It’s the end of an era. T-Mobile is ending its decade-old JUMP! On Demand program, an early casualty of rising phone costs. But for the program’s last members, there’s a pretty sweet parting gift.
So long to frequent phone swaps
Remember when you could lease a new phone for $0 down and swap it out multiple times a year?
T-Mobile’s JUMP! On Demand (JOD) program, a relic of the wild John Legere “Un-Carrier” days, made that a reality. It was a dream for tech enthusiasts who always wanted the latest device without the commitment of a full purchase.But times have changed. Flagship phones now cost well over a thousand dollars, and the economics of such a flexible program just don’t add up anymore.
T-Mobile has confirmed that as of December 1st, the JOD program is officially shutting down.
The good news? If you’re one of the few still on a JOD lease, T-Mobile is letting you do one last JUMP to a new device. Better yet, on December 1st, they’re forgiving the rest of your lease. You get to keep the phone, potentially saving you hundreds. This is all outlined in a leaked document (seen below) and is now officially on the T-Mobile support site.
How this stacks up against the competition
With JOD gone, the landscape of early upgrade programs looks a bit different. It was one of the most flexible options out there, but competitors still offer ways to get new phones sooner rather than later.AT&T has its “Next Up Anytime” program, which, for an extra $10 a month, lets you upgrade your phone once you’ve paid off 33% of it. Verizon’s early upgrade option is a bit stricter, requiring you to pay off 50% of your device before you can trade it in for a new one. Both are a far cry from JOD’s original promise of swapping phones whenever the mood struck, but they’re the main options left for serial upgraders.
A bittersweet farewell
Seeing JUMP! On Demand go is a bit of a bummer, but it’s not surprising. The program felt like a holdover from a more optimistic time in the mobile industry. The final perk of forgiving the lease is a classy move by T-Mobile and a fantastic deal for those lucky enough to be enrolled.
Would I have used JOD today? Probably not. The high down payments required in recent years defeated its original purpose. For most people, the standard upgrade cycle or a program like AT&T’s Next Up makes more financial sense. Still, it’s fun to remember a time when getting a new phone felt as easy as ordering a pizza.
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