom's Guide reached out to T-Mobile for comment on its plans for LTE and the veracity of the document. A spokesperson did not comment on the document itself but implied that an LTE phase out is not coming in the near future.

"Someday far in the future – years and years from now – we’ll likely consolidate older technologies like LTE to make room for the latest and greatest, including 5G and beyond," Anushka Bishen, senior communications manager for T-Mobile, said. "For now, the T-Mobile network...has more than enough capacity to handle the heavy data demands of the modern wireless user."

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Starting next month, it should be easier than ever to stay connected on T-Mobile's wireless network, as the carrier has just announced plans to launch its satellite-to-mobile service starting July 23.

T-Satellite launches initially with support for text messaging, with plans to offer data connectivity over satellite in October.

The T-Satellite service is the result of a collaboration between T-Mobile and Starlink that was first announced three years ago.

As detailed by T-Mobile president Mike Katz during a press event today (June 23), the T-Satellite service will be included with T-Mobile's $100/month Experience Beyond plan as well as older Go5G Next plans. Other T-Mobile plans will offer T-Satellite connectivity as a $10/month add-on.

T-Satellite: How it works

T-Satellite relies on a network of 650-plus satellites. Katz says that phones will automatically connect to the satellite-based network when there's no cellular connection, so users won't have to go through a connection process whenever they're out of range.

According to T-Mobile, satellite connectivity will work with around 75% of the devices used by the carrier's current customer base. That covers nearly any that's been made in the last four years, Katz says.

Both Android and iOS devices will have text message support at launch, and Android users will also enjoy support for MMS messaging. MMS support for iPhones will follow.

Starting October 1, T-Satellite will expand to data-based connectivity, with satellite-enabled apps from AccuWeather, AllTrails, Apple, Google, WhatsApp and X that coverage weather, mapping and messaging, among other crucial tasks for when you're in remote areas.

T-Mobile is also offering developer tools to help app makers ready their own software for T-Satellite's data service.

The initial launch of T-Satellite includes support for 911 texting by T-Mobile customers, but in October, T-Mobile says it will expand emergency texting to any mobile customer of any carrier who uses a compatible phone.

New T-Mobile promotions

T-Mobile announced the T-Satellite launch as part of an event to mark an award from third-party testing firm Ookla that names T-Mobile the best phone network in the U.S. It's quite a turnaround for the carrier which found itself ranked last in network performance surveys a dozen years ago.

"We not only dream about going from worst to best, we actually do it," said chief operating officer Srini Gopalan. "We're a good two years ahead of Verizon and At&T and i believe that lead is going to grow."

T-Mobile also made two other announcements today aimed at expanding its customer base.

Perks offered by the company to subscribers will now included a free DashPass membership from DoorDash. DashPash normally costs $10/month and eliminates delivery fees while reducing service fees among other benefits. CEO Mike Sievert said the benefit will come to T-Mobile's "most popular plans," including the current Experience Beyond and Experience More options.

In a move targeting Verizon customers looking to switch carriers, a new T-Mobile promotion called Easy Upgrade offers to pay off the balance customers owe to Verizon for their current phone.

Those switchers will then receive a flagship phone — Sievert specifically mentioned devices like the iPhone 16, Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9 — from T-Mobile.

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Data breaches at major companies are, sadly, nothing new, but the latest one has an interesting wrinkle. This week, a hacking group claimed it stole 64 million records of T-Mobile customers, but T-Mobile denies there has been any new data breach.

A Thursday report from Cybernews cited an unconfirmed dataset from a data breach forum popular for selling stolen data. The dataset contains 64 million lines of sensitive details allegedly siphoned from America’s second-largest mobile carrier, T-Mobile. That includes: full names, dates of birth, tax IDs, full addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, device IDs, cookie IDs, and IP addresses.

It's clear that data of this nature would be incredibly valuable to malicious actors. Details such as IP addresses can be used to craft highly targeted spearphishing attacks, while identifiers like full names, birthdates, and tax IDs open the door to financial fraud. Cybernews' security team also found that the leak included data points that were not revealed in previous T-Mobile leaks, such as the one in 2021 that T-Mobile just began rolling out settlement payments for.

With a potential breach of this scale, most companies would be in crisis mode the moment such news became public. But T-Mobile is adamant that the data hackers shared has nothing to do with it or its customer base.

“Any reports of a T-Mobile data breach are inaccurate. We have reviewed the sample data provided and can confirm the data does not relate to T-Mobile or our customers," a T-Mobile representative told Tom's Guide.

The representative described Cybernews' original article as misleading. They added that, given the data set's structure, naming conventions, and noticeable inconsistencies, it appears to be a synthetically generated compilation of outdated or unrelated data, which is a tactic bad actors use to deceive potential buyers.

Notably, The Mobile Report highlighted that the popular hack-monitoring website Have I Been Pwned has not updated its website to include the purported data breach. That could mean that all of the information contained in those 64 million lines either was found in previous attacks or, as T-Mobile suggests, is outdated or unrelated to T-Mobile customers.

What does this mean for T-Mobile customers?

For now, it remains unclear whether the hack is legitimate. And that leaves T-Mobile customers understandably on edge in the meantime. The claim could turn out to be false, meaning the data is from previously leaks or contains unrelated or outdated information.

However, if this is a new breach under T-Mobile’s watch, don’t expect compensation anytime soon. As I said before, payouts for the 2021 hacks only started rolling out a few months ago, suggesting that any restitution from this incident could be a long way off.

As for what you can do in the meantime, seriously consider investing in one of the best identity theft protection services or the best antivirus software. That way, whether this breach turns out to be real or not, you'll at least have peace of mind that you're doing everything you can to stay safe and secure online.

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The ultra-competitive and weirdly regulated world of home internet is getting a new player. T-Mobile is rolling out fiber internet to more than 500,000 households in the U.S., further building on the 5G home internet plans the company already offered.

In a post on its website, T-Mobile announced that it would offer home internet at speeds up to 2 Gbps. The most budget-friendly plan delivers 500 Mbps, which is still quite fast, especially considering the speed of fiber internet is symmetrical (it gets the same upload and download speeds).

Another feature that sets T-Mobile fiber apart from other providers is its five-year price lock. You won't need to worry about the price changing anytime soon, which is good for peace of mind in this constantly evolving economy. The prices are a little high to start with, but they're not completely out of range of other providers, especially if you have T-Mobile for mobile service.

"With the official launch of T-Mobile Fiber, we’re delivering on our promise to bring better broadband to more people — the Un-carrier way,” said Allan Samson, Chief Broadband Officer, T-Mobile. “Our new plans, backed by long-term price guarantees, are designed to give customers more choice and peace of mind."

Considering that prices are likely to increase over the next few years, the prices offered by T-Mobile for its fiber internet may seem more competitive over time.

Here's a quick look at the three plans offered by the popular carrier:

• Fiber 500 (500 Mbps): $80 / month ($75 with autopay / $60 with autopay and T-Mobile voice line)
• Fiber 1 Gig (1 Gbps): $95 / month ($90 with autopay / $75 with autopay and T-Mobile voice line)
• Fiber 2 Gig (2 Gbps): $110 / month ($105 with autopay / $90 with autopay and T-Mobile voice line / $70 with Fiber Founders Club in select locations)

The launch of T-Mobile fiber comes after a joint venture deal with the fiber internet provider Lumos. The company also has a pending acquisition of the fiber provider Metronet, which would enable it to expand its network further and offer the service to more people.

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It’s been a long time since I was on a cell phone plan from any of the big three wireless carriers, but it looks like more people are ditching them as well, at least according to the latest data reports. I’m not surprised by this sudden shift either, especially when some of the best cheap cell phone plans come from MVNOs and regional wireless carriers.

From increasing prices to severe outages, it hasn’t been easy for traditional wireless carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to keep their customers. In fact, they’re losing out to cable companies of all things.

What’s really surprising is that the MoffettNathanson report shows that cable companies are tacking on new customers at an impressive rate — led by Charter Communications, Comcast and Altice USA. They added 886,000 lines during the first three months of the year, which is up from the 804,000 accounted for during the same period in 2024.

Charter Communications alone added 514,000 lines in Q1 2025, which outperformed the 495,000 lines that T-Mobile gained for the same period. Meanwhile, rivals AT&T added 324,000 — while Verizon was red for the period with a loss of 289,000 customers. Verizon recently added a 3-year price lock guarantee to entice customers, a move that aims to mitigate fears about phone plan rates continually increasing.

Comcast also saw positive gains, adding 323,000 customers in Q1 2025, with Altice gaining 49,000 customers. In total, cable companies added 19.05 million mobile lines, which indicates that more people are interested in other cell phone plans beyond those from the big three carriers.

Even though cable companies have long established themselves as budget alternatives and particularly target the lower end of the market, they’re now branching out by offering a wide range of cell phone plans — with a bigger focus on adding premium plans and devices. It also helps that these phone plan services are sometimes bundled in with home broadband service.

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If you've been holding out on upgrading to one of the best phones, a new report offers another reason why you should consider a new handset, and it may be for a reason you haven't really considered — faster download and upload speeds.

That's the conclusion that network testing firm Ookla reached after running network speed tests on the Galaxy S25 series, along with the last four generations of Samsung flagship.

The takeaway? Today's Galaxy flagships deliver much faster connectivity, thanks to improvements in both the phones' chipsets and modems. And one U.S. network carrier in particular stood out for delivering the fastest speeds.

The data from Ookla should be interesting to anyone mulling over a new Samsung phone purchase, whether it's the already available Galaxy S25 models or the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge release. And it also offers a look at which phone carriers are providing faster 5G speeds right now.

Galaxy S download and upload speeds

For its report, Ookla tested download and upload performance across the last five generations of Galaxy S phone, from the current Galaxy S25 Ultra, dating all the way back to the Galaxy S21 Ultra released in 2021. Tests were conducted on the networks of all three major U.S. carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

When running Ookla's speed text, the Galaxy S21 Ultra's fastest download speed was 269.34 Mbps, which it reached on T-Mobile's 5G network. The Galaxy S25 Ultra posted a top speed of 442.69 Mbps on that same network — a 64% improvement over the four-year-old Ultra model.

Even more recent releases lagged behind the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with the S23 Ultra and S24 Ultra posting respective download speeds of 334.22 Mbps and 358.7 Mbps on T-Mobile.

Ookla also tested upload speed numbers for its report, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra reaching speeds of 23.72 Mbps on T-Mobile's network. That's a 57% improvement over the Galaxy S21 Ultra's 15.08 Mbps result. The Galaxy S25 Ultra improved upon the S24 Ultra upload speeds by 23%.

The Galaxy S25 models benefit from Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip, which has been optimized specifically for Samsung's phones with a faster core CPU. But that chipset also comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 5G modem for fast connectivity.

Even though all three Galaxy S25 models feature the same Qualcomm chipset, you'll get faster connectivity from the larger phones in Samsung's lineup. The Galaxy S25 Ultra posts the fastest download and upload speeds of the current models across all three networks.

On T-Mobile's network, download speeds for the Galaxy S25 Ultra were 9% faster than what the Galaxy S25 Plus produced. The Galaxy S25 Ultra was also 12% faster on downloads than the Galaxy S25.

Which carrier should you choose?

You might notice that we've been referring to performance numbers on T-Mobile's network. That's because in Ookla's testing, T-Mobile consistently produced the best results for both upload and download speeds. (One exception: The Galaxy S23 Ultra's best download speeds were on Verizon.)

Looking specifically at download speeds from a Galaxy S25 Ultra, the 442.69 Mbps result was 40% faster than the 315.12 Mbps result on Verizon's network. AT&T brought up the rear with 216 Mbps download speeds.

That's relevant data if you're not only considering a new phone but a switch to a new carrier as well. Lots of factors determine who the best phone carrier is, but Ookla's new report would certainly suggest that T-Mobile has the edge on 5G download and upload speeds.

While Ookla's results spotlight the current Galaxy S25 lineup, it could also prove to be relevant for the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge.

While Samsung has yet to disclose any official specs for that phone, rumors suggest that the phone maker will use the same Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip found on the other Galaxy S25 models. That would mean the same X80 modem that delivered such impressive speeds here.

We should find out very soon what silicon Samsung is using in the Galaxy S25 Edge, along with the other specs of the ultra-thin addition to the S25 lineup. Rumors point to a May 13 release for the phone.

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Four years after the 2021 data breach that affected 76 million customers, settlement checks are finally being sent out to T-Mobile users who were impacted by the breach.

According to an update on the T-Mobile settlement website, court proceedings have been completed and checks to affected customers are expected to go out this month.

Though T-Mobile denied any wrongdoing, they did settle the lawsuit out of court. Customers who suffered financial losses from the incident and filed before the 2023 deadline may receive up to $25,000. Those who didn’t file a claim or suffer financial losses can receive up to $25, or if they are California residents, up to $100.

However, those are maximum amounts as the $350 million settlement amount, divided between 76 million people, breaks down to just $4.50 per person (before attorney fees). If you were part of the settlement, you likely received notice but if you’re unsure as to how the breach may have affected you, check the FAQ section of the lawsuit website for details. Alternatively you can call 1-833-512-2314 for additional information.

While T-Mobile had said that the 2021 data breach did expose names, addresses, Social Security numbers, drivers licenses, and ID information, no payment data was accessed.

This means that if you were involved in the breach, you should be monitoring your credit closely and thinking seriously about investing in one of the best identity theft protection services.

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T-Mobile used the Super Bowl to announce the availability and pricing for its StarLink service, with a surprise announcement regarding who can access the beta.

In the announcement, T-Mobile stated that the Starlink beta will be open until July for compatible Android phones and iPhones. T-Mobile also stated that customers don't have to be part of T-Mobile to sign up for the beta. Any customer with any carrier will be able to access the beta without needing to swap over to T-Mobile. If you want a chance to test out Starlink, then you can sign up here.

After launch, Starlink will be added to the T-Mobile Go5G plan at no extra cost. Users with other T-Mobile plans can get access to the feature for an added $15 a month from March 1st. To access the beta you'll need an eSIM-compatible phone, which includes devices like the iPhone 14, Galaxy S21, Google Pixel 9 and later.

However, at this point, users can add T-Mobile Starlink now and get an Early Adopter discount that will cut $5 from the monthly price. It appears that users without T-Mobile will not have access to the feature after the beta ends.

Originally announced as only for Samsung phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Starlink is a feature that wants to capitalize on satellite communication.

Then, back in January, T-Mobile announced that the feature was also coming to iPhones that had downloaded iOS 18.3.

While many devices offer SOS communications over satellite, Starlink separates itself by allowing users to send texts, calls, images and more. In a recent post on social media, Elon Musk also stated that Starlink would soon be able to send videos.

There's been a certain amount of concern about iOS 18.3 forcing the feature onto iPhones without the users' consent. We found several online conspiracies saying that Starlink is being forced upon users, which was seemingly pushed by recent reactions to Elon Musk and DOGE. However, it is worth noting that iOS 18.3 only allows you to use the feature; it doesn't download anything Starlink-related to your device.

The idea of giving more people access to the beta of a feature is an interesting one, and it could work in T-Mobile's favor in the long run. However, adding $15 to an existing monthly bill for a feature that many may never use might be asking for too much.

For the time being, we will have to wait and see what the initial reactions and experiences are like.

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When Apple released iOS 18.3 late last month, it's doubtful the tech giant thought the uneventful update would be a source of conspiracy theories and confusion — and not even because it automatically enabled Apple Intelligence on your iPhone.

Instead, denizens of TikTok and the internet are claiming there's something more insidious in the update. And it all ties back to Elon Musk and the satellite internet company Starlink.

Among the changes to iOS 18.3 is the addition of Starlink satellite connectivity for T-Mobile customers. That addition allows T-Mobile subscribers to sign up for a beta program to test out the satellite connectivity offered by Starlink as part of a partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX first announced three years ago.

That's created some confusion, with some corners of the internet claiming that Starlink is being forced onto the iPhones of everyone, not just T-Mobile customers. Some are even drawing parallels to Apple's ill-fated attempt to automatically download a new U2 album onto every iPhone a decade ago whether customers wanted it or not.

So what's really going on? Here's what we've been able to find out.

Starlink on T-Mobile iPhones: Why are people concerned?

On a basic level, no one wants things shoved on their devices that they didn't ask for. The iOS 18.3 update is also arriving at a time when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken on a major role in the new Trump administration with his DOGE project. That may have have raised suspicions about this Musk-adjacent product.

As understandable as those reservations may be, it's worth noting that iOS 18.3 does not download or install anything Starlink-related on your phone. T-Mobile subscribers who opt in to the beta are connecting to spectrum on T-Mobile's network through which they can send messages when other connectivity is unavailable.

What is T-Mobile doing?

T-Mobile and SpaceX, which operates Starlink, launched a partnership in August 2022. Dubbed "Coverage Above and Beyond," the team-up aims to give T-Mobile subscribers "a crucial additional layer of connectivity in areas previously unreachable by cell signals from any provider."

