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If you've got T-Mobile 5G home internet
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and you've heard about Mint Mobile's new
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5G home internet service, well, you may
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be wondering, should you switch? It's
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something I've been thinking about, too,
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after having tested both of these
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services. So, I'm going to break down
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the way that I'm thinking things
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through, and maybe it'll help you, too.
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Let's get started. I've got just a few
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notes on my phone here, and the first
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one has to do with how much you're
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actually paying for T-Mobile Home
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internet right now. For me, it is $50 a
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month as a standalone service. And I
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know some people got in even lower, $25
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a month. So, they probably wouldn't be
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interested in Mint's version at all. But
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for people outside of promo and paying
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the regular price for T-Mobile Home
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Internet, that's where I think switching
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could start to make a whole lot more
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sense. Now, Mint's home internet plan,
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just like its phone plans, requires that
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you prepay 3, 6, or 12 months in
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advance. And the best pricing comes when
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you prepay for an entire year. So
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pricing and promos pretty obvious, but
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there is some hidden value with T-Mobile
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Home Internet through other discounts
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that it offers to customers. And you're
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not going to get these with Mint Mobile.
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I'm talking mostly about T-Mobile
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Tuesdays here. And you can find these
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offers in the T- Life app. From the
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benefits tab, you'll see special offers
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that get you free food, travel
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discounts, even streaming perks. Those
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tend to be the most valuable, like
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MLB.tv and MLS season pass. All right,
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so now to customer service. It's handled
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separately, so this is another factor to
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consider. And honestly, I haven't been
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blown away by either provider, but they
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do both offer phone and chat support. I
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never needed T-Mobile's help to get
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started, but with Mint Mobile, I did to
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link my wireless and internet accounts.
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Let's talk about performance now. And
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from my initial testing, I really can't
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tell much of a difference between these
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two services. Mint sent me a certified
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pre-owned gateway, but it's one of the
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newer models that T-Mobile is
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advertising on its own website. In fact,
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the equipment Mint sent me is even newer
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than what I have with T-Mobile. And just
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like T-Mobile, Mint's got the same
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policy when it comes to heavy data
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users. Speeds may be slowed down after
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1.2 terabytes of data in a month. Now, I
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did reach out to T-Mobile's customer
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care and ask them if they would match
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Mint Mobile's pricing and also send me
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the newer equipment. They denied me, but
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it may be worth trying yourself if
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you're in a similar spot and considering
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making this switch. For me, the biggest
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thing I'm weighing is the difference in
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how T-Mobile and Mint handle pricing.
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Prepaying for a full year of internet
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service. To me, that's a lot to ask,
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especially knowing that outside of the
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initial 14-day money back guarantee,
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Mint says it's not offering refunds. So,
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really only makes sense if you're
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planning to stay put for a while. I've
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got a full review of Mint's 5G home
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internet on my main channel, Michael
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Saves. So, if you're a T-Mobile Home
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Internet customer outside of Promo and
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thinking about switching, I break down
