The $0-upfront pitch sounds simple — the fine print on financing and eligibility is where it gets more complicated.
5 min read
Edited ByKelly HuhPerhaps the greatest, most appealing piece of marketing is when the sign flashes: FREE. By now, however, we should all know that nothing is ever free.
If you’re in the market for a new phone, you probably stumbled upon T-Mobile’s “Nothing” deal, promising you a new phone for $0. If you think that’s impossible, then you are correct. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a bad deal altogether. Let’s delve into the specifics of this “Nothing” deal to see what it truly is and if it’s right for you.
At the deal’s core is the new Equipment Installment Plan: EIP Flex 36. Under this plan, existing and new customers can get their advertised $0 phone, smartwatch, or tablet and pay it off over 36 months.
While similar plans with other carriers demand that you pay the taxes and fees upfront, EIP Flex 36 rolls everything into the 36-month payments, ensuring that you will get your phone without paying anything out-of-pocket. If you are a well-qualified customer, the upfront fees are eliminated and you could get 0% APR for a limited time, with the device, taxes, and other fees paid in installments.
In addition, T-Mobile introduced EIP Standard 36, the traditional payment method where you would pay the taxes and fees upfront at checkout then pay for the device over the 36-month period with 0% APR.
Corresponding with the “Nothing” deal, T-Mobile also announced the new 2.0 plans. Despite new titles, however, CNET describes these new plans as a “formality to pair with the EIP Flex 36 and EIP Standard 36 installment plans: The features and base pricing remain the same as the Experience Beyond, Experience More and Essentials plans.”
A quick overview of what the 2.0 plans are as listed by T-Mobile:
Lastly, T-Mobile introduced its new Student Perks. With this, students can have their own wireless line for $30/mo with Autopay, plus taxes and fees. They can also receive a student-exclusive 5G Home Internet bundle that includes $200 on a virtual prepaid card, just in time for back-to-school shopping.
This deal gives T-Mobile an advantage in the mobile carrier war. As Phone Arena states, “T-Mobile remains the only major carrier offering built-in upgrades as a standard plan benefit. While AT&T and Verizon routinely roll out deals, those are not permanent plan perks.”
Read more: T-Mobile Cell Phone Plans Review
Perhaps the obvious aspect that differentiates T-Mobile’s “Nothing” deal from others is the 36-month plan. Traditionally, most plans only go up to 24 months. Already, you can tell that this is a way for T-Mobile to lock in their customers for a longer period of time. While this may seem like a trap, a longer payment window means lower monthly payments. The math is simple: If my phone has a retail price of $1000, my monthly payments over a typical 24-month plan would be $41.67. Over 36 months, it would only be $27.78.
While the overall concept of EIP Flex 36 can be beneficial, there are hints of exclusivity. T-Mobile explicitly states that all upfront costs would be eliminated for “well-qualifed customers.” There is no clear definition of what constitutes a well-qualified customer. My assumption is that it is someone with an excellent credit score. The APR is also cryptic; even though the official statement says 0% APR is available for a limited time, the fine print says it can go up to 24% depending on creditworthiness.
The Verge investigated by reaching out to T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer, Allan Samson, who states that “customers eligible for 0% APR will keep the same rate throughout their term.”
Although he assures that many would qualify for EIP Flex 36, there is still no logistical information to indicate how well this will play out in 36 months. To sum it up: a real PR answer.
With the arrival of the new mobile plans, The Street reported that two customer perks have been removed as a result of the new 36-month payment period. T-Mobile’s previous Experience Beyond plan included a yearly upgrade perk where customers could upgrade their phones after 12 months. Basically, you need to pay off 50% of your current device and keep it in decent condition to trade in. Then you need to commit to an EIP for your new device for at least 6 months.
The new Experience Beyond 2.0 plan, however, replaces the yearly upgrade with the Early Upgrade perk. Essentially, everything is the same. However, on the previous plan, it would take 12 months to pay off 50% of your device. Under the 36-month plan, it would take 18 months. As for the two-year upgrade perk on the Experience More plan, it’s been removed from its 2.0 iteration.
The “Nothing” deal suits the budget-conscious customer trying to make their phone last. New smartphones are released frequently while the memory chip shortage is spiking prices, deterring people from upgrading too often. According to our smartphone lifespan survey, the average American will keep their phone for about two years and five months, which essentially lasts as long as T-Mobile’s new financing plans. With EIP Flex 36, you can stick with one phone with the leisure of slowly paying it off overtime. It will just be up to you to keep your phone in working condition.
As someone who kept their flip phone in working condition from middle school to college, it would be easy for me to get the most out of this deal. Of course, it’s also ideal to have fair credit to reap all of the benefits from EIP Flex 36.
With the new Student Perks, anyone going back to school will benefit from the new plans. As Fierce Network reports, “more than two-thirds of students say they want a wireless plan of their own for greater autonomy and control, but affordability often stands in the way.” With this new perk, not only are students able to afford a wireless plan, they will also get access to 12 months of free DashPass by DoorDash, weekly T‑Mobile Tuesdays discounts, Shell Fuel Rewards savings, a $5 movie ticket every month, and more. Where was all of this when I was in college?
Conversely, if you are the type of person who always wants to upgrade to the newest, trendiest device, this deal is not for you. As mentioned, by entering EIP Flex or Standard, you are locked in a 36-month deal and you wouldn’t be able to upgrade until the 18-month mark.
As far as “Nothing” goes, T-Mobile's new plans have unspoken requirements just to get a free phone. It’s easy to be enticed by deals and discounts that only give you half-truths and technicalities about the prices on the products you want. Busting out the magnifying glass to read the fine print is the only defense against getting ripped off. The one certainty is that nothing is always “something.”
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