SpaceX launched a Falcon9 rocket in January 2024 with the first batch of Starlink satellites that featured "Direct to Cell" service. At the time, those satellites were only capable of SMS messaging with voice support promised by 2025. Since then, T-Mobile claims that 330 satellites have launched.

Basically, the Starlink satellites use T-Mobile's 1900MHz mid-band spectrum to broadcast a new network that is both 4G and 5G capable.

In mid-December of 2024, T-Mobile opened up a beta Starlink messaging program for some Samsung Galaxy users. "T-Mobile Starlink is the first major low-earth orbit constellation in the world paired with terrestrial cellular spectrum," said Mike Katz, T-Mobile's president of marketing, in a press release at the time.

So it's important to note that this beta is open to both iPhone and Android users.

What about AT&T and Verizon connected devices?

Apple and T-Mobile have both stated that this Starlink beta only applies to compatible devices that are specifically on the T-Mobile network.

AT&T and Verizon both have partnerships with other satellite service provides. Last year, both companies teamed up with their partners to launch or enable satellite services for phones on their networks.

AT&T utilizes satellites from a company called AST SpaceMobile, which launched satellites in last September. The plan is to eventually offer data, text, video and voice services via this partnership. It's unclear how far along that process is now. Like T-Mobile, AT&T will likely charge for this service when it's up.

AT&T did get in trouble before that September launch when it ran ads that seemed to depict satellite calling that was not available.

Verizon, meanwhile, is partnered with a company called Skylo. A press release from last August announced that "starting this fall, customers on certain smartphones have access to emergency messaging and location sharing even when a terrestrial cellular network is not available."

Verizon expects to launch texting via satellite this year, with a beta program getting underway at the end of January.

Independent of all that, the Emergency SOS feature that's been a part of iPhones since the iPhone 14 uses Globalstar satellites, which is separate from these different carrier partnerships.

So what does iOS 18.3 actually do?

Simply, with the iOS 18.3 update, Apple is enabling anyone with an iPhone 14 or newer to connect to the T-Mobile beta. You do need to be on a T-Mobile customer to access that feature.

For those who don't want to bother with satellite communication at all, you can turn off satellite connectivity in your iPhone. To do so, open the Settings app go to Cellular and then your carrier or phone number. From there tap Satellite to turn it off. Apple notes on a support page that if your carrier does not support satellite features then the setting won't be available.

What we don't know

While the T-Mobile/Starlink beta is free, T-Mobile's sign-up page reads, "T-Mobile Starlink is free during the beta test. We will provide more details about the commercial service at launch."

It's unclear when how long T-Mobile plans to run the beta program.

T-Mobile will probably charge a fee to access the service when it goes commercial, though we don't know if there will be a data cap.

Will the list of compatible phones expand? Right now, it's only available to some Samsung Galaxy devices, Pixel devices and iPhone 14 or newer models from Apple.

If you try signing up with an older device, you might receive this T-Mobile message: "Thanks for your interest in T-Mobile Starlink beta. To ensure the best possible experience and service reliability, we're optimizing T-Mobile Starlink beta for newer smartphones (majority released in the last two years). More devices will be optimized over time so please stay tuned. Find out more: https://sms.t-mobile.com/z3iPTYsK"."

Once it goes live will you be able to opt out like you currently can via the Settings app? That's all unclear for now.

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Earlier this week we heard news that Starlink satellite support was coming to iPhone as part of iOS 18.3 — but only if you’re a T-Mobile customer.

Starlink support was already confirmed for select Samsung Galaxy phones, and now it’s branching out to more devices — including Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Pixel 9 owners that have signed up for T-mobile’s Starlink beta program have already started receiving messages that they’re now eligible to take part. This message claims that users can message from “virtually anywhere”, and the only requirement is that you have the correct hardware and up-to-date software.

The correct hardware, of course, being satellite-capable hardware — something that the Pixel 9 does include. It’s unclear what software version is needed to access this feature, though since Android 15 includes satellite support that certainly couldn’t hurt. Not that I imagine there are many Pixel 9 owners that haven’t upgraded to Android 15 already.

So far it isn’t clear what kind of connectivity will be available to Pixel 9 owners. Elon Musk previously tweeted that the “current generation Starlink direct-to-phone constellation” supports medium resolution images, music & audio podcasts. However T-Mobile’s beta page specifies that the service is currently only available for text messaging — with voice and data coverage planned for some point in the future. So don’t expect much more than basic SMS-style texting for now.

T-Mobile doesn’t have a definitive list of devices that are eligible for the beta, though it has confirmed that the beta test is free.

Despite this, spaces are apparently limited and will be available to a “smaller number of T-Mobile postpaid customers” with the appropriate phones. You can register for a chance to join in on T-Mobile’s website, providing your name, email and phone number.

If you don’t want to wait, Google is providing 2 years free access to its Satellite SOS feature. The upside is that it’s not limited to T-Mobile customers, but the downside is that this is an emergency feature — and can’t be used to text your mom when there’s no cell signal. However Apple’s recent Messages via Satellite feature does let you send non-emergency messages, which is worth bearing in mind as well.

Neither of these features utilize Starlink infrastructure either, if that’s something that matters to you.

In any case it is a good thing to see that satellite communication is on the upswing, even if it is restricted to the most basic kinds of messaging. These are features that can (and have) saved lives, and the easier they are to access the better.

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With the release of iOS 18.3 comes a surprise release, as T-Mobile users with access to the Starlink Beta can now connect to Starlink satellites on compatible iPhones.

Originally spotted by Bloomberg, it seems that Apple has secretly worked with SpaceX and T-Mobile U.S. to provide an alternative satellite service. This is quite a surprise, as T-Mobile had previously specified Starlink as an option for Samsung phones, like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Meanwhile, Apple has an in-house Satellite connection service due to a partnership with Globalstar Inc.

However, the Bloomberg report states that a select number of iPhone users have been able to enable the Starlink beta through T-Mobile. While we don't know which models will be compatible as of yet, T-Mobile told Bloomberg that the full release will support the vast majority of iPhones.

We also have an idea of what features it could bring, as Elon Musk posted on X that Starlink currently supports the transfer of images, music and even Audio Podcasts. He also said that the next generation will be able to transfer medium-quality video.

Currently, the T-Mobile Starlink beta is limited, but there are plans to expand the test to additional subscribers. If you want to join the beta then you can sign up on the T-Mobile website. However, it is worth noting that Starlink is only available in the U.S., and while it might be free during the beta, that is likely to change.

iPhone users in the program need to have updated to iOS 18.3, then they will see a new toggle in their iPhone cellular data settings to manage the feature.

There are certain advantages to satellite communication, especially when it comes to emergencies. In the case of Apple devices, it was introduced for iOS 18 and is supported on the iPhone 14, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 series. The feature is easy enough to use and seamlessly integrates with iMessage. The feature will activate as soon as the phone detects no cellular or Wi-Fi signal and supports both standard SMS and iMessage.

While it is good to see that Apple users will have more options, the real question is how much a Starlink connection will cost. The issue is that, outside of emergencies, the ability to send images and podcasts via the service seems minimal for the average user.

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Several users who signed up for the T-Mobile satellite messaging service beta have reported that the feature has been activated on their devices. The carrier opened registration for a direct-to-cell satellite service beta test with Starlink in December.

The first report of the beta going live came from a user on Reddit, who stated that they were let into the carrier's satellite messaging beta with no notification, text or email that it was available. The service was activated for them on their Magenta Max T-Mobile plan. The User, RoosterIntelligent32, also shared a screenshot of the satellite messaging options.

The image gives us some idea of how the feature will work. It appears that devices will connect to satellites as soon as the phone leaves network range, and will automatically reconnect when back in range. The page also notes that, for the best results, users should keep a clear view of the sky. Once your phone has connected to the satellite you'll be able to send and receive messages. In certain areas, it will also be possible to send text messages to emergency services.

The image also details that connecting to satellite networks is likely to take longer than a stable network connection. The connection can also be interrupted by certain structures and weather. Unfortunately, it is also clear that making phone calls over the satellite connection isn't possible. However, calls to emergency services may go through if you're close enough to a mobile network.

This isn't the first time that we've seen the satellite service on a phone go live with no warning. For instance, back in May, several users for T-Mobile reported that the feature had gone live on their devices after the release of the Android 15 beta 2. Meanwhile, we got a proper look at how satellite communication could work thanks to a recent report that got the feature working in Google Messages.

Satellite messaging will likely not affect many people in their day-to-day lives. However, it could help people in situations where their phone is otherwise useless. For the time being, we will have to see how well the feature works when it finally rolls out.

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A new report has revealed what satellite messaging on Android phones could look like.

One of the big features mentioned for Android 15 was the support for Satellite messaging. However, while the OS is capable of using the feature, it still requires support from carriers to actually work. Yesterday T-Mobile announced that its satellite messaging service, in collaboration with Starlink, would be going into beta mode. While its eventual release would make it possible to communicate via satellites, we had no idea what the feature would look like, until now.

In a recent report, Android Authority was able to get the satellite connectivity options to appear in the Google Messages app. When activated it appears that the messages app will send a pop-up that encourages users to connect to the satellite to send and receive messages. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be an option to connect to group chats, so they may not be supported.

According to the report, the pop-up will appear as soon as users leave both cellular and WI-FI range, and can be activated with the press of a button. The connection will also be cut as soon as a user gets back into a range of more terrestrial connection sources.

Satellite messaging is one of the more helpful upgrades to smartphone technology in the last few years, with Apple launching Emergency SOS via satellite in 2022 with the iPhone 14 series. This year Apple debuted the ability to send messages via satellite with iOS 18. The advantages are obvious from an emergency perspective as it allows users to connect wherever they might be.

Android 15 has been out for a long time, so it's a bit disappointing that this feature still isn't active yet. In fact, Google is tipped to launch Android 16 earlier than expected with a possible launch date of June 3.

We don't know when T-Mobile, or other carriers, will make Satellite Messaging available to the public. However, there is no doubt that it will be a massive improvement to some of the best Android phones when it finally does.

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Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a new rule that would make unlocking phones and switching carriers easier. 

The initial announcement was made on June 27, but the FCC officially proposed the rule change less than a month later on July 18. When a rule is officially proposed, typically, the FCC allows for comments and responses from the public. 

Network carriers T-Mobile and AT&T released their response to the rule this week. The proposal would require carriers to unlock phones with 60 days of activation, even if under contract and not paid off.

The two carriers are arguing that unlocking phones so soon is actually harmful to their customers claiming that locking a phone to a provider makes the phones cheaper for both the companies and their customers. Consumer advocacy groups have said that the FCC's rule helps give people more choices and would lower their costs.

"If the Commission mandates a uniform unlocking policy, it is consumers—not providers—who stand to lose the most," the company wrote in an October 17 filing to the FCC. "T-Mobile noted that consumers risk losing access to the benefits of free or heavily subsidized handsets because the proposal would force providers to reduce the line-up of their most compelling handset offers

In July's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, T-Mobile was specifically highlighted by FCC because of a policy where prepaid handsets sold by the sub-brand Metro are locked to the network for at least a year after purchase.

In T-Mobile's response (seen by Gizmodo) the company said, "A handset unlocking mandate would also leave providers little choice but to limit their handset offers to lower cost and offer lesser performing handsets."

In the proposal the FCC argues that "Even after fully paying for the phone, [customer's] ability to switch to another provider is limited by the locked phone. Additionally, locked phones, particularly those tied to pre-paid plans, can disadvantage low income consumers, as they often lack the resources to switch carriers or buy new phones."

As we found in June, three big carriers are all over unlocking after 60 days, T-Mobile actually offered 40 days, as long as your device is completely paid off.

How carriers lock you in

Typically though, these contracts have customers locked to higher-tier plans with "free" devices that get paid off as part of the contract. As an example, T-Mobile is currently offering the iPhone 16 Pro for free with "24 monthly bill credits" with those credits going away if you cancel before two years is up and it requires a Go5G Next plan, which is T-Mobile's highest available tier and costs $180 per month (for up to 3 lines). In the FCC's plan, there would be a hard requirement for unlocking to solve some of the confusion around plans like this.

Verizon, which has not made a public comment, doesn't have as stringent requirements surrounding their contracts possibly because of requirements imposed on the company after it purchased new wireless spectrums. That said, they do still push customers into higher tier contracts to receive "free" devices, like T-Mobile and AT&T.

"When you buy a phone, you should have the freedom to decide when to change service to the carrier you want and not have the device you own stuck by practices that prevent you from making that choice," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time of the proposal.

At the end of the day, two-year contracts and "subsidized" smartphones hide the true costs of the devices in people's pockets. Unbinding contracts and handset pricing might reveal the true cost of phones and how much you're actually paying. Locking obscures the price and keeps people stuck with carriers longer than they potentially want to be.

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Two new studies from the mobile analystics company RootMetrics have been released with a look at how network carriers performed through the first-half of 2024.

The first study took a look at the state of 5G connectivity in the United States. T-Mobile took top spots for speed and coverage in a speed study from Ookla. Surprisingly, and for the first time in awhile, a different network carrier took the top spot in RootMetrics' 5G testing. 

Of the three major metrics that were looked at, Verizon was awarded the winner in two: speed and reliability. T-Mobile won for availability, confirming data from the previous Ookla report. AT&T was generally in third place.

It's a pretty significant shift from the 2023 report that came out earlier this year. In that study, T-Mobile was tops in availability and speed. Verizon still won for reliability in that study.

Across the board, what seemed to separate Verizon from its competitors was the company's network speed outside of major metropolitan areas. Seemingly, the big 3 carriers all have very similar performance in cities, but once you leave high-population centers it can get more spread out.

Based on the most current study and the earlier 2023 one, the difference is what data Rootmetrics used. Previous studies apparently mostly just looked at metropolitan areas or combined urban stats and rural stats. 

The newer study separated out data for rural areas and shows a marked difference between the carriers as they get away from cities.

Accordingly, Verizon also won its seventh straight "Most Reliable 5G" award from RootMetrics, which was bolstered by the new inclusion of rural scores in this year's study.

Perhaps T-Mobile will catch up as the company is showing a commitment to be available everywhere.

The second study from the firm was on the state of mobile through the first half of the year. 

For the most part its a summary of "awards" for how each carrier performed in various markets across the country. However, there are some insights that can be gleaned. 

T-Mobile continued to have the best download speed across major markets capable of hitting 100 Mbps in every market. 

In general, every company was able to improve their download speeds, though AT&T trailed the other two by quite the margin in most tests. Though the report claimed that AT&T performed better in categories like call and text performance. 

Should you consider switching carriers if the numbers speak to you? 

Perhaps. Verizon appears to have the most consistence performance across the board, while AT&T looks to be decent at everything, and T-Mobile has the coverage and speed.

None of that guarantees that you will be able to connect to the network and get those services. Tom's Guide editor Mark Spoonauer recently switched from Verizon to T-Mobile and found that his devices did not enjoy the speed and coverage that the network supposedly provides.

And they are close enough in score that you should find pretty good service everywhere, especially metropolitan areas. 

If the network isn't working, you could always check out some of the best carriers that aren't the big three. 

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T-Mobile continues to blanket the country in pink speed as the "Un-carrier" was reported to have the fastest mobile network in the US. 

The report furnished by Ookla, a web testing and network diagnostics company, looked at several metrics over the first half of 2024. T-Mobile was either comfortably ahead of competitors Verizon and AT&T or blowing them out of the water. 

Ookla studied the speed of the network carriers' mobile networks, their 5G network speed, network consistency, video experiences, gaming experiences and how consumers felt about their carriers. 

In the mobile network and 5G tests, T-Mobile's network showed median download speeds of over 220 megabits per second (Mbps). Verizon and AT&T were further away at around 110 Mbps on their mobile networks. The report notes that Verizon has significantly improved since last year, with their 5G speeds hitting 191 Mbps compared to 146 in 2023.

All three companies were relatively similar in consistency, as Ookla tests found that they all exceeded 80%, meeting the threshold of 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload throughput. T-Mobile was the highest at 86%.

Similar stories can be read in video and gaming for the trio of network carriers. And they weren't far off in consumer sentiment, with AT&T being rated the lowest at 3.14 stars out of 5, while T-Mobile was at 3.79 stars out of 5.

It should be noted that these tests are a general outlay of the United States. On a state-by-state level, it can be a different story. For example, Illinois had the fastest median download speeds of around 160 Mbps. Meanwhile, states like South Dakota, Maine and Vermont hover around only 42 Mbps, an astounding drop-off. T-Mobile led the pack in every state except North Dakota, where Verizon is the fastest.

Should you switch to T-Mobile?

With all this talk of superior speed and consistency, should you consider switching to T-Mobile? 

Maybe.

Since acquiring Sprint and its network in 2020, T-Mobile has been integrating the yellow carrier's network into a nearly 100% pink coverage map. This isn't to say that the coverage is always good, though.

Our global editor-in-chief, Mark Spoonauer, recently switched from Verizon to T-Mobile; in his words, it's been a total disaster. 

Based out of New York, the T-Mobile network consistently had problems staying connected or getting connected for him.

