T-Mobile’s new unlimited 5G plan is actually unlimited

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After years of unlimited plans that were anything but, T-Mobile is bringing back unlimited, non-throttled data for the 5G era with Magenta MAX. That’s the “first and only 5G consumer smartphone plan that can’t slow you down based on how much data you use,” according to the wireless carrier.

See, most unlimited plans suffer from what’s known as deprioritization, so once you get past a certain amount of downloaded data, your download speeds get reduced until the next billing cycle. Magenta MAX from T-Mobile appears to have no such throttle, and also doesn’t limit video streaming like Netflix to SD, so you can stream 4K UHD all day, every day.

Both single-line plans and family plans get free Netflix, so you don’t even pay for the content you’ll be binge-watching. I’m not sure who’s actually flying right now, but you’ll get unlimited Gogo in-flight texting and WiFi when you do. The only limited thing I can spot? You get 40GB of high-speed hotspot data, after which it drops down to 3G speeds (albeit at unlimited data).

Magenta MAX is $57 a line if you have three lines on your account, or $47 if you switch before the intro pricing ends. If you only need one line, you’ll pay $85 if you’ve got autopay set up. That’s including monthly fees and taxes, so what you see is what you’re paying.

T-Mobile will even help you pay your way out of another contract, with it’s Zero Cost to Switch deal that pays up to $650 per line on eligible phones. I’m sure there’s some fine print somewhere that might put a small ding in this plan, but from what we can see it’s a stellar deal.

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Editors’ Recommendations:

• T-Mobile is settling down on its claims of having a more reliable 5G network than its competitors
• Apple could be working on a MagSafe battery pack that attaches to the iPhone 12
• Netflix will now automatically download content it thinks you’ll like
• T-Mobile is adding a 988 number to instantly connect customers to mental health services

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.