Latest news with #T-Mobile
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Ways To Avoid Getting Stuck in Free Promotion Traps
If you've ever signed up for a free trial and then cringed when you saw a charge come through your bank account for a subscription you swore you'd cancel, we're here to help. Free trials are not only offered, they've come to be expected in many cases. In fact, it seems like you can get a free trial for almost anything — a quick Google search turned up 24 free trial opportunities, including Amazon Prime Video, BritBox, Spotify, Discovery, Kindle Unlimited, and more. Consider This: Learn More: Some companies even partner with other companies to promote their products or services when you sign up. For instance, Amazon Prime members receive two free audiobooks and a 30-day free trial from Audible that auto-renews at $14.95 per month after the trial, and certain T-Mobile plans come with Apple TV+ On Us for a promotional period. This all sounds great, but it's all too common for people to forget about the subscription only to be surprised by a charge for a service they don't want or need. GOBankingRates talked with Sarah Keish, a financial expert and founder of RBT Practice Exam, and Melanie McGovern, director of public relations at Better Business Bureau. They recommended these four ways to avoid getting stuck in these free promotion traps. Read the Fine Print and Watch for Pre-Checked Boxes One mistake McGovern sees when it comes to promotional deals is you may not realize you're opting into a subscription. If you're not checking or unchecking boxes or not reading the fine print, you may be agreeing to a trial without realizing it. The Federal Trade Commission also warns of this. By leaving certain boxes checked or unchecked, you may unknowingly be giving the company permission to charge you after the trial. According to Keish, it's important to check the fine print — 'particularly the subsection regarding how long the free trial is and when the billing starts.' Trending Now: Pay Attention to Deals That Require a Credit Card If the deal requires a credit card, McGovern said, 'there's a likelihood that there's a charge associated with the 'free' trial.' Keish backs this up saying, 'Just because it's advertised as 'free' doesn't necessarily mean that it won't eventually cost you.' Entering credit or debit card information means that the company will have the means to charge you when the free trial ends, so you'll have to be extra vigilant about cancelling before the subscription auto-renews. Cancel During the Trial If you wait until the trial is over to cancel it, you run the risk of missing the deadline and watching as the subscription auto-renews. Keish recommends you cancel flat-out — 'yes, even during the trial.' 'In most cases, you can cancel the trial whenever you want and still keep access through the length of the time. If it's a 30-day trial, canceling on Day 1 typically doesn't take away your access — it just halts the auto-renewal,' she said. Do a Periodic Subscription Check Keish recommends taking about five minutes a month to review your accounts and check for unwanted charges. Accounts can include your bank account, credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay accounts. She calls it a 'subscription audit' and makes sure her clients do one each month. If you have a lot on your plate, she said that there are programs like Rocket Money or Trim that can scan your accounts for subscriptions and then help you cancel any unwanted ones. If charges show up that you disagree with, the Better Business Bureau recommends disputing the charge with the company directly, and if that doesn't work, contact your credit card company to dispute the charge. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard 10 Cars That Outlast the Average Vehicle 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You're Retiring in 2025 This article originally appeared on 4 Ways To Avoid Getting Stuck in Free Promotion Traps
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
What is Lyca Mobile: Plans, coverage and what you need to know about this low-cost phone carrier
In a wireless phone market filled with low-cost carriers, Lyca Mobile can sail under the radar of would-be customers — an odd development given that the company has been providing wireless service in the U.S. for more than a decade. Should you take another look at Lyca Mobile for your wireless coverage? Given the company's competitive rates — particularly when you pay for a year's worth of service in advance — it may be a good idea if you're looking to lower your monthly cell phone bill. With Lyca operating in multiple countries, here's what you need to know about Lyca Mobile and its wireless service in the U.S. As an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, Lyca Mobile doesn't own and operate its own towers. Instead, it turns to another carrier's network to provide cellular coverage for talk, text and data, including 5G service. In Lyca's case, that service comes from T-Mobile, even after the companies settled a long-standing dispute over their arrangement in October 2024. At the time, multiple reports claimed Lyca Mobile would migrate its service to AT&T's network, but when I checked with the carrier in summer 2025, T-Mobile remains the network provider. That's good news for Lyca customers, as mobile-testing firm Ookla named T-Mobile as the fastest network in the U.S. for the first two months of 2025. Both RootMetrics