T-Mobile offering free flagships to some customers with outdated phones

In 2018, T-Mobile introduced its layer cake strategy for 5G: millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum to provide fast speeds over a short distance, mid-band spectrum that offers a well-rounded balance between speed and coverage, and low-band spectrum that covers long distances but is slow. Since some older phones don't support the low-band spectrum, T-Mobile is going to offer huge discounts to get people to upgrade to a more modern device.

T-Mobile often hooks people up with free phones when it phases out old technologies such as 2G and 3G. This time around, it's not handing out almost-free phones because it's retiring another technology. Instead, the company wants its customers to have phones compatible with the low-band spectrum.

Wireless communication signals travel over the air through radio frequencies or spectrum. T-Mobile's 600 MHz or Band 71 spectrum is considered the low-band spectrum. 600 MHz airwaves travel farther than other frequencies and their efficiency and performance is hardly affected by obstacles like buildings and rain. This allows the 600 MHz spectrum to provide better connectivity inside buildings, leading to a high-quality wireless service, making it ideal for rural and suburban areas.

T-Mobile uses multiple spectrum bands to provide an optimal combination of high-speed and far-reaching coverage. In some areas, Band 71 is the only available network for some customers, making it crucial to ensure that every T-Mobile customer has a compatible phone.

According to internal documents seen by The Mobile Report, the company will be offering discounts as high as $830 to owners of incompatible Android phones and iPhones on a range of devices including the iPhone 16, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone SE, Samsung Galaxy S24, and Google Pixel 9. Discounts will be offered through Equipment Installment Plans (EIP) and customers will have to trade in their old device.

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