"Overall, I’ve not been satisfied with T-Mobile’s network based on my experience so far. It has simply not been reliable enough for calls. Even while writing this story and talking to my wife on the way home, she cut out every few sentences or so, and I kept having to ask her to repeat herself. That's not sustainable."

Is one man's anecdotal evidence enough to say you shouldn't try it?

Not necessarily, but it is something to consider if the speed tests made your eyes go wide with network envy. 

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T-Mobile users have recently found that the previously hidden Satellite Messaging page on their device has gone live after the release of the Android 15 Beta 2.

According to a report by Android Authority, users on T-Mobile’s Reddit community report that the “Satellite Messaging” feature has gone live for them. Erichola, a Reddit user on T-Mobile's Magenta plan, shared a screenshot from their Pixel 7 that showed satellite messaging was now included with their account. Another Redditor, Jonathan3579, also reported the same on their Pixel 8 Pro that was subscribed to a "converted SWAC (Sprint Wireless Advantage Club)" plan.

Satellite communication has been rumored to be part of Android 15 for a while, with lines of code found in Google Messages hinting at the feature. T-Mobile also announced that it was working with Space X to release satellite communication to LTE-capable phones and we would see connectivity later this year.

Why don't more phones have satellite connections?

Satellite communication is difficult to implement on phones, partially due to requiring specialized hardware to function. While there are options, they are an added cost that hardware developers can't always afford. Part of this increased cost is due lack of an industry standard for connection, which has led to hardware vendors creating their own proprietary solutions. 

However, the feature is still being worked on with a particular focus on SOS services. For instance, Apple released its SOS satellite service for the iPhone 14 which aims to help people in areas with no signal reception, and Google was working on a similar feature. Android 15 will also allow users to share their location on Google Maps via Satellite instead of over WiFi.

T-Mobile's version is less specific, and will reportedly allow users to text anyone. While this is a great idea it should be noted that the feature has not been officially released yet, so it is unlikely anyone can send any messages.

For more news on what is coming with the next Android update check our Android 15 hub which we update with all the news and rumors as we hear them.

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T-Mobile has finally completed its acquisition of Mint Mobile and its two sister companies. While it's a big purchase, it doesn't mean major changes are coming right away.

The wireless carrier announced on Wednesday (May 1) that it's officially completed its acquisition of Ka'ena Corporation, the parent company of direct-to-consumer prepaid wireless carrier Mint Mobile, international-focused carrier Ultra Mobile, and wholesale wireless company Plum. 

T-Mobile said that it plans to keep the existing leadership team in place, including Mint co-founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim at Ka'ena Corporation. It will retain actor and Mint Mobile spokesperson Ryan Reynolds in his existing role.

Last year, the company revealed that it was planning to acquire Mint Mobile and its parent company Ka'ena Corporation. The company said at the time that it would acquire Ka'ena with a combination of cash and stock, and would pay up to $1.4 billion for the company. 

Needless to say, it was a major move for T-Mobile, which has been trying to build out its broader wireless business in competition with AT&T and Verizon. While there are plenty of prepaid wireless carriers in the market, Mint Mobile's alignment with Ryan Reynolds, along with its unique marketing efforts, has made it a standout in the space.

Indeed, T-Mobile said on Wednesday that it doesn't plan to change much at Mint Mobile and will follow Reynolds' lead in marketing the brand going forward. It also said it hopes to integrate some of Mint's marketing tactics into its own efforts.

Looking ahead, however, T-Mobile said it plans to enhance its offerings to customers. It said it will make a $15 "Commitmint" starting today that all Mint Mobile customers will continue to have access to its $15-a-month plan through the end of the year.

In the coming months, T-Mobile will add a feature to both Mint and Ultra that will help customers identify if a call is spam. It also said that it will soon add unlimited talk and text, along with 3GB of high-speed data, while roaming in Canada for free. It'll also allow Ultra customers in Mexico to get enhanced data roaming options.

For now, then, don't expect much to change if you're using Mint Mobile or Ultra. But as we've seen with a countless number of acquisitions over the years, over time, as leadership changes occur and parent companies want to find ways to get more out of their investments, changes become inevitable. And while it doesn't appear too many changes will be happening this year, keep a close eye on T-Mobile next year as it potentially eyes changes.

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Deciding which mobile device is the best phone for you is only the first decision you’ve got to make when getting a new handset. There’s also the matter of lining up wireless coverage, which includes trying to figure out just how much data you need in your monthly plan.

These days, wireless carriers want to steer you toward unlimited data, and it’s a tempting argument. The best unlimited data plans give you more than enough data to stream all your favorite shows and music on the go — not to mention handle all your gaming, browsing and app use. But more often than not, unlimited data is the most expensive option available at a wireless carrier — hey, there’s a reason they’re pushing you in that direction — and for some people, all that data can be overkill.

Unfortunately, there’s no definitive answer on what the best cell phone plan is — it really depends on how you use your mobile device. Some people use their phones as their primary device throughout the day, making unlimited data a more practical choice. Others may only use their phones sparingly, making them a better fit for low- or tiered-data plans. And there’s plenty of smartphone owners between those two extremes.

Add to that the differences in what kind of streaming content you consume. If you’re watching movies in HD and playing online games, you’ll undoubtedly need more data than the person who just streams some music and visits the occasional website.

If you struggle to know just how much data you should be paying for each month, consider this a guide on how to determine your data needs when you’re searching for a new data plan.

Knowing your data plan options

Depending on who your carrier of choice is — or who you might be switching to — you’re going to find a host of data usage options. The Big Three carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — emphasize unlimited data for their postpaid plans, but if you consider their best prepaid phone plans, you’ll find tiered data geared toward people who don’t want or need unlimited data. T-Mobile, for example, lets you spend as little as $15/month for 3.5GB of data. (The disadvantage with that low-cost plan is that once you’ve used those 3.5GB, you’re out of data for the remainder of the monthly billing cycle.)

As you might expect, the more data you plan to use with one of the Big Three carriers’ plans, the more your plans will cost. Take Verizon, which has a $35/month prepaid plan offering 15GB of data. Switch over to the carrier’s postpaid unlimited plans, and you’re looking at a nearly twice that for the entry-level Unlimited Welcome plan.

Unlimited data doesn’t have to be expensive — provided you’re willing to look beyond the major carriers’ offerings. At discount providers like Mint Mobile, Visible and Tello, for instance, you can find unlimited data plans for $30 or less. And those plans all use the networks of more established carriers (T-Mobile in the case of Mint and Tello, Verizon for Visible). The catch is you won’t find as many perks, and your traffic will get deprioritized if the network your own is congested. (Mint also requires you to pay for a year of service upfront for its $30/monthly unlimited plan pricing.)

Just remember that even unlimited data plans aren’t entirely unlimited. Many carriers set limits on just how much data you can consume in a given month before your speeds are slowed, especially on lower-cost unlimited plans. Visible’s cheapest $25 unlimited plan will slow your speeds whenever there’s heavy traffic, while you get 50GB of data on Visible’s $45 unlimited plan before your speeds are slowed. Mint Mobile can start slowing things down once you hit 40GB. At the larger carriers, caps on high-speed data vary from plan to plan.

You can consult our assorted guides to cell phone plans for more information on different pricing options, including a look at the best cheap cell phone plans under $40 a month.

Determining your data usage

In addition to pinpointing how much you might have to pay, it’s helpful to figure out how much data you’re using. Fortunately, that calculation is a lot more straightforward than figuring out what different carriers charge for data.

Instead of evaluating your daily habits, you can instead head over to your phone’s settings to see how much data you’ve used over a period of time. On an iPhone, you can find that by tapping to Settings > Cellular, Cellular Data, or Mobile Data (depending on your version of iOS) and see your data usage. Android users can find their usage by tapping Settings > Network & Internet > SIMs > App Data Usage.

Armed with that data, you can then get a sense of which plans may be best based on how you currently use your devices.

Data usage by mobile activity

Maybe you’re wondering what’s taking up all that data. Or maybe you’re new to mobile hones and haven’t really developed a steady history of usage. In either case, consider how you plan to use your device and how much data that’s going to require.

Determining data usage is a decidedly more difficult task, but companies like Verizon and AT&T have tried to provide general estimates so you can get a sense of your data usage. Here’s a rundown of common tasks based on that data to give you a better sense of where all the data goes.

That info from AT&T isn’t based on specific apps, but it still provides a framework around how the apps you use will greatly affect your data consumption. For instance, if you spend most of your time in Netflix and YouTube streaming video, you’re more likely to hit a lower data cap than if you spend your time listening to music or podcasts. Indeed, just streaming a one-hour video in 4K on Netflix will cost you nearly 6GB of data, compared to an hour on Spotify, where your music streaming will account for roughly 4MB of usage.

Useful data usage calculators

Since everyone’s phone usage differs, there’s a handful of reliable data usage calculators available for you to calculate your own expected consumption. 

AT&T’s calculator offers sliders that let you see how data usage changes based on the amount of time you watch video or how many emails you send. T-Mobile and Verizon both offer sliders and filters so you can check on data usage based on time. All of the calculators keep a tally as you go, so you can see just how much data you may use.

Tips for saving data

No discussion on data usage is complete without looking into ways to conserve the data you have. After all, if you want to consume content on your device, finding ways to do that without hammering your pool of data can save you in the long run.

For one, consider using your phone’s settings to turn off the ability for certain apps that use a lot of data to work on a cellular network. You may also find some apps that come with data-saving features that you can turn on in-app.

Background refresh in apps running on your device, along with GPS tracking can also put a hit on data usage. Follow our guides on how to turn off background app refreshes on your iPhone and restrict background data on Android. 

When it’s time to download files like podcasts or videos, doing so over a Wi-Fi connection instead of cellular can keep your data count low, too. In fact, whenever you can safely  jump on a wireless network instead of using your data network, do it. You’ll use less data over time.

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T-Mobile is expanding its lineup of unlimited data plans, with an eye toward tweaking its phone carrier rivals while also giving customers the chance to upgrade their phone every two years.

Announced today (April 20), the Go5G and Go5G Plus offerings cost $5 more than T-Mobile's current Magenta and Magenta Max unlimited plans. The biggest difference is that latest plans offer what T-Mobile is calling "upgrade flexibility," building in the ability to get a new phone after two years.

"The promise that we're making customers is that they can get the very best device deals every two years," said Jon Freier, president of T-Mobile's consumer division.

T-Mobile says it's responding to three-year agreements offered by AT&T and Verizon, its biggest rivals when it comes to the best phone carriers competition. Not only does that lock people into using the same device for three years, the carrier says it leaves them subject to rate hikes.

The new Go5G plans weren't the only T-Mobile announcements at the company's latest Uncarrier event today. T-Mobile also unveiled new incentives for leaving behind your current carrier, while also introducing a way to simplify returning to your old wireless provider if you end up not caring for T-Mobile's service. In addition, the company is dropping the price of its lower-cost Essentials unlimited plan as part of a limited-time promotion.

Here's a closer look at all the T-Mobile announcements from today's Uncarrier event and how the new offers compare to some of the best unlimited data plans out there.

T-Mobile's new Go5G and Go5G Plus plans

The Go5G and Go5G Plus monthly plans start at $75 and $90, respectively, for a single line of data. That's $5 more each month than the existing Magenta and Magenta Max options, which had been among the best T-Mobile plans.

A second line of data for Go5G costs $55 while additional lines cost $25 each. That means a family of four would pay $180 each month compared to $160 for four lines under the Magenta plan. Similarly, four lines of Go5G Plus costs $220 per month, which is $20 more than what Magenta Max customers would pay.

The extra money gives you the ability to upgrade your phone every two years under the Go5G plans. The plans are also subject to Price Lock, which is T-Mobile's guarantee that it won't raise rates if you keep your plan.

The Go5G plans enjoy the same benefits as Magenta and Magenta Max customers, including picking up the coast of a Netflix subscription for accounts with two or more lines. The Go5G plans also enjoy the same travel perks as their Magenta counterparts, and Go5G Plus customers get the same complimentary Apple TV Plus subscription that Magenta Max subscribers receive.

One of the noteworthy changes involves hotspot data, as Go5G customers get more of it. Specifically, Go5G accounts receive 15GB of high-speed hotspot data while Go5G Plus subscribers get 50GB. That's 10GB more than what comes with either Magenta plan.

The Go5G plans also get 5GB more high-speed data for use when traveling in Canada and Mexico — 10GB for Go5G customers and 15GB if you get Go5G Plus.

The cost of a single line Go5G Plus is comparable to what Verizon charges for its $90 Get More plan as well as AT&T's $85 Unlimited Premium Plan. Both of those plans offer extensive perks. Verizon's Get More includes the Disney Plus bundle with ESPN Plus and Hulu while also letting you accrue Travel Passes that cover using your cell phone plan overseas. AT&T's top unlimited plan lets you use your data in 19 Latin American countries. Neither of those plans includes the ability to easily upgrade phones, though, and T-Mobile also bakes the cost of taxes and fees into its rates.

To mark the launch of the Go5G plans, T-Mobile is letting Go5G Plus customers get a free 5G phone with an eligible trade-in. Phones released in the last six years are eligible for a trade-in value, with T-Mobile offering up to $800 to cover the cost of the new phone.

T-Mobile's Go5G plans go live on April 23.

T-Mobile's Easy Unlock and Go Back Guarantee

T-Mobile already offers to pay off early termination fees when you switch to its phone service from your current carrier, covering up to $650 of your costs. That's not changing under T-Mobile's Easy Unlock program, but now you'll be able to trade in your existing phone for a new device. The offer is good for up to two lines, T-Mobile's Freier said.

Easy Unlock is a limited time promotion.

If you do switch to T-Mobile and find the new service wanting, a new Go Back Guarantee takes some of the complications out of switching back. Drop T-Mobile as your carrier within 30 days of switching, and the carrier will give you $50 back for each line of data to pay off your bill — essentially waiving the cost of your first month of service should you decide to switch back.

T-Mobile Essentials pricing

T-Mobile Essentials, the carrier's least expensive unlimited data plan, is getting a temporary discount to mark all of T-Mobile's other promotions. Normally $60 a month for one line, Essentials will now cost $50.

The discounts also extend to multiple lines of T-Mobile Essentials, where a family of four would now pay $100 per month instead of the usual $120. Those prices are covered by Price Lock as well.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best family cell phone plans
• Is Mint Mobile still worth it with T-Mobile taking over?
• How to save money on your cell phone bill

The iOS 16.4 beta has an in-development treat for iPhone 14 series owners in the form of boosted 5G connectivity.

The biggest update in the new iOS beta is compatibility with the 3.45GHz "mid-band" 5G spectrum that AT&T is rolling out. Other big U.S. carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon already have major mid-band presences on iPhone, so it's good that AT&T's now supported too.

T-Mobile subscribers have also received a boon in iOS 16.4 in the form of 5G Stand-Alone support. Plus, carriers' ability to combine cell frequencies (known as carrier aggregation) for faster data transfer has been improved in the beta as well, which unlike the other upgrades is not exclusive to any carrier.

Mid-band is considered the best compromise when it comes to 5G frequency. It balances the speed of high-band 5G (such as mmWave) with the coverage of low-band 5G, meaning more people get quicker data speeds.

Testing of AT&T mid-band 5G on an iOS 16.4 beta-equipped iPhone by iClarified showed up to 10x download speeds compared to previous performance, since this spectrum is being rolled out to areas without previous mid-band coverage. 

Annoyingly, it's only the iPhone 14 that this will work with. AT&T promised previously that older 5G-compatible iPhones would also be covered by its mid-band 5G, but now only the most recent models will get updated to support it.

If you have the beta installed, you can try out these new 5G bands now on an iPhone 14, but otherwise you'll need to wait for the full iOS 16.4 release. That probably won't be far off though, as the final stable release is thought to be coming around March.

iOS 16.4 contains more goodies than 5G improvements. It'll also introduce new emoji, updates to the Music and Podcasts apps, new always-on display settings and other small refinements. We'll be keeping track of all the updates during the betas, as well as giving you our final thoughts when the stable version is released in a few weeks' time. 

T-Mobile has suffered yet another data breach with the mobile carrier revealing in a regulatory filing that up to 37 million of its customers may be affected.

The U.S. mobile carrier first discovered that hackers had entered its systems on January 5 of this year. In a press release, T-Mobile explained that access to its systems was shut down within 24 hours but during that time, the hackers behind the attack managed to obtain a great deal of its customers’ personal data.

However, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, the company believes that the hackers may have had access to its systems since November 25 of last year. Besides conducting its own internal investigation, T-Mobile also worked with law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity consultants to discover how they were able to access its systems.

As it turns out, “a bad actor used a single Application Programming Interface (or API) to obtain limited types of information” from customer accounts. Fortunately, T-Mobile’s systems and policies “prevented the most sensitive types of customer information from being accessed” but a concerning amount of customer data has been exposed as the result of the breach.

Customer info exposed (but not financial data)

According to T-Mobile, the hackers responsible for the company’s second major data breach may have accessed customer names, billing addresses, emails, phone numbers, birth dates and account numbers though the number of lines on their accounts and plan features could also have been accessed.

