- If you've been thinking of signing up for T-Mobile,
but you haven't because you don't know
how good the coverage and data speeds are in your area,
you're in luck.
T-Mobile just launched their brand new free trial
which they're calling T-Mobile Test Drive
that gives you 30 gigabytes for 30 days
to try out their network in the areas
that are most important to you.
In this video, I'll cover everything you need to know
about T-Mobile's free trial.
Let's get into it.
So what is this trial
and what does it include?
The trial basically gives you a brand new T-Mobile plan
with a new number.
The plan includes unlimited minutes, unlimited texts,
and 30 gigabytes of high-speed data.
The plan expires at the end of 30 days
or when you use up all 30 gigs of data,
whichever comes first.
Why should you sign up for this trial?
Well, it's free.
T-Mobile doesn't even require a credit card to sign up,
which is awesome.
I love to see that.
But more importantly, if you saw my T-Mobile versus Verizon,
versus AT&T ultimate plan comparison video,
you'll know I actually really liked the plans
that T-Mobile was offering.
Some of their plans included the most priority data
in the industry,
the most hotspot data,
and even extra features like free international data roaming
that the other plans simply weren't offering.
Plus, T-Mobile's plans ended up being the cheapest
because they included all taxes and fees.
I really felt T-Mobile's plans were in excellent value.
But as Ali points out in the top comment on the video,
coverage and location where a user lives are key factors
in choosing a carrier.
T-Mobile offers great value,
but their coverage is not everywhere.
So what's the solution to this?
Boom! T-Mobile's free trial plan.
Now, I'll be honest; for some of you,
this trial is gonna be awful.
Coverage is gonna be bad,
data speeds may be slow,
and it's just not gonna be a good option.
And that's totally fine.
However, for others, you may be surprised
at how much T-Mobile has improved their network.
For example, in my area,
I went from getting around 100 megabits per second down
to now getting over 300 megabits per second down
in my apartment.
It turns out this is a great opportunity
to test out the T-Mobile network in the areas
and locations that are most important to you.
So how do you sign up?
It turns out it's a simple process
and it doesn't even require a credit card.
To sign up for T-Mobile's test drive,
search for T-Mobile test drive in the Apple App Store
and find the T-Mobile test drive application.
Download this to your phone
and I will also have this linked in the video description
for your convenience.
Once it's installed,
tap to open the application.
You're also gonna wanna make sure
you're connected to Wi-Fi.
The app will automatically check
to make sure your phone is compatible.
And when it is, you'll have this option to continue.
This is a good time
to mention T-Mobile's free trial uses eSIM.
So it will only work on newer iPhones
such as the iPhone 8 and later.
When you're ready, tap the arrow to continue.
This is asking if you're using your current plan
in the physical SIM card
which is inserted in the SIM card tray
on the slot on your phone
or if you have a plan on eSIM.
Most of you are likely gonna be using a physical SIM card,
so tap I'm Using a Physical SIM Card.
Next, T-Mobile will ask if you would like to allow them
to send you notifications.
I'm gonna go, Maybe Later.
I don't really want notifications.
And now you get to create your account
and your first name, last name, email,
phone number, and zip code.
Once you've entered the information,
go ahead and tap Accept and Submit.
Next, T-Mobile will give you instructions
for activating your plan.
What we're gonna be doing is downloading
the T-Mobile eSIM profile.
T-Mobile is using eSIM for this trial
which stands for embedded SIM card.
And it's actually a chip embedded in the logic board
on your iPhone.
We're gonna tap Add Cellular Plan.
We're gonna give the plan a name.
In this case, it's gonna come in as secondary.
We're gonna choose what line we want to use
for calling and messaging.
In this case, we wanna select primary
because that is our personal number.
Then we're gonna select which number we wanna use
for iMessage and FaceTime.
Again, this will be primary,
that's your personal number.
However, when you want to use cellular data,
you're gonna select Secondary,
that's the new T-Mobile plan.
It's important to do this
so you can test out the data speeds
and performance in your area.
So now, let's do that now.
First, the phone's gonna set up our T-Mobile trial plan.
We're gonna tap Continue to install the plan.
It's going to add the plan.
So this is downloading that eSIM profile.
The new T-Mobile plan is secondary.
If we want, we can tap on that
and give it a name.
I'm gonna do T-Mobile Test Drive.
And when you have your plan named,
tap Done, and then tap Continue.
Here, we're gonna choose our default line
for calls and sending messages.
My personal number is on the Verizon Play More line,
so I'm gonna select that, tap Continue.
We're now choosing our number for iMessage and FaceTime.
Again, my personal number is Verizon Play More,
so I'm gonna choose that, tap Continue.
And now we're choosing cellular data.
Here, what you wanna do is tap T-Mobile Test Drive
as this will allow your phone
to use the T-Mobile network for cellular data
and give you a better feel
for what the data speeds and performance are on T-Mobile.
I'm gonna suggest you leave
the Allow Cellular Data Switching toggle off
because you really wanna put the T-Mobile network
through its paces
and see what that network has to offer,
as opposed to switching between the two networks
at the same time.
When you're ready, tap Done.
Here, we have the option
to update our contacts' preferred line.
