T-Mobile’s New Rule Could Force Phone Upgrades Sooner

T-Mobile seems to be fast-tracking big changes that will affect customers as it gets ready for the arrival of its new CEO, Srini Gopalan, currently the company’s chief operating officer.

Policy changes on upgrades, new lines and more

Gopalan is set to officially take over from Mike Sievert as CEO on Nov. 1, with Sievert transitioning to the new role of vice chair. With this major shift on the horizon, several leaked papers recently showed T-Mobile is thinking about bold policy moves.

One paper suggested that T-Mobile is planning to make customers fully reliant on its T-Life app for upgrades, new lines, account setups, and so forth, starting in January 2026.

New trade-in promos and late fees

Another document indicated that the phone provider intends to begin accepting damaged or broken devices as trade-ins for promotions, though at a reduced value compared to working ones, starting sometime this month.

Just last week, T-Mobile updated its website to inform customers who miss their payment deadlines that, beginning Nov. 1, its late fee will rise from $7 to $10 (or 5% of the outstanding balance, whichever T-Mobile decides is greater).

Source: TheStreet and T-Mobile