No passwords, payment information, Social Security numbers, government ID numbers or other financial account information was exposed as a result of the data breach. 

Although T-Mobile tried to downplay the breach in its statement on the matter by saying the customer information obtained is “widely available in marketing databases or directories”, it’s still a big deal and the company could face scrutiny and possibly even fines from regulators. With all this information in the hands of hackers, T-Mobile customers are more likely to fall victim to phishing attacks or even identity theft.

T-Mobile has committed to making “substantial, multi-year investments” to strengthen its cybersecurity program but it hasn’t gone as far as to offer the best identity theft protection services free of charge to affected customers, yet. However, this could change, especially if there’s a lot of backlash regarding the breach.

How to stay safe after a company you do business with suffers a data breach

Although you can install the best antivirus software on your computer to protect you from malware and other cyber attacks, there really isn’t much you can do when a company you do business with falls victim to a data breach. As login information wasn’t exposed, changing your password won’t do much good but it might be worthwhile if you aren’t using a strong, complex and unique password to secure your T-Mobile account.

If you’re extra cautious though, you may still want to consider investing in identity theft protection as many of the companies that offer these services include Dark Web scans that can look to see if your personal information is already in the hands of hackers. See our roundup of the best identity theft protection services based on our testing. 

In this case, we’ll just have to wait and see as to how T-Mobile responds. For instance, thousands of PayPal customers recently fell victim to a credential stuffing attack and the company provided them with free identity monitoring for two years even though it wasn’t at fault.

If you're thinking about making the switch to T-Mobile, better do it sooner rather than later if you want to avoid an extra fee.

The wireless carrier, which has long prided itself on zigging where other providers zag, is picking up one of the practices of its rivals and charging a fee for any activations or upgrades, even those you handle yourself online. Previously, that kind of fee only applied to in-store interactions.

T-Mo Report first broke the news of the $35 activation fee based on internal documents it had seen as well as on information posted to Reddit. T-Mobile subsequently confirmed the reports, saying that the one-time charge would apply to all new mobile broadband devices, whether the transaction took place in its stores or online.

"We're simplifying Assisted Support and Upgrade Support one-time charges, which were previously applied differently across channels and devices, to deliver a more consistent and straightforward experience for customers," a T-Mobile spokesperson said in a statement to Tom's Guide.

The fees took effect for broadband and Beyond the Smartphone devices yesterday (November 3). Smartphones will be subject to the $35 fee on November 15.

We rank T-Mobile as one of the best phone carriers, largely because it tends to avoid the practices of other carriers, like charging seemingly random fees. For instance, T-Mobile bakes taxes and fees into the cost of its $70/month Magenta unlimited plan so that you'll always pay the same amount every month.

The $35 activation fee stings, but T-Mobile stresses that it's a one-time charge — and it's also one you can avoid by activating a new smartphone with the carrier prior to the November 15 date for the fee to take effect.

For what it's worth, the T-Mobile fee is the exact amount AT&T and Verizon charge customers when they activate a new line of service or upgrade their device. All this does is eliminate one way you can save money on your cell phone bill by handling activations yourself.

With that $35 fee going into effect on November 15, it's more important than ever to find ways to keep smartphone costs down. One good way is to keep an eye peeled for the best cell phone deals, which figure to become more prominent as Black Friday deals start heating up.

Here’s something we never thought we'd see a phone carrier launch — a smart suitcase. T-Mobile, along with Samsara, has just lifted the curtains on its new smart carry-on suitcase called the “Un-carrier On.” No that’s not a clever pun, but the actual name of the suitcase. 

Some of the best smart luggage are known to have USB charging ports or even power banks. But T-Mobile takes the feature-list with this carry on one step ahead. As the carrier itself said in announcing the Un-Carrier On, there’s a lot to unpack here. 

T-Mobile claims the Un-carrier On is the only suitcase to offer wireless charging for your phone. There is a small slot in the bag, where a phone can be slipped in for Qi charging. There’s also USB charging via a removable and rechargeable 10,000mAh power bank. 

The bag also comes equipped with an Apple AirTag to track your bag through all the airport chaos during any holiday travel. T-Mobile also thinks that people might want to push out that last email by using the suitcase as a workstation and that’s exactly what they’ve given us — the Un-Carrier On's flat top can double as a workstation.

The carry-on bag gimmick is meant to draw attention to the Coverage Beyond initiative T-Mobile rolled out earlier this year. Through that program, T-Mobile customers with the carrier's Magenta Max plan enjoy full-flight Wi-Fi on Delta, American, United and Alaska Airlines. That plan is also eligible for up to 5GB of high-speed data in 215-plus countries, making T-Mobile one of the best international phone plan options.

Now, T-Mobile's limited edition carry-on offers customers some high tech features and some more practical ones too like TSA-approved combination locks, 360-degree spinning wheels and T-Mobile branded eight-bag packing set. 

The Un-carrier On is now available for pre-order, probably just in time for your holiday travel, though it's not a cheap splurge. T-Mobile offers the suitcase only in a stark bright pink/magenta color for $325. That’s pretty steep for a promo bag and like my colleague Automotive Editor Tom Pritchard says, “unless it's capable of following you autonomously, a suitcase does not need to be smart”. 

I myself might skip ordering this one. Don’t get me wrong, though — I like that it offers wireless charging and Apple AirTag connectivity. T-Mobile tries very hard to make a case for itself (excuse the pun) with an overdose of features — and whether we need them or not, they’re all there in this case. 

Your days with the physical SIM card are numbered. Apple launched the iPhone 14 models in the US as eSIM-only, leaving out physical SIM cards altogether, so you can expect new models from now on to follow suit.

While eSIM is not a new concept, Apple is swimming against the tide by not including a SIM tray on the new iPhones.

This drew a lot of concerns from people saying that it will be difficult to use the new phones while traveling to developing countries. Apple has since then published a support document that highlights different options of using eSIM on the new iPhones.

eSIMs are embedded SIMs that can be electronically programmed. It is a more secure way of enabling a carrier on a phone as it can’t get lost or stolen. It also eliminates the need to obtain, carry, and swap physical SIM cards. Apple introduced eSIM with the iPhone XS and every iPhone model after that has supported the digital SIM card. Many of the best Android phones have also had eSIM capabilities for years. 

Apple allows you to store up to 8 eSIMs and use two numbers simultaneously (the eSIM version of dual SIMs). We recently found traveling with an eSIM (on an iPhone XR even) is not a hassle as there are many different carriers that offer good voice and data plans abroad. 

The good news for U.S. users is that some of the best carriers in the country offer eSIM and it is very simple to set up. So if you’re in the US and have just got yourself the new iPhone 14 or later, here’s how you can set up eSIM on it.

 How to activate eSIM on iPhone

Installing a SIM might sound like a daunting process, but Apple has made it pretty simple, with on-screen instructions doing most of the set up for you. There are different ways to add or enable any eSIM from a carrier on your new iPhone. 

If you have bought an eSIM online and need to activate it, you can do so manually by tapping into Settings > Mobile Data > Add Data plan.

You will see a screen that says “Set up mobile service” and will give you two options: transfer from a nearby iPhone or use QR code. Scanning the QR Code will walk you through the quick process to set up the eSIM.

You can directly scan a QR Code to enable eSIM as well without going into Settings. 

Most carriers send push notifications once the QR Code is scanned that then hand holds you through the rest of the steps. You can also use your carrier’s mobile app, which will also guide you through instructions on the screen to complete the setup process.

Transferring an eSIM or a physical SIM

Chances are that you would want to transfer your existing number to your new iPhone 14. Luckily, there is a snappy way of doing that. The eSIM setup option on iOS is called eSIM Quick Transfer that allows users to transfer their previous iPhone SIM (whether physical or eSIM) to an eSIM.

This is one of the easiest ways to transfer SIMs if you’re upgrading from a previous iPhone. The only catch is that both the iPhones have to be running iOS 16 or later.

For Quick Transfer, open your Settings app, tap on Mobile Data and then “Add data plan”.

Now choose a mobile data plan to transfer from another device. If you can't see a list of numbers, tap on “Transfer From Another Device”. Your previous iPhone should confirm the transfer and might ask you to enter a verification number on your new iPhone. 

The mobile data plan should get activated automatically on your new device. Apple says “Your previous SIM is deactivated when the mobile data plan on your new iPhone is activated."

To continue setting up the new eSIM for voice and text, tap on “Finish Setting Up Your Network Provider's Data Plan” that should pop up as a banner. This will take you to the carrier's website to transfer your eSIM.

How to activate an eSIM through carriers

If you want to set up a new number on your iPhone then this is the route to take. 

Most leading carriers provide eSIMs, some of which have the same plans that are offered for physical SIMs. Here’s how to set up eSIMs from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile on your new iPhone. There are other carriers like Mint Mobile that also provide eSIMs, we are focussing on these three carriers in this guide. 

Do note that if you experience any issues while setting up your eSIM, it is best to call your carrier provider to complete your set up.

AT&T 

•  Sign in to your AT&T account 
•  Click on “My devices” 
•  Find your iPhone or any other phone you are setting up and click on “Manage” 
•  The click on “Options and Settings” 
•  From here you can click on “Get a new eSIM” 
•  Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the set up 

 Verizon 

• Sign in to the Verizon app or website 
•  Find the device you want eSIM on and set up an eSIM profile 
•  You can also scan a QR code to activate an eSIM 

T-Mobile 

• Sign in to your T-Mobile account on the app or website 
•  Find your device you want the eSIM on and select a phone number 
•  Follow the on-screen instructions to set up a new eSIM 
•  You can also can a QR code to activate an eSIM 

For more iPhone tutorials, get started with how to enable Sound Recognition on iPhone, which can listen out for and notify you about doorbells, smoke alarms and babies crying. Want a nicer feeling keyboard? Learn how to enable haptic keyboard on iPhone.

The launch of the iPhone 14 Pro is here. Apple confirmed its latest flagship phone during its highly-anticipated event today and we already have an idea of how to get one for free.

In a since-deleted Reddit post, PhoneArena reported on a rumored T-Mobile trade-in offer that would give certain customers $1,000 off on the iPhone 14 Pro. During Apple's launch event for the iPhone 14 Pro lineup, Apple confirmed that certain partners will be offering up to $1,000 off the iPhone 14 Pro and that the phone will cost just $999.

Since we know that there will be an up to $1,000 trade-in offer, it seems highly likely that this rumored T-Mobile offer is legit. Basically, you'll have to have a Magenta Max plan from T-Mobile and one of the following phones available for trade-in: iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, OnePlus 10 Pro, or Google Pixel 6 Pro. If you do, you get $1,000 on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

The major downside of this potential trade-in offer is that you'll have to be an early adopter to take advantage of the deal. People holding onto their old iPhone 6s like Chris Evans seemingly won’t be able to upgrade for free — though his new iPhone 12 Pro would be eligible if he feels the urge to move up. But if you are obsessed with having the latest and greatest from Apple, this could be a perfect time to upgrade to the latest iPhone.

iPhone 14 Pro upgrade: How it could work 

Obviously, this promotion is still not fully confirmed at this stage, but assuming it ends up being real, it will seemingly work as a $1,000 monthly billing credit that is applied evenly over 24 months. The only catch at that point is that you'll have to pay tax on the phone, which is typically also spread out over the same 24 months.

This would make the iPhone 14 Pro essentially free at its price of $1,000 and the $1,099 iPhone 14 Pro Max will run customers a mere $99 plus tax. Pre-orders for these two phones will start on September 9 and both phones have a release date of September 16.

Are there other rumored iPhone 14 Pro promotions? 

In addition to the iPhone 14 Pro trade-in promotion, T-Mobile is rumored to have some additional trade-in promotions starting as soon as September 9, according to PhoneArena. Apple confirmed that an $800 trade-in credit offer would be available for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus, which would make the $799 iPhone 14 free to eligible customers. It remains to be seen how that trade-in offer will work.

Whether you are ultimately eligible for these rumored trade-in offers or not, make sure to check out our tracker of all the latest iPhone 14 pre-order offers. Plus, stay tuned to our follow-up coverage from today's launch by following our Apple event live blog.

Not long ago, getting one of the best unlimited data plans from a major wireless carrier meant a big monthly bill each month. And to be sure, the top plans that come packed with perks still cost a pretty penny if you turn to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

But back in 2018, T-Mobile rolled out Essentials, a stripped-down version of its unlimited data plan available at a lower price. Eventually, T-Mobile's biggest competitors — perhaps feeling pressured from the best cheap cell phone plans that also include low-cost unlimited data — took notice. 

In the past year, AT&T and Verizon have both added entry-level unlimited data plans of their own. You won't find much in the way of perks, but you may not mind when your cell phone bill arrives at the end of each month.

Knowing what unlimited data plans are out there is especially vital at this time of year when phone makers are rolling out their fall flagship devices. Samsung just introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, its latest foldables, and the iPhone 14 should soon be arriving from Apple. If you're in the market for a new phone, it may pay to look for a new wireless plan as well — particularly one that doesn't charge you a lot for unlimited talk, text and data.

With that in mind, we wanted to compare the lowest-priced unlimited data plans available at the three major phone carriers. You'll find less expensive options at mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, and AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all offer more feature-packed plans at higher monthly rates. But consider this cheap unlimited data phone plan comparison a good starting point for understanding the going rate for unlimited data these days — especially if you run across the best cell phone deals that require you to sign up for an unlimited data plan.

Cheap unlimited data plans compared: AT&T vs. T-Mobile vs. Verizon

Cheap unlimited data plans: AT&T Value Plus Plan

What it costs, one line: $50/month

What it costs, four lines: N/A

AT&T's Value Plus plan is ideal for people who just need one line of unlimited data and don't require a lot of perks. For just $50 a month, Value Plus gives you talk, text and data with no limits, though AT&T reserves the right to slow your data speeds if its network is congested. That's what separates Value Plus from more expensive AT&T unlimited plans, which include a set amount of "premium data," or high-speed data that you can use without having to worry about throttling.

AT&T includes 5G coverage through its nationwide network with the Value Plus plan, and you'll be able to use your talk, text and data when traveling in Mexico or Canada. You can also enjoy unlimited texting from the U.S. to 200-plus countries. But that's about it when it comes to perks.

The biggest limitation with AT&T's Value Plus plan is that families can't take advantage of it — AT&T restricts Value Plus pricing to just one line. If you want to add multiple lines, you'll have to opt for one of AT&T's more expensive unlimited plans like the AT&T Unlimited Starter plan ($140 for four lines or $35/line) or AT&T Unlimited Extra ($160 for four lines or $40/line). Of course, those plans come with extra perks.

AT&T's next cheapest plan: AT&T Unlimited Stater costs $65 a month for a single line of data. That extra $15/month gets you 3GB of mobile hotspot data per line, and you can add multiple lines. Otherwise, perks aren't that much different from the Value Plus plan. If you aren't sure either of these is the plan for you, it's worth looking at our AT&T Mobility promo codes for other ways to save.

Cheap unlimited data plans: T-Mobile Essentials plan

What it costs, one line: $60/month

What it costs, four lines: $105/month ($26.25 per line)

T-Mobile's Magenta plan gets all the hype, but there's a cheaper option than the $70/month unlimited plan that's the carrier's flagship offering. T-Mobile Essentials offers unlimited data for less, though the perks aren't as generous as what you would get with Magenta or the even more expensive Magenta Plus option.

Still, Essentials offers more perks than you might expect. In addition to 5G coverage from T-Mobile's top-ranked 5G network, you can enjoy unlimited hotspot data, though it's restricted to 3G speeds. You can enjoy 50GB of unlimited data before T-Mobile can slow your speeds, which gives Essentials a leg up over the cheap unlimited plans from AT&T and Verizon. 

Normally, to get streaming services included with your wireless plan, you have to pay up for more expensive options, but Essentials customers do get a year of Paramount Plus for free. 

Unlike AT&T's Value Plus plan, Essentials supports multiple lines. As of this writing, a four-line plan costs $105/month or $26.25 for each line. But note that reflects a current promotion where T-Mobile is waiving the fee on the third line of data. Normally, four lines of Essentials will set you back $140 each month.

One big drawback to T-Mobile Essentials is that the rate doesn't include taxes and fees. Other T-Mobile unlimited plans bake taxes and fees into the monthly rate so that you're always paying the same amount.

T-Mobile's next cheapest plan: From Essentials, you can step up to the $70/month Magenta plan, which will cost a family of four $140 total, thanks to that discounted third line. Magenta doubles your premium data cap to 100GB, and your hotspot speeds increase to high-speed with a 5GB cap. Multi-line plans get a free Netflix subscription, and there are travel benefits like in-flight Wi-Fi, too.

Cheap unlimited data plans: Verizon Welcome Unlimited

What it costs, one line: $65/month

What it costs, four lines: $120/month ($30 per line)

Verizon's Welcome Unlimited is the relative newcomer to this mix of cheap unlimited plans, giving you a low entry price for unlimited data through Verizon's far-reach service. You can also get 5G coverage through Welcome Unlimited, though that's via Verizon's nationwide 5G network and not the much faster C-Band and mmWave-based 5G available in select cities.

