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OnePlus has consistently impressed us with its high-performance flagships that come in at a lower price point than much of the competition. The company’s latest flagship, the OnePlus 12, just launched Jan. 23, and if you’re an Android fan hoping to preorder the new device, we’ve got you covered. OnePlus isn’t as widely available as other brands, but there are some preorder deals that can help you save on an upgrade — especially for those of you with an older device to trade in.
The OnePlus 12 offers several upgrades over its predecessor, the OnePlus 11, and the most significant ones are internal changes. For example, this device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, a top-tier processor that will improve overall performance. The baseline RAM has also been upped to 12GB from last year’s 8GB, and the minimum storage has doubled to 256GB from the OnePlus 11’s 128GB. And the OnePlus 12 has a 5,400-mAh battery, an improvement over the 5,000-mAh battery of its predecessor.
How much does the OnePlus 12 cost?
OnePlus is infamous for offering some of the most affordable flagship devices on the market. The OnePlus 12 follows in this tradition with prices coming in under a grand.
The base model offers 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM for $800, or you can grab the more robust model, which sports 512GB of storage and 16GB for RAM for just $100 more.
What colors does the OnePlus 12 come in?
OnePlus doesn’t usually offer a lot of choice when it comes to color variations. The OnePlus 12 is available in two shades, silky black and flowy emerald.
Defending champ Aryna Sabalenka takes on world number four Coco Gauff in what looks set to be a thrilling Australian Open semifinal match up.
Sabalenka will be looking to gain revenge for her defeat to Gauff last year in New York in the US Open final and comes into this match off the back of five successive straight set victories.
Gauff’s path to the final four has been less smooth, with the American star having to battle her way past Marta Kostyuk in a scrappy three-set affair to set up this much anticipated rematch.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch this match live wherever you are in the world.
Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka: When and where?
The 2024 Australian Open Women’s semifinal match between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka takes place on Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park at 7:30 p.m. AEDT local time. That makes it a 3:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and an 8:30 a.m. start in the UK.
How to watch the Australian Open 2024 online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. If your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Livestream Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the US
Tennis fans in the US can watch every remaining singles match of the Australian Open on ESPN. If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch the match with a live TV streaming service. All five of the major services offer ESPN.
All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
Coverage is also available via the network’s streaming service ESPN Plus.
Livestream Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the UK
Rights to show this year’s tournament in the UK are with pay TV network Sky Sports. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream games via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the tournament.
Livestream Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka in Australia for free
Tennis fans Down Under can watch live coverage of this match on free-to-air Channel 9. That also means you’ll be able to watch the action online via the network’s streaming service 9Now.
Stream Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka in Canada
Live coverage of the Australian Open will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus.
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Lori GruninSenior Editor / Advice
I’ve been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I’m currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I’ve also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
ExpertisePhotography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.Read how we test products and services.
Excellent high 1080p/mid 1440p-quality performance as long as you don’t care about ray tracing
DisplayPort 2.1 support
Cons
Card may be too long or too tall to fit comfortably into smaller systems
Cards using AMD’s XT graphics chips are analogous to Nvidia’s Ti versions: Generally the same, but designed to draw more power in order to eke more performance out of it where possible. AMD’s Radeon RX 7600 XT fills the slot just above the RX 7600, starting at roughly $50 more ($330), though more powerful cards like the XFX Speedster Qick309 RX 7600 XT I’ve tested can come at a slightly higher premium. In the Qick’s case, that means $350.
The Qick309 has a smaller, cheaper sibling, the $330 Swft210 It’s got two fans instead of three and tops out at lower clock speeds. That also means it doesn’t draw as much power and gets by with a single 8-pin power connection instead of two, like the Qick. (AMD doesn’t make its own card for this GPU.)
There’s a decent performance gap, at least with the between the Qick309 and the RX 7600 I reviewed last year, though not across the board. The extra 8GB that the XT offers over the other chip partially allows for higher quality settings in both 1080p and 1440p, and the extra power can make some games tip over to playable in 4K, as long as you’re willing to use AMD’s upscaling and optimization software.
