Technologies

Looking for Consistent Phone Plan Pricing? Save With T-Mobile’s 5-Year Guarantee

Costs are rising everywhere. Two T-Mobile phone plans offer some price security.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have one of your monthly expenses remain stable for a while? Phone plans have seemed tumultuous recently, which is why T-Mobile’s five-year price guarantee with new Experience plans was such a surprise when it was announced earlier this year. With costs increasing on everything, and knowing that phone plans often come with strings attached, we’ve looked into the details of this deal so you can start saving on your next phone plan.

T-Mobile’s price guarantee applies to the Experience plans but not the Essentials plans. The first tier is Experience More, which starts at $90 per month for a single line and includes Unlimited Premium data and text. It also offers 60GB of high-speed hotspot data (then unlimited at 3G speeds), Apple TV Plus, Netflix (with ads), Hulu (with ads) and is upgrade-ready every two years. If you need three lines, you’ll get the third one free. This plan includes five-year price protection and is $5 less when you sign up with AutoPay.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

Experience Beyond is the next tier, which starts at $105 per month and offers unlimited talk and text, plus 250GB of high-speed hotspot data (then unlimited at 3G speeds). Every streaming service listed above is included, as well as smartwatch and tablet lines starting at $5 per month. Beginning in July, Experience Beyond customers will get T-Satellite service included in the plan. (Experience More customers can get T-Satellite free through the end of 2025, then pay $10 per month as an add-on.) Other perks include upgrade eligibility every year and 30GB of high-speed data in Mexico and Canada. T-Mobile will knock off an extra $5 per month when you sign up for AutoPay, which means you’ll pay just $100.

Families can sign up for two lines and get the third line free, which can save them up to 20% when switching from other carriers. A quick reminder that the five-year price guarantee applies only to the Experience plans and doesn’t apply to other T-Mobile plans.

Looking for more ways to save on your phone bill but aren’t sure if this deal is right for you? We’ve rounded up a list of the best phone plans so you can view all of your options.

SMARTPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked Phone With $50 Amazon Gift Card (Black):

$1,100 (save $50)
Google Pixel 9 Pro 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian):

$799 (save $200)
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G 128GB Unlocked Phone (Blue Black, 2025 Release):

$176 (save $24)
Moto G Stylus 5G 256GB Unlocked Phone(2024 Model, Caramel Latte):

$300 (save $100)
Apple iPhone 14 128GB Unlocked Phone (Refurbished, Midnight):

$350 (save $279)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

T-Mobile’s five-year price guarantee is a great way to have a consistent phone bill that can also save you on data fees and subscriptions. Both eligible Experience plans are an additional $5 off when you sign up for AutoPay. With so many price increases on other basics, this is a great deal for anyone who wants to save on a recurring monthly expense.

Technologies

Chevy’s New Bolt Electric Car Is Truly Affordable, at Less Than $30,000

The new Chevrolet Bolt is cheaper than other «affordable» EVs, and even fixes the weaknesses of its predecessor.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 26 #602

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 26, No. 602.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, and timely, too. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Fall-ing

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Crisp season.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

HARD, DUST, MORN, LOOT, HAVE, GALE, LOAF, TOOL, VEST, BUMP, DOUBT, BALE, BALL, FOOT, CHARD

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CORN, FOLIAGE, HARVEST, FOOTBALL, ORCHARDS, PUMPKINS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is AUTUMN. To find it, look for the A that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 26, #868

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 868 for Sunday, Oct. 26.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a diverse mix of topics. I laughed out loud at the green category. As a Gen Xer, I remember actually singing a song about that topic in music class back in the day. Today’s categories are not too tough, but if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Music.

Green group hint: The Greatest.

Blue group hint: Time to compete.

Purple group hint: Teeny tiny.