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T-Mobile was in New York City today to announce a few new things for the future of their network. The biggest is T-Mobile JUMP, a new upgrade track for those who like upgrading their phones often. T-Mobile will allow users to upgrade their phones twice-per-year if they enroll in a new $10-per-month program.
Beginning July 14th, users can “upgrade to a new phone, financed through T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Program (EIP), twice every 12 months after they’ve been in the JUMP! program for six months.” It requires you trading in an eligible T-Mobile smartphone, which we imagine will be the smartphone you’re looking to replace. T-Mobile says any remaining EIP payments will be eliminated for that old phone, and you will begin paying on the new one right away.
That wasn’t all T-Mobile had to announce this morning. The company revealed that it would be bringing 4G LTE to more than 200 markets by the end of this year, which is an impressively aggressive rollout pace. They have a lot of catching up to do, but this should put them in the upper-echelon of carriers with expansive 4G LTE coverage.
T-mobile has also announced new options for family plans. Launching July 14th, the company’s new Simple Choice Family Plan gives families up to four lines with unlimited talk, text, web and up to 500MB of high-speed data for just $100 per month following a one-time deposit. The plan requires no contracts or credit checks, just like all of T-Mobile’s individual plans now feature.
The event is still going on, with T-Mobile also announcing pricing and availability details for the waterproof Sony Xperia Z. You can find more details on that here. There are still a couple of cool surprises coming our way (more on that in a bit), so stay tuned for everything coming out of New York City this glorious afternoon.
I wish T-Mobile had better coverage in my area!
Wish T-Mobile had any coverage in my area! Their footprint is virtually nonexistent.
This is brilliant and here is why:
You buy phone on day one for $100 down and $20 a month plus $10 for JUMP.
6 Months later you want a new phone. At this point you trade in your old phone worth likely around $150 as it is only 6 months old. So now you have paid the initial $100, $120 to pay off the phone, and $60 for Jump. This means you paid $280 and are giving them a phone worth $150 which is a total of $430. If they can turn around and sell that phone as refurbished for even just $170, they make their money back, you the customer got a new phone in only 6 months, and some person just bought a refurbished 6 month old phone for only $170. Brilliant.
really if u switch your phone that often chances are your getting a phone that is at least $200 dollars, so $200 u pay for old phone + $200 for new phone + $120 ($20×6) + $60 ($10×6) = $580 + $480 ($20×24 payment plan) = $1060 and this is all assuming you get rid of your jump program as soon as the upgrade.
Most of their high end phones are actually only $100 up front. Galaxy S4 and HTC One are both $100 which is why I chose $100 for my example. The iPhone 5 starts at $145 and the Note 2 starts at $170, so I would disagree with you saying that it is atleast $200. Only the iPhone 5 32GB and iPhone 5 64 GB break the $200 point
yeah i noticed that but i also figured brand new phones would cost $200-250 like the galaxy s4 and note 2 did, i would be rather impressed if the note 3 cost $100 as well
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Completely different areas, but
I’ve noticed that my signal has gotten extremely better at my job (where
usually my service rests on one bar and frequently goes out for minutes
at a time). This started about 2 weeks ago, so I’m thinking something
definitely changed here in Alabama.
The S4 didn’t start at $100 – I’m pretty sure it started at $200, but could be wrong about that – it was $150 at the very least to start. The HTC One was, in my opinion, an outlier because HTC was so desperate to sell it. And the iPhone 5 bumped back up to $150 after the initial promotion. The iPhone started low because #1 it wasn’t brand new any more, and #2 they were trying like mad to steal customers away from other carriers when it hit. All of that to say, $150-200 for the latest and greatest is the most likely scenario at T-Mobile going forward, IMHO – especially with this new program.
New phones are not $200 unless you’re buying them on some sort of payment plan/contract. They are $300 (nexus) to $600 (most others).
plus smartphone resell prices no longer depreciate all that much in 12 moths let alone 6 months, i should know i sell mine all the time to stay with the curve and i you can still get like $300 for a Galaxy S3
Exactly. The resale prices are fantastic these days. I have no doubt whatsoever that you can sell a gs4 or a One for near $450 on eBay come November or December.
Especially for unlocked/unlockable GSM phones that can be used in Europe and other carriers.
Yep…
New smartphones don’t drop to $150 of “worth” after only 6 mos on market. At least not ones that the typical person would want to get on this type of plan. My year old Nexus4 is still worth $320 easily (new is $350). Check eBay / CL for worth of a used phone.