As is commonplace among these cheap unlimited plans, perks are few and far between with Welcome Unlimited. You can expect to enjoy talk, text and data when you travel to Mexico and Canada, but that's about it. Verizon will slow your speeds if you its network gets congested.

Welcome Unlimited's greatest appeal is for families, where escalating discounts drop the per-line cost to $30 each month for four lines of data. While Verizon's other unlimited data plans let you mix and match plans, you don't have that luxury with Welcome Unlimited.

Verizon's next cheapest plan: If you want more perks with your unlimited data, the next step up at Verizon is the 5G Start plan, which costs $70 a month for just one line. Families pay $35/line for four lines of data. The extra perks include 5GB of hotspot data, plus assorted 6-month streaming trials to Disney Plus, Discovery Plus, Apple Music and whichever gaming service (Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass) strikes your fancy. 5G Play More, with its more extensive benefits, ups your cost to $80/month. You can also check our Verizon promo codes for other ways to save.

Other cheap unlimited data plans

There are cheaper unlimited plans available, if you're willing to look beyond the major wireless carriers, turning instead to discount services. Mint Mobile, for example, charges $30 a month for its unlimited plan, though after a three-month trial, you need to pay for a full year of service to get that low rate.

Visible, which just shuffled up its plans, now charges $30 a month for its entry-level unlimited plan, without the year commitment that Mint requires. For $45 a month, Visible includes perks like international calling and texting plus access to Verizon's fastest 5G network. (Visible is owned by Verizon and uses that carrier's network for coverage.) Tello offers the cheapest unlimited data plan by a $1, charging $29 for unlimited talk, text and data.

As we noted with Visible, these discount services use the big carriers' towers for their service — Verizon's in Visible's case, and T-Mobile's for Mint and Tello. On the bright side, that includes 5G coverage through those networks. On the down side, your data speeds can be slowed if the parent network is experiencing a lot of traffic.

Cheap unlimited data plans: Which should you pick?

As with any cell phone plan, picking the best cheap unlimited data offering from a major wireless carrier comes down to more factors than just price. However, if that's your primary concern, AT&T is the low-price champ with its Value Plus plan, provided you don't need more than one line of data. Families would be better off considering the Welcome Unlimited plan from Verizon, particularly if they live in an area where Verizon's coverage is strong.

Perks also play a role in picking a good unlimited plan, even if those perks aren't numerous for plans this cheap. Still, T-Mobile Essentials includes hotspot data (albeit at slow speeds) and a year of Paramount Plus. It's also the only unlimited plan to promise that your data speeds won't be slowed, at least for the first 50GB of data use. Because T-Mobile has the top-ranked 5G network, it's also best for 5G coverage, even with its cheapest unlimited data plan.

Perks are often a crucial factor in choosing one of the best unlimited data plans. The deals, discounts and features are usually the only way to see if a pack is offering a good value for money, especially as most plans offer the same basic package. As it stands, it is prudent to know what the perks are to pick the best cell phone plans.

We've just checked the major wireless carriers (again), and we count five different wireless carriers who incorporate some kind of streaming media subscription into at least one of their plans. And that's after some providers dropped that perk for new customers. 

How to stay on top of whether you can hook up with one or more of the best streaming services through your wireless provider? Turn to us for help. As part of our research into the best phone carriers, we've identified the ones that include streaming perks, breaking down the different unlimited plan options that currently include streaming service subscriptions. 

Cricket: HBO Max included, with a catch

If you wanted a wireless phone plan that included HBO Max, the place to turn to was AT&T. Sadly, during 2022, that perk came to an end. But you're not totally shut out if you're an HBO Max fan — and even better, the perk comes from a carrier that uses AT&T's network.

Cricket Wireless is owned and operated by AT&T, in fact, and it continues to include complimentary HBO Max for customers. There are two catches, though. First, you'll need to sign up for Cricket's most expensive plan — the $60/month Unlimited + 15GB Mobile Hotspot plan. (Only one guess as to the other key perk included with this plan.)

Second, not all versions of HBO Max are created equal. The one that Cricket features is the ad-supported tier of HBO Max, which normally costs $9.99/month. This tier also used to be locked out of the day-and-date releases where HBO Max would get big movies the same day as theaters did, but HBO Max no longer offers this.

You can only stream in HD quality on Cricket's Unlimited plan, though enrolling in auto pay saves you $5 each month.

Shop Cricket unlimited plans

Google Fi: No more YouTube ads

All right, so YouTube Premium isn't a streaming service with the depth and breadth of an HBO Max. It's just a paid version of YouTube that eighty-sixes the ads, lets you save videos offline and includes music content as well. In fact, we've got five good reasons to pay for an $11.95/month YouTube Premium subscription.

Sign up for the Unlimited Plus plan at Google Fi, though, and you don't have to pay for YouTube Premium for six months. It's included along with unlimited talk, text and data for Google's wireless service. Google Fi is particularly of interest to Pixel 7 and Pixel 6a owners since the service is optimized for those devices. (Select Samsung and Motorola phones are optimized, too.) Unlimited Plus is the only Google Fi plan to include a year of YouTube Premium as a perk — the cheaper unlimited plan and pay-as-you-go option skimp on this benefit.

We'll concede that a year of YouTube Premium for free is probably not a big enough perk to get people to switch to Google Fi. But the real benefit is to world travelers, who can use their plans at no additional cost when traveling in 200-plus countries.

Shop Google Fi Unlimited Plus plan

Metro By T-Mobile: Video via Vix Plus

Some bad news if you're considering Metro by T-Mobile — new customers can no longer get a free Amazon Prime membership when they sign up for the carrier's $60/month unlimited data offering. That's a bummer, as you not only enjoyed the shopping and shipping discounts that come with Prime, but you could also access both Prime Music and Prime Video.

Spanish speakers still have something to appreciate with Metro by T-Mobile, though. Any of the carrier's three unlimited data plan options includes a year subscription to ViX Plus, the Spanish-language streaming service.

You get the best additional perks with Metro's $60 monthly plan, which includes 20GB of hotspot data, 100GB of Google One storage and unlimited texting to 210-plus countries. The $50 unlimited option loses the texting benefit and drops the hotspot data to 5GB. The $40 monthly plan is a bare-bones option, including 5G coverage and access to T-Mobile weekly giveaways — benefits also included in the more expensive Metro plans.

Shop Metro by T-Mobile unlimited plans

T-Mobile: Three different streaming services

T-Mobile was one of the first wireless carriers to see the benefits in including access to streaming services as a perk for its unlimited data plans. A few years back, it started picking up the cost of Netflix subscriptions for customers with two lines of unlimited data. These days, the $70/month Magenta unlimited plan qualifies for T-Mobile to pick up the cost of one Netflix Basic subscription for accounts with two or more lines. Pay up for Magenta Max — which costs $85/month — and a single line of data can get the cost of a Netflix Basic account covered; two lines or more of Magenta Max entitles you to a Netflix Standard subscription.

Magenta Max subscribers can stream video in up to 4K UHD resolution. You're stuck on standard definition with the regular Magenta plan.

Regardless of whether they have Magenta or Magenta Max, T-Mobile customers get some Apple TV Plus. Regular Magenta subscribers get a six-month free trial, while Magenta Max subscribers get the service for free. And all T-Mobile customers regardless of their plan can now get Paramount Plus for a year through the wireless carrier.

Note that seniors who opt for the Magenta Max 55+ plan get the same streaming benefits as the regular Magenta Max offering, but at a lower monthly rate. That's why we think T-Mobile has the best cell phone plans for seniors.

Shop T-Mobile unlimited plans

Verizon: So many streaming services on so many plans

Verizon offers the most streaming services for customers with its unlimited data plans. But Verizon also offers the most convoluted collection of plans and streaming perks. Which services you get and for how long depends on which of Verizon's four different unlimited options you've signed up for. 

Let's start out with the streaming services that Verizon includes. The big one is the Disney Plus bundle, which actually encompasses three different services. In addition to Disney Plus, Verizon includes ESPN Plus and the ad-supported tier of Hulu (the one without live TV). All Verizon unlimited plans include some form of the Apple Music streaming service. In addition, you'll get a choice of game streaming services — either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass — presumably depending on your choice of phone with the carrier.

Customers who like a lot of streaming options should go or Verizon's Play More plan ($80/month for one line, with discounts available as you add more lines). Play More includes the Disney Plus bundle, plus a year of either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass. You get 6 months of Apple Music. 

Verizon's Do More plan costs the same $80 as Play More, but puts the emphasis on cloud storage perks. Here, you just get 6 months of Disney Plus, Apple Music and the gaming service subscription.

Verizon's ultimate plan, Get More, features the entire Disney bundle plus an Apple Music subscription for as long as you keep your Verizon account. You get year trials to a gaming service, along with the cloud storage from Get More. Those are big perks, and Get More has a big price tag to match — $90/month for one line.

Verizon's cheapest unlimited data plan offers a minimal assortment of streaming perks — just 6 months of Disney Plus, Apple Music and the gaming service of your choice. 5G Start costs $70/month for one line.

All four of these plans — Get More, Play More, Do More and Start — include a six-month Discovery Plus trial.

That's not it for Verizon and streaming services. The carrier's One Unlimited for iPhone plan includes the Apple One bundle with an unlimited data offering. As part of Apple One, you get Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and Apple Music. At $90 a month, One Unlimited isn't cheap, but it saves you the $17 monthly cost of an Apple One subscriptions. If you have two or more lines, you can share your Apple One benefits with up to five other people.

Prepaid carriers don't offer a lot in the way of streaming perks, but Verizon's two unlimited prepaid options do throw in six months of Disney Plus. Those unlimited options start at $50/month after an autopay discount and are among the best prepaid phone plans you can find.

Shop Verizon unlimited data plans

Streaming services and unlimited data plans — Which offer is best?

Who has the best streaming service perks depends on what you're looking for from your unlimited data plan. Verizon clearly offers the widest variety of services, while T-Mobile packs in three different services — Apple Plus, Paramount Plus and Netflix — for a lower monthly rate. Cricket offers just one service, but White Lotus and The Last of Us fans won't much care, since HBO Max's catalog is so vast.

As you might imagine, discount services like Cricket and Metro have skimpier offerings. (Verizon's prepaid streaming perks aren't as generous as what you get from the carrier's more expensive unlimited options, either.) But consider that perks of any sort are few and far between on even the best prepaid phone plans, the services they do offer will be welcome to subscribers willing to pay up for unlimited data at those two carriers.

We've past the midway point of 2022, and as far as one wireless network testing firm is concerned, the rankings for 5G performance look a lot like they did at the start of the year. And that's good news if you're getting your wireless service from T-Mobile.

According to the latest report from RootMetrics, T-Mobile retained its spot as the best 5G network in the U.S., thanks to both speed and availability. While those factors are making it tough for rivals Verizon and AT&T to unseat T-Mobile among the best phone carriers for 5G coverage, the two networks made strides in the first half of the year.

Verizon in particular looks promising with the addition of integrated C-Band 5G, which came online at the start of the year. In the areas where C-Band spectrum was available, RootMetrics found that it provided significant speed improvements, reaching speeds of more than 250 Mbps in one market. Combined with Verizon’s continued dominance in 5G data reliability in RootMetrics' rankings, the mobile phone provider may soon be within striking distance of T-Mobile.

T-Mobile continues to have the best 5G availability 

Based on RootMetrics' numbers, T-Mobile dominates in terms of how much 5G coverage is available in a given market. The Uncarrier had the highest 5G availability in 100 markets, crushing AT&T (39 markets) and Verizon (3 markets). 

In fact, T-Mobile was the only carrier that didn’t record less than 55% 5G availability in any market. 5G availability also increased in 110 markets for T-Mobile, which was more than either of the other two mobile carriers.

That said, Verizon and AT&T did make some improvements — particularly Verizon. Big Red improved in 99 markets and improved to 85% or greater 5G availability in five more cities than it did during the last six months of 2021. 

AT&T fell short in some markets, with less than 25% 5G coverage in 36 markets. However, the carrier did make strides in 85 markets and had more markets than Verizon with 85% or greater 5G network coverage. 

Verizon C-Band improves 5G speed but still falls short of T-Mobile 

While Verizon and AT&T were probably hoping to catch T-Mobile with their new C-Band spectrum 5G networks, they still have a bit to go before they can claim the top spot. T-Mobiles median download speeds were phenomenal, with more than 250 mbps in nearly 40 markets; it also boasts the only network that did not record speeds below 25 mbps.

However, C-Band did provide major benefits for Verizon. C-Band is a type of mid-band 5G spectrum that AT&T and Verizon acquired access to and have only just started rolling out in the U.S. 

For AT&T, the gains appear to be middling, partially because its rollout is more limited than Verizon's approach. RootMetrics only recorded C-Band spectrum in 23 markets for AT&T, but in 81 markets for Verizon. This allowed Verizon to increase 5G speeds in 63 cities where it utilized its C-Band spectrum.

T-Mobile uses mid-band 5G, though it will not launch C-Band spectrum networks until 2023. Still, its mid-band spectrum holdings acquired in the Sprint merger have given the Uncarrier a massive boost. It's a big reason why T-Mobile has now held the title of fastest 5G network for 12 months in a row.

5G reliability remains a strong suit for Verizon 

This was one area where AT&T’s 5G network stood out. AT&T phones successfully connected to the 5G in their market 99.5% of the time in 107 markets, better than any other network. 

Unfortunately, that’s the end of AT&T's highlights, where the carrier only managed to stay connected in 54 of those markets, well behind T-Mobile and Verizon. T-Mobile made small improvements in both areas but remained third in getting connected and second in staying connected.

Verizon was the clear winner in terms of 5G reliability. It had a connection success rate in just five few markets than AT&T but stayed connected in more than 100 markets, which no other network came close to. This was the third straight 6-month period where Verizon’s 5G network won best reliability for RootMetrics.

T-Mobile is still RootMetrics' top-ranked 5G network

Despite having C-Band spectrum access that produced genuinely significant improvements, Verizon and AT&T could not catch T-Mobile in the first half of the year. Honestly, we’re not surprised, as that's consistent with previous test results.

Speed data during the second quarter of this year showed that T-Mobile was the fastest mobile network in the U.S., and that dominance is showing in its 5G networks as well. The 5G market is constantly shifting, but for now, T-Mobile's reign is proving to be pretty constant.

T-Mobile and Apple have teamed up to create the ultimate business plan for small businesses. 

Created in partnership with Apple, T-Mobile aims do this by offering a new service plan called Apple Business Essentials. This forms a brand new offering from Apple and is only available on T-Mobile’s new Business Unlimited Ultimate Plus for iPhone. Business Unlimited Ultimate Plus for iPhone will cost $50 a month per line (plus taxes and fees) and is for small business customers needing six or more lines.

T-Mobile is currently our best overall phone carrier and just recently took the top spot as the fastest mobile network in the U.S. right now. So on top of a more streamlined IT experience for your mobile phone, small business owners will also get the best and fastest (at least currently) mobile network in the country.

T-Mobile Ultimate Plus for iPhone: What’s included 

There are several perks included for small business owners in Business Unlimited Ultimate Plus for iPhone. First, you get a brand new iPhone 13 included with each $50 line — though you have to pay tax on the phone. No details on whether or not this will change to an iPhone 14 once the new iPhone launches, but at the moment your getting one of Apple’s top phones.

Each line comes with unlimited talk, text, and premium smartphone data (translation: high-speed data like 4G or 5G) along with unlimited Wi-Fi on select flights from American, Delta, and Alaska Airlines. United Airlines is expected to join the program later this year.

Small business owners will also get 200GB of high-speed hotspot data per month and unlimited text and data, including 5GB of free high-speed data per month when traveling abroad to over 210 countries. The 200GB of hotspot data is plan-wide, not per line, but is still a healthy amount of data for small businesses to use.

T-Mobile Ultimate Plus for iPhone: Apple Business Essentials 

Apple Business Essentials is the real killer app of Business Unlimited Ultimate Plus for iPhone. This service plan aims to streamline IT management by combining device management and iCloud services into a single service plan.

Apple Business Essentials also includes AppleCare Plus for Business Essentials. This gives small business customers 24/7 phone support and onsite iPhone repairs.

Business Unlimited Ultimate Plus for iPhone is the only phone plan that comes with Apple Business Essentials included, but it has been available as an a la carte option since March of this year. For $2.99 per line per month, any small business customer can add Apple Business Essentials to their existing T-Mobile business plan — though T-Mobile is making the a la carte option free (fine print: you’ll still have to pay taxes and fees) until the end of 2022 via bill credit. 

Update: T-Mobile just became the first carrier to offer this iPhone plan.

Ookla, the company behind one of the best speed testing apps, has released a report on the fastest mobile carriers in the U.S., revealing that T-Mobile took the top spot during the second quarter of this year.

According to extensive testing by the network intelligence and connectivity firm, T-Mobile had a median download speed of 116.54 Mbps on modern chipsets which can take full advantage of the carrier’s network.

