Category: T-Mobile

T-Mobile continues to be one of the best carriers in the US when it comes to device updates.  The latest proof point is the 2015 HTC One M9.  The carrier has released the Android Nougat update for customers who have the phone on their network.  The update is based on Nougat 7.0 and has the January Android Security Update.  It comes some two months after the unlocked One M9 received the Nougat treatment.

The update is just over 1GB in size so those of you with the One M9 will want to download it via Wi-Fi and you can expect the total download and upgrade time to take about 30 minutes.  Once you get it installed, you’ll have all the Nougat niceties along with some improvements to HTC’s Sense UI.

As expected, T-Mobile has opened up the pre-order window on their site for the new LG G6.  The phone’s dedicate page on the carrier’s site went live this morning and those interested can order one with zero-down and $26 per month on approved credit.  It buying it outright is your thing, it will be $650.  Earlier this week I posted that if you order your new G6 before April 30th, LG will provide you a Google Home to go along with your phone.  That will ship separately but you will have Google Assistant on your phone and in your home.

The LG G6 was announced last month at Mobile World Congress and has already caught a lot of people’s attention with its 5.7″ display that has an 18:9 aspect ratio. Having held a near-final version of the phone, it feels long in your hand but is comfortable.

T-Mobile has announced a pretty significant change to their consumer offerings starting January 22nd.  On that Monday, the US carrier will only offer their ONE plan.  That’s it.  Literally one plan.  They have also made some pretty major teaks to the plan which will get consumers attention.  First, all of the taxes, fees and charges are included in the advertised price.  So if you have one line for $70 on the plan, you pay $70.  It includes all the additional fees.  If you have a four line ONE account, you pay $160 per month ($40 per line) and that’s it.  It is a nice departure from other carriers where the base price of the package isn’t necessarily what it costs you each month.

What’s also interesting is the new “kickback” that T-Mobile is offering.  If you use less than 2GB of data in a month, the carrier will credit you $10 on your next bill.  This is for every line on your account too, not just the master number.  This is strikingly similar to how Project Fi handles unused data.

Good news again today regarding Android Nougat.  T-Mobile has released the Nougat update to the HTC 10 for customers with that device on their network.  The update comes 6 weeks after the release of the update for the unlocked version of the phone which is a fair amount of time given T-Mobile has a good reputation on getting updates out to their customers.  If you have the HTC 10, you are looking for software update 2.37.531.5.  It should be hitting devices over the next few days via an OTA update.

Because this update is going from Marshmallow to Nougat, the update is hefty.  It comes in at just over 1GB so you will want to make sure you are on Wi-Fi to download it.  Once it is downloaded, you will need about 30 minutes to complete the upgrade process.

With the Android Security Update for November expected to be released later today, it looks like T-Mobile is already getting it out to their customers.  If you have a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge on the carrier, there is an update out for you that brings the security patch up to this month.  T-Mobile has always been one of the better carriers when it comes to updates but with Samsung in particular, the manufacture has been slow to get updates out to carriers.  With the Galaxy S7 lineup, this seems to have changed as updates are coming at a far more consistent increment and much sooner after they are released from Google.

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have all issued statements regarding the Galaxy Note 7 recall and what their customers can do who have the devices.  Overall they are trying to work with their customers as quickly and as effeciently as possible.  T-Mobile and Verizon have already indicated that customers with Note 7’s can return them for a full refund without any restocking fees while AT&T will clarify what their customers can do later today and Sprint is offering “similar” device exchanges for customers.   Here are the details from each carrier:

AT&T

Samsung has notified us that they have identified a battery cell issue in certain Galaxy Note7s. They have asked all retailers, including AT&T, to stop selling the device. We are in the process of determining the exchange process for our customers and how they can replace their current Note7 as quickly as possible. We will have more information later today.

Sprint

Sprint has suspended sales of Samsung Galaxy Note7 immediately following Samsung’s announcement to discontinue sales of the device globally.

We are working closely with Samsung to ensure those customers who already have purchased the device are taken care of. For those customers that previously purchased the Note 7 we will offer them a similar device until the issue is resolved. Customers should go to a nearby Sprint store to exchange their Note 7 device.