T-Mobile

Ookla is out with its latest report for mobile and fixed broadband Internet speeds in the US. Continuing a trend, T-Mobile won for best mobile performance across the board with speeds roughly 2x faster than AT&T and Verizon along with having the highest consistency and availability. Meanwhile, for fixed broadband, Verizon edged out XFINITY for the fastest service.

According to The T-Mo Report, T-Mobile is delaying its shutdown date for Sprint’s 3G network again. Originally scheduled for March 31, the new date is May 31. If true, this wouldn’t be the first delay. The carrier had planned to phase out the network in January but announced it would extend to the end of March due to issues with “partners.”

After deploying its C-band 5G coverage at the beginning of the year – including some controversy with the FAA – Verizon and AT&T are looking to catch up to T-Mobile. Now a new report from Opensignal shows how much of a difference the new mid-band 5G coverage has made for performance so far.

Update: Verizon spokesperson Richard Young commented on the situation in an email to The Verge: “Verizon is aware that bad actors are sending spam text messages to some customers which appear to come from the customers’ own number. Our team is actively working to block these messages, and we have engaged with US law enforcement to identify and stop the source of this fraudulent activity. Verizon continues to work on behalf of the customer to prevent spam texts and related activity.”

Recently, a slew of people have been receiving spam text messages about their carrier bill – myself included. The message, which says your bill has been paid, includes a link to “a little gift for you.” Most users have also reported the text message has been coming from their own personal phone number. 

T-Mobile has announced upgrades to its Connect prepaid plans today along with adding a totally new option at just $10/month. For those that are good without unlimited data and prefer a basic plan, the new offerings look compelling.

For customers looking to change providers from T-Mobile, there are about to be extra security measures in place. T-Mobile is adding a new security layer to its port-out process, requiring users to create a PIN. This feature is called Account Takeover Protection, and it aims to lessen the risk of fraud during this process.

Opensignal is out with its latest report on 5G coverage and performance in the US. According to the results, T-Mobile has increased its lead over AT&T and Verizon when it comes to 5G availability, reach, download and upload speeds. However, Verizon did come out on top for the 5G voice and games experience categories. All this comes amid AT&T and Verizon working to roll out 5G C-band coverage.

Ookla, the maker of Speedtest, is out with its latest report on both mobile and fixed broadband Internet speeds in the US. Continuing a trend we’ve seen over the last year, T-Mobile came out on top for mobile performance with speeds ~2x faster than AT&T and Verizon. And for fixed broadband service, Verizon took the top spot.

Earlier today, a report indicated that some European carriers were blocking the Private Relay feature introduced by Apple with iOS 15. This feature is designed to give users an additional layer of privacy by ensuring that no one can view the websites that they visit.

Now, in addition to some carriers in Europe, it appears that T-Mobile/Sprint in the United States is also blocking iCloud Private Relay access when connected to cellular data.

Update: In a statement to 9to5Mac, a T-Mobile spokesperson said:

Customers who chose plans and features with content filtering (e.g. parent controls) do not have access to the iCloud Private Relay to allow these services to work as designed. All other customers have no restrictions.

However, many of the users we’ve heard from, and tested ourselves, do not have any such content filtering enabled. We’ve followed up with T-Mobile for additional clarification, but have not yet heard back.

To boost sales of Apple devices, Verizon and T-Mobile partnered with Apple on a rebate program in which carriers would give a discount for new devices such as the iPad Pro, iPhone 13, and Apple Watch Series 7. Unfortunately, after a lot of users complained about not getting the proper discount, carriers decided to discontinue the program.

Earlier this year, T-Mobile suffered a massive data breach that saw data from over 50 million customers and former customers stolen. Now, a new report says T-Mobile has suffered another data breach, though this time on a significantly smaller scale.

The degree to which mobile carriers sell your personal data to third-party companies, allowing targeted ads based on your data, is rather tricky to ascertain from their privacy policies.

If you want to play safe, however, all three of the largest US carriers offer opt-out options…

Following problems with the Apple Watch $100 rebate program, customers are now reporting that T-Mobile trade-ins against iPhone 13 purchases are being similarly denied.

T-Mobile promised extremely generous trade-in values of up to $800 on older models when purchasing a new iPhone 13, with credits being applied against monthly bills. But some customers report being denied, while others say the credits are not appearing on their bills …

Some people are finding that an Apple Watch $100 rebate program announced by Apple is not being honored by carriers.

Bloomberg Apple correspondent Mark Gurman has gone as far as to say that the deal is “designed to not pay out” …

Opensignal is out with its quarterly report on 5G in the US. For the October study, the findings include T-Mobile having the fastest average 5G download speeds for the fourth time in a row – now more than doubling its competitors. Meanwhile, Verizon came in on top for 5G video, games, and voice apps.

Competition between carriers will drive iPhone 13 sales with aggressive deals, say industry commentators, but iPhone subsidies will end at some point.

Carriers have played a significant role in driving demand for iPhones, thanks to fighting each other for market share …

Last week, T-Mobile confirmed that a hacker stole data on more than 50 million customers. T-Mobile also confirmed the claim that the personal data includes both social security numbers and driver’s license details for “a subset of people” along with account PINs for some.

Now, the 21-year-old responsible for the hack has spoken to the Wall Street Journal for an on-the-record interview.

PCMag has published its 12th annual “Fast Mobile Networks” test today, and the results show that the onset of 5G has made for a “radically new landscape” in the networking industry and a “surprising winner.” According to the data, T-Mobile is the overall winner with the fastest network in the United States…

In a massive data breach we first learned about earlier this week, T-Mobile is continuing to discover the extent of the damage that’s rising beyond 50 million accounts. In an update today, the uncarrier says it has found an additional 5.3 million current postpaid customer accounts had their name, address, date of birth, or other personal information compromised.