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless remained in second place with a median download speed of 59.67 Mbps while AT&T finished third at 54.64 Mbps.

When it came to upload speeds, T-Mobile also came in first at 11.72 Mbps followed by Verizon at 9.14 Mbps and AT&T at 7 Mbps. Latency was yet another win for T-Mobile with a median latency of 31 ms, just ahead of Verizon at 32 ms and AT&T at 34 ms.

5G performance and availability

As 5G smartphones have become more common, users want a mobile carrier that will allow them to take full advantage of their new devices.

If you recently upgraded to a 5G phone, you may want to consider making the switch to T-Mobile as the carrier had the fastest median 5G download speed in the U.S. according to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence.

In Q2 2022, T-Mobile had a 5G median download speed of 187.33 Mbps (up slightly from the previous quarter) followed by Verizon Wireless at 113.52 Mbps. AT&T had the poorest showing in 5G performance with a median download speed of just 71.54 Mbps.

In terms of 5G availability, T-Mobile once again claimed the top spot at 68.5 percent, though AT&T actually beat Verizon in this area at 55.8 percent versus 31.2 percent, respectively.

Most popular (and fastest) smartphones in the US right now

As part of its testing, Ookla also looked at the most popular devices in the U.S. during the second quarter of this year to see which were the fastest.

Smartphones from both Samsung and Apple were the most popular during Q2 and of these, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was the fastest with a median download speed of 105.26 Mbps. The iPhone 13 Pro Max came in second with a median download speed of 95.44 Mbps followed by the Galaxy S22+ (94.07 Mbps), the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G (93.08) and the iPhone 13 Pro (92.39 Mbps).

As such, Samsung devices had the fastest median download speed in the U.S. in the second quarter at 62.75 Mbps, with Apple close behind at 58.14 Mbps.

Ookla also looked at popular chipsets in the U.S. to discover that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (found in the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, OnePlus 10 Pro, Motorola Edge Plus (2022) and other newer devices) was the fastest with a median download speed of 100.85 Mbps. 

The states and cities with the fastest mobile speeds

The District of Columbia took the top spot for the fastest median mobile download speed during Q2 2022 at 82.27 Mbps, followed by Minnesota (80.84 Mbps), New York (78.73 Mbps), New Jersey (78.66 Mbps) and Rhode Island (77.39 Mbps).

As for the cities with the fastest download speeds during the second quarter of this year, Tampa, Florida had the fastest median mobile download speed at 123.18 Mbps followed by Arlington, Texas (119.38 Mbps) and St Paul, Minnesota (112.80 Mbps).

Even if your state or city didn’t appear in Ookla’s latest report, it’s clear that T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and AT&T have been working hard to improve the performance of their respective networks across the U.S.

High price of gas got you wondering how you're going to get between Point A and Point B the next few months? T-Mobile is offering to put a dent into gas prices for its customers during the summer.

Starting next Tuesday (June 21), T-Mobile says that its subscribers will enjoy an exclusive 25-cent-per-gallon discount at Shell stations through the latter's Fuel Rewards program. The promotion, part of the wireless carrier's T-Mobile Tuesday giveaways, runs through the week of Labor Day.

The discounted gas at Shell is just one of the many travel-related promotions T-Mobile is launching though the new Coverage Beyond initiative unveiled today (June 16). In addition to other perks such as free AAA memberships and T-Mobile-exclusive deals with Priceline, the wireless carrier is bolstering its in-flight Wi-Fi access and overseas data perks that figure to cement T-Mobile's status as the carrier with the best international phone plans.

T-Mobile customers with Magenta unlimited plans already could use data for free when traveling in more than 210 countries, though it was slowed to 128 Kbps; the more expensive Magenta Max plan doubled data speeds when traveling.

Under T-Mobile's new Coverage Beyond program, Magenta Max customers get 5GB of high-speed data for use in those same 210-plus countries every month — speeds can even reach 5G where available, T-Mobile says.

If you have a Magenta plan — which remains one of the best T-Mobile cell phone plans — you'll get 5GB of high-speed data in 11 European countries through T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telecom. (You'll know if you're getting the high-speed data when it says "T-Mobile" on your phone's network indicator.) Otherwise, T-Mobile is doubling data speeds to 256 Kbps when you're traveling in other countries.

T-Mobile is also boosting its in-flight Wi-Fi benefits, which usually included an hour of free Wi-Fi on flights with Gogo service. (Magenta Max customers got unlimited Wi-Fi.) Under the new terms, T-Mobile customers will be able to get free Wi-Fi when traveling on Delta, American and Alaska Airlines; United Airlines will be added to the mix later, T-Mobile says.

The free Wi-Fi onboard flights doesn't just cover emails and texting. T-Mobile says you'll be able to stream video as well.

Other T-Mobile Travel bonuses include a new T-Mobile Travel with Priceline site offering deals to T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile customers. Operated by the Priceline travel booking service, T-Mobile Travel promises discounts of up to 40% on hotels and car rentals.

Magenta and Magenta Max customers can also get a year-long AAA membership for free, which provides roadside assistance if you ever run to vehicle trouble.

Read next: Apple CarPlay could soon let you pay for gas without leaving your car — here's how

Your wallet may be feeling the pinch of higher prices on everything these days, leaving you to wonder if there's any way you can save some money in your monthly budget. You cell phone bill might be a good place to start looking.

We're not talking about getting rid of your smartphone bill completely. For many of us, our mobile phone is our primary — if not only — way to make calls. Throw in text and data, and having a mobile phone close at hand is pretty much an essential expense.

No, what we had in mind was going over what you pay each month and finding out if there are ways to save a few bucks here and there. Maybe it's as simple as changing the amount of data you pay for or finding some hidden cost that's causing you to pay more than you need to. In more extreme cases, you may need to take your business to another wireless service to find the best cell phone plan for your needs.

Whatever the solution winds up being, there are plenty of ways to save money on your smartphone bill. Here are seven tips that could reduce how much you pay each month for your wireless service.

Make sure you're paying for the right amount of data

Since the majority of cell phone plan bills these days include unlimited talk and text, data plays one of the biggest roles in determining what you pay to your wireless provider every month. And chances are, you're paying for more data than you probably need.

Major wireless carriers tend to push you to unlimited data plans, which certainly mean stress-free streaming and binging but also can result in costly monthly bills. If you can get away without requiring an unlimited data plan, why pay for one?

To find out what amount of data you need, dive into your wireless account to find out how much you've been using on a monthly basis. It's usually a matter of signing into your wireless account and heading to the billing section. Some wireless carriers even let you check from your device, whether in their mobile app or by calling a specific number. (Dial *3282# on AT&T, #932# on T-Mobile and #3282 on Verizon.)

If you're using more than 10GB of data, then you should be on an unlimited plan. If your data usage never goes over 5GB, though, you should start shopping for tiered data plans that are less expensive than what you're paying for now.

Sign up for autopay

Paying your bill electronically is not only convenient and saves a tree or two by going paperless, it can also knock a few bucks off your bill. For example, T-Mobile's Magenta unlimited plan will cost you $75 a month, but sign up for autopay and you can lower that cost by $5 to $70. AT&T and Verizon offer discounts of their own with autopay on their unlimited plans.

In most cases, you can expect around $5 in savings from autopay, which can add up over the course of a year. In some instances, you can save even more. (AT&T's unlimited prepaid plan lowers its costs by $15 to $50/month after autopay enrollment, for example.)

Chances are, you may have already signed up for autopay, but if you haven't, check with your carrier to see if that can lower your monthly bill any. And if you're shopping for a new plan, make sure to check out the autopay options and discounts at your new wireless provider. 

Look beyond the big carriers

We've only mentioned the Big Three carriers so far — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon — but there's a whole world of options for cell phone service if you're willing to go off the beaten path. 

MVNOs — that's short for mobile virtual network operators — use the networks of larger carriers to offer service, usually at a lower rate. The trade-off for the lower bill is fewer perks than you might get with a more expensive plan from one of the bigger wireless providers. It's also possible your data speeds could be slowed if the network is congested, as major carriers prioritize their own customers first. Still, those are reasonable sacrifices if it means cutting your bill in half.

Some MVNOs rank among the best phone carriers we've tested. These lower-cost options include Mint Mobile, Visible, Google Fi, Boost Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Consumer Cellular and Metro By T-Mobile. Turn to those carriers, and you'll usually find cheaper plans than what the bigger wireless carriers charge — even for unlimited data.

Pick plans where taxes and fees are included

Ever look at your monthly cell phone bill and think, "Well, that's more than I thought I was paying when I signed up for this plan?" Those are taxes and fees you're being charged on top of your monthly rate. They can  fluctuate from month to month and — even worse — increase, even if your base rate is locked in.

Some phone carriers have taken to baking the taxes and fees into your monthly bill, so that you're always paying the same rate. At the very least, it locks in your monthly phone expenses, so that you can expect to pay the same amount each month. And it could save you money, if those local taxes creep upward.

T-Mobile has been a pioneer in this regard, including taxes and fees in the cost of its Magenta and Magenta Max unlimited plans. (Alas, the lower cost T-Mobile Essentials and T-Mobile Connect plans don't include taxes and fees in their pricing.) The T-Mobile-owned MVNO Metro by T-Mobile also covers taxes and fees, as do Visible, Boost and Cricket Wireless.

Pay upfront for a lower monthly cost

Buying in bulk works when you're shopping for toilet paper and other household goods. Why not apply the same principle to cell phone service. Some wireless carriers let you prepay for services months in advance to get a lower overall monthly fee. 

Mint Mobile is the best example of this practice. The discount carriers offers some of the lowest fees we've seen on its monthly plans — from $15 per month for 4GB all the way up to unlimited data for $30 per month. But to keep these lower rates after an initial three month trial, you have to pay for 12 months of service. That's a big outlay upfront, but the lower monthly cost over time is worth it.

Even bigger carriers are beginning to offer this approach. AT&T's prepaid service includes an 8GB monthly option that only costs $25 per month. To get that rate, though, you've got to pay for the full year of service — an outlay of $300. Still, that monthly cost is a lot cheaper than what you'd pay at other carriers if you opted for monthly bill payments instead of one lump sum.

Add other lines to your account

When shopping for cell phone plans — particularly the best family cell phone plans — it's important to pay attention to the per line cost. Most carriers lower the cost of each line of data you add to your plan, with the discounts escalating as you add more.

For instance, Verizon's 5G Play More plan costs $80 for one line of data. (That's after a $5 discount for autopay enrollment, by the way.) A second line of data adds $60 to the total bill, but reduces the per line cost to $70. By the time you add a fourth line of data, you're paying $45 per line. AT&T, T-Mobile and several MVNOs take a similar approach with multiline discounts.

That may not save you much money if everyone on your family plan is living under roof, but who's to say that a family plan is restricted to one address. Add parents, siblings or anyone else to your wireless plan, and you can all enjoy the benefits of a lower per-line cost.

Visible has the best approach to this with its Party Pay option. With Party Pay, you can lower the cost of unlimited data from $40 for a single line to $25 per line for a plan covering four people. Those people don't have to be part of your family — Visible encourages you and your friends to pool your cell phone coverage, even offering to send the bill electronically to different people.

Call up your carrier and ask for a lower rate

Sometimes, getting a better, more affordable cell phone plan simply means calling up your provider and asking if they can offer you anything cheaper than what you're paying now. It doesn't always work out, but it's worth a phone call.

Last year, I had to get in touch with Verizon on a separate matter to troubleshoot a problem with runaway data consumption on my wife's iPhone. Over the course of that call, the Verizon representative pointed me in the direction of a different plan that nearly doubled my data allotment, while lowering my monthly bill when I signed up for autopay. I'm now paying about $5 to $10 less each month for coverage, and while that's not a huge discount, it's certainly beats what I was paying before.

Bigger carriers have an incentive to keep you as a customer, as declining subscriber numbers can drive up the cost of attracting new business. Call your current provider and politely ask if you can switch to a less expensive plan. You may be surprised by how willing they are to keep your business.

Verizon and AT&T both gave their 5G networks a boost back in January, upgrading their coverage with C-Band spectrum. Thanks to C-Band, customers of either phone carrier should see faster 5G speeds covering a larger area than before — provided they have a compatible phone.

The good news is that phone you're already holding may be able to connect to the faster C-Band 5G of both Verizon and AT&T right now. And the ranks of C-Band 5G-ready phones has only increased since the start of the year.

Many recent flagships that rank among the best 5G phones already have the capability to connect to C-Band 5G. In those cases, it's just a matter of being in an area that's covered by the faster networks of Verizon and AT&T. What's more, major phones that have come out since C-Band 5G went live — we're looking at you, Galaxy S22 models — support the new network out of the gate.

C-Band 5G made headlines earlier this year, and not just because of the ongoing dispute between the aviation industry, which fears that the signals will interfere with the altimeters on some planes, and wireless providers, which launched their services with a buffer zone around select airports. 

C-Band is a relatively uncrowded part of the wireless spectrum that was auctioned off to phone providers last year. C-Band delivers fast speeds but with a wider reach than millimeter wave-based 5G, which is what Verizon and AT&T used for their initial super-fast coverage. By launching C-Band 5G, speeds that were enjoyed by people within sight of mmWave towers can now reach further and even penetrate buildings in some cases.

Verizon grabbed the biggest chunk of C-Band spectrum and last year's auction, with AT&T picking up a slice, as well. T-Mobile has some C-Band spectrum of its own, though it doesn't plan to implement that into its own nationwide 5G coverage until 2023.

Don't feel too badly for T-Mobile, though, which has used its own 5G spectrum along with spectrum acquired as part of the Sprint merger to build out the farther reaching 5G network to date. T-Mobile says its nationwide coverage reaches more than 300 million people; of that total, 200 million can access T-Mobile's faster Ultra Capacity 5G service.

As a result, T-Mobile tends to top most rankings for 5G speed and availability. According to Rootmetrics testing, T-Mobile has the fastest 5G speeds and the greatest availability, at least for the second half of 2021. Clearly, Verizon and AT&T expect their C-Band rollouts to close that gap.

Here's a round-up of where you can expect to find C-Band 5G from both Verizon and AT&T and what phones you'll need to be able to take advantage of the improved performance.

Verizon C-Band

Because Verizon grabbed the majority of the C-Band spectrum at last year's auction, it's got the bigger rollout. When Verizon launched C-Band 5G, the carrier said that the faster coverage current reaches 1000 million people; that will grow to 175 million by year's end. The carrier's nationwide 5G service, which uses lower-speed sub-6GHz spectrum, reaches 230 million people.

You'll need one of three different Verizon unlimited data plans to get C-Band 5G coverage. Verizon's 5G Play More and Do More plans both cost $80 a month for a single line and are separated by the different perks they offer subscribers. (You get more streaming service subscriptions with Play More and more cloud storage with Do More.) Verizon's 5G Get More plan costs $90 a month for one line of data.

Verizon says the following phones works with its C-Band 5G network.

• Any iPhone 13 model
• Any iPhone 12 model
• iPhone SE 2022
• Any Samsung Galaxy S22 model
• Any Samsung Galaxy S21 model, including the Galaxy S21 FE
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3
• Samsung Galaxy A42
• Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
• TCL 30 V

The iPhone SE and Galaxy S22 models came out after Verizon launched its C-Band support, so they're among the phones that will support C-Band 5G right out of the gate. Verizon only added certification for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in March.

In addition, iPad Pro and iPad Mini tablets that can connect to 5G will be able to use Verizon's 5G C-Band service.

You'll know you're on Verizon's C-Band network when the status indicator on your phone shows a 5G Ultra Wideband symbol. That's the same logo that appeared when your phone was connected to Verizon's mmWave-based 5G.

AT&T C-Band

AT&T's C-Band rollout is a bit more limited than what Verizon has done. For now, AT&T C-Band has launched in parts of eight metro areas, with AT&T promising that the service will "expand rapidly" from the current sites in Austin, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Orlando and south Florida.

C-Band 5G joins AT&T's existing 5G footprint, which covers more than 255 million people. The carrier also has mmWave-based 5G installations in more than 40 cities and nearly 30 stadiums, airports and arenas.

You'll spot some similarities between supported C-Band 5G devices for Verizon and AT&T, though AT&T has a couple of additional phones.

• Any iPhone 13 model
• Any iPhone 12 model
• iPhone SE 22
• Any Samsung Galaxy S22 model
• Any Samsung Galaxy S21 model, including the Galaxy S21 FE
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3
• Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy A13 5G

Like Verizon, AT&T also includes 5G iPad Pro and iPad mini models among its C-Band 5G devices. Connected devices will show a "5G+" symbol in their indicator bar.

Update: T-Mobile just became the first carrier to offer this iPhone plan.

T-Mobile 5G came a little after its rivals launched their own networks, but it's here and it's nationwide.

If you need to find a 5G network with which to use one of the best 5G phones, then take a look at what T-Mobile offers. Its "layer cake" of different 5G standards may sound odd, but we're here to help explain what it is, where you can get T-Mo 5G and how fast it can be.

