Skip to main content

T-Mobile gets you a free smartphone (sort of) if you join one of its prepaid plans

Un-Carrier
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Typically, when consumers look to prepaid for their phone needs, it’s because they want to save as much as possible. T-Mobile wants to back up that way of thinking with its new promotion, which nets potential new customers a free smartphone — so long as it only costs $50, as reported by TmoNews.

The promotion applies for new customers who sign up for T-Mobile’s $40+ Simple Prepaid, Simple Choice Prepaid, or Simple Choice No Credit plans — all of which recently saw a bump in the amount of data they offer. If someone signs up for either one of the three aforementioned plans, T-Mobile will technically offer you a free smartphone from a selection of low-end devices, including the Coolpad Rogue, ZTE Obsidian, LG Leon, and the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime. You can check out the phones on T-Mobile’s website here.

We say technically because you’ll need to first buy the phone itself, then T-Mobile will send you a mail-in rebate for as much as $50. As for the smartphones included in the promotion, they’re mostly cheaper low-end smartphones, which won’t give the Galaxy Notes and the iPhones of the world a run for their money. Regardless, getting what effectively amounts to a free smartphone is still nothing to sneeze at, especially if you’re getting the phone of choice for a first-time smartphone owner.

As a bonus, if you go for the Simple Choice No Credit plan, and opt to open a second line, you’ll get an additional mail-in rebate for that line, too.

T-Mobile’s prepaid promotion will kick off this Wednesday, February 3, though the Uncarrier didn’t say when it would end. Regardless, keep in mind that T-Mobile’s prepaid plans include many perks those on the regular Simple Choice plan enjoy, such as Music Freedom and the controversial Binge On service. The latter landed Magenta in hot water as of late, with a Stanford University study calling the service illegal.

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone
AT&T Storefront with logo.

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Read more
Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today
Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally. 

Read more
The Nokia 3210 is the worst phone I’ve used in 2024
A person holding the Nokia 3210, showing the screen.

Where do I even start with the Nokia 3210? Not the original, which was one of the coolest phones to own back in a time when Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace wasn’t even a thing, but the latest 2024 reissue that has come along to save us all from digital overload, the horror of social media, and the endless distraction that is the modern smartphone.

Except behind this facade of marketing-friendly do-goodery hides a weapon of torture, a device so foul that I’d rather sit through multiple showings of Jar Jar Binks and the gang hopelessly trying to bring back the magic of A New Hope than use it.
The Nokia 3210 really is that bad

Read more