This new plan is all about getting people to remain technically on a paid plan for the phone while on tmobile by offering what is effectively just a trade-in plan for a monthly fee.
I was going to say that, yes, most phones that anyone would want are still worth 3-400 dollars six months later assuming you didn’t do jumping jacks on it. eBay and CL, like you said, prove this.
just realized with jump if it covers malfunctions and theft then essentially u dont need phone insurance and therefore you might as well be on the plan since phone insurance isnt that much cheaper than the jump plan………..right?
There’s LTE in Waterbury Connecticut, but it isn’t everywhere, and the LTE signal doesn’t stay on consistently. I’ve also found LTE in downtown New Haven, latency is great, but the speed doesn’t really get that high, I wonder if T-Mobile has combined Metro’s spectrum yet???
Doubtful. That takes time, and the merger is only 2 months old.
I wouldn’t expect to see any direct changes to coverage in Metro’s service area for another couple of months.
Completely different areas, but I’ve noticed that my signal has gotten extremely better at my job (where usually my service rests on one bar and frequently goes out for minutes at a time). This started about 2 weeks ago, so I’m thinking something definitely changed here in Alabama.
2015 is when Metro should merge with T-Mo.
I thought Metro was CDMA? Will they change over all of their towers to GSM?
Wish Tmobile had Verizons coverage. Would of never left.
My problem is I like collecting my old devices…this is nice in theory but no way I could afford to keep paying for devices…although with a cheaper plan maybe I could. This is my second choice in carriers if I ever have to leave USCC TMO is where I’ll probably end up at so long as they have coverage in my area…
On the one hand the press release says:
“…It offers the freedom to upgrade to a new device more affordably and protects against malfunction, damage, loss or theft”
and then on the other, it says:
“…Simply trade in an eligible T-Mobile phone in good working condition at a participating store location. Any remaining EIP payments will be eliminated, and current customers can purchase new phones for the same upfront pricing as new customers, with device financing and Simple Choice Plan, a no-annual-service contract. With JUMP!, current customers never pay more for their new phones than new customers.”
If you have to trade in a working TMobile phone, how is it protection against “malfunction, damage, loss or theft”?
When you file a claim and get a replacement, you trade in the replacement…
So you’re still paying for insurance on top of the extra $10?
That $10 also covers insurance
Insurance on a premium device is $11.99 which means if insurance was included you would actually be getting a discount for it and be in the JUMP program for free. Yeah, not gonna happen.
You’ll have to pay the deductible for the replacement though, so you want to make sure you take care of your phones if you want to get one every six months with JUMP.
If only T-mobiles coverage was good a mile outside a major city… I use Solavei (a MVNO of T Mobile) and service is BRUTAL if you’re not within ear shot of a metropolitan area… My dad has T-mobile as well and same with him…
I’m not near any major cities and I get pretty good coverage. HSPA+ almost everywhere getting about 15Mbps down
I am in Maryland, more specifically in Baltimore, and it just is really spotty even in the suburbs… I have even noticed when I am driving up the 95 corridor to NYC I go through 20 minute holes of no service, and this is on the turnpike. Maybe it’s me but the service is just not there if you’re not in a densely populated area… and don’t get me started on rural/woodland type places…
i live in baltimore and i never really had too many problems with 4G, now that being said that was about 2yrs ago on a G2x, that being said i’d imagine coverage would be way better now….it better be cause i’m going back to T-mobile within the next few months
I use the Nexus 4 and my dad has a GS2 and both of us have noticed the unreliable service… Maybe the true 4g service is better than their HSPA+42… who knows…
I just switched and have been happy. I actually got a Nexus 4 from the Google Play store with the theory that if the coverage wasn’t good where I needed it, I could use the phone on ATT and wouldn’t have to pay any ETF. The problem is that coverage maps are unreliable. I switched from Sprint because they couldn’t provide me any coverage at work even though their map said I was good.
That is my plan to… I actually want to switch to AT&T/an att MVNO but att is just more expensive going directly through them and I can’t find a good att MVNO… so… Kind of annoying.
i can get hspa+ for 50-55 minutes out of an hour train ride from nyc to Norwalk,Connecticut… which spans about 50 miles
Solavei runs on the Prepaid network, not their post paid network which is awesome. You are right, Solavei, or a renamed Tmobile prepaid, is a very thin network. However, the post paid network has such rich roaming agreements with ATT and all the other GSM carriers that the coverage is really decent in most places. All the MVNO’s have a much smaller prepaid footprint.
