It seems like all the cellphone companies are starting to blur together, with all of them having what seem to be similar phones, and offering what also appear to be similar “unlimited” plans. This can make shopping for a new plan tedious and even confusing, but there are a few ways to get better pricing than the standard plans you’ll choose from any of the major carriers.
One way is to choose a T-Mobile 55 Plan, which is a variety of plans with solid service and no surprises, available for customers over 55. There are some sizable benefits to the T-Mobile 55 Plans, just as there are some drawbacks that cannot be ignored. We’re going to look at all of the T-Mobile 55 Plan Pros and Cons so that you can decide if one of them might be right for you.
Are The T-Mobile 55 Plans Really Unlimited?
All of the T-Mobile 55 Plans include unlimited talk time, texting, and data. This means you don’t have to count minutes, or restrict your texting, the data is unlimited in quantity, though not in speed. There are situations where a user’s data connection may be throttled, and there are situations where other data speeds will be decreased, but there are also ways to avoid these particular situations.
Each of the T-Mobile 55 Plans will have its particular terms of when and how data limits are put in place. With the Essentials Unlimited 55 Plan, for example, the data speeds are capped at 1.5Mbps. Tethered connections, or using your smartphone as a wifi hotspot, will only occur at the maximum available 3G speeds. Other limitations may arise when ultra-high data consumption customers, or those consuming more than 50-100GB per month, when the network usage spikes at certain times of day, the speeds will be reduced significantly.
T-Mobile also offers a limited amount of data connectivity and speeds when traveling internationally, with the lowest tier of their T-Mobile 55 Plans only offering second-generation, or 2G, coverage in Canada and Mexico. While this may not matter at all to those that don’t travel, seniors who travel to either destination may weigh this factor heavily in their considerations. This limitation is raised in higher plans to 5GB of 4G in both countries.
Hotspot Data
Those over 55 who tend to use their smartphones as a wifi hotspot may find that the services T-Mobile offers either fulfill their needs or fall short of usefulness. The Essentials level plan only offers mobile hotspot service at 3G speeds, and the usage will be prioritized behind the cell service on-device.
The speeds for hotspot data on the Magenta-level plans are considerably better, but at points, they are still somewhat restricted by data caps. For the T-Mobile Magenta 55 Plan, the mobile hotspot data becomes 4G LTE data, but it is still limited to just 5GB per month, becoming throttled after that to just 3G speeds.
There is a large difference in the mobile hotspot data once you get to the T-Mobile Magenta MAX 55 Plan, which jumps to a massive 40GB of 4G LTE data. While still a limit, this gives much more room for business and pleasure than the 5GB limit could ever hope to provide. Once the 40GB limit is reached, speeds are then only available at the max provided by the 3G service.
Extras
Another thing to consider about the T-Mobile 55 Plans is how the extras and bonuses scale with the level of service. For customers on the Essentials tier, the only extra benefit is that you are probably paying a lower price for comparable service with another provider. The Magenta level offers benefits like having taxes and fees included in the service price, a free hour of in-flight wifi each month, and a free Netflix Basic service. The Magenta MAX level increases the free in-flight wifi to unlimited, and the Netflix subscription is scaled to the number of lines that are linked to the account.
Considerations Before Getting A T-Mobile 55 Plan
There might seem like a lot to take in for just a few different plans, but when you break them down by what you use and what features you need you’ll be able to make your decision much easier. Think about how much you stream to your device versus how much you simply use it for browsing the web and social media. Consider how much you will need things like additional lines, and whether using the mobile hotspot data will affect you considerably.
Once you’ve taken the time to think about what you need out of your cell phone service plan, and what you want, you’ll be able to narrow down your choices significantly. Then once you only have a couple of potential options to compare, you can make the most effective decision for your needs.