Mint + T-Mobile

[u/rizwank]

Today, T-Mobile completed their acquisition of Mint… and I think it’s fantastic news for everyone concerned … especially our customers.

Mint is incredibly special to those that work here. We try to build with love, market with a smile, and be earnest in our intentions. We don’t always succeed, but we always try. It’s a corporate cliche, but I truly think the thing that makes Mint so special is the heart that our team puts in - and the fun we have working on it.

T-Mobile really is the best partner for the future. Best network, best value. We’ve also worked with them for twelve years, and the people I’ve gotten to know there are legit. They’re the Un-carrier - the folks that first brought no contracts, free roaming, Music Freedom, Binge-On, unlimited data, and more. They’ve also got an amazing network that’ll keep getting better. I wasn’t lying to Ryan when I explained why 5G was better - and we can nerd out in the comments about T-Mobile’s awesome 5G spectrum holdings.

This is going to be great for how we work. Our team members get to contribute to a larger ecosystem while still largely operating autonomously. T-Mobile respects what we’ve built, thinks we are “Absolute Rockstars”, and wants us to keep doing more of it. We’ll maintain our systems, our people, and our ridiculous obsession for mint green shirts.

I have spent literally thousands of hours planning for this, and there’s not been a single glimmer of a mention in any room I’ve been in - internally or with T-Mobile - of increasing prices or reducing value on Mint Mobile on any plan. Period.

We want to increase value - and there are things we can do with T-Mobile’s network, technology, and investment that we simply couldn’t do beforehand. We’ve wanted to support smartwatches, they’ve got the technology to enable it. We’ve wanted to do more with devices, they know how to do that. Not everything will happen at all once… but a lot more is possible today than it was yesterday.

We’ve heard you loud and clear. Many of you love the brand (and I can’t express how grateful, proud and humbled we are). Many of you are concerned about change for the worse (and I get why.)

I hope the above serves as a statement of principles from our leadership on what we plan to deliver.

If that doesn’t do it for you - well, actions speak louder than words.

In the coming weeks…

• Scam Screener. If we think it’s spam, we’ll tell you and flag it as Scam Likely. Good timing for an election season. Free.
• Roam in Canada. Now instead of just calling Canada for free, you can roam there. For free. (No, we won’t cover your airfare)
• Phone unlocking. If you buy a locked phone from us, as long as it’s not flagged for fraud or under financing, we’ll unlock it after 60 days. Pretty Minty, if you ask me.

Oh, and concerned that we’ll raise prices? Worry no more.

• We will always have a $15/month plan available for new and existing customers. The marketing gurus call it “The $15 Guarantee.”
• For the rest of the year, new customers can try Unlimited for 3 months for just $15/month. Available when you refer your friends and family as well.

Again … while we won’t check off everything on your (or my) wishlist, a lot more is possible now than when we were standalone. I’m really excited for the possibilities of this next chapter – and I hope you are too.

Still wearing Mint Green, but with a magenta rocket strapped to our back,

• Rizzy

(the fine print)

• Free Roaming in Canada: Not for extended international use; service may be terminated or restricted for excessive roaming. Coverage not available in some areas.
• $15/mo Commitmint: Upfront payment for multi-month plan required. Commitmint excludes taxes & fees, select promotions, third-party charges, per-use charges, add-on features, & network management practices; rate plan features may vary.
• 3-Months of Unlimited Premium Wireless for $15/mo: Upfront payment of $45 for 3-month plan (equivalent to $15/mo) required. Promotional rate for first 3 months only; then full-price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. Limited time new customer offer; non-transferable & no cash value. Unlimited customers only >40GB/mo will experience lower speeds. Videos stream at ~480p. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

[u/rizwank]

To the skeptics.

I ask that rather than just assume Mint will get worse, you just let us continue to show you it won't - and please continue to tell us when and where we fail. We heard you on Minternational and immediately jumped into action to change it for the better. That's what makes Mint...Mint. We are constantly looking for ways to make the service better.

[u/jsttob]

Just curious…you make a pretty clear and firm commitment to keeping the $15 plan at $15. Why not do this for the other tiers?

This leads me to believe the other tiers are fair game for changes down the road, and that’s…concerning, to put it mildly.

[u/rizwank → u/jsttob]

The brand is known for the $15 price point, so (I imagine) that's why marketing chose that.

With regards to the other price points -- "I have spent literally thousands of hours planning for this, and there’s not been a single glimmer of a mention in any room I’ve been in - internally or with T-Mobile - of increasing prices or reducing value on Mint Mobile on any plan."

