T-Mobile

BlackBerry ends partnership with T-Mobile following iPhone promo feud

Cody Lee ∙ April 2, 2014

In a rare, but perhaps not-so-surprising move, BlackBerry announced late last night that it will not renew the T-Mobile (US) license to sell its products when it expires later this month, effectively ending the 10 year (or longer) partnership between the two companies.

The announcement comes after a spat broke out between the sides following the carrier's iPhone offer that suggested BlackBerry users trade-in their phones for Apple handsets. T-Mobile tried to reconcile the matter with the Canadian firm, but it obviously didn't work....

Hacked T-Mobile carrier update for iPhone offers several features and improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

Folks with an iPhone on T-Mobile might be interested to hear that there’s a new hacked carrier update available that promises a number of enhancements. It was created by the same folks who brought us that slew of carrier update hacks for Sprint, Verizon and AT&T iPhone models last summer.

This time around, the developers say that the modded update includes a variety of things like boosted data speeds and signal reception (depending on your location). It also adds several native T-Mobile features to your iPhone like the ability to view account balance, texts sent and other usage info...

T-Mobile plans to have most of its 2G network upgraded to LTE by mid-2015

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

T-Mobile announced today that it has plans to upgrade its entire 2G/EDGE network to 4G LTE. The carrier, which is the fourth largest in the US, says it hopes to be halfway complete with the upgrade by the end of 2014 and expects to be substantially complete by the middle of next year.

The promise to quickly bring its network up to speed with its competitors should help appease customers, who complain of lower speeds in rural and suburban areas. While T-Mobile currently has LTE in many major US cities, a lot of its coverage map is still made up of EDGE and HSPA...

T-Mobile tweaks Simple Choice plans with more data, international texting

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

T-Mobile announced this weekend that it would be making some changes to its existing Simple Choice plans. All of the plan options will now include more data and unlimited international texting from the US, in addition to unlimited domestic talk, text and data.

Pricing tiers still start at $50 per month, except now you get a full 1GB of LTE data at this price, instead of just 500MB. And it goes on from there. You now get 3GB of unthrottled LTE data for $60 per month, instead of 2.5GB, and you get 5GB for $70 per month...

T-Mobile offering upgrading BlackBerry users $250 following backlash

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

BlackBerry users on T-Mobile who want to upgrade to a new device will now receive $250 towards the purchase of any BlackBerry phone, or $200 toward any other smartphone. The deal follows backlash from both BB loyalists and CEO John Chen regarding a recent promo offer.

For those that missed it, T-Mobile sent out an email to its BlackBerry-using customers suggesting they switch to an iPhone 5s. Loyal BB users took to Twitter to voice their outrage at the insulting offer and BlackBerry's Chen penned a blog post calling the whole thing "inappropriate."

And here's how T-Mobile has decided to respond...

BlackBerry CEO ‘outraged’ over T-Mobile’s iPhone offer

Cody Lee ∙ February 19, 2014

It looks like T-Mobile's targeted iPhone offer didn't just upset BlackBerry fans. The Canadian handset-maker's CEO John Chen says that he and his team are also outraged, especially since their long-time business partner didn't contact them beforehand.

For those that missed it, T-Mobile has been sending out iPhone promos with the text "great offer for BlackBerry users," and it caused quite the backlash on Twitter and other social networks from loyal fans. Here's what Chen had to say about the ordeal...

BlackBerry diehards pan T-Mobile over iPhone offer

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 17, 2014

After T-Mobile CEO John Legere recently advised BlackBerry fans to switch to Apple's iPhone 5s, all hell broke loose as diehard fans deemed the offer insulting and took to social media to express their distaste for T-Mobile's sleezy direct marketing tactics.

The carrier invited customers via email to switch to an iPhone 5s for $0 down as a “great offer for BlackBerry customers” because the Apple handset has the right tools "to do more".

Judging by the amount and the intensity of backlash, it wasn't T-Mobile's finest moment: after all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the struggling Canadian smartphone maker owns one of the most loyal and ardent following out there, the types of people who are especially sensitive to anything related to Apple...

T-Mobile making changes to its ‘Jump’ upgrade program this month

Cody Lee ∙ February 16, 2014

TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile plans to make some changes to its early upgrade program 'Jump' in the near future. The site says that the carrier will soon get rid of the 6 month waiting period, essentially allowing customers to upgrade their devices as often as they want.

But don't get too excited yet. In addition to eliminating its equipment upgrade waiting periods, T-Mobile is also going to raise the amount that customers have to pay off before they can trade in their device for a new one to 50%, or half of their old handset's full retail price...

AT&T tops Verizon in customer service survey, T-Mobile most improved

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

J.D. Power and Associates published its bi-annual report on wireless customer care performance this week, ranking the top 4 US carriers based on various stats related to customer service.

The marketing research firm asked more than 7,000 subscribers how satisfied they were with the customer service they received from their cell phone provider, and here is how they scored...

T-Mobile steps up rhetoric with newspaper ad likening AT&T to Death Star

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

T-Mobile persists in its anti-AT&T rhetoric and today marks a new chapter in AT&T trash-talking as the nation's fourth-largest wireless company puts out a press release ridiculing AT&T's $450 incentive for T-Mobile subscribers to switch.

Conveniently timed on the same day that AT&T released its Christmas quarter earnings report, the press release argues that AT&T's offer makes T-Mobile's own incentive to pay ETFs to switch a no-brainer because AT&T customers can now go to T-Mobile and then come back at no cost.

Seriously, if a customer takes advantage of T-Mobile's ETF offer and later decides he or she dislikes it for whatever reason, AT&T will pay $450 to take them back so they don't really lose anything. The Deutsche Telekom-owned operator has also revealed advertisements that should appear in print newspapers today to communicate this message nationwide...

T-Mobile ventures into personal banking with new Mobile Money service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Over the past 9 months or so, T-Mobile has been calling itself the "Uncarrier." It's a marketing strategy, for sure, buts it's certainly been living up to the moniker by dropping contracts, offering free international data, and waving early termination fees for new customers.

But this morning the company announced its most un-carrier move to date: Mobile Money. That's right, T-Mobile is getting into the personal banking business with a new service that combines a branded prepaid Visa card, a smartphone app, and a no-fee checking account...

T-Mobile to expand ETF offer to switchers from U.S. Cellular and regional carriers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 5, 2017

The nation's Un-carrier, T-Mobile, is just getting started. After its swearing CEO John Legere said at CES that his company will eliminate another customer pain point by paying off switchers' early termination fees, now comes word that the initiative will expand to U.S. Cellular and some regional carriers in the United States.

This means that subscribers flocking to T-Mobile from U.S. Cellular and a dozen other small regional carriers that lock subscribers into long-term contracts will also receive the same ETF treatment as defectors from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint currently enjoy...