Tired of your phone? T-Mobile on Thursday announced a new phone upgrading program, called Jump! On Demand, which allows customers to upgrade their devices more than once per year.
In fact, you can upgrade your phone up to three times per year. The program launches on June 28.
The program is an amped-up version of the company's current phone upgrading plan, Jump, which T-Mobile is keeping around. That $10 per month program lets you turn in your old phone for a new one every year, or after you'd paid off at least half of the device -- and it comes with insurance in case you drop your phone. By contrast, Jump On-Demand is free -- you can just keep turning in those phones three times a year -- and it does not include insurance. You will have to pay $8 per month if you want insurance.
You are, of course, also on the hook for the cost of the device and a plan. Note that unlike Sprint, AT&T and Verizon, customers coming to T-Mobile have to pay the full price of a device -- for an iPhone 6, that's $649. But the company does not lock anyone into a two-year contract. Customers can opt to start a financing plan -- Jump On-Demand customers generally might pay $20 to $35 a month over 18 months. If you want to change your phone at any point during that period, you can do so without a device-switching penalty.
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Those eyeing an iPhone 6 will get a special discount if they trade in their smartphone for one -- a $15 per month payment for 18 months for the 16 GB model.
Share this articleShareRoughly 10 million people are currently enrolled in the Jump program, said Terry Hayes, T-Mobile's vice president for the Northeast. The average T-Mobile customer switches phones once every 20 months, he said; Jump customers tend to shake things up once every 14 months.
Why would T-Mobile do this? Well, apart from keeping customers happy, it also gives them a nice cache of phones for reselling.
"This is an investment from the T-Mobile perspective," Hayes said.
This marks the ninth "Uncarrier" move for T-Mobile since it began positioning itself as a rebel in 2013. As the nation's fourth-place carrier, T-Mobile has been fighting aggressively to win over customers as it takes on the mantle of fighting for the little guy against mobile carriers Sprint, AT&T and Verizon. It's also positioned itself as the underdog when talking to regulators about policy issues -- a tack that has not always been successful.
[T-Mobile’s big PR blitz is backfiring in Washington]
T-Mobile chief executive John Legere has already said that this will the summer of "Uncarrier Amped," indicating that more of these changes are on the way.
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