T-Mobile’s Latest Price Hike Is Official; Who Will Be Affected And When?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- T-Mobile is increasing prices on legacy plans by $5 per line starting April 2, though not all plans are affected. Impacted customers are now starting to receive notifications.
- Plans with a true Price Lock Guarantee won’t be impacted, but those under the newer Uncontract Promise may see increases.
- Customers can either pay the increase, switch to another T-Mobile plan, or change carriers — with options like Mint Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, or Google Fi offering potential savings.
Just a week after T-Mobile’s CEO hinted that prices on legacy plans would see further increases this year, it’s now official. T-Mobile has updated its website with news of a $5 increase set to take effect on April 2. The support page doesn’t specify which legacy plans will be affected, but a megathread on Reddit sheds some extra light on the situation.
Notifications are now starting to go out to T-Mobile customers who will see an increase early next month. Reportedly, this rate hike shouldn’t apply to those who experienced the first round of increases. Based on early user reports, at least some T-Mobile Magenta, Magenta Max, and One Plan users have been affected so far. It’s likely there could be other plans impacted as well.
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Customers with free lines from a BOGO promotion or similar offer shouldn’t be affected by this increase, at least in theory. However, early reports suggest that some users are seeing a $5 fee per line on free lines regardless. There’s a strong possibility this is just a notification glitch and that these lines won’t actually be impacted.
What about plans with a Price Lock Guarantee? The change should not affect those with true price lock plans. However, T-Mobile revised its terms of service for the price lock feature some time ago. Depending on when you signed up, you could be under either the original Price Lock Guarantee or the newer Un-Contract Promise. If you receive a notification about a price increase, you are likely on the newer version of this promise.
Under the newer terms, the carrier essentially locks in your price for a shorter period. If T-Mobile raises prices, you have the option to leave, and the carrier will cover your last month’s bill.
With this latest increase, customers are left with three options: pay the new rate, switch to a different T-Mobile plan, or change carriers. Depending on your exact plan, your legacy plan might still be worth keeping. If you want to stay with T-Mobile, we recommend Go5G if you don’t care much about streaming extras, or Go5G Next if you want the best carrier promotions along with several free streaming perks.
Thinking about switching? If you’re happy with T-Mobile’s network, you have a few options:
- T-Mobile Essentials users: Consider switching to Mint Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile. Both operate on the same network priority, potentially saving you hundreds per year, depending on your plan. Mint is better for single-line users, while Metro offers better family pricing and provides an experience closer to a postpaid carrier, including in-store customer service.
- Higher-priority plan users (Go5G or better, Magenta, etc.): Google Fi is the only carrier that offers the same priority level on T-Mobile’s network. It may save you some money, but it comes with a hard data cap (30-50GB, depending on the plan) before speeds are throttled to unusable levels.
Those on T-Mobile Essentials should consider swapping to Mint Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile. You’ll get the same network priority and save potentially hundreds over the course of a year, depending on your exact plan. Mint will be better for single-line users, while Metro has better family pricing and feels more like a postpaid carrier (complete with in-store customer service.)
For those open to switching networks, consider Cricket (AT&T) for a more traditional carrier experience. For more details on any of these, and for information on signing up, you’ll want to check out our guide to the best phone plans for more alternatives.
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