T-Mobile is increasing the fee it charges customers who pay their bills late. Starting Nov. 1, the carrier will raise its late payment fee from $7 to $10, according to updated billing disclosures sent to customers and first reported by The Mobile Report.

The company says the fee will now be the greater of $10 or 5% of the customer’s monthly bill, depending on state regulations. The move represents a roughly 43% increase in the minimum charge and brings T-Mobile more in line with what rival carriers like AT&T and Verizon already assess for overdue payments.

A representative for T-Mobile did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: T-Mobile Is the New Mobile Network Champ. I Got a Behind-the-Scenes View Into How It Got There

The higher late fee could hit customers with smaller monthly plans the hardest, especially those who don’t use autopay, which is an option T-Mobile promotes by offering monthly discounts. The policy change continues a broader trend of wireless providers tightening payment terms and nudging subscribers toward automated billing as part of cost-control and retention strategies.

T-Mobile has not commented on the reason for the increase, but the change follows other recent billing and plan adjustments as the company continues to streamline operations after its merger with Sprint and amid rising operational costs.

Read more: My First Look at T-Mobile’s Unique Starlink T-Satellite Service Made Me Head Far From Home

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The era of Windows 10 support ends on Oct.14. After more than a decade, Microsoft is prioritizing updates for the most current OS, Windows 11, and stopping security updates for Windows 10. 

If updating to Windows 11 isn’t an option, you can snag a year of extended security updates for the prior OS for $30. If you’re on a budget, there’s a free option that will let you keep extended security updates for a year. You’ll just be required to connect your OneDrive account and enable cloud backup.

Getting free updates on Windows 10, which was released more than a decade ago in July 2015, is a pretty big deal. As the most widely used Windows OS, it accounts for just over 53% of installs as of May 2025. Millions of people would be left without security support unless they upgrade. The cloud backup option gives users a choice without costing money. 

The only potential issue is OneDrive. Anyone with a Microsoft account gets up to 5GB of storage for free. However, as The Verge points out, some backups may exceed this limitation, requiring users to purchase a monthly or yearly plan. At $2 a month for 100GB of cloud storage, a year of OneDrive still costs less than the $30 for a year of additional security updates, but it may still cause frustration among some customers. 

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

How to get Windows 10 security updates for free

Per Microsoft’s blog post, there are now three options for those who want to stay on Windows 10 and still receive security updates: 

• Use Windows Backup to sync settings to the cloud via OneDrive. 
• Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Redeeming those points can buy you one year of security updates.
• Pay $30 for the Extended Security Updates program.

These options are available now. Microsoft began offering its Extended Security Updates program in July. Signing up for this option will guarantee updates until Oct. 13, 2026, although businesses will have the option to purchase up to three years of additional updates. So, this isn’t a long-term solution, but rather gives you more time to upgrade to Windows 11. 

It’s been an uphill battle for Microsoft, as people have been reluctant to upgrade their existing hardware. There are myriad differences between the two operating systems, but Microsoft’s string of unpopular decisions, along with Windows 11 compatibility issues, have kept the prior-generation OS around a lot longer than it normally would.

Developer DICE’s iconic first-person shooter is back in good form with Battlefield 6, and players are hard at work capturing flags and trading gunfire in large-scale battles. As dozens of players collide in massive fights, teamwork decides the outcome of each match.

If you want to keep your teammates in tip-top shape, you’ll probably gravitate toward the Support class. Support players are able to quickly revive any downed teammate with their trusty defibrillators, as well as drop supply bags that restore health and ammunition to nearby allies.

The support class is also extremely good at laying down the lead. Its signature weapon type is the light machine gun, or LMG, which is characterized by its high-bullet capacity magazines, high rate of fire and generally cumbersome frame. These weapons are great for suppressing enemies, which slows down their health regeneration.

There’s a wide array of LMGs in Battlefield 6, which means it might take you a little while to find the right fit for your play style. Some of these bullet hoses are suitable for close-range play, while others might allow you to contest sniper nests across long distances. Here are my favorite LMG builds in Battlefield 6.

The best LMG builds in Battlefield 6

There are eight different light machine guns in Battlefield 6, so you’re not hurting for options when it comes to setting up a bipod and laying down lead.

Most of these options are locked behind high level requirements or challenge completions, though, so it can be tough to figure out an effective loadout early on. Here are some accessible LMG builds for every possible situation.

L110 ‘Factory’

The L110 is the first LMG you’ll have unlocked when you start playing Battlefield 6, and it’s a solid workhorse of a gun. Its high rate of fire and extensive bullet capacity mean you’ll be able to keep enemies suppressed at a distance. However, this thing kicks like a mule unless you have a bipod set up.

To fix this, you’ll want to add the heavy extended barrel and grip pod attachments. These add-ons will make vertical and horizontal recoil more manageable, giving you more mobility during tricky firefights.

The red laser attachment helps tighten the hip-fire spread for those emergency situations where an opponent gets the drop on you in close-quarters combat, and crucially, enemies won’t be able to see the beam emanating from your weapon.

If you’re confident that you can handle the L110’s recoil, I recommend swapping out the regular bullets for tungsten-core rounds — they’ll shred through multiple enemies at once when you’re holding a tight sightline, like a hallway or a doorway leading into an objective.

M60 ‘Huntsman’

If you participated in the Battlefield 6 open beta, congratulations: You automatically unlock my favorite LMG upon opening Battlefield 6 for the first time. The M60 usually unlocks at player level 20, but beta players can use a special M60 Huntsman build straight away.

This LMG fires slower than the L110, but its recoil is more manageable, and it does more damage. As someone who likes to set up machine gun nests and pick enemies off from afar, the M60 has been the gun I’ve used the most so far in Battlefield 6.

However, players can’t change attachments on a prebuilt gun before they hit the level required to unlock its original factory variant. That means you can’t swap out attachments before player level 20, and you’re stuck with the awful vision-obscuring iron sights on the M60 until then.

Once you’re able to swap around the gun’s attachments, though, a 2x zoom and red dot sight is an absolute necessity for firing at medium- to long-range targets. Set up an alternative zoom on the side of the gun with basic sights to trade out the usual M60 eyesore for simpler iron sights when shooting close-range enemies. A double-port brake and vertical handgrip help control what little recoil the M60 has, and the red laser remains on this build in order to tighten hipfire spread.

RPKM ‘Carnivore’

If you’re not looking to set up a machine gun nest, there are some LMGs that support a more aggressive play style. The RPKM is one of these weapons, with stats that make it feel like a hybrid between a traditional light machine gun and an assault rifle. You can’t fire as many rounds before reloading, but you get some much-needed sprint speed and mantling mobility back.

The RPKM factory variant is locked behind player level 30, but there’s a much easier way to unlock this weapon for multiplayer modes. The RPKM Carnivore build is unlocked through completion of Battlefield 6’s nine-level campaign. You can beat the levels on any difficulty in order to unlock the RPKM.

The RPKM matches the M60’s damage per shot and even offers a higher rate of fire than my favorite weapon. This is all tempered by a very low magazine capacity for an LMG — the stock magazine holds 40 bullets — and very high recoil. You can use the RPKM to run and gun alongside your Assault-class teammates, but you probably won’t win as many gunfights across long distances.

Once you unlock the RPKM at level 30, a heavy extended barrel and some sort of vertical handgrip or bipod are must-have additions to your build. Swapping out the suppressor for a compensated brake also couldn’t hurt. These attachments will bring the recoil more in line with other LMGs, providing you with a manageable run-and-gun buzzsaw.