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T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

arstechnica.com

121–126 of 126 posts

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#121
post #28

I continue to be amazed at how much abuse my fellow Americans take from their telcos. I pay 13 EUR/4 wks (yes, German mobile operators are a bit slippery, too) for 3 GB + unlimited domestic talk and text. If I wanted to waste more time on my mobile, 20 GB would run around 30/4 wks. Of course, this is with a paid-for handset. I’ve never had a contract over here. What is the most economical, yet reliable way to receive…

[deleted]

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#122
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can change to a more or less expensive plan by giving the carrier notice, I assume its fair for the carrier to do the same to me no? No. Would you feel the same if the landlord of your month-to-month rental upgraded you to a more expensive house? Sure they can increase the rent, and you can move somewhere else, but there is baseline a expectation that the house you rented will not change.

> Would you feel the same if the landlord of your month-to-month rental upgraded you to a more expensive house? I mean, if they renovated my unit or even the common areas, and told me I could stay at a higher rent I'd think that was just fine. It happened to me at least once already, come to think of it. But yeah, they raised the rent on people without term commitments effective immediately, and anyone on a term cont…

I'm not saying they raise the rent on your current place (which is perfectly fine), I'm saying they move/upgrade you to a more expensive address that you've never seen before.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Be aware of data prioritization with MVNOs. Mint uses the T-Mobile network but is one tier below T-mobile subscribers: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/comments/oaophe/data_pri... Lower QCI values are better. > QCI 6 is applied to all of T-Mobile's postpaid and prepaid plans (except for Essentials) and Google Fi which also has QCI 6 as well. This means if you want the absolute best from T-Mobile, you want to get a…

Do voice calls work (it is a "phone", after all)? Will my texts and emails get through with less than 5 minute latency? Will it jump to wifi when I'm at work or home? If so, that's fine.

I'm not trying to serve websites with my phone, I'm merely communicating.

And I have run out of energy for fighting an increasingly hostile service provider to bring my $130 bill (which used to be less than half that) back down to earth when it could be $15.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#124
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.

I mean we know this but do you think the average consumer knows this? They’re still locking people in two two year plans by use of the whole “free phone” or “upgrade” offers.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trusting something as important as my phone number to an organization as fickle as Google seems insane.

Agreed. Ten bucks says they'll sell off Fi within the next 10 years. See Google Domains sell off to Squarespace as a recent example.

Why would they do that? Owning the connection between user and internet seems pertinent to Google's interests. Then, even a phone vendor like Apple can't block you from accessing core customer data like location, device id, etc.

Re: T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

#126
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's especially surprising when you consider that cheaper plans exist, probably using the same network you're on, and that changing carriers can be extremely simple. I switched from T-Mobile 3 months ago (when they announced changes to the autopay discount) to Mint. My bill went from $60/mo to $180/yr (breaks down to $15/mo, and I think claiming something is $15/mo when it's actually $180/yr should be illegal, but th…

I switched to Mint for a year and had serious issues with deprioritization. I would get “E” service in the middle of a busy city, forcing me to repeatedly reboot my phone. Perhaps it was just a Pixel 7 issue?

E service? I don't think prioritization would switch you to Edge network.
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