Summary
- T-Mobile is reportedly no longer allowing customers to take a locked phone to an MVNO using T-Mobile’s network.
- This may be closing an unintentional loophole.
- Users say that they are now required to first pay off devices and unlock them, or spend a certain amount of time with the carrier.
T-Mobile has made some changes to its network, specifically where locked phones are concerned. Now, you’ll no longer be able to use a locked T-Mobile phone on an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) using T-Mobile’s network. At least, not without unlocking it.
This comes in contrast to previously, where a locked T-Mobile phone was able to be used on T-Mobile MVNOs, seemingly because it still used T-Mobile’s networks. However, as customers have noticed (via Phone Arena), that option no longer works, meaning T-Mobile customers will have to pay off their devices in full in order to unlock their device the old-fashioned way.
Change may not be a change at all
This could be T-Mobile closing up a loophole
“Locking” a phone to a network refers to the practice of requiring that a phone only be able to use a single carrier’s network, and has been a common practice for decades now. Historically, though, it’s been a battleground, with carriers asserting their rights to protect phones sold on package deals. Eventually, a settlement was reached where customers would be able to request a phone be “unlocked” so it can be used on another carrier. This would be after certain criteria were met — most usually completion of contract payments and a certain amount of time spent with the original carrier. In short, pay for your phone fully and you can do as you like with it.
However, there seemed to be a small hole in T-Mobile’s protection, as customers had discovered they could use locked T-Mobile phones on MVNOs which used T-Mobile’s network, like Mint Mobile or Tello Mobile. That was the case for Reddit user ken830, who had bought a pair of Motorola Edge (2024) phones for his parents, only to discover they could not be used on their chosen MVNOs. A pair of T-Mobile Samsung phones could still be used on the networks though, suggesting the change was relatively recent.
Unfortunately for ken830, it seems as if the changes are less recent than he’d hoped, as users on the r/MintMobile subreddit had noticed changes being made around two years ago. According to those posts, the changes first hit Samsung phones, before moving on to Google Pixel devices and presumably other brands.
It’s disappointing news for T-Mobile, Mint Mobile, Tello Mobile, and Simple Mobile customers alike, but it’s very likely this should not have been allowed in the first place. T-Mobile has a detailed list of requirements for unlocking phones, and while criteria vary depending on whether it concerns a prepaid or postpaid device, both require a certain amount of time and money be spent on T-Mobile’s network. Customers being able to jump over to MVNOs was likely an oversight which has now been fixed.
We have reached out to T-Mobile for comment and will update this article if it replies.
