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T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

arstechnica.com

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Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#81

Post by kornhole »

One of the best things I did to make myself somewhat immune to this stuff: 1. Decouple my phone number from my carrier by transferring my number to a low cost VOIP provider such as voip.ms, jmp.chat.. 2. Switch to a prepaid plan and pay for a whole year for a good deal. Pay as you go plans are also a good option.

I pay less than $20 a month for a few phone numbers and 5GB data per month. It is also a more private solution since the carrier does not know who I am. I can switch providers with relatively low friction.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#82

Post by arcticbull »

cmeacham98 wrote: post #39
dawnerd wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of these older plans were marketed as no contract plans. That was tmobiles whole thing for a while. No more contracts. Obviously there still is via terms and such but it’s a pretty gray area I’m sure lawyers would be willing to argue in court. They also claimed prices would never go up (on your plan).

"No contract" in the telco world means no minimum length clauses (as opposed to something like a "12 month contract" plan, where you legally agree to stay on the plan for at least one year), it doesn't literally mean there isn't a contract.

Right but in the same way I can end the contract and walk away at any time, I would imagine it's totally kosher for T-Mobile to do the same. It's not like either party is locked in.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#85

Post by oluwie »

ajcoll5 wrote: post #70
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

9 years (and 2-3 lines) here, moving to Mint. Should have done this a long time ago...

I've got bad news for you. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-mobile-to-acquire-m...

I've been using Mint mobile for over a year and never had a problem with them, even during "peak" times. I expect the $30 a month I pay for unlimited everything is about to drastically change.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#86

Post by 1-6 »

post_break wrote: post #66
1-6 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went to Verizon (but they're not an MVNO), T-Mobile is cheap but Verizon is one of those legacy carriers that won't pull quick tricks on you. From time to time, Verizon will try to compete with T-Mobile and offer low priced tiers. Once you get into those, you can grandfather in and wait while the dust settles so you can decide who to move to for the next-generation network. AT&T and Verizon had really sweet deals a…

Verizon literally started charging a fee for people on grandfathered unlimited data plans. They pull tricks all the time.

Some of these price increases sound reasonable ($2-$3): https://tmo.report/2023/07/exclusive-verizon-is-once-again-i....

It’s better than promising free for life and then pulling the plug altogether on the service.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#87

Post by oluwie »

jihadjihad wrote: post #48

Slightly OT: Has anybody had any luck with an MVNO, like Visible or Mint Mobile? I want to ditch Verizon because $98/mo for spouse and me to use 2GB between us both is just the height of insanity in 2023.

Been using Mint Mobile for a year and love it. Have had absolutely 0 issues with them even during peak times. Switched from a T-Mobile paying $70 a month for unlimited everything to $30 a month with Mint for pretty much the same service.

Damn you Ryan Reynolds for selling out.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#88

Post by otterley »

jihadjihad wrote: post #48

Slightly OT: Has anybody had any luck with an MVNO, like Visible or Mint Mobile? I want to ditch Verizon because $98/mo for spouse and me to use 2GB between us both is just the height of insanity in 2023.

I'm pretty happy with Mint Mobile. They are a T-Mobile MVNO (and were acquired by T-Mobile earlier this year) but I don't usually feel like I'm sacrificing anything. I pay $35/mo for unlimited talk and text, and 15GB of data. I haven't run out of data yet even though I stream music while driving. eSIMs are fully supported. When I travel abroad I install a secondary eSIM via Airalo.

Occasionally I'll flip to a different MVNO because they usually have new-customer bargains. When I started on Mint I was paying $15/month for 3 months.

The thing about MVNOs is that they have practically zero customer support - but apparently even that's been slashed at full-fare postpaid providers, so maybe I'm not missing much. Verizon used to have legendary customer service, but apparently no longer.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#89

Post by afavour »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #30
paulpan wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Older plans (pre-2022) should be under the "Un-Contract": https://www.t-mobile.com/news/press/uncontract-carrier-freed... Notably "By contrast, the Un-contract is all give, no take. You can keep your existing Simple Choice plan and we won’t raise your rates. As part of this commitment, customers on existing Simple Choice promotional plans − like the Un-carrier’s ultra-popular 4 lines for $100 with up to 10 GB of 4G L…

T-Mobile forces customers into arbitration unless you've opted out. Probably straightforward to arbitrate based on terms, but I recommend filing an FCC complaint. Regulators light a fire. https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us Go to Phone > Billing (or go directly from here) https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/3600012... Phone Issues: Advertised Rate Text box content: T-Mobile is forcing me to u…

> There is no option to opt-out as of $today's_date

There actually is:

> Customers can opt out by contacting support after October 17th

https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/174uelk/megathread...

I wonder if this is part of their anticipated legal defense. Oh, you can opt out! No problem! The fact that 90% of customers won't know that fact isn't our fault...

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#90

Post by otterley »

Meanwhile, in India:

"After paying $12 for Reliance Jio’s new device, customers pay about $1.50 a month for unlimited voice calls and 14 gigabytes of data, a lower rate than services from rival carriers." (Source: https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/jio-bharat-phone-india-...)

Sigh.

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