XFX Speedster Qick309 Radeon RX 7600 XT specs
Memory
16GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth (GBps)
288 (effective 476.9)
Memory clock (GHz)
2.25
GPU clock (GHz, game/boost)
2.539/2.810
Memory data rate/Interface
18Gbps/128 bits
Compute units and Ray accelerators
32
Streaming multiprocessors
2,048
AI accelerators
64
Process
6nm
Total board power (watts)
190 (165w TGP)
Max thermal (degrees)
212F/100C
Connectors
3 x DP 2.1, 1 x HDMI 2.1
Bus
PCIe 4.0×8
Size
2.5 slots; 11.9 x 4.5 in (302 x 114mm)
Launch price
$350
Ship date
January 24, 2024
The smaller size and lesser power draw of the Swft model make it more suitable for upgrading compact systems over the three-fan model. But given the minimal $20 price difference, it seems like that may be its only advantage; with 16GB VRAM, at the very least the 7600 XT is likely to last you longer.
If your budget doesn’t stretch to that extra cost, it’s a more complicated decision, because the alternative is a card using the cheaper (about $300) and less powerful GeForce RTX 4060 — unless you see ray tracing or other games that use DirectX 12 Ultimate for its higher-quality effects.
Unsurprisingly, the Qick309 7600XT and the Qick319 7700 XT I reviewed in September 2023 have extremely similar designs. The model number indicates the number and size of fans, so the 7600 XT has three 90mm fans, where the RX 7700 XT had two 100mm fans and one 90mm. The 7600 XT really doesn’t need those two, which are positioned to more strongly move warm air away from the center of the card; even three fans seems overkill, since it didn’t get very hot (though it might if you overclock it).
The 7600 XT otherwise has the same solid backplate that acts as a heat spreader, miles of those sharp metal fins for a heat sink and lots of open space for airflow. Though it’s still a lot smaller than than the 7700 XT, it’s still a bit big and may not work as an upgrade in a small- to mid-size system. When installing, I found the two power connectors really tight and a little too close to each other to easily maneuver and ended up having to reopen my system and more aggressively reseat the plugs. That’s less of a gripe than a troubleshooting tip, unless you’re constantly swapping cards like me.
Like all models in the RX 7000 series, the card has support for DisplayPort 2.1, which has the necessary bandwidth to support 165Hz at 8K and 12 bits per color (up from 10 bits) for HDR, and to enable full gamut coverage of Rec.2020 or up to 480Hz in 4K. That’s a link bandwidth of up to 54Gbps, up from 20Gbps in DP 1.4a, which Nvidia’s cards still use. I can’t imagine trying to play in 8K with one of the RX 7600 series, but more bandwidth for HDR is always welcome.
The RX 7600 XT’s performance is pretty much exactly where you’d expect it to be relative to its siblings and its competition. Gaming at 1080p and 1440p at typical “high” quality settings, which don’t burden on VRAM, runs about the same as the 8GB RX 7600. At 4K or more “ultra” quality levels, including raytracing, the gap between the cards widens — but I wouldn’t buy the RX 7600 XT expecting to play at 4K without a lot of compromise, like sub-60fps frame rates and/or obviously lesser quality.
There are fewer than a handful of games that already support AMD’s latest FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (with Fluid Motion Frames), so you’ll likely end up using the less optimal driver-based version if you want upscaling and performance optimizing, or use earlier versions of FSR that are built-into some games. The software version definitely delivers a lift, but it’s not necessarily enough to knock the frame rates up a class. It does occasionally tip it over, though, like pushing it to 75fps from 53fps in Guardians of the Galaxy.
I do find that much of an upscale — from 1440p to 4K — ends up looking oversharpened, with concomitant aliasing (rolling edges) on thin lines that I can never unsee. But I’m a lot more picky about sharpening then a lot of people, and it’s one of those things that people tend to like more when it’s “wrong” than when it’s right. And you can reduce it.