and Opensignal have T-Mobile as the fastest carrier, too, and it's widely accepted that T-Mobile has the most extensive 5G reach right now. In my experience testing service from other MVNOs, including T-Mobile's Metro by T-Mobile and Verizon's Visible, I've found that performance through an MVNO tends to pretty closely match the service you'd get directly from the parent carrier, though you can see speeds slowed down when there's a lot of traffic on the network. I haven't personally tested Lyca's performance, but I imagine the experience would be similar to other MVNOs. Some MVNOs sell phones, but that's not Lyca Mobile's modus operandi. Instead, you bring your own device to the carrier, making it an ideal option if you've got one of the best unlocked phones. You can check ahead of time to see if your phone is compatible with Lyca's mobile service, using the company's IMEI checker. There are instructions there for checking both iPhone and Android devices. Lyca Mobile has a whole host of plans. Looking at the carrier's plan page, which is covered with various promotional offers, data bonus and options for longer term coverage than just month-to-month service, might make you kinda dizzy. To cut through some of that clutter, I've broken down Lyca's monthly plans into the chart below. Each plan features unlimited talk and text along with a specified data amount, and escalating perks as you opt for higher-priced plans. Monthly prepaid plans Price per month Perks 500MB $15 International talk/text to 100 countries 3GB $19 International talk/text to 100 countries 5GB $23 International talk/text to 100 countries 25GB $29 International talk/text to 100 countries; 10GB hotspot data Unlimited Plus $49 40GB of high-speed data; International talk/text to 100 countries; 10GB hotspot data Unlimited Pro $59 60GB of high speed data; International talk/text to 100 countries; 25GB hotspot data A basic plan at Lyca starts at $15/month and includes a mere 500MB of data. For just $4 extra each month, you can expand that data pool to 3GB, with 5GB ($23/month) and 25GB ($29/month) also available. Go over your monthly cap and your speeds are throttled. In addition, Lyca has two unlimited data plan options. Unlimited Plus ($49/month) lets you enjoy up to 40GB of high-speed data while the Unlimited Pro offering ($59) ups that data cap to 60GB. It's not uncommon for even unlimited data plans to cap the amount of high-speed data you can consume each billing cycle, so Lyca is just following a widespread practice among carriers. Each plans include talk and text to other countries, with plans from the 25GB option on adding hotspot data as a perk. Unlimited Pro offers the biggest allotment of hotspot data at 25GB. Like Mint Mobile, Lyca lowers your monthly rate when you pay for your service in advance, with Lyca offering different pricing tiers at 3, 6 and 12 months. Take that $23/month 5GB option. You can save $48 total by paying $21 for 3 months of service in advance. The savings go up to $54 total by paying $84 for 6 months of service and $120 when you buy a full year for $156. There are 10GB and 12GB plans available in 3-, 6- and 12-month payments, too. Lyca also has a variety of buy-one-month-get-one-month offers as of this writing. Lyca Mobile: 25GB of data for $29/monthOur pick for Lyca Mobile's best plan gives you a lot of data — 25GB — for a little less than $30. You also get 10GB of hotspot data with this plan as well as international talk and text to 100 countries. It's just one of many plans at Lyca, where options ranges from a mere 500MB to unlimited data plans. The carrier also offers discounts if you pay for plans in 3-, 6- and 12-month increments with special offers tacking bonus data on to plans, as well. Lyca Mobile allows you to add additional lines of data to just one of its plans, the one with 25GB of data. Even better, the cost of each new line drops as you add extra lines. While your first line of Lyca's 25GB plan starts at $29, the cost of the second line drops to $14. A third line costs another $10, while the fourth line is available for $7. Add it all up, and a family of four would pay a total of $60/month with each member getting their own 25GB data pool. Among the best family cell phone plans, Total Wireless has been our pick, with four lines of unlimited data costing a total of $110, which is $50 more than what Lyca would charge. Total's plan comes with more data and slightly better perks — in addition to more hotspot data, Total's plan also provides six months of Disney Plus and discounts on phone upgrades if you stick with the carrier for a year. But Lyca's family plan definitely competes on value. When you pay for your cell phone plans in 6- or 12-month chunks, Lyca becomes a more attractive option. While we're comparing Lyca Mobile to what other low-cost carriers charge, let's look at prices for just one line of data. For our best cheap cell phone plans, we look at offerings under $40/month, and Lyca's 25GB plan for $29 would be your best option there. You can get unlimited data from Mint Mobile for roughly the same amount — Mint charges $30/month — but to get that rate, you'd need to pay for a full year of service in advance. Boost and Visible both have unlimited data plans for $25/month without requiring big upfront payments, and Visible's best unlimited data plan costs $35/month — less than the $49/month you'd pay for unlimited data at Lyca. It's when you pay for your cell phone plans in 6- or 12-month chunks that