Choose the plan that has your personal phone number on it
and tap Continue.
Same thing for this one;
tap the plan that has your personal number and tap Done.
And that's it, our T-Mobile trial plan is now active.
We can see the status in the top right which is active,
our new T-Mobile phone number,
how many days we have remaining,
and a little pop-up at the bottom reminding us
we have 30 gigabytes or 30 days of service,
whichever comes first.
I'm gonna dismiss that.
And we also have some options
for taking us to the next step
if we feel T-Mobile is a good fit for us
and you would like to switch to their network.
And we also have options for visiting support page
or calling customer care.
And that's pretty much it.
We also have an option to view a T-Mobile coverage map.
You can pan and zoom around the map
to see specific locations
or you can search for a particular address.
Going back to the main page,
we also have a Store button.
This will help you find a nearby T-Mobile store
in case you wanna go in and switch in person
or try and take advantage
of any trade-in deals or promotions.
And we also have an i-button
with more information about some specific policies.
And that's it, I must give T-Mobile credit here.
This is a super clean and simple application,
a really great use of eSIM,
and honestly, a great experience for trying out T-Mobile.
Now, that you have your trial active,
what you're gonna wanna do is turn off Wi-Fi.
Make sure that T-Mobile is in the top left-hand corner.
The plan that is on the top will be the plan your phone
is using for cellular data.
And now you can run some speed tests
to see what the performance is like.
I recommend the Ookla Speedtest application
which you can find linked in the video description.
What's really great is T-Mobile typically does not count
speed tests against your high-speed data allotment.
So you can run as many of these tests as you'd like
to see what kind of performance you get
in your favorite locations.
In my area, I'm getting some amazing speeds; over 500 meg.
This is actually faster than my home wifi right now.
Like this is insane; over 500 megabits per second.
So you can see the T-Mobile network can be amazingly fast
in certain locations.
However, as I mentioned earlier,
it can be hit or miss,
which is why you're trying out the network
to see if it works for you before you switch.
I got 573 megabits per second down and 8.5 up.
So I know T-Mobile would be a good fit for me
in my apartment.
Once you've confirmed the T-Mobile network works for you
and you're interested in switching
and lowering your cell phone bill,
what are the best plans?
Well, I think the best low cost plans come from Mint Mobile.
I recommend their $15 four-gig plan
which is the plan I personally use
and is great for light to average data users,
or their $30 35-gig plan.
35 gigs is plenty of data
for around 90 to 95% of average consumers
and this is a great opportunity
to seriously reduce your cell phone bill.
It's half the cost of T-Mobile Magenta
and it includes all the same features
such as voice over LTE, Wi-Fi calling,
eSIM, hotspot support,
and even options for international data roaming via ad-ons.
Mint even includes access to T-Mobile's 5G network,
so you know you're gonna get the fastest speeds available.
How can Mint offer such great features
and be so affordable?
Well, they sell their plans in bulk three, six,
or 12 month options.
The longer you sign up for,
the more you save on your cell phone bill.
For more information, check out my Mint Mobile review
and my article linked in the video description.
Another plan I recommend you consider is Ting's 22-gig plan.
This is normally $45 per month,
but Ting has a special promotion going on right now
where you can get your first three months
for just $25 per month.
Plus, you can get $25 of additional account credit
when you sign up at stetson.ting.com.
Link in the video description if you're in learning more.
Okay, so those were some great low cost options,
but what if you're one of the 4% of people
who uses over 50 gigs of high-speed data per month?
Well, in my opinion, I recommend T-Mobile Prepaid.
Their $50 unlimited plan is one
of the lowest cost unlimited plans on the T-Mobile network.
And from my testing
in the ultimate T-Mobile speed test video,
I found T-Mobile Prepaid actually had
the exact same speeds and performance as T-Mobile Postpaid.
So this is a great plan packed with features
that's a great value for single line users.
But what about for families?
If you're a family, I recommend T-Mobile Magenta.
I think this is the best balance
between price and performance.
It includes extra perks such as five gigs of high-speed data
in Canada and Mexico,
free international data roaming,
a Netflix subscription,
and all taxes and fees are included.
Four lines comes out to just $35 per line
with T-Mobile's current third line free promotion.
This can save you anywhere from 240 to $480 per year,
compared to similar plans from Verizon or AT&T.
Finally, if you're a premium user
who wants the best possible experience,
I recommend, of course, Magenta MAX.
This plan includes unlimited priority data,
40 gigs of hotspot data
which is some of the most hotspot data
any consumer plan has to offer.
And it includes those same extra perks
and benefits as before,
even a Netflix subscription for single line users.
Plus, going with a post-paid plan from T-Mobile directly
means you're eligible
for their trade-in deals and discounts.
And they offer some pretty decent options
for deals on iPhone 12s and Galaxy S21s.
I still believe you can save more money
by going with a prepaid plan from Mint Mobile or Ting.
But again, the financing options are there
from T-Mobile directly if you're interested.
That's it for this video.
Click the Like button if you found this video helpful.
And Patreon supporters can now vote
on what video I make next.
Cast your vote by joining the Patreon at the link
in the video description.
I'm Stetson, thank you for watching
and I'll see you next time.