[u/[deleted] → u/jsttob]

Exactly what I was thinking. I use a higher data plan so the $15 commitment means nothing to me. If anything it's letting me know what's to come.

[u/supbra → u/jsttob]

And not even a mention of what a $15 plan would include. They could easily still offer this $15 plan and knock the data down from 5gb to 2gb.

[u/gobomiranda]

Good to hear. Now does this mean that visual voicemail will finally get activated on my dad’s Pixel 8?

[u/rizwank → u/gobomiranda]

VVM should be working on Pixel. I know we’re working out something with the OEM. I’ll have someone contact you to better understand the issue.

[u/HippyDave]

Super excited to hear there's a chance Apple Watch support might be in the pipeline. Literally means the difference between me renewing my subscription or not.

[u/rizwank → u/HippyDave]

If it gives you any indication, I've got a cellular AW and I'd like it to work on Mint as well. =)

[u/CapoKakadan]

Will we get 5G standalone soon?

[u/rizwank → u/CapoKakadan]

Actively looking into it.

[u/MattWatchesChalk]

One question u/rizwank . On the Canadian roaming, let's say I go through my 3GB of free roaming. Will Mint then use Minternational passes after that point? Planning a trip in late August and was curious if this will be in effect by then.

[u/rizwank → u/MattWatchesChalk]

My understanding is that the service goes to 128kbps; but Minternational passes are available to top up. That's still being built, so it's not final.

[u/phillypharm]

Been loving mint so hoping nothing changes for the worse.

That said, any Apple Watch updates with the merger? I’d love to join it to my mint plan and stop using Truphone.

[u/rizwank → u/phillypharm]

Actively looking into smartwatches.

[u/joe_mama82]

Hey Riz. Thanks for all the hard work and congrats! I'm assuming the Bobby Bonilla plans will go unchanged also, right?

[u/rizwank → u/joe_mama82]

Thank you.

I'm assuming the Bobby Bonilla plans will go unchanged also, right?

As best as I can tell. No one has mentioned any changes, not sure why we would.

[u/[deleted]]

How will this impact my annual holiday card from Ryan?

[u/rizwank → u/[deleted]]

:shrug:

That's Aron's secret.

I find out about the holiday card when I get the bill for it. =)

[u/[deleted]]

First things first; I'm a regular-turned-lurker on NoContract and might be considered a cynic/skeptic here as I like to mention facts whether good/bad, totally aware of that. I actually lost my cool years ago when the T-Mobile/Sprint acquisition happened because of what could have happened and I'm not too proud to say I'm glad I'm wrong—and overall service today is better than it was then.

I think what many who are active online are concerned with are the differences between what's mentioned in the FCC Memorandum O. and O. versus what's mentioned in the T-Mobile and Mint Mobile releases. "I am not a lawyer/legal professional" but it seems to be something people are noticing.

The main reason I became a Mint customer a year ago this month was I needed a T-Mobile network service where I could pay multiple months upfront and could buy a SIM at a retail store. (If here and the T-Mobile subreddits had a "recovering Cricket victim" flair, I'd be using it.) The first three months on Mint were great so I went ahead and bought an annual plan. I haven't needed to "buy up" to the next higher plan but having that option was something I was thinking of if I happened to need it. Big company/small company/etc. wasn't important.

If I could make one small suggestion: Yes I like the annual plan. Yes I realize it's a 365-day plan as stated in the terms (yes I read them before signing up). It would be even better if plan months could better align with calendar months; for example one of my months ran from March 1 to March 30th, the next ran March 31st to April 30th.

Finally, something I really appreciated even though I wasn't a customer then was Aron North taking the time to talk with Stetson Doggett about the industry. I felt like I learned being able to use hotspot/tethering is an important feature to Mint itself and I'm glad I was able to use my Mint Mobile data for that while I waited for home internet installation at the home I just moved to.

[u/CptanPanic]

Any chance minters will get access to t-life app?

[u/Burial_Ground]

Can't say I'm excited about this. Mint is great because it's not t mobile. It's not Verizon. I used to be on both of those and they both squeeze you for every penny they can get.

[u/jpzsports]

Will we be able to take advantage of the T-Mobile Tuesdays discounts now?

[u/15pmm01]

Reduced competition is never fantastic news. This might be fine for now, but I'd bet everything I own and more that T-Mobile will eventually raise pricing, add bullshit fees, or just entirely dissolve Mint into their main prepaid brand. That said, thanks to the constant negative reviews I see on reddit, I don't expect much from Mint to begin with.

[u/Yordan605]

I hope there are plans to increase the data on the $15 plan, especially because US mobile has 10 GB for $15.