Lyca becomes a more attractive option than the competition. As noted, Lyca charges $156 total for 12 months of its 5GB plan — that works out to $13/month. Mint's 5GB plan requires a $180 upfront payment for a full year of coverage, so you're essentially saving $2 per month by opting for Lyca. Lyca Mobile currently has a rating of 3.9 out of 5 on TrustPilot based on 8,600-plus customers reviews. At Amazon, where you can buy SIM cards from Lyca, customers give the carrier a 3.8 out of 5 rating, based on 200-plus reviews. Customer reviews tend to praise the wide variety of options and the ease of setting up an account. The most consistent complaints revolve around customer service, particularly the speed of responses. Lyca Mobile seems geared toward a very specific type of wireless customer — one who's willing to move their current phone to a new carrier and doesn't mind paying in advance if it means the best rate. Lyca isn't the overall cheapest option around for phone coverage and some low-cost carriers offer better perks, but if you're looking for a specific type of plan, you may find a lot of value in what Lyca Mobile has to offer.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
Not a typo! Get a Galaxy Flip 7 for free at T-Mobile
Nothing beats heading back to campus with the latest phone and right now T-Mobile is offering a killer deal on Samsung's new foldable. For a limited time, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 for free at T-Mobile. That's one of the best Galaxy Z Flip 7 pre-order deals I've seen. Galaxy Z Flip 7 preorders: free w/ unlimited @ T-MobileT-Mobile is offering various Galaxy Z Flip 7 preorder deals. You can get the phone for free when you add a line on T-Mobile's Go5G Plus or Experience More plans. Or get it for free with Experience More and Experience Beyond plans. The phone features a 6.9-inch AMOLED (2520 x 1080) inner display w/ 120Hz refresh, 4.1-inch AMOLED (948 x 1048) outer display w/ 120Hz refresh, Exynos 2500 CPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. You also get 50MP f/1.8 main and 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide rear cameras and a 10MP f2.2 selfie cam. In our Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on, we called it flip phone perfection thanks to the phone's biggest upgrade in years. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which underwent a $100 price increase, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 remains at the same $1,099 starting price as last year's model. It also undercuts the $1,299 Motorola Razr Ultra (2025), which is currently the best foldable phone you can buy. In our Galaxy Z Flip 7 hands-on, we said Samsung's foldable flip phone receives a big makeover complete with larger inner and outer screens, more Galaxy AI features, bigger battery, and — for the first time ever in the series — Samsung DeX support. (You can read more about the DeX experience in our hands-on). We love the large 4.1-inch Flex Window on the outside of the Z Flip 7. The screen goes all the way to the edges and wraps around the cameras. It can be customized to include a bunch of different widgets. Meanwhile, the phone's 6.9-inch inner display looks just as gorgeous as ever, complete with wide viewing angles and plenty of detail. We're still in the process of reviewing Samsung's phone, but we think the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has the potential of pulling ahead of the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) and it could be the better foldable against the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
How Good Is Cellular Satellite Service Now? I Went Camping To Find Out
A photo of Monument Peak (7,762ft / 2,366m) behind Trinity Lake, shot on a Fuji X100VI I'm a city slicker and have lived in cities or suburbs most of my life. So, when the wireless carriers began launching their satellite services, it became a bit of a problem for me to try them out since most of these services kick in only when there's no cell coverage. This problem is compounded for me because all three of the big national carriers have pretty good coverage around my hometown of San Diego, so I can't just drive to a nearby dead zone and catch satellite coverage that easily. In fact, I would have to drive at least an hour away to lose coverage enough to activate a satellite connection, which is not a priority for me as a father of a toddler who also has a pregnant wife. But a recent camping trip with my family and friends up to Northern California gave me a golden opportunity to test out the different satellite services for myself. The Devices, Setup And Experience As an analyst covering mobile technology, I typically travel with at least one device per carrier, so this trip was no different. The only real limitation for me was that my AT&T device was a Poco F7 Ultra, which doesn't have any kind of satellite support. My T-Mobile phone was a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and my Verizon device was an iPhone 16 Pro. I also brought along a Google Pixel 9a that I've been testing on Google Fi, but that was only for use with standard cell coverage, because Google dropped all satellite connectivity, even satellite messaging, in the shift from the Pixel 9 to the Pixel 9a. Before I made the trip, I pre-checked coverage at the campsite and saw that T-Mobile and AT&T had basically zero 4G or 5G coverage, while Verizon had a smidgin of LTE. The sources I checked turned out to be accurate, because