Connect By T-Mobile Pros and Cons: All About the No Contract Phone Plans

There are three major networks in the country, Verizon, AT&T, and who we’re talking about today: T-Mobile, specifically Connect by T-Mobile. Connect by T-Mobile is their “no contracts, no credit checks, and no complicated extras” prepaid phone plans that highlight simplicity. It’s considered to be the most bare-bones plan T-Mobile has to offer, designed for customers who only want to pay for what they will actually use, rather than extra bells and whistles that come with most T-Mobile and other major network phone plans.

For people who want direct access to T-Mobile’s wireless network but don’t need those big unlimited data plans with a bunch of addons they won’t ever use, then you may be interested to hear about Connect. 

But how does Connect compare to standard T-Mobile plans? And how does it all work? Well, today we’re going to deep dive into the Connect by T-Mobile pros and cons and give you all the necessary info you need before making a decision on what plan you should go with.

Let’s jump to:

• What is a prepaid phone plan?
• How does Connect by T-Mobile work?
• Connect by T-Mobile phone plans
• Connect by T-Mobile pros and cons
• How does Connect differ from T-Mobile’s other prepaid plans?

What is a prepaid phone plan?

You might have heard of the terms “prepaid” and “postpaid” floating around when you’ve been looking for phone plans. To the casual browser you might not know all the key differences between the two are.

Prepaid phone plans mean you pay as you go or before you actually use your service, so instead of paying at the end of the month for a lump sum of your plan, you instead will pay for what you need ahead of time and most times never for anything more than what you need. They are also the more affordable option when it comes to phone plans.

While with postpaid phone plans you will end up paying more, but you get more than what most prepaid plans offer with things like subscription service deals, no limits on calls, texts, and data, along with a few other fun perks. Postpaid plans normally come with a monthly service bill where you pay the same amount every month as opposed to a prepaid plan which might change depending on how much you need from your phone’s services for that month.

With prepaid you’ll get to use your phone for exactly what you need it to do, while paying for those exact services.

How does Connect by T-Mobile work?

Connect by T-Mobile’s whole premise is simplicity. They want to offer you phone plans that are simple to start and simple to use. There’s no contracts, no credit checks, and no complicated extras, they have four base plans- (which we detail out for you in the next segment), and the ability to change your plan whenever you want, no questions asked.

Connect uses the same coverage that T-Mobile customers use, and although it’s ranked third overall compared to the other two major networks- (though not by much), their 5G coverage is unmatched. According to Open Signal, “...T-Mobile users connect to a 5G network in more than eight out of ten locations they visit.” So if you have a 5G capable phone, you’ll get access to T-Mobile’s 5G network even when you sign up for one of their prepaid plans like Connect. 

(Though that’s not to say T-Mobile doesn’t have their own connection problems in more rural areas- which you can read more about later on when we get to our pros and cons section).

• You can view the coverage map in full here.

To get started with Connect you can go one of two routes,

1. If you like your current device and aren’t interested in getting a new one Connect does allow you to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), but it has to be compatible with T-Mobile. To check compatibility you can visit this link to the BYOD page where they will ask you to enter your current phone’s IMEI number. (They detail how to find the IMEI number on the website in case you aren’t sure how).
2. Or if you’re interested in getting a new phone then you’ll want to first shop through T-Mobile’s Prepaid Cell Phones which is a catalog of phones compatible with a prepaid plan. There are a ton of choices on their website with models from Apple, Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, and more. 

Once you decide on your device you can take a look at the four Connect by T-Mobile plans…

Connect by T-Mobile Phone Plans

Alright, let’s get into it by starting with Connect’s most basic plan:

1GB of data is enough to get you through some basic web browsing, maybe send an email or two, but nothing too fancy. It’s T-Mobile’s smallest plan available for the bare basics. (This plan is for domestic use only).

Moving onto their second plan:

Their second plan upgrades you from 1000 minutes and texts to their unlimited calls and texts along with another 2.5GB of data for the month. This plan also has an Annual Data Upgrade for an additional 500MB of data per month until March 2025 according to their website which is a cool perk. Normally you wouldn’t find a perk in a plan like this. (For domestic use only).

Second to last we have:

The third Connect by T-Mobile plan gets you upgrades from 3.5GB to 6.5GB and it also falls under the Annual Data Upgrade perk like the second plan which is cool. (For domestic use only).

And lastly:

Finally we have the last Connect by T-Mobile plan and this gets you 12GB of data along with unlimited calls and texts. They do not have the Annual Data Upgrade plan however as that is only available for the $15 and $25 plans. (Domestic use only).

For all of these plans you can expect to see 480p standard definition quality when you stream video from your data and there are no hotspots included in these plans. Along with those two things, they don’t have international calling or texting available as all the plans are for domestic use.

However! If you do want to look into international use, they have international addons for the $15 Connect plans and higher. You won’t be able to get international addons for the smallest data plan.

