New York T-Mobile customers whose Price Guarantee plans rose in 2024 will get to pick a refund or a rate freeze to 2029. The T-Mobile Price Guarantee settlement, announced October 20 by New York Attorney General Letitia James, covers New York accounts only. The key point is that you do not need to apply. T-Mobile must contact you first, and then you choose an option.
What T-Mobile promised, and what it changed
Between roughly January 2017 and April 2019, T-Mobile sold its T-Mobile ONE Price Guarantee plans to 4G customers. The pitch was simple: the price you paid would never change. Launch marketing went further and presented the offer as the end of price hikes.
In 2024, T-Mobile raised those plans by about $5 per phone line anyway. The AG’s office counts about 252,957 New York Price Guarantee plans affected by that increase. A promise never to change the price is hard to square with a per-line hike.
New Yorkers deserve clear and honest prices, not misleading offers with hidden fine print
That is Attorney General James, in her office’s October 20 press release.
Who qualifies for the T-Mobile settlement
You’re covered if your T-Mobile account is billed in New York. It must have signed up for a T-Mobile ONE plan between January 1, 2017 and April 30, 2019. It also had to still be on that plan when the 2024 increase took effect.
Customers in other states on the same plans get nothing from this settlement, because it covers New York only. Eligible New York accounts fall into two groups, and the options differ.
Group A: at least one line below 5G
This group covers accounts where T-Mobile knows at least one line is on less than 5G service.
- Cancel: a refund of last month’s payment, plus $25 in cash or a gift card with no fees and no expiry.
- Stay with a device: each line on less than 5G service can get certain devices valued up to $250 free, or a $150 credit toward other devices.
- No extra fees: no switching, transfer or activation charges for the device offer.
- Price freeze: no increase on your current plan until no earlier than May 30, 2029.
The free phone has a ceiling. Only certain devices valued up to $250 are free, and other models get you a $150 credit instead.
Group B: every line already on 5G
You land in Group B if all your lines are already on 5G, or if T-Mobile’s device records are incomplete. You can cancel and get last month’s payment back. Or you can stay with the same price freeze to at least May 30, 2029. Group B gets no phone or credit.
When you’ll hear from T-Mobile
- Notice: by email, no later than 150 days after October 20, 2026.
- Backup: US mail if your email bounces or none is on file.
- Deadline to choose: 45 days after the notice date, or 50 days if your notice came by post.
- Reminder: on your first bill after the notice date.
One catch matters before you touch your account. The freeze lasts only as long as you stay on that plan, so switching plans ends it. Read the notice before you change anything.
What else T-Mobile has to do
The AG’s office estimates the customer options are worth up to more than $38 million. T-Mobile will also pay the State of New York $98,834.75. Going forward, it must honor current and future price guarantees and clearly disclose any limits on them.
Pricing has been a sore spot for the carrier lately. It has also raised its Telco Recovery Fee for the third time since 2025.
Sources: New York Attorney General, Assurance of Discontinuance (PDF)
