T-Mobile quietly revives one of its greatest ‘original Un-carrier moves’

Of course, the revived Test Drive program is not for current T-Mo customers, instead allowing folks thinking of switching to the “supercharged Un-carrier” to try out its ever-expanding 4G LTE network before actually making their commitment. Unlike six years ago but just like last year, the promotion is extremely straightforward and simple to sign up for, merely requiring anyone interested to enter some basic information, including a home address, at this dedicated page on Magenta’s official website.

After you do that, you’ll receive a “pocket-sized” hotspot in the mail allowing you to easily connect to T-Mobile’s nationwide 4G LTE network using your very own personal smartphone. You’ll then get 30 days or 30 gigs of completely free high-speed mobile data (whichever comes first) to evaluate what’s described on the aforementioned website as T-Mo’s “newest” and “most powerful signal.”

Don’t let that undoubtedly outdated marketing claim fool you, though, because the webpage doesn’t mention anything about 5G technology, which is obviously the “Un-carrier’s” newest cellular signal right now. Curiously enough, it appears T-Mo has rebooted the Test Drive program without revising the information published in 2019, when then-CEO John Legere announced the “amping” of this “original Un-carrier move.”

According to a verified T-Mobile employee who was kind enough to field a few questions since an eagle-eyed Redditor noticed the Test Drive comeback yesterday, the promotion is indeed largely unchanged from last year. But the hotspot device offered for free for 30 days is apparently a Franklin T9 replacing the “retired” Coolpad Surf, so the video walkthrough embedded above is not entirely valid anymore.

It also seems as though Sprint customers are no longer eligible to “test drive” T-Mobile as part of this program, having to wait for the network integration efforts to be completed before they can experience a boost in both 4G LTE and 5G speeds, as well as 5G coverage. Finally, it’s not entirely clear if you’ll get to keep the aforementioned “pocket-sized” hotspot for yourself at the end of the 30-day network trial this time around, but if history is any indication, that will probably turn out to be the case.