They have two optional international add ons available:

• The $5 Mexico & Canada Unlimited add-on lets you call and text both to and from each of those countries. 
• Then there’s the $15 Stateside International add-on which gets you unlimited calling to landlines in 70+ countries, unlimited calling to mobile devices in 30+ countries, and discounted rates.

There are terms and specifications for each of the international addons, which you can read in full here.

Connect by T-Mobile Pros and Cons

With Connect you’re getting your phone basics along with access to T-Mobile’s network, there’s of course going to be both pros and cons, just like there is with every phone plan, so let’s go over a few of them for you shall we?

Pros:

• Affordable Rates
• No Contracts and No Credit Checks
• Widespread Coverage
• Easy to follow Plans

Affordable Rates

Prepaid cell phone plans are always known for being more budget-friendly compared to postpaid plans and Connect by T-Mobile isn’t any different. You can get unlimited calling and texting along with enough data if you’re a light internet user all for a fraction of the cost compared to the more advanced plans. You lose features but you get to use your phone the way you want, you pay for what you get with prepaid. 

No Contracts and No Credit Checks

What makes prepaid phone plans desirable is that most, if not all of them are a no contract based plan. You can leave when you want and aren’t tied down to stay around when you don’t want to. Move on to another company or switch your plan within, there isn’t a piece of paper holding you back. Plus there are no credit checks so you can use your phone and not have to worry about being told no because of your credit score.

Widespread Coverage

We mentioned it a few times but it’s worth putting it officially in the “pros” column as a nice wrap up. Getting a phone plan that’s under $50 a month on one of the leading wireless networks is nice, especially when you are now a direct customer. You get access to their 5G network, a lot of other phone companies will limit that unless you pay for a higher priced plan, but even their $10/mo plan allows access to 5G.

Easy to follow Plans

Connected by T-Mobile shows exactly what it is, no frills plans that allows phone users to make and receive calls and texts while having access to data if they should need it. To some it may seem limiting but to those who just want to stay connected while googling the odd question here or there- it’s perfect.

Cons:

• Taxes and Fees Not Included
• No Real Online Support

Taxes and Fees Not Included

One major con that Connect has is their taxes and fees are not included which means that the price that’s advertised isn’t the final price you’re going to be paying for these plans. They do mention that these prices are not including taxes and fees but if you live in a place with a high sales tax there’s a good chance you’re going to end up paying more than what you want. 

No Real Online Support

Connect by T-Mobile does not have their own customer support or app where you can manage and field potential questions you might have. You can’t even use the T-Mobile app to manage your Connect plans which seems like an oversight. The only way you can manage a Connect plan is through a laptop or manually logging in on your phone's internet browser. There are a lot of older folk who opt for these bare-bones prepaid phone plans and the lack of accessibility for support and managing your Connect phone plan seems like an oversight.

How does Connect differ from T-Mobile’s other prepaid plans?

T-Mobile has one other section of prepaid phone plans called “Simply Prepaid” and it features three other prepaid plans:

These three Simply Prepaid plans feature some of the perks you’ll get from a postpaid T-Mobile main plan with things like T-Mobile Tuesdays and Scam-blocking protection- (read all about the perks here). You can add up to 4 lines on a Simply Prepaid plan which on Connect you can only have one line.

However, as we delved a little bit into T-Mobile’s Simply Prepaid plans we realized that what you’d end up paying for all together including taxes and fees is close to what you would pay for a regular postpaid T-Mobile plan without all the big pros. 

For instance, T-Mobile’s famed “Magenta®” plan is right now only $70 a month (taxes and fees are included in the Magenta plan) and you get 100GB of premium data along with free Apple TV+ for six months. There’s also T-Mobile’s Go5G plan which is $75/mo and Magenta® MAX for $85/mo that gets you even more additional perks. See all these plans in full here.

We think Connect by T-Mobile has better options for a prepaid value, especially if you aren’t looking for all those extra features and just want to use your phone for talking, texting, and light data surfing. 

If you want to compare and contrast Connect by T-Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.

Frequently Asked Questions - Wrap Up!

Let’s summarize what info we learned in a three FAQ wrap up.

Prepaid vs Postpaid: What’s better?

Prepaid means you pay as you go or before you actually use your service, while postpaid means you’ll pay once a month on the same fixed amount every month. For light phone users who don’t want all the fancy bells and whistles prepaid is the better option, while postpaid works for those who are always on their phone both at home and in the world.

Simply Prepaid vs Connect by T-Mobile: What Should I Choose?

For true prepaid fans you’ll want to go with Connect by T-Mobile, they might offer less “perks” but you’re going to end up paying less than if you go for Simply Prepaid which is too close to regular T-Mobile phone plans for our liking.

How do I manage my Connect by T-Mobile account?

Unfortunately you cannot manage your Connect account via the T-Mobile app at this time, you will have to dial their customer support hotline which is 1-800-937-8997 if you need help answering questions or managing your Connect account.