they absolutely matched the experience I had once I got there. First up, Verizon. I struggled with the LTE service on Verizon, which was not good enough to enable sending a message, but still good enough to keep satellite service from activating. I needed to send an important message from that device but couldn't get it to transmit until I was out on the lake in an area with better cell coverage, well away from the campsite. Satellite messaging seemed to connect, but it wouldn't let me send any messages, probably because I didn't have a clear enough view of the sky. This experience made me realize that there should absolutely be a quality threshold for device OEMs and carriers when it comes to a cellular connection. If there's too little cell reception, that can actually be worse than having no signal if it prevents you from accessing available satellite services. Perhaps when devices detect satellite coverage, they could enforce a higher standard for cellular connections to keep users from getting stuck in that trap. By contrast, T-Mobile's satellite service was seamlessly activated on my Galaxy S25 Ultra while I was driving in and out of coverage, which made me realize that the number-one use case for satellite connectivity is roadside assistance. Each time, I got an easy-to-understand text message telling me that the phone had switched to a satellite connection while I was driving. I also imagine that it probably saves a lot of battery drain to have the satellite connected, rather than forcing the phone to constantly search for a cell signal where there is none. If you're concerned about the radiation associated with cell phones, my guess is that a setup like T-Mobile's likely reduces that, too. I didn't have time to test that hypothesis, but it would be interesting to study. While I had a good experience with T-Mobile on the road, the service didn't seem to work for me on the first day at the campsite. Somehow, though, it turned back on the next day when I saw a bunch of messages from friends and family that otherwise I wouldn't have seen until four days later when I got back into normal cell service. Unfortunately, I didn't end up using T-Mobile's satellite service that much because my phone went to the bottom of the lake in an unfortunate jet-skiing accident. But what impressed me the most about T-Mobile's satellite service is that it didn't require a clear view of the sky at all. I was even able to get a signal indoors, and it worked pretty seamlessly there. T-Mobile has ended the beta of its satellite cellular service and is set to launch full commercial availability on July 23 for all customers — including non-T-Mobile customers who want to pay specifically for access to the T-Mobile SpaceX network. The company also says that it will enable its messaging service for free for anyone using it for E911 starting in October, which I believe is a great step forward for the industry. The company is also adding MMS, picture and short audio clip capabilities to its satellite messaging functions via SpaceX Starlink. While my AT&T device didn't have compatibility for AT&T's satellite messaging service, I was still able to see how it worked because one of my friends on the trip had an AT&T iPhone with satellite capability. I'm pleased to say it worked even in areas where trees were partially obstructing the view of the sky. In fact, my friend was able to receive an important text from his landlord — one that made him change his schedule — that he wouldn't have known about until he got back into a standard cellular service area. It seemed like the AT&T service (likely GlobalStar through Apple) still required at least some visibility of the sky, but not so much that he needed to align his phone with the satellites moving overhead. This seemed like a good user experience, and he and I talked at length about satellite messaging being useful in this scenario. Hopefully AT&T's partnership with AST SpaceMobile reaches commercial availability soon, since that seems like a very promising alternative to Starlink and won't be limited to services from specific manufacturers like Apple or Google. What's Next For Satellite Cellular Service We are still very much in the early stages of satellite direct-to-device cellular connectivity. In that context, it's not surprising that services are still rudimentary, althought it's clear that T-Mobile has already built a solid experience and is enhancing that solution by adding MMS, pictures and short audio clips. I believe that the other carriers will follow suit, and that down the road we'll likely get real-time voice and video as well. I predict that satellite messaging availability will become standard for all users, but that voice, video and data will remain premium services. Meanwhile, I would implore OEMs and carriers to reconsider what's an acceptable level of service for cell networks in remote areas, and when to hand over service from cellular to satellite more reliably. Beyond that, more mobile devices need built-in satellite support, because the current install base is mostly limited to the latest flagship phones. I support government mandates for satellite messaging, at a minimum for E911/Roadside Assistance, but it appears that T-Mobile might just do it for the greater good without a government mandate. With Apple's help, AT&T has delivered as well, though I really want to see its partnership with AST SpaceMobile go beyond trials and tests and reach commercial availability soon.
