I just ditched my grandfathered T-Mobile Magenta plan — and I’m not sorry
T-Mobile recently started making it harder for long-time customers to hold onto their old, cheaper plans on top of a "price adjustment" that hiked the price of many legacy plans to $5.00 USD more per line. Frustrated with the situation, I quickly began to find alternative solutions and after much research, I finally pulled the plug on my grandfathered Magenta plan — and honestly, I don’t regret it. I’m now paying just $35 a month on a prepaid MVNO plan, and while I’ve lost a few nice perks like Netflix with ads and T-Mobile Tuesdays, it still feels like a net win.
Let’s take a step back for a moment. T-Mobile, like other major U.S. carriers, has been quietly nudging users off legacy plans for a while. Last year, they tried to move people off their old Magenta, One, and Simple Choice plans automatically. That push got enough backlash that T-Mobile backed down, but now the company is back with a new strategy: raising your bill and making it impossible to go back to an old plan, should you mistakingly switch.
This time, they’re adding $5 per line to a number of older plans. That means if you’re on a family plan with three lines, your bill just went up by $15 a month for the exact same service. No added benefits, no upgraded speeds — just more money out of your pocket. This is the situation I was dealing with.
To be clear, T-Mobile isn’t alone here. AT&T and Verizon have also introduced similar hikes and plan streamlining in recent years. All of the big carriers are pushing customers toward newer, often more expensive plans under the banner of "modernization." But when that translates to paying more for what feels like the same (or less), it starts to sting.
T-Mobile increased prices for many of their legacy wireless plans starting on April 2nd. | Image credit — PhoneArena
What I lost, and what I gained
My Magenta plan used to feel like a good deal. It came with some real perks, like free Netflix (albeit with ads), international data, and T-Mobile Tuesdays, which occasionally handed out solid discounts or freebies. But if I’m being honest, most of those perks had started to lose their value for me. I barely used the T-Mobile Tuesdays offers anymore, and the Netflix benefit was tied to the basic plan with ads — not exactly a dealbreaker to lose.
And with the price jump, the Magenta plan just didn’t make sense anymore. So I went looking for alternatives and landed on a prepaid plan at $35 a month, taxes and fees included, with unlimited premium data and great coverage in my area. Sure, it’s not as flashy, but it covers what I actually use day-to-day: messaging, maps, streaming, and having peace of mind over how much data I use without going over.
I did lose some of the creature comforts. No Netflix on T-Mobile’s dime. No flashy perks. But I gained something that, right now, feels more important: predictability. My bill is lower, and I’m no longer worried about surprise increases or getting nudged into something pricier down the line. I'm paying for what I'm using and that is all I really need right now.
Has it been worth it?
What this really comes down to is the value tradeoff. T-Mobile’s legacy plans were great for a long time, especially when the Un-carrier movement first launched. But as the company continues to chase ARPU (average revenue per user) and nudge people onto more expensive offerings, the balance has shifted.
If you’re still on a grandfathered plan and watching your bill creep up, it might be worth doing the math. Figure out what you’re actually using and whether the perks are worth the premium. For me, they weren’t — and that’s why I jumped ship.
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