T-Mobile has reversed one of two controversial device promotion changes it introduced in early April. They have now restored the four-device-per-account limit on high-end phone promos after significant pushback from their own sales staff.
The other change, which involved restricting free lines from qualifying for device promotions, remains partially in place, though they have managed to carve out a path for some long-time customers to regain eligibility. Here's everything that happened.
The staff just weren't having it with T-Mobile
On April 2 this year, T-Mobile placed a hard cap on how many times a high-value promo could be redeemed on a single account. Customers could previously use a premium device promotion up to four times per account, until the carrier reduced it to two.
So if you were in a family of four switching from a competing carrier, only half the household could take advantage of the marquee deal. The other two would need to settle for a lesser offer or restructure how they set up their lines.
T-Mobile also declared that most free lines, including those that existing customers had received years ago under long-running promotions like “Line On Us”, would no longer be eligible for device promos going forward. If your line was free, and it came time to upgrade, device promos simply wouldn't appear during the upgrade process at all.
There were limited exceptions, which included lines with Yearly Upgrade enabled, free lines added under a “Third Line Free” promo, and both lines in a Buy One Get One deal could access promos at the time they were added. But only the paid line could do so at future upgrade time.
The two-promo limit, in particular, caused the most immediate, visible damage. T-Mobile's pitch to switchers has always leaned heavily on the promise that everyone gets a great deal when they make the move. Cutting the promise in half made it genuinely harder for sales representatives to close those transactions.
Commission-based sales reps, for whom a family porting in multiple lines is a high-value deal, were among the loudest voices pushing back internally.
T-Mobile has seen the light
By May 13, 2026, T-Mobile had updated its terms and conditions without announcement to fix their initial mistake. As confirmed by The Mobile Report through internal sources, the four-device-per-account limit on high-end phone promos is restored. T-Mobile's own promo fine print now explicitly states “Max 4 discounted devices/account”.
The general restriction on free lines accessing device promos remains. However, T-Mobile has introduced a workaround for a specific group of customers. If you received free lines under the old “Line On Us” promotions, you may notice that your promo classification has been renamed to “3rd Line Service Promo with New Line”.
Despite the confusing name change, the lines now qualify for device promos again under the updated rules. The one restriction that is not being walked back applies to Buy One Get One lines. Free lines that were added as part of a BOGO promotion remain ineligible for device promos, even for long-time customers.