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Business
- Android Authority
T-Mobile's US Cellular acquistion has been approved: What happened, and what's next?
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR The DOJ and FCC have both approved T-Mobile's $4.4 billion acquisition of most of US Cellular, with no major conditions or safeguards imposed. T-Mobile will gain US Cellular's customers, stores, and spectrum, while US Cellular will keep its towers and focus on leasing them out. Critics worry the merger could reduce competition, especially in rural areas, but US Cellular customers shouldn't see immediate changes at least. Last year, T-Mobile announced plans to acquire most of US Cellular in a $4.4 billion deal. As is typical with massive mergers, the deal required both DOJ and FCC approval. At the time, it was unclear whether such a proposal would actually be approved by either organization. After the election, the odds became much higher with the new administration. Fast forward to today — just last week, the DOJ signed off on the offer, and to little surprise, the FCC has now followed suit (via Fierce Wireless). The FCC approved the transaction without a vote from the full commission (which is made up of two Republicans and one Democrat). While these kinds of offers often come with concessions — such as new unlocking policies or other limits — this particular approval didn't include any additional conditions and passed through without any real opposition from the FCC. As part of the agreement, T-Mobile will pay $2.4 billion in cash and assume $2 billion in US Cellular debt. It will also acquire up to 4 million customers, all of US Cellular's retail stores, and its spectrum holdings in the 600MHz, 700MHz, 2.5 GHz, AWS, and PCS ranges. Verizon and AT&T will also be purchasing a portion of US Cellular's spectrum. However, US Cellular will still retain 4,400 towers and, instead of offering direct customer service, will focus on leasing these towers out to other companies. As you can imagine, not everyone is thrilled about the approval of this deal. The RWA (Rural Wireless Association), in particular, is concerned that there are no conditions around roaming. For those who don't know, US Cellular might be a regional carrier, but in certain parts of the US, it's literally the only choice. For example, I have family in Sidney, Iowa, and without roaming agreements, I'd have no coverage with the big three at all there. Thankfully, US Cellular has extensive roaming agreements in place that are beneficial to both the big carriers and smaller rural providers. While these agreements may remain in place under T-Mobile's stewardship, there's nothing written in stone to guarantee it. 'The FCC's decision takes T-Mobile's promises as gospel without any demand for accountability post-closing,' said Carri Bennet, RWA's outside general counsel. 'FCC staff's failure to impose meaningful safeguards is a dereliction of its duty to protect competition and consumers and safeguard the public interest.' What happens next, and is this merger a good or bad thing? I'll be honest, I'm fairly concerned about this merger as someone who lives in a rural area myself. While it won't affect me personally since I have decent coverage from multiple networks, that's not the case everywhere. Less competition is never a good thing. T-Mobile promised big things with Sprint, and while that acquisition certainly helped improve T-Mobile's network, we've also seen continued price increases and other moves from the carriers that suggest fewer players will always mean higher prices and less flexibility for customers. Do you agree with the FCC's approval of the US Cellular deal? 0 votes Yes, why not? NaN % Yes, but there should have been restrictions NaN % No, this won't end well for the industry NaN % Other (Tell us in comments) NaN % As for what happens next? T-Mobile and US Cellular must arrange to close on the transaction. The exact timeframe can vary, ranging from weeks to months or longer. Once complete, US Cellular won't just disappear as an option. T-Mobile previously clarified that US Cellular customers won't see any immediate changes and will be able to continue their plans as usual. This is similar to how Sprint initially worked before it was eventually rolled into T-Mobile completely, but considering US Cellular's brand recognition in certain rural areas, it's entirely possible the carrier could live on as a value brand of sorts. That's just speculation on my part, though. Really, the only thing I can say for sure is that US Cellular customers probably won't see any noticeable changes until late this year at the earliest. Beyond that, all we can do is watch and see how this unfolds. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
