T-Mobile’s latest price hike is official; who will be affected?

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. In a statement to us from T-Mobile, the carrier clarified this isn’t a new price increase but is essentially a wrap-up on adjustments that were started last year on some of the older rate plans.

The linked 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. Again, 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, but again only those who weren’t impacted first time around. It’s likely there could be other plans impacted as well.

Customers with free lines from a BOGO promotion or similar offer shouldn’t be affected by this increase. However, early reports suggest that some users are seeing a $5 fee per line on free lines regardless. Thankfully, T-Mobile has made it clear the increase won’t affect these lines, so if you see an increase on your free lines it should be nothing more than a glitch.

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 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.

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.