Can I Use A Tmobile Phone On Sprint

T-Mobile has at last merged with Dart, uniting the nation'southward third- and fourth-largest carriers and shaking upwardly how some of yous may get your wireless service. But this massive shift in the industry brings with it questions for people with T-Mobile and Dart devices.

With more 100 million users, the two carriers now have a customer base of operations closer in calibration to larger rivals AT&T and Verizon. Having i less wireless player elicited concern from regulators that easing competitive pressure would hateful higher prices, but T-Mobile has maintained it would continue to serve every bit the ambitious "United nations-carrier" underdog representing consumers.

Merely at that place will exist large changes coming, especially for Sprint customers who all of a sudden have a new provider. From devices and 5G to rate plans and features, here is a breakup of what you can await.

Will my phones still work?

Sprint 5G — Sprint phones, like the LG V50 ThinQ 5G, will be able to work on T-Mobile'due south network.
Lynn La/CNET

But because the merger has closed does not mean that your Sprint phone volition no longer connect. Both T-Mobile and Sprint'south networks will withal exist up and running, and devices that connect to them should still be able to do so for now without any interruptions.

Will my coverage be improved?

With Sprint now joining T-Mobile users on both networks should start to see improvements in coverage. In fact, this process has already started, with T-Mobile expanding a roaming agreement to let Sprint users onto its network as part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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What about T-Mobile customers?

T-Mobile customers volition proceeds actress capacity thanks to Dart's spectrum. This should mean faster speeds and better performance.

"More than spectrum means better performance, whether it's 5G or (4G) LTE," says Walter Piecyk, an analyst at LightShed Partners. "And T-Mobile is ownership more spectrum."

Will I need to get a new T-Mobile phone if I'm on Sprint?

samsung-galaxy-s20-vs-apple-iphone-11-9502 — Recent phones like the iPhone xi and Samsung Milky way S20 should exist able to take full use of Sprint and T-Mobile's combined network.
Angela Lang/CNET

Nope. And if y'all bought a phone in the past few years -- such as a recent iPhone or Galaxy -- it likely already has support for both T-Mobile and Dart's respective networks. In February, a Sprint spokeswoman said that "about one-half," or near 20 one thousand thousand users, of the visitor's branded customers "have devices that are already compatible with T-Mobile's network."

Exactly how much of T-Mobile'south network your phone volition be able to tap into, such equally T-Mobile'due south wider-ranging 600MHz spectrum (also known equally Ring 71), will depend on how recent it is.

If you accept an iPhone XR, XS or later you should exist good for the total T-Mobile experience, simply devices older than 2018 may not exist able to tap into the full capabilities of T-Mobile. A full list of devices that support T-Mobile's 600MHz spectrum can exist found here.

What about 5G?

samsung-galaxy-s20-ultra — New 5G phones, like Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, tin can support all three flavors of 5G.
Juan Garzon/CNET

When information technology comes to 5G the situation is a bit more complicated due to, well, the complicated nature of 5G in the United states of america equally a whole.

Some of Sprint'due south 5G phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, should exist able to tap into T-Mobile's higher-frequency millimeter moving ridge 5G network that has launched in pockets of six cities like New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They will not, however, exist able to use T-Mobile'due south depression-band 5G network that it has launched nationwide.

The same is true for T-Mobile's 5G phones that it launched last year. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, which tin can tap into its millimeter-wave network, will be able to apply Sprint's midband 5G network that is currently live in ix US markets (and parts of Miami) but will still not exist able to use T-Mobile's own nationwide low-ring network.

The Samsung Galaxy Annotation 10 Plus 5G and OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren, which launched late last twelvemonth on T-Mobile, volition be able to use T-Mobile's low-band 5G and Dart's midband network, but not T-Mobile'due south millimeter-moving ridge.

The cheaper Galaxy S20 5G similarly will only work with T-Mobile's low-band and Dart's midband.

For the best 5G experience that can tap into everything a combined Sprint and T-Mobile will offering -- including T-Mobile's low-band and millimeter-wave networks and Dart's midband 5G spectrum -- you'll want to have a 2020 phone such as Samsung'south Milky way S20 Plus 5G or Ultra 5G.

Both of those Samsung phones, regardless of if you bought them at Sprint or T-Mobile, should work with the other'south 5G networks.

What about plans?

Mike Sievert, the new CEO of the new T-Mobile, says Sprint customers tin can go along their plans.
T-Mobile

Equally office of its efforts to get the bargain approved by regulators, T-Mobile promised not to heighten rates for at to the lowest degree three years. This means that y'all won't accept to give upward your current T-Mobile program to take advantage of the new network, at least not right away.

T-Mobile also is the i major carrier that currently doesn't require a special plan to use 5G.

On Wed T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert told CNET that Sprint users will similarly still exist able to proceed their electric current plans.

What about Boost?

Those on Sprint's prepaid make Heave volition be going to Dish equally function of a divestiture T-Mobile agreed to with the Justice Section. Dish, which plans to launch its own wireless network, has previously said that it would close the deal to learn Boost and spectrum from Sprint inside 30 days of T-Mobile closing its deal.

Although it is unclear exactly what Dish's wireless offering will look similar, the satellite provider is able to utilise T-Mobile'southward network for the adjacent seven years. For at present, nothing changes to the service or plans hither either.