Say goodbye to the “Free Data for Life” iPad promotional deal from T-Mobile. The third biggest wireless carrier in the United States has apparently decided to get rid (albeit quietly) of this special offer first introduced more than three years ago. For those not familiar with this deal, it promised 200 megabytes of cellular data on a monthly basis for owners of new iPad devices who opt to activate their tablets on T-Mobile’s network. Sure, 200 megabytes of data is not much, but back in 2013, this was actually considered already generous.
But with the ongoing price wars with other major US wireless carriers, T-Mobile may have been left with no other choice but to pull the plug on the promo for good. As indicated in a support web page found in the mobile operator’s official website, the special offer has been retired as of May 7th. But what about those customers who had signed up for the deal (prior to May 7th)? Well, they will still be getting a 200 megabyte allotment every month from T-Mobile, that is if they choose to keep their iPad device.
The “Free Data for Life” iPad promo was not just a deal designed to attract new owners of Apple made tablets to T-Mobile’s network. The special offer also served to initiate iPad Air sales for the major US wireless carrier once Apple began offering tablets unlocked. The deal actually had a fairly long run, going active for three and a half years. But with T-Mobile promoting the offer less and less as more recent iPad upgrades came along, perhaps it is not such a surprise that the carrier decided to end it once and for all.
The decision certainly makes sense, especially in 2017 wherein 200 megabytes of data every month just can not cut it anymore. Indeed, mobile users of today are so used to consuming lots and lots of media, not to mention uploading and downloading so much content from the cloud, that the “Free Data for Life” offer has been essentially rendered useless, or at least, unappealing.
Of course, with the “Free Data for Life” deal no more, T-Mobile will likely funnel iPad owners to its unlimited T-Mobile One option. And while it is true that the carrier will still launch iPad related promotional deals, the upcoming offers will likely be aimed instead at iPhone users by offering them discounted prices on tablet devices.