T-Mobile’s 5G plans were well underway before the Sprint-T-Mobile merger became official during 2020, but adding Sprint’s 5G to its own network has certainly aided T-Mobile’s effort to enhance 5G performance, as it uses Sprint's mid-band spectrum to speed up its own 5G performance. That's helped T-Mobile boost its unlimited data plans, offering truly unlimited data with its most expensive plan while also offering 5G through one of the cheaper plans out there.

Here’s a closer look at what you can expect from T-Mobile 5G and what the carrier is planning going forward.

T-Mobile 5G bands: How they work

T-Mobile is using what it calls a “layer cake” approach to 5G, turning to different technologies to build out a far-reaching network with improved speeds and latency. Thus far, the focus has been on using sub-6GHz spectrum, which has an extensive reach, but only modestly faster speeds than LTE. This approach has formed the backbone of the nationwide 5G coverage T-Mobile launched in late 2019. (More on that below.) T-Mobile calls this coverage Extended Range 5G.

After its long-delayed merger with Sprint finally closed in 2020, T-Mobile began repurposing Sprint’s mid-band spectrum into its own network. That’s improving 5G performance in some of the cities that T-Mobile covers. "Together with Sprint, we're the only ones who can build 5G with breadth and depth," now-CEO Mike Sievert said at a November 2019 event detailing 5G initiatives under the new T-Mobile. This faster coverage is known as Ultra Capacity 5G.

T-Mobile also is eyeing millimeter wave (mmWave) technology to build out its 5G network, with some coverage in a handful of cities. That’s a stark contrast to rival Verizon, which made mmWave-based 5G the center of its initial 5G rollout efforts. As a result, Verizon’s 5G speeds were much faster during the last, but its initial network didn't reach as far as T-Mobile’s. (That's changed somewhat, after Verizon launched nationwide 5G coverage of its own in the fall of 2019.) As fast as mmWave is, it can’t penetrate obstacles like walls and windows — that means T-Mobile’s slower network can reach indoors while Verizon’s has a more difficult time.

It’s no surprise, then, that T-Mobile leads other carriers in 5G availability. As of April 2021, testing firm Opensignal says that T-Mobile's 5G availability has reached 33.1%. That's up from 22.5% in June 2020. More important, it's ahead of T-Mobile's rivals.

T-Mobile 5G coverage map

After flipping on some mmWave-based coverage in a half-dozen cities by mid-2019, T-Mobile turned its focus to using its sub-6 GHz spectrum to create a nationwide network. In December 2019, that network launched covering 5,000 cities and 200 million people.

T-Mobile’s 5G coverage has only expanded since then, thanks in no small part to to its Sprint acquisition. These days, T-Mobile says its 5G signal reaches more than 8,300 cities and towns, covering 287million people. That makes T-Mobile’s 5G network the largest, as Verizon says its nationwide coverage reaches 230 million people.

You can see if T-Mobile 5G extends to your part of the U.S. by checking out the carrier’s 5G coverage map.

Around a year ago, T-Mobile added Sprint's mid-band spectrum to its 5G service in Philadelphia and New York, broadening coverage depth while also boosting speed in those two cities. The New York expansion is particularly significant because that city was already served by T-Mobile's low-band and millimeter wave-based service. That means New York City is now served by all types of 5G through T-Mobile.

After those first two cities, T-Mobile added mid-band 5G coverage in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. By the end of September 2020, T-Mobile said this Ultra Capacity 5G coverage was live in 210 cities and towns, giving them a 7.5x improvement over LTE speeds on average. After the first three months of this year, T-Mobile said its Ultra Capacity 5G coverage reached 125 million people, with plans to go nationwide by the time 2021 draws to a close.

T-Mobile 5G speed

When T-Mobile turned on its nationwide network in 2019, we had a chance to test the service in Maui. At the time, the Uncarrier was promising a 20% boost on download speeds over its existing LTE coverage, which is roughly what we saw when testing T-Mobile 5G with a OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren. In some instances, 5G was much faster than T-Mobile LTE, though in a few spots, performance was actually worse.

One encouraging test we ran at time involved downloading The Irishman off of Netflix. That three-hour-plus movie took 3 minutes to download over 5G; we stopped trying after 10 minutes over LTE. Just as important as the time was the fact that we ran this test indoors, something you really can’t do over faster mmWave-based 5G.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, we haven’t had the opportunity to go out and see how T-Mobile expansion in New York and other cities has improved its 5G performance. However, Ookla went out and did some testing, reporting a 25% jump in mean download speeds for New York between January and mid-May 2020. As of the end of September 2020, T-Mobile said the addition of Sprint's midband spectrum had boosted its average 5G download speeds to 300 Mbps. These days, if you're living in a place where T-Mobile has incorporated Sprint's mid-band spectrum, your speeds can range between 300 Mbps and 1 Gbps, T-Mobile says.

For what it's worth, OpenSignal's April 2021 report says T-Mobile has the fastest 5G speed — the testing firm says T-Mobile has an average 5G download speed of 71.3 Mbps. While that may not seem as fast as what you'd expect from 5G, it's ahead of the averages for AT&T (54.9 Mbps) and Verizon (47.7 Mbps). 

Ookla says T-Mobile is the fastest, too, having inched ahead of previous 5G speed champ AT&T. RootMetrics said T-Mobile ended 2020 with the largest 5G footprint of any carrier, but described the carrier's 5G speeds as "similar to its speeds on 4G LTE."

T-Mobile 5G phones

All the major flagship phones with 5G connectivity, be they from Apple, Samsung, OnePlus or others, are available through T-Mobile, so you shouldn't have to compromise on the phone you want.

Here's a round-up of T-Mobile's featured 5G handsets:

• Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S22 Ultra
• iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
• Apple iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE
• Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
• Revvl V+ 5G
• OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro
• OnePlus Nord N200
• Motorola One 5G Ace

T-Mobile 5G network plans and costs

If you’ve got a compatible phone that’s capable of connecting to 5G, any one of T-Mobile’s current data plans will include 5G coverage at no additional cost. And T-Mobile's plans are now a lot more attractive if you've got a 5G device.

The carrier's new $85-a-month Magenta Max plan, which replaces the similarly priced Magenta Plus plan, and removes any cap on high-speed data. All unlimited data plans aren't actually unlimited — carriers have a cap on the amount of data you can use each month before they slow down your speeds. T-Mobile's Magenta Max eliminates that cap completely while offering additional perks like the ability to stream videos in 4K when using Netflix. Magenta Max users also enjoy 40GB of mobile hotspot data.

The $70 Magenta plan remains, and includes 5G coverage. T-Mobile has doubled the cap on that plan from 50GB a month to 100GB before you might see speeds slowed. Hotspot data has been bumped to 5GB on this plan.

Cheaper plans like the $60-a-month T-Mobile Essentials Plan and $15-a-month T-Mobile Connect plan can access 5G, too (though that latter plan is a tiered data offering). 

T-Mobile is something of a trailblazer when it comes to not charging extra for 5G support and making it available to all plans. AT&T originally limited 5G coverage to its most expensive unlimited data plans before extending that service to its cheapest unlimited plan last August. Verizon continues to charge $10 a month for its Start Unlimited plan on top of that plan’s regular monthly rate if customers want to access 5G, though 5G coverage is included with Verizon’s three other unlimited plans.

T-Mobile 5G home internet

T-Mobile has made no secret of its interest in using 5G to deliver home internet service. During the Sprint merger hearings, the carrier vowed to deliver high-speed wireless broadband to 90% of the country by 2024, and 5G figures heavily into that effort.

And that home internet service is now live, capable of reaching 30 million homes. T-Mobile Home Internet costs $60 a month, and speeds top 100 Mbps using the carrier's existing wireless towers. Check your eligibility at T-Mobile's ISP website.

T-Mobile 5G hotspot

T-Mobile’s unlimited plans include hotspot data, but it’s either at LTE speed (5GB for the Magenta plan, 40GB for Magenta Max) or 3G. The carrier also sells a 5G mobile hotspot — the Inseego 5G MiFi M2000. That hotspot can support up to 30 devices, and T-Mobile's standalone hotspot plans start at $20 a month for 5GB of data.

You can see how the MiFi M2000 compares to other hotspot options at our best mobile hotspots page.

T-Mobile 5G network: What’s next

T-Mobile has big plans for the rest of 2021 — continue to build out its 5G network, leveraging Sprint’s spectrum and maintain its lead over other carriers. With the iPhone 12 out since last fall, we can also expect the Uncarrier to add more 5G-ready devices — something it's already done in 2021 with the arrival of multiple Galaxy S21 and OnePlus 9 models. 

T-Mobile has done a good job bringing its 5G network to the most people in the last year. Its focus going forward will be to improve overall performance, as it looks to make the case that 5G is a leap forward over LTE.

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T-Mobile ended last year with the leading 5G network, according to a new report by a third-party testing firm. But the phone carrier shouldn't get too comfortable in the top spot, given how its rivals have spent the early part of 2022.

The latest report from RootMetrics says that T-Mobile has the fastest 5G speeds of any carrier and the greatest 5G availability. Only when measuring 5G reliability did a different carrier — Verizon, in this case — come out on top.

But the timing of testing for this RootMetrics report is significant. It looks at the 5G performance of the best phone carriers during the second half of 2021. At the start of the New Year, Verizon flipped the switch on its new C-Band 5G deployments, which bring faster average speeds to a a wider number of people — currently more than 90 million, according to Verizon. AT&T has launch its C-Band 5G, too, though in only a handful of cities at this point.

Because of those faster installations, both Verizon and AT&T — though especially the former — are expected to see some gains the next time a testing firm like RootMetrics runs its report. But for now, expect T-Mobile to make a lot of hay out of the claim that its 5G coverage comes out on top in some critical categories.

T-Mobile 5G: What RootMetrics found

RootMetrics ran its tests in the largest 125 cities in the U.S., and found that T-Mobile had the fastest 5G download speeds in 48 markets, compared to three for Verizon and zero for AT&T. Median download speeds for T-Mobile, topped 100 Mbps in more than half the cities RootMetrics tested in. In 26 markets, the Uncarrier's speeds topped 200 Mbps.

T-Mobile can also boast having the best 5G availability based on RootMetrics' findings. With the highest availability in 83 tested markets, T-Mobile topped AT&T (62 markets) and Verizon (6 markets).

It wasn't a clean sweep for T-Mobile, though. Verizon had the best 5G reliability in 93 markets, topping AT&T 67 markets and trouncing T-Mobile's 19-market tally.

The RootMetrics findings are consistent with what we've seen from other third party testers. Back in January, OpenSignal published a 5G testing report in which T-Mobile not only had the fastest 5g download speeds, but was 93.9 Mbps faster than its closest rival. T-Mobile also finished on top for availability and reach in that 5G performance report.

T-Mobile took a different approach from other carriers when building out 5G coverage, using sub-6GHz spectrum to create a far-reaching nationwide network. The carrier was the first to launch a nationwide 5G network, which now reaches more than 310 million people. It's now using mid-band spectrum — much of it obtained through the merger with Sprint — to boost speeds. Some 210 million people have access to this Ultra Capacity 5G service from T-Mobile.

How Verizon and AT&T could respond

Early efforts from Verizon and AT&T concentrated on mmWave-based 5G, which is very fast but has a limited range. Those mmWave-based towers are in select cities, with Verizon and AT&T using slower sub-6GHz 5G to build out nationwide coverage of their own.

In mid-January, though, both networks got a boost in the form of improved high-speed 5G through C-Band spectrum. The higher band spectrum has a wider reach than mmWave, enabling both carriers to reach more people with faster 5G service. (We saw this first-hand during a C-Band 5G preview hosted by Verizon.) In Verizon's case, that means more than 90 million people are now getting the carrier's fastest Ultra Wideband 5G. AT&T is rolling out its C-Band-based 5G on a more limited basis at this time.

C-Band already seems to be improving performance for Verizon. Right after C-Band 5G went live, testing firm Ookla published a report claiming that Verizon's average 5G download speed jumped to 116.3 Mbps from 76.5 Mbps within the course of a week. (T-Mobile speeds increased from 182 Mbps to 187.1 Mbps in that same time period.)

The implication is that future 5G reports will take Verizon's improved network into account and that the final results could be very different from the one RootMetrics is publishing today — something the testing firm itself acknowledged.

"The 5G race is highly dynamic and prone to rapid change, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the leaderboard shift as we move further into 2022 and beyond," RootMetrics says in its report.

Update: This breach is even worse that we thought. Click here.

A data thief claims to have stolen the information of 100 million customers from T-Mobile customers, and the company acknowledged it is investigating a possible data breach.

"We are aware of claims made in an underground forum and have been actively investigating their validity," the company told Vice Motherboard. "We do not have any additional information to share at this time."

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The thief posted a For Sale sign on an online cybercriminal forum, asking 6 bitcoin (about $284,000 in U.S. dollars) for part of the purported T-Mobile data that supposedly includes 30 million Social Security numbers and driver's-license numbers. 

The seller told Vice Motherboard that the data on the other 70 million people is being sold privately. It all supposedly includes names, phone numbers, physical addresses and IMEIs (handset IDs). 

Bleeping Computer, which also saw the forum post and communicated with the seller, said the data also includes phone IMSIs (SIM card IDs), customer dates of birth and T-Mobile account PINs.

Vice Motherboard said it had confirmed that a sample of the data it saw was real. We don't know that for certain yet, but the types of customer data stolen overlap nicely with what T-Mobile admitted was swiped from its servers during an incident in March 2021, although T-Mobile said that breach involved only about 400 customers, not 100 million.

What you need to do about this

If you're a T-Mobile customer, it would be best to change your account PIN and password immediately. 

You might also want to consider subscribing to a identity-theft-protection service, as the apparent theft of Social Security numbers and dates of birth is putting a lot of people at serious risk. Just bear in mind that these services can get expensive.

Bleeping Computer noted that the post didn't mention that the data had come from T-Mobile, although the seller told both Bleeping Computer and Vice Motherboard that it had.

This is far from the first time that T-Mobile has responded to reports of a data breach. By our count, the company was hacked three different times in the past 18 months — March 2021, December 2020 and March 2020. The company was also hacked in August 2018. 

If you're serious about protecting your personal information, you may want to consider another wireless carrier with a better track record.

Update: Further comment from T-Mobile

In statements later Monday to Bleeping Computer, Vice Motherboard and ZDNet, T-Mobile confirmed that a breach did occur, but could not confirm what was taken and how many customers were affected.

"We have determined that unauthorized access to some T-Mobile data occurred; however, we have not yet determined that there is any personal customer data involved," said the T-Mobile statement. 

"We are confident that the entry point used to gain access has been closed, and we are continuing our deep technical review of the situation across our systems to identify the nature of any data that was illegally accessed."

The seller of the stolen data told Bleeping Computer that T-Mobile's "entire IMEI history database going back to 2004" had been stolen.

An International Mobile Equipment Identity number, or IMEI, is a unique ID number given to every handset that can access GSM-based cellular networks, such as those operated by AT&T and T-Mobile.

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The best phone carriers are so eager for you to hop on to their new 5G networks, they're even willing to give you a free phone to get you to check out the faster wireless standard. But which one is offering the best free 5G phone deal?

That depends entirely on what kind of phone you want, the device you have on-hand for a trade-in and — above all — the quality of the 5G coverage in your area.

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You can understand why carriers are willing to part with a phone if it means more people using their networks. In the two-plus years since 5G networks started going live, the major carriers have expanded aggressively, bringing coverage to a wider number of people. With 5G set to be with us for years to come, those same carriers want to plant their flag now and lock in subscribers. It also helps that many of these 5G phone deals require an unlimited data plan, thus securing recurring revenue for the cost of a smartphone freebie.

But customers can benefit from these deals, too. While we have a long way to go before 5G coverage is ubiquitous, it reaches enough areas to make upgrading worth your while. And when switching to a new phone, getting something for free is usually preferable to paying full price, especially if you're eying one of the more expensive entries on the list of best 5G phones.

Here's a closer look at the free 5G phone offers from each phone carrier and whether they're the right fit for your needs.

T-Mobile free 5G phone deal: The most straightforward offer

• Deal 1: Get a free OnePlus Nord N200 5G or Revvl V+ 5G when you trade in any functioning cell phone
• Deal 2: Get an iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21 free when you trade-in a phone and sign up for a Magenta Plus unlimited plan

T-Mobile’s best free 5G phone offer: Trade in any functioning cell phone (or activate a new line of service on an eligible wireless plan), and T-Mobile will give you a free 5G phone.

The eligible phones: You have a choice of two phones under this plan — either the OnePlus Nord N200 5G or the Revvl V+ 5G.

We can't speak to the quality of the Revvl V+, which is T-Mobile's in-house brand of phones built by TCL. But we do have a OnePlus Nord N200 5G review in which we declared that this $239 phone was the best 5G value out there.

With the Nord N200, don't expect great performance or cameras that measure up to the best inexpensive camera phones like the Pixel 4a. But OnePlus did equip this phone with a 90Hz refresh rate, and it lasts a long time on a charge.

