T-Mobile is beefing up benefits for customers on its most expensive Go5G Next plan, introducing a series of new features on Wednesday aimed primarily at connected devices. Most notably, watches, tablets, and laptops connected to your phone only cost an additional $5 per device, while carriers cover the difference between Wi-Fi-only and cellular models of your device. That’s what you’re doing.
T-Mobile announced that starting October 17, it will cover the difference in price between the cellular and Wi-Fi versions up to $200, and will extend the offer to cellular-enabled laptops. For reference, the new Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for the Wi-Fi-only model and $499 for the cellular option, while the Wi-Fi-only iPad Pro starts at $999 and the 5G-enabled option costs $1,199.
For tablets and watches, you have to buy directly from T-Mobile and then stay with that carrier for 24 months to get the discount. For laptops, carriers will allow you to fill out a form for a rebate within 30 days after you purchase a “T-Mobile Certified Windows Laptop” from a retailer and add it to your plan.
You must first add your laptop to Go5G Next for $5 within 30 days of purchasing your computer, but you don’t have to keep your laptop on Go5G Next for two full years to keep the rebate. You can cancel and add again. It is necessary. Once submitted, you’ll receive a $200 prepaid Mastercard within 8-12 weeks. Examples of compatible devices include a variety of laptops from Dell, Lenovo, and HP, as well as Microsoft’s latest 5G-enabled Surface Pro.
Those who don’t have a laptop or tablet with built-in 5G will be able to purchase a TCL device that connects to a USB-C port for $50 (50% off for a “limited time,” according to the carrier). and add it to your plan. T-Mobile says the device is compatible with most Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices with a USB-C port.
When you add it to your tablet or laptop plan, you get 30 GB of high-speed data per month for each connected device, but once that allotment is exhausted, the additional data drops to a much slower 600 Kbps (However, your carrier will sell you additional high-speed data if you need the data). The watch, which doesn’t use that much data, gets unlimited data but has speeds of 512Kbps.
You can also use this data internationally, although speeds are limited to the much slower 2G-like 256kbps level in most countries (like other T-Mobile plans, Europe 11 and 5GB of high-speed data is available in the country).
Vinayak Hegde, T-Mobile’s chief marketing officer, said 80% of T-Mobile’s customers “use about 30 gigabytes of data each month.”
T-Mobile says adding wearables to other plans typically costs about $12 a month, but adding a tablet or laptop starts at $20 a month for 5GB ($40 a month for 30GB of data). These options include AutoPay and voice discounts.
As mentioned earlier, you must be a member of Go5G Next to take advantage of this new offer. Compared to AT&T and Verizon, this could be an attractive deal. At Verizon, additional laptop or tablet plans start at $10 a month, and watches start at $7.50 a month. AT&T, on the other hand, charges $21 a month to add a tablet to an unlimited plan and $11 a month to add it to an unlimited plan. Add watches every month.
However, keep in mind that unlike its competitors, T-Mobile doesn’t allow you to “mix and match” plans if you have multiple lines. So, if you want to take advantage of these new benefits, you’ll need to move all lines on your account to your carrier’s most expensive plan, which may negate some of your savings.
