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FYI: T-Mobile may be a great option for unlimited data, but they’re far from the most affordable provider. To find providers that start at $15 per month, check out our guide to the best cell phone plans for seniors.
Before deciding on a wireless provider, the first consideration to make is if you can be covered. Thanks to their merger with Sprint, T-Mobile now offers even more impressive coverage in America and beyond. Most urban and suburban areas fall within their coverage range; however, rural customers should check to make sure that this network will work for them. On their website, T-Mobile offers a coverage map, so not only were we able to examine the coverage in our area, but if we happen to be traveling—to a remote family cabin, for example—we would be able to check coverage reliability there.
Another thing we really liked about T-Mobile is its lack of additional products and services. This seems counterintuitive, but when shopping with Verizon or AT&T—companies with home-based services like internet, cable, and landline—navigating the different products can be complicated. Furthermore, with so many product offerings, companies try to sell new customers on bundled services, and it can be confusing to know if we were getting a competitive price or if we were being upsold on services we didn’t need.
Luckily, T-Mobile’s offerings are limited to wireless, which, while still somewhat complicated, take additional guesswork out of the proceedings. One area in which T-Mobile especially excels is their customer service, which also helps in the buying process. In our interactions with the company, their customer support team is always friendly and conversational, and they have a firm understanding of their plans which helps them answer any questions. The company features both prominent phone numbers as well as a live online chat to get in touch with a representative.
The downside of T-Mobile’s 55 and older plans, however, is they can’t be purchased online without the help of a customer service representative. Because of age verification, we needed to speak to an agent to get the plan we wanted. While this process is a bit more inconvenient than simply buying online, it’s not the worst thing in the world to have a representative talk us through the plans, phone options, and more, so we have a completely transparent explanation of what we’re paying for.
The actual buying process is relatively simple with T-Mobile. We selected from the three 55+ plans, chose from the participating devices included with the plan, and we were off and running. There were some nuances within the plans themselves that did affect the purchasing process, so let’s just dive in.
T-Mobile offers three plans for their 55 and older customers: Essentials 55, Go5G 55, and Go5G Plus 55. Each plan has something to offer depending on what you may be looking to get out of a phone. For those who want to connect to family or for emergencies, the more pared-down Essentials plan could be a great option, while the Go5G plans cater more to tech-savvy users who plan on using their phones for streaming video, social media, and other applications.
Let’s take a look at the plans and see how they compare:
| Essentials 55 | Go5G 55 | Go5G Plus 55 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Per Line (with two lines) | $27.50/mo | $35/mo | $45/mo |
| Taxes and Fees Included | No | Yes | Yes |
| Unlimited Talk, Text, Data | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scam-Blocking Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Service Abroad | Texting Only | Texting and Data | Texting and 2x Speed Data |
| No Annual Service Contracts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming Quality | Standard Definition | Standard Definition | High Definition |
| Mobile Hotspot Data | 3G | 5GB of 4G LTE | 40GB of 4G LTE |
| Service in Mexico and Canada | 2G Data | 5GB of 4G Data | 5GB of 4G Data |
| In-Flight Wi-Fi | No | 1 Hour | Unlimited |
| “Netflix on Us” | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enhanced Voicemail | No | No | Yes |
Unlike some other providers (check out our Consumer Cellular review) that offer more customizable plans with talk-only options, all of T-Mobile’s plans include unlimited talk, text, and data. All of the plans also include 50GB of data per month before service will be throttled, which we found to be more than enough to cover normal phone usage.
Another aspect of T-Mobile’s plans is two of the three don’t include additional taxes or fees when we signed up with Autopay (which just means monthly charges are automatically deducted from your account).
Note: While there are no taxes or fees on the plans themselves, customers may be subject to these additional charges on phones or SIM cards when purchasing the plan. The no taxes or fees guarantee is on the price of the plan only.
While buying a phone plan can be a relatively complicated process with a number of different, occasionally conflicting offers, we found T-Mobile to be uncommonly transparent with their pricing. The plan descriptions include a number of explanatory statements as well as a robust FAQs section to help answer any questions we may have had. Another great thing about T-Mobile is that they don’t require annual service contracts, so it’s easy to cancel service if it doesn’t meet expectations.
The unique features of T-Mobile’s plans also deserve a bit more explanation. Let’s take a quick look at the different services the plans include.
Quick Note: Both ScamShield and T-Mobile Tuesdays are free, additional apps T-Mobile customers can download for Android and Apple to access the services.
T-Mobile offers dozens of phones that can be used with its 55+ plans from the latest iPhones to Samsung’s Galaxy family of devices. The phones can be purchased two ways, either buying them straight up for a one-time fee, or adding the cost of the device to your monthly bill and paying it off, typically over the course of 24 months. If you have a phone you like, you can also bring it to T-Mobile and have them activate it for you with your plan, though some restrictions in service may apply (it’s always best to check with customer support to make sure your phone will work).
For the purposes of this overview of T-Mobile, however, we’re going to be looking at the phones that are recommended with their 55+ plans. These phones are free when starting a new plan, meaning that once you’ve been on your plan for 24 months, the amount of money you’ve paid to cover the cost of the phone is refunded.
While there are a number of cell phone plans specifically geared towards older adults like Consumer Cellular (or for another example, check out our Jitterbug Smart3 review), there is something to be said about keeping your phone service on one of the major three telecom companies in the US. Better coverage both at home and abroad offers the freedom to roam without worrying about lost service when you need it most.
We were impressed that T-Mobile offered 55+ plans when the other two major providers didn’t, and were even more impressed at the prices of the plans and the device options available. Broadly speaking, T-Mobile is a transparent and friendly company to deal with, which is a major positive as buying cell phones and mobile plans can be a complicated or confusing endeavor.
To learn more about our favorite cell phones and plans for seniors, be sure to check out our helpful guides:
The Essentials 55 plan requires Monthly Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery fees, totaling $3.49 per line per month. You’ll also have to pay any applicable taxes. The Go5G 55 and Go5G Plus 55 plans have these fees included in the monthly rate plan price.
If you’re buying the device in-store, T-Mobile can verify age using a government-issued ID like a driver’s license or passport. If you’re purchasing a 55+ plan online, you’ll need to talk to a live chat representative and they can verify your age based on social security number or banking information (same goes with over-the-phone orders).
For T-Mobile’s senior plans, only the primary account holder needs to be 55 years or older. Additional lines do not require age verification.
Currently, the Essentials 55 plan can only be used with up to two lines; however, Go5G and Go5G Plus can be used with up to four lines.
Though the T-Mobile website says the Essentials plan is a limited-time promotion, those that sign up now will be grandfathered in for as long they’d like to keep the plan.