No matter what phone you get in this deal, you pay the sales tax up front and receive monthly bill credits for 24 months. Leave T-Mobile before then, and you're on the hook for the balance of the phone.

The 5G network: T-Mobile 5G is, without question, the most extensive 5G network, reaching more than 300 million people. T-Mobile is in the process of converting its far-reaching Extended Range 5G network into a faster Ultra Capacity 5G network, with a goal toward completing that transition by year's end.

At least one testing firm already rates T-Mobile as the top-performing 5G network in the U.S. Opensignal says T-Mobile delivers faster download speeds than both AT&T and Verizon. In its reports, though, RootMetrics places AT&T ahead of T-Mobile in terms of speed.

Other T-Mobile free 5G phone deals: The OnePlus Nord N200 may be a good 5G value, but it's hardly the flashiest phone. T-Mobile also has a deal where you can pick up an iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21 for free, though you have a lot more hurdles to clear.

First of all, you have to trade in a relatively recent phone to get the full credit that would give you either the iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21 free. In the case of Apple phones, that trade-in has to be an iPhone X or later; the iPhone 8, released at the same time as the iPhone X, only nets a $730 savings. For Samsung phones, you'll need a Galaxy S20 or later to reap the maximum trade-in value. 

In addition to trading in a device, you must sign up for a Magenta Plus unlimited plan to get a big discount on the iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21. That's T-Mobile's most expensive unlimited data plan, at $85 a month, though you do get truly unlimited data plus HD video streaming among other benefits.

As before, the rebate value is paid out to you in bill credits spread over 24 months. You'll enjoy a much better free (or more accurately, "discounted") phone, but T-Mobile's other free 5G phone deal is a little bit more straightforward.

The verdict: Unless you need the latest and greatest device, a simple trade-in can get you a OnePlus Nord N200 5G, which is a perfectly fine phone for enjoying T-Mobile's 5G network.

Verizon free 5G phone deal: Generous trade-ins for good phones

• Deal 1: Trade in any phone, even damaged ones, for credit toward an iPhone 12 or Galaxy S21/Galaxy Note 20.
• Deal 2: Get a free Galaxy S20 FE by activating a new line of data on an unlimited plan.

Verizon’s best free 5G phone offer: Trade in your old phone, even if it's damaged, and get money back on your 5G phone purchase.

The eligible phones: Verizon lets you apply that credit to the four iPhone 12 models as well as any Galaxy S21 or Galaxy Note 20 device. In the case of the iPhone, you can get a maximum credit of up to $1,000, while Galaxy shoppers can get up to $1,100 back.

As with T-Mobile, you'll need a recent phone to get the biggest return, though Verizon is pretty generous with its rebates. My iPhone SE from 2016, for example, qualifies for a $350 credit spread out over 24 months. T-Mobile doesn't even offer a rebate when you trade in an original iPhone SE. It's also worth emphasizing that Verizon accepts broken phones, something other carriers do not. 

The iPhone 8 nets a savings of $700, essentially letting you get an iPhone 12 mini for free or an iPhone 12 for $99. 

You'll need to sign up for one of Verizon's unlimited data plans, but you'd need to do that anyway if you wanted to use the carrier's 5G network.

The 5G network: Verizon's nationwide 5G network reaches 230 million people in 2,700 cities. The carrier's Ultra Wideband service doesn't have that wide a reach — it's currently in parts of more than 70 cities.

Opensignal says Verizon 5G download speeds are equal to AT&T's, with both carriers trailing T-Mobile. Verizon also has the lowest 5G availability in Opensignal's rankings. That said, RootMetrics' last report rated Verizon the best for 5G availability.

Other Verizon free 5G phone deals: While Verizon's trade-in program favors current flagships, you can get a completely free 5G phone from Big Red, without even bothering with a trade-in.

Sign up for an unlimited plan with the carrier and activate a new line, and you can get a Galaxy S20 FE for free. (You'll receive bill credits over 24 months.) The Galaxy S20 FE offers the best features of Samsung's Galaxy S20 flagships, with few compromises. But it may soon be replaced by the Galaxy S21 FE, so you're not exactly getting a cutting edge phone.

The verdict: If you've got a broken phone, Verizon's trade-in deal makes perfect sense for upgrading to a new 5G phone. And you may be surprised by just how much your older phone can reduce the price of a 5G upgrade.

AT&T free 5G phone deal: Good phones and a strong network

• Deal: Get a free Galaxy S21 or iPhone 12 mini when you trade-in a working phone and sign up for unlimited data.

AT&T’s best free 5G phone offer: Get a free 5G phone from AT&T when you trade-in your current phone — it needs to be working — and you sign up for an unlimited plan.

The eligible phones: The free phone in question can either be a Galaxy S21 or iPhone 12 mini. Be aware, though, that not every trade-in device qualifies for the full discount; in other words, if you have a much older phone, you'll be getting your S21 or iPhone 12 mini at a reduced rate, but not free.

For example, the iPhone 8 or higher gets you the full trade-in value; anything older than that — as well as the iPhone SE (2020) merits just a $350 discount. A Galaxy S9 or later gets you the full rebate as well.

The 5G network: AT&T 5G now reaches 250 million people with its nationwide network. The faster 5G Plus service is currently available in 38 cities and 20 venues, with plans to hit 40 cities and 40 venues by the end of the year.

AT&T's 5G performance has gotten high marks from network testing firms, with RootMetrics previously saying the carrier has the fastest 5G speeds. OpenSignal says that AT&T trails T-Mobile in average download speed, but that its 5G reach is on the rise.

Other AT&T 5G phone deals: AT&T doesn’t have any other free promotions at the moment. But if you don't need a flagship phone, AT&T offers both the Moto G Stylus 5G and the Samsung Galaxy A32 for $5 a month over 36 months. The key appeal here is that you don't have to trade in any phone — just sign up for an unlimited data plan with AT&T.

The verdict: AT&T's 5G network impresses, and if you've got a phone that qualifies for the full rebate, a free Galaxy S21 or iPhone 12 mini can be yours.

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Competition in the personal tracker space continues to heat up with T-Mobile unveiling the SyncUp Tracker — and it's aiming to take on Apple AirTag. 

While the $30 AirTag uses Bluetooth to help locate lost goods, T-Mobile claims that the power of its LTE and GPS network means that a SyncUp Tracker "can be found virtually anywhere." But T-Mobile's option does come at a monthly cost of $5 per tracker.

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“SyncUp Tracker brings peace of mind to customer’s most prized possessions and valuables, which is why we’re putting the power of our network behind it,” said Matt Staneff, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile in a press release.

The major advantage T-Mobile has over Apple is the carrier's LTE network. While Apple uses Bluetooth and the Ultra Widband sensors in recent iPhones in a novel way, allowing nearby iPhones to ping off an AirTag's Bluetooth signal to help find lost goods, it doesn't mean much if the lost item is far from where you happen to be.

For example, placing an AirTag in your car will mean very little if thieves drive off into the woods to strip it for parts. 

But the SyncUp Tracker can ping T-Mobile's nationwide LTE and GPS network, giving alerts even if it's hundreds of miles away. T-Mobile went out of its way to mention that its tracker is limited to a specific range; SyncUp also doesn't need to be in proximity to a smartphone to work.

Other SyncUp features include the ability to set up virtual boundaries, meaning users can get notifications when a tracker leaves a specified range. There's a built-in speaker, like with AirTag, that can ring when nearby. T-Mobile's tracker also has a light sensor to detect if it's being moved from inside a locker or backpack, as well as IP67 dust and water resistance. And lastly, it has a rechargeable 900 mAh battery that can last up to seven days, depending on usage. Bluetooth keyfinders like the AirTag typically use replaceable batteries that last about a year.

That's why the SyncUp Tracker, despite its versatility, could run into an issue. Instead of only having to worry about replacing the battery once in a year, you'll need to recharge the SyncUp weekly. Otherwise, it's essentially dead weight. 

T-Mobile customers can begin buying SyncUp Trackers at store locations on May 7. It will run for $60 — that's $31 more than AirTag — which you can pay off in $2.50/month installments over 24 months. SyncUp Tracker will also require a monthly data charge of $5 a month with AutoPay.

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In the ever-growing battle for the best 5G network, T-Mobile has once again stolen the show. According to the latest Opensignal report, the Uncarrier managed to win Download Speed, Reach, and Availability awards, beating out AT&T and Verizon. 

T-Mobile also remained ahead for 5G Upload, but AT&T is closing on it fast. Meanwhile, Verizon and AT&T jointly won the 5G Gaming Experience awards, and AT&T took both the 5G Video Experience and 5G Voice App Experience.

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Opensignal gives plenty of information on how it came to its findings for the last quarter. T-Mobile excelled in Reach, Availability, Download Speed and Upload Speed. The 5G Reach award signals that T-Mobile has the best representation of "locations where 5G users have connected to 5G out of all the locations those users have visited."

For the 5G Availability award, T-Mobile proved itself the winner by providing the most 5G coverage and connectivity. 33.1% of users remained connected to 5G, while AT&T came in at 20.5% and Verizon at 11.2%.

More importantly, T-Mobile handily beat its competitors with an average download speed of 71.3 Mbps. The next closest was AT&T with 54.9 Mbps, then Verizon trailing behind at 47.7 Mbps. 5G Upload was a closer race, with T-Mobile on top with 15.2 Mbps, AT&T with 10 Mbps, and Verizon with 12.9 Mbps.

T-Mobile did not, however, win everything. AT&T and Verizon tied for the 5G Games Experience award, which measures latency in gaming over a cellular connection. These are real-world scenarios, testing to make sure that the game responds as quickly as possible over 5G. Both the carriers practically tied for the 5G Video Experience. T-Mobile fell behind in these categories.

AT&T won by hair on the 5G Voice App Experience. This award "measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger etc. — when users are connected to a 5G network."

T-Mobile continues to lead in most cases, but the other two might catch up quickly if the Uncarrier doesn't pay attention. For now, we'll look forward to Opensignal's next quarterly report.

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T-Mobile is launching a new home internet service that piggybacks off its existing 5G infrastructure. Titled T-Mobile Home Internet, the service aims to bring unlimited data for $60 a month with speeds topping 100 Mbps.

The move means that T-Mobile is aiming to bring its Uncarrier smack talk to the likes of Comcast, Spectrum and Time Warner Cable. That $60 monthly price includes taxes, fees and equipment costs. (As part of your service, T-Mobile supplies you with a wireless router.)  Those interested in T-Mobile Home Internet can head to T-Mobile's site to see if the service is available in their area.

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• 
  
• Plus: 

Chances are, it will be. T-Mobile says at launch that its internet service can reach more than 30 million homes. More significantly, a third of those are in what T-Mobile describes as rural areas or small towns.

“Since the beginning of the digital age, connectivity for rural America has been an afterthought,” said T-Mobile Senior Vice President Edwige Robinson in a press release detailing T-Mobile Home Internet. “One of our most important goals is to ensure that small town America is not left behind during the transition to 5G. This is why 5G for All will span across the country — small towns as well as big cities, rural communities as well as the suburbs.”

Here's what you need to know about T-Mobile's home internet service.

T-Mobile Home Internet coverage

Because T-Mobile's new home internet service does not require the laying of fiber optic cable, like with Verizon Fios, it's all based on the company's existing wireless infrastructure. An interactive coverage map of T-Mobile's network can be found here. 

Even then, just because you have T-Mobile coverage in your area, you may not be eligible for T-Mobile Home Internet. The company says its service reaches one in five U.S. homes, including coverage in areas often shut out of high-speed service. It's the same strategy being pushed by Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service.

You can see if you're home qualifies on T-Mobile's ISP website. For what it's worth, a Tom's Guide editor living in the San Francisco Bay Area checked his eligibility and learned that T-Mobile Home Internet isn't available at his home, though T-Mobile says it will provide notifications as the service expands.

T-Mobile Home internet speed

T-Mobile 5G speeds can vary widely when you're connecting with a smartphone, with speeds in some areas actually slower than LTE, despite the promise of better performance with 5G. T-Mobile's working on improving that by incorporating more of Sprint's 5G spectrum into its existing network. Consistency of performance is likely why T-Mobile is limiting its Home Internet service reach for now.

To that end, T-Mobile is promising average download speeds that top 100 Mbps for most new T-Mobile Home Internet customers; at a minimum, all eligible households should see an average of 50 Mbps, T-Mobile says. Those speeds can vary based on time of day and how much traffic is on the network, though.

T-Mobile Home Internet cost

The most appealing thing about T-Mobile's new home internet service is the price. For a flat $60 with Autopay enabled, which includes taxes and fees, customers will get unlimited internet. That includes T-Mobile's High-Speed Internet Gateway, a device that will convert 5G signal into Wi-Fi. There's also no contract and no annual fees.  

You don't have to be a customer for T-Mobile's wireless service to qualify for Home Internet Service. (Contrast that with Xfinity Mobile, where you need to use Comcast's Xfinity internet service in order to sign up for cellular coverage.)

T-Mobile Home Internet restrictions

T-Mobile says that there are no data caps on usage — a welcome policy given that some ISPs are beginning to enforce data caps while we're still stuck at home due to to the coronavirus pandemic.

But while T-Mobile boasts that customers can stream as much video as they want, there are restrictions with what can be done on the network. Per the T-Mobile Home Internet FAQ, "Home Internet is not intended for unattended use, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections, or uses that automatically consume unreasonable amounts of available network capacity."

So as long as you're using T-Mobile Home Internet for home internet activities, you should be fine.

T-Mobile Home Internet vs. Starlink

How does T-Mobile Home Internet stack up against Elon Musk's Starlink? T-Mobile is positioning its home internet to ride off its existing cellular internet infrastructure. That means connectivity stems from T-Mobile towers, which then ping your High-Speed Internet Gateway.

Starlink, on the other hand, uses a dish that directly communicates with low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Right now Starlink is still in beta, but already users are seeing anywhere between 80 Mbps of download speed to more than 200 Mbps. But Starlink is still young. And when its megaconstellation is complete sometime next year, it will offer speeds globally in excess of 300 Mbps.

T-Mobile, by comparison, won't get much beyond 100 Mbps, at least for now. And latency is surely going to be higher than that of Starlink. But T-Mobile's service is also much cheaper. At $60 flat, it's a much more affordable option than the $500 Starlink equipment cost plus the $100 a month on top of that for coverage.

Starlink still isn't available in all areas. So, if you are eligible for T-Mobile Home Internet, it would be best to try that out rather than waiting for Starlink to become available in your area. And remember, T-Mobile Home Internet has no contracts, meaning cancelling the service and switching should be hassle-free. 

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5G service has been available to U.S. wireless customers for two years now. But if you don't own a phone that's capable of connecting to 5G networks, all this talk about faster speeds is all pretty meaningless to you. T-Mobile announced a plan to do something about that today (April 7).

The wireless carrier plans to give everyone a free 5G phone — the newly unveiled Samsung Galaxy A32, specifically — when you trade in any mobile phone. And T-Mobile is really emphasizing the "any" part: if the phone is a mobile device and in working condition, T-Mobile will hand you over a Galaxy A32 5G to work with one of its mobile wireless plans.

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The phone isn't entirely free, at least not initially. You'll have to pay for the $282 Galaxy A32 in monthly installments, with T-Mobile offering monthly bill credits spread out over 24 months. Drop T-Mobile as your wireless carrier before then, and you're on the hook for paying off the phone.

T-Mobile is betting you'll be eager to stay on though, once you get a taste of its 5G coverage. The extended range network of T-Mobile 5G now reaches 285 million people with more than 100 million now benefitting from faster speeds as T-Mobile integrates spectrum from former rival Sprint into its network. More than 200 million people will have access to this Ultra Capacity 5G service by the end of this year, T-Mobile says.

To further sweeten the pot for switchers, T-Mobile is offering unlimited data plans to AT&T and Verizon customers with tiered data plans. Switch to T-Mobile and your new unlimited data plan will cost the same or less than your current tiered data plan with another carrier.

In addition, T-Mobile plans to upgrade existing customers on legacy tiered data plans to unlimited coverage at no extra cost. That move includes former Sprint customers who came over to T-Mobile when the two wireless carriers merged last year.

As for the Galaxy A32 phone T-Mobile now offers for free with trade-in, it's a 5G-capable phone powered by a MediaTek 720 system-on-chip. You get a 6.5-inch LCD screen that offers a 90 Hz refresh rate — faster than the 60 Hz refresh rate that's typically found on smartphones.

The Galaxy A32 offers four rear cameras, led by a 48MP main shooter that's augmented with an 8MP ultrawide lens plus dedicated macro and depth sensors. A 5,000 mAh battery keeps the Galaxy A32 powered up.

If Android phones don't appeal to you, T-Mobile has another offer, though it's a bit more restricted. You can pick up a free iPhone 12 from the carrier, but you'll need to trade in an iPhone 11 for that offer. Any Apple phone from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone X gets you half of a new iPhone 12, which was the first Apple device to offer 5G connectivity.

T-Mobile says its free 5G phone promotion will run all year, though the phone on offer for free may change from time to time. This latest promotion kicks off April 18.

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