Hmm never knew this! Thanks for the info
Would the same go for joining t mobile as a pre paid user or would you have the benefit of having their post paid network?
Seems kind of sleazy to me.
In my opinion it’s kind of genius. First they roll out the new “uncarrier” approach which separates the phone cost from the monthly bill, allowing some people to BYOD, or pay their devices off early, and therefore lower their *monthly* cost to T-Mobile, which also lowers T-Mobile’s monthly revenue (though it’s still covered by having to pay the phones off, it just decreases the consistency of the revenue).
Then, once that catches on and pulls some market share from the other carriers, roll out this Jump! plan to get people paying basically the same amount as they would to Verizon or AT&T with a little more flexibility and freedom of device, therefore pushing T-Mobile’s revenue *stream* back up on par with what it was before the “uncarrier” thing. At the same time, it can be marketed as best for the customer because of the freedom it provides.
However, it really doesn’t bring the price point back up. The $10 monthly fee is really full insurance, albeit required. But T-Mobiles plans are still way cheaper than Verizons, by almost half. Not counting the $10 because you would pay that much for insurance on Verizon monthly as well, you really are adding just your $20 monthly fee for the phone (plus the initial phone charge which is similar to Verizon) so really, you just add $20 to the monthly plans, which is still a good 30 percent or 40 percent less than Verizon plans.
Idk where your doing your math but your way off.
Goddamn maths… Hehe.
I love the family plan. Counting down til December when I can jump from Verizon and drop $30-40 off my bill. $120 for 2 people unlimted everything, not bad.
If you have unlimited Verizon plans, then you can sell those on eBay for more than enough to cover the cost of buying two new phones for tmobile. The buyer takes both lines (including their contracts). Google it. I just did that a couple months ago, sold 4 lines (all on contract and only two unlimited) for over $700. Google it first though so you understand how it works and can keep your existing phone numbers.
If I am on contract, can I do this as well? Or is this just for the new folks?
I’m in the same boat as you. I May be wrong but I believe that we cannot at the “jump” plan without first making a qualifying purchase. Meaning we would have to buy a new phone with their finance option and then wait 6 months until we can upgrade again.
yeah i was talking my my father and he pondered the same thing…i started my contract(family) in December.. should of waited a few months more :(
You’d have to upgrade every 6 months to make Jump worth anything. Just buy a future proof phone and you’ll save yourself money. However, for those who have to prove something and feel like having the latest and greatest phone will raise their status, good deal for them. But those types probably aren’t on T-Mobile to begin with.
It’s not about status, some of us are just into gadgets and it’s fun to get a new one often. All kinds of people are into that, and thus why people come to sites like this to read about them.
Good one tmobile *wink
In my area, it’s either US Cell or VZW. Any other service is spotty as heck. Even US Cell’s service is questionable, so for coverage here VZW is king, I wish TMo would step up coverage in the rural market
So you’re saying I can pay 3 times less than I do on Verizon and get a brand new phone every 3 months? Is this what love feels like O. o
Is unlimited Web not data?
It’s data.
I’d like to know what happened to “farming out the remaining 2G to 3/4G”
If you chose to pay off your whole phone so you can keep it will they still give you the new phone for the cheap price?
Yes, you don’t even need the JUMP program for that
This is great and all, but I wish they’d spend more money increasing their footprint. Where I live, if you leave a the city or express way, you’re back to Edge or no signal at all.
if only samsung released a Note every 6 months…
You can get a Galaxy S and then a Note every time they release one though. Or another brand of phablet like the Xperia Z Ultra.
To bad they will be out of business soon. No Jk I wish they could get this stuff of. But I think it’s more desperation. They need to get there service better and I am in probably there BEST market.
Quentyn what do you mean by ” The plan requires no contracts or credit checks, just like all of T-Mobile’s individual plans now feature.” Their new plans certainly do require credit checks. I was told I would need to pay $375 to walk out of the store with a HTC One on one of their new No-Contract plans because of my bad credit, $75 of that being a deposit for phone service. $300 is over half the cost of the damn phone, and $75 is more than 1 month of their service would even cost me with the features I chose, including the $20 monthly installment for the phone. Bogus