Previously, we broke the news that T-Mobile is set to automatically migrate customers on certain plans to newer, more expensive, plans. The company claims this is for the benefit of the customer, and that they’re simply moving customers to plans that offer extra benefits. Most customers are more likely to believe this is to increase profits, and will choose to opt out of the changes. This article will cover all the details you need to know about opting out of the forced T-Mobile plan migrations.
As our previous coverage stated, customers on specific legacy plans are set to be migrated. Below is a chart detailing which plans are affected and what plan those customers will be moved to.
| Current Plan | Plan After Migration |
|---|---|
| Simple Choice / Select Choice | Either Essentials Select or Magenta |
| Magenta | Go5G |
| Magenta 55+ | Go5G 55+ |
| ONE | Go5G |
| Simple Choice Business | Business Unlimited Advanced |
“We are not raising the price of any of our plans; we are moving you to a newer plan with more benefits at a different cost.”
🙄
At this time, only the specific plans listed will be moved. This means variations of those plans, like One Plus or Magenta Military for example, are not a part of this migration. We have now seen additional internal documentation and comments stating that premium plans and other plans not listed will not be affected.
We’ve reached out to T-Mobile asking for definitive clarification on this, but so far have not heard back.
How to tell T-Mobile you want to opt out of the migration
Notifications for affected accounts go out on October 17th via email and SMS. We recommend most people wait until they receive a notification before reaching out to support to opt out. This both confirms you will be affected and gives support time to be trained on how to handle the situation. However, we have confirmed that it is possible for the opt-out to be completed early.
There are a few ways to let T-Mobile know you don’t want to be migrated. Pretty much any method you choose to use to contact T-Mobile will work for this opt-out.
Methods of contact for T-Mobile Support
T-Force
T-Mobile offers customer support via Twitter and Facebook. These specific support teams are referred to as “T-Force”. You can reach them by sending a DM on Twitter here or by sending a message on Facebook here. If it’s your first time contacting them via T-Force, you’ll be asked to authenticate your account via a separate link.
App Chat
The official T-Mobile app has a support chat option built in. Simply tap the chat icon on the top-right of the T-Mobile app while logged in to begin a conversation with support.
Phone Support
The last option is to call T-Mobile. The support number is 1-800-937-8997. This will lead you to their customer support, where you can authenticate yourself and begin a support request.
What to say to request an opt-out
Requesting to opt out of the forced migration is easy. Tell the representative you’d like to opt out of the planned account migration and have the opt-out code added to your account.
The support representative should be able to easily add this to your account. Many customers have already requested this opt-out and have had it successfully added with no issues.
How to check if the opt-out is successful
Luckily, the change made to an account once a customer has opted out of the migration is visible to the customer.
To check if the opt-out was added to your account successfully, simply visit this link and sign in, which will take you to the account add-ons page. Note that this link likely only works on consumer accounts, not business.
From there, scroll down to “Services”. Under this, you should see a checked checkbox for the item “SC Migration Optout”, as shown in the image below.
Updated 10/13/23: T-Mobile seems to have decided you don’t deserve to see if you’ve opted out or not!
The Migration Optout listing on the Services page is no longer visible. As you would expect, this immediately made people think the optout was removed. It isn’t. Instead, it’s been reconfigured to not show in the Services list, but it’s still on the account.
As an almost comical side-note, the service name is now called “Gift of Unl Opt Out Flag”, seemingly suggesting that customers with this flag have opted out of the “gift of unlimited”. Sure. The name has been changed once again, to simply “Plan Migration Optout”. Sorry I ruined the fun!
If you’d still like to check if the code was applied to your account, you can do so by signing into your account on a computer and visiting the same Services page as before. Once there, press F12 to open the element inspector. On Chrome and similar browsers, you’ll need to go to the “Network” tab at the top. Then, click “Fetch/XHR” and finally find “get-odf” in the list at the bottom.
Once you’ve clicked this, it will open a “Response” window with a bunch of text (if it opens “Preview”, switch to “Response”). Press Ctrl + F (or similar on Mac) to open a search box and type “optout”. This should lead you to the relevant opt-out SOC code, if it is applied to your account, as pictured below.
Unfortunately there’s no way to check this on mobile devices for now.
FAQ
Q: What happens if I do nothing?
A: If you are on one of the impacted plans, you will be migrated to a new plan some time in November. The plan you are migrated to will vary, and is listed in the chart at the top of this page.
Q: If my plan is migrated, what happens to my free lines?
A: In the past, customers who voluntarily changed plans from any of the ones impacted have had their free lines migrate successfully. This should be the case for an automatic migration as well.
Q: When can I request to opt-out of the automatic forced migration?
A: Notifications begin to go out on October 17th. You can request to be opted out at any time, but due to some confusion among representatives we recommend waiting until this date to opt out.
Q: Will I get a bill credit?
A: In the leaked internal documents, there is mention of an inconvenience credit that can be issued to affected customers. The wording suggests this would only be given to customers that are migrated and call in after the migration to undo it, so it may not be offered to those that opt out early. Your mileage may vary.
Q: If I opt out now, will it be permanent, or will I have to opt out again in the future?
A: As of right now, we don’t know. The opt out procedure adds a system code to your account, which suggests it’s sort of set in stone, but it’s unclear if T-Mobile will always honor this opt-out decision.
Q: I’m on a plan not listed at all. Will I be affected?
A: Not at this time. For now, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Q: I’m on a similar plan to the ones listed, but it’s a bit different (like One Plus, Magenta First Responder/Military, etc). Do I need to opt out?
A: No. So far, only the specific plans listed will be impacted. We’ve now confirmed this via commentary on internal documents. If this changes, we’ll be sure to post about it.
Q: Does this affect Metro by T-Mobile customers?
A: No.
Q: I’m mad at T-Mobile. I want to leave. Any recommendations?
A: Check out Mint Mobile at just $15/mo or MobileX, which uses Verizon’s network!
Final thoughts
This is a confusing and frustrating time for many long-time T-Mobile customers. Rest assured, most employees that you’ll be interacting with likely agree with you. It’s important to remember to be kind to the support staff you speak to, because it is absolutely not their fault that you’re having to contact them to opt out of a forced migration. If you contact support before the 17th and are told opting out is unavailable, we suggest thanking them for their time and trying again after the 17th.
We’ve also reached out to T-Mobile directly to ask for specific details an clarifications about this migration. If we hear back, we’ll be sure to update this article.
