T-Mobile introduces a credit check-free version of its 5G home internet

Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge

T-Mobile has announced a new plan for its 5G home internet service, which won't require applicants to undergo a credit check. Customers will be able to sign up for the service at Metro retail locations. T-Mobile has a $50 a month service that doesn't have data caps or contracts, which could be appealing to users who don't have great internet options.

It's good to see that T-Mobile has an option that doesn't require credit approval. If you are looking into the service, there are a few significant gotchas worth noting. The Metro option requires you to pay a fee for T-Mobile's routers, but with the postpaid non-Metro plan, it's included in the $50 a month price. To sign up for the postpaid option, you have to have one or more voice lines, which isn't a requirement.

The Metro and non-Metro versions of T-Mobile's 5G home internet have some similarities. Not everyone will live at an eligible address. If T-Mobile's network gets busy, you will have to pay $5 more a month if you don't want to use autopay.

Metro customers will get the same experience as T-Mobile's postpaid 5G home internet customers, according to an email from Elizabeth Seelinger.

T-Mobile's home internet has its detractors. It's easy to imagine some ulterior motives, though the CEO has mocked it. It didn't work well for me when I tried it out for a month, and it's possible other people could have better luck with it.

In my review, I suggested that people try it out to see if it works for them since T-Mobile doesn't require you to sign a contract or pay activation fees. The Metro version has both of those things, but the $100 fee for the gateway locked to T-Mobile's network makes it less of a transaction. I don't want to see someone switch to T-Mobile and find out it doesn't work well for them, and then be in a bit of a lurch.

Even if it is from companies that are dominant in another market, I am happy to see that traditional ISPs are getting some competition. It's good to see that T-Mobile has an option for people who don't want to go through a credit check.

T-Mobile confirmed that Metro and postpaid customers should get the same internet speeds.