T-Mobile users left furious as 'lifetime' benefit is phased out

When you sign up for a cell phone in today's competitive market, typically, you are signing up for more than just the monthly phone service.

With competition intense among the big three providers, along with a growing interest in Mobile Virtual Operators like Cricket and Mint Mobile, phone companies need to do a lot to stand out from the crowd.

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This goes beyond just offering free phones. Customers also expect other perks, including things like free access to streaming services, exclusive access to movie and concert tickets, free WiFi on air flights, and more.

When those perks are offered to customers to entice them to sign up, people also expect them to last. That's especially true when the wording on the deal indicated that the promotion would remain in effect for “as long as you remain an active subscriber.”

Unfortunately, it looks like one of those perks is disappearing for people who have a T-Mobile device, and customers are very unhappy about it.

T-Mobile has been giving subscribers more than just a phone.

Image source: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Is T-Mobile phasing out this customer perk?

Here's the issue. Many T-Mobile customers who are currently taking advantage of access to a discounted streaming service will soon find that they can no longer enjoy this benefit, and they are not happy about it.

The streaming service is Philo TV, which provides access to around 70 live channels as well as a DVR with a year-long storage limit.

The service focuses primarily on providing family-friendly content, as well as both entertainment and lifestyle content. While there are no sports or live news programs, many T-Mobile users still enjoy having access to the programming that Philo TV offers.

T-Mobile customers have actually gotten a deal on Philo TV for years, with the company offering $10 off the $28 monthly cost of the service.

The “uncarrier” initially offered the promo upon discontinuing TVision Service, with T-Mobile providing a discount code that had to be claimed by June 29, 2023, and redeemed by July 13th of the same year. All T-Mobile prepaid and postpaid customers had access, as did Sprint users.

Now, however, the company sent out an alert to its customer base, which read, “For current T-Mobile customers, the way your monthly Philo discount appears is changing. Don't worry, your discount will be applied to your T-Mobile bill instead of your Philo TV bill. The $10/mo credit, for up to 24 months, will appear within 1-2 billing cycles.”

It's this phrasing — “up to 24 months” that has users so angry, especially as when Philo extended the discount code in March of 2022, the streaming service said it would remain in effect as long as “you remain an active T-Mobile subscriber and Philo customer.”

But, T-Mobile is only promising the discount for up to 24 months, meaning it will disappear in two years if not sooner.

Customers are angry over T-Mobile's phasing out the discount

With T-Mobile gearing up to eliminate the discount for the streaming service, it seems likely history is going to repeat itself, and the promo will quietly disappear just as a previous discount for YouTube TV did.

T-Mobile has not yet confirmed this for sure, but many customers are expecting it and have expressed anger over the situation already, with Reddit users commenting, “Yeah, so much for ‘for life,'” and “Yet another “for life” guarantee from T-Mobile bites the dust.”

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Consdering the fact that T-Mobile has faced a lot of controversies lately, from customer anger about the company dropping popular phone plans to annoyance that the “uncarrier” listed plan prices without taxes to fears that the company was spying on customers, dropping a “lifetime” discount is just another potential problem to add to the list.

The big question is whether it will be enough to get people to jump ship, especially as competitors roll out new deals to try to entice customers to make the switch.