T-Mobile Will Soon Charge You $35 for Nearly Every Transaction

There is no escaping T-Mobile's new activation fee.

The popular phone carrier will soon implement a unified "device connection charge" (DCC) for almost every transaction a customer makes, even when done online.

Leaked documents online show that only prepaid connections are spared from this new activation fee.

T-Mobile New Activation Fee Details

T-Mobile's leaked document uploaded on the r/tmobile subreddit mentioned that the company would soon charge a one-time $35 DCC for all mobile and broadband devices instead of paying different charges every time they transact with the company.

T-Mobile customers may be familiar with the company's two charges for its services: the recently increased Assisted Support Charge, which now costs $35, and the Upgrade Support Charge.

According to T-Mobile, this new DCC will replace these two charges to simplify its one-time charges and deliver a "more consistent and straightforward experience" for customers.

This new one-time charge applies to transactions made in-store, online, through chat, and customer care for mobile, Beyond the Smartphone, and broadband devices, such as Home internet and customer care.

Simply put, customers should now prepare to pay $35 up-front whenever they transact with T-Mobile for anything, like upgrading their phone to a new device and adding a Bring-Your-Own-Device line, per The T-Mo Report.

Unfortunately, the DCC cannot be billed to a customer's account.

T-Mobile itself confirmed the change to CNET in an emailed statement, putting itself right in line with Verizon and AT&T.

Both phone carriers are already charging customers their respective $35 one-time activation fees.

T-Mobile also mentioned that it would start charging the DCC from Nov. 3 for broadband devices and from Nov. 15 for mobile devices.

Customers previously avoid paying one-time payments to T-Mobile by going online as they don't get the personal help that necessitates the previous Assisted Support Charge when they do so.

With the new DCC, customers who previously transacted with T-Mobile online will probably go to their local store for support, which often means getting their devices right then and there instead of waiting for them to be shipped.

T-Mobile DCC Exemptions

Thankfully, not every transaction comes with a $35 charge - the new DCC does not apply to DIGITS Talk & Text and PROXY by DIGITS. These will not have the DCC "because a product is not required for the line to be used," T-Mobile said in another leaked document.

Additionally, the DCC can be refunded when a customer's remorse return is processed and the new line is canceled, or through a Test Drive.

Changing a SIM to an eSIM on an existing line also doesn't have the new one-time DCC.

Finally, T-Mobile customers who register for JUMP! and JUMP! on Demand upgrades have their DCC waived as a program benefit.

Customers can have the DCC waived when ordering a replacement device if they've already paid for it on the first order.

Similarly, the DCC will be waived when a customer orders a replacement device in DASH due to a T-Mobile error, meaning that customers that receive a damaged or defective device will not have to pay $35 to the company.

Those who don't receive their device at all are also exempted from paying the DCC.