T-Mobile tests customer loyalty with another fee hike

T-Mobile has once again raised another key fee, even as more phone customers cancel their service following several price increases. 

In 2025, T-Mobile’s postpaid phone churn (the percentage of customers who ended their service) rose to 0.93%, up from 0.86% in 2024, according to the carrier’s latest earnings report. 

The elevated churn follows T-Mobile’s decision last year to hike prices for some of its older phone plans, increase its Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery fee, further restrict its autopay discount and raise its late fee for customers who fail to pay their bills on time.

U.S. consumers are becoming more sensitive to rising phone bills, and more are switching carriers as prices increase. A recent survey from Oxio found that 58% of Americans reevaluate their phone plan after a price hike, while 79% said they value affordable pricing the most from a wireless provider. 

“Consumers are not passively renewing mobile plans,” said Oxio CEO Nicolas Girard in the survey release. “They are actively evaluating them, comparing value, scrutinizing pricing, and reassessing providers more frequently.”

A major T-Mobile device fee will cost customers more

Despite this rising consumer trend, T-Mobile has continued to ask customers to cough up more money this year. In January, it raised its Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery fee again and started charging $3 a month for its Apple TV “On Us” perk, which had been free for customers on Plus-level phone plans since 2021.

Also, last week, it began hitting customers with a $35 Device Connection Charge when they purchase devices directly from Apple, a change that sparked backlash. 

Now, T-Mobile has quietly raised its restocking fee, which customers encounter when they return devices.

Related: T-Mobile customers set to receive a significant network upgrade

According to T-Mobile’s return policy, customers have up to 14 days to return devices purchased in-store, and up to 20 days for devices purchased online. However, the carrier charges a restocking fee based on the device’s retail price. 

Before the latest increase, customers paid a $70 restocking fee for devices priced at $600 or more. T-Mobile’s website now shows that the fee has spiked to $75.

For devices priced between $300 and $599, the restocking fee increased from $40 to $50. Also, for devices priced under $300, that fee climbed from $20 to $25. 

T-Mobile’s latest move comes as more retailers nationwide have been cracking down on returns, as processing them has become expensive. 

According to a National Retail Federation survey last year, 72% of merchants said they started charging a return fee for at least one item in the past year, up from 66% in 2024.

Many flagged higher shipping costs, rising processing expenses, return fraud and economic uncertainty as key reasons for implementing these fees.

T-Mobile has raised its restocking fee amid elevated mobile customer losses.

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T-Mobile risks losing more customers as it faces stiff competition

T-Mobile’s decision to hike another fee also comes amid heightened competition from its top two rivals, Verizon and AT&T, putting it at risk of more of its customers switching.

Late last year, Verizon rolled out heavily discounted phone line offers to retain loyal customers. To attract new customers, it also offered customers four phone lines for $100 per month and launched free iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S25 deals.

Verizon’s CEO also recently vowed to double down on customer loyalty and retention by scaling back price increases and simplifying service. 

AT&T has also dropped competitive trade-in offers and recently replaced three of its phone plans with new ones that offer lower starting prices and added value. It also recently revamped its app to make it easier for customers to manage all of their services.

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T-Mobile is seeing elevated competition not only from Verizon and AT&T, but also from cable companies, which have added hundreds of thousands of new wireless customers through bundled phone, internet, and TV offers in recent months. 

In the fourth quarter of 2025, cable companies (excluding privately held cable companies) added 830,000 mobile lines, according to a recent MoffettNathanson report obtained by Light Reading. These companies also accounted for about 33% of industry mobile phone net additions. 

MoffettNathanson founder and analyst Craig Moffett said in a statement to Light Reading that he expects cable companies to surpass the Big Three carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T) when it comes to attracting new customers through bundled phone and internet offers. 

“Cable not only offers customers much lower converged pricing but also has an enormous footprint advantage over any of the telcos individually, and indeed even versus all of the Big Three collectively,” said Moffett.

T-Mobile is also facing pressure from mobile virtual network operators MVNOs, which are increasingly resonating with customers as they offer lower prices for wireless services. A recent J.D. Power survey found that T-Mobile falls behind MVNOs in consumer satisfaction. 

Consumer satisfaction scores for the top U.S. carriers:Postpaid plans at traditional carriers have an average satisfaction score of 603 (on a 1,000-point scale).T-Mobile takes the top spot in this segment with a score of 631, followed by Verizon at 593 and AT&T at 587.MVNOs surpass traditional carriers, with an average postpaid satisfaction score of 630.Top MVNOs in this category include Consumer Cellular, Google Fi Wireless, and Spectrum Mobile, which have scores of 721, 685 and 614, respectively.
Source: J.D. Power 

“Attracting customers with network quality and pricing is just the first step,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media, and telecom at J.D. Power, in a press release.

He added that true customer loyalty in the wireless industry depends on their day-to-day experience with their carrier. 

“True loyalty comes from how easy it is for customers to work with a carrier once they’re in the system, especially when it comes to resolving issues, managing bills and getting answers quickly,” he said. 

Related: AT&T drops 3 new phone plans to keep customers from switching

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