The 7600 XT’s 16GB of VRAM does give it an edge over the 7600 with some types of nongame graphics at 4K resolution, but it’s still fundamentally choked by having the same memory bandwidth and using only four PCI lanes rather than the eight used by cards one class up.
In one of the fewer-than-a-handful of games where FSR 3 has been incorporated, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, it still typically ran at less than 60fps upscaling to 4K in Quality mode and ended up backing down a quality level. Even at the FSR Quality setting, I saw some annoying (but not critical) artifacts, though it’s possible that’s the game too.
On the upside, if you’ve got an RX 6000 series card you’re just tolerating, give FSR3 in AMD’s Adrenalin software a try. Maybe you can live with it for another year. I haven’t tested it with one of those RDNA cards, though, so I don’t know what performance is really like.
AMD’s RNDA 3 (used by the RX 7000 series) still lags Nvidia at games that use DX12 Ultimate because it’s still not up to performance par on some of the algorithms used by that programming interface not just ray tracing but optimization tools like mesh shaders. If you’re more interested in higher resolution and/or faster frame rates than the better lighting and reflections ray tracing enables, then don’t worry about it.
This is a solid price/performance option if you want to upgrade to 1440p, but you’ll have to replace it once you start to yearn for 4K.
Relative performance of recent comparable GPUs
Test system configuration
Custom PC
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro (22H2/23H2); 3.2GHz Intel Core i9-12900K; 32GB DDR5-4800; 2x Corsair MP600 Pro SSD; Corsair HX1200 80 Plus Platinum PSU, MSI MPG Z690 Force Wi-Fi motherboard, Corsair 4000D Airflow midtower case
Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska will be hoping her fairy-tale run at the Australian Open can extend to the final as she takes on Qinwen Zheng in this last-four clash at the Rod Laver Arena.
Yastremska — a former world No. 21 — entered this year’s tournament as a qualifier but has glided her way to the semi-finals after impressive wins over seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova and two-time Aussie Open champ Victoria Azarenka.
She now faces Chinese star Zheng, whose exploits in Melbourne are set to earn her a place in the world’s top 10 for the first time. The 21-year-old fought back from a set down to beat Anna Kalinskaya in her quarterfinal to set up today’s intriguingmatch-up.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch this match live wherever you are in the world.
Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen Zheng: When and where?
The 2024 Australian Open Women’s semifinal match between Dayana Yastremska and Qinwen Zheng takes place on Thursday, Jan. 25, at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park at an expected time of 8:45 p.m. AEDT local time. That makes it a 4:45 a.m. ET, 1:45 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 9:45 a.m. start in the UK.
How to watch the Australian Open 2024 online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch games — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. If your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Livestream Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen Zheng in the US
Tennis fans in US can watch every remaining singles match of the Australian Open on ESPN. If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch the match with a live TV streaming service. All five of the major services offer ESPN.
All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
Coverage is also available via the network’s streaming service ESPN Plus.
Livestream Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen Zheng in the UK
Rights to show this year’s tournament in the UK are with pay TV network Sky Sports. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream games via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the tournament.
Livestream Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen Zheng in Australia for free
Tennis fans Down Under can watch live coverage of this match on free-to-air Channel 9. That also means you’ll be able to watch the action online via the network’s streaming service 9Now.
Stream Dayana Yastremska vs. Qinwen Zheng in Canada
Live coverage of the Australian Open will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus.
The 65-inch Hisense U7 TV offers up to 1,000 nits of brightness and has both Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos for an immersive, theatrical experience at home. It also has the Google TV platform, which allows for voice control to simplify finding what you want to watch. Plus, it has Wi-Fi 6E compatibility for those who have upgraded. Additionally, gamers hoping to score a powerful set that can handle next-gen gaming will be pleased to know this TV also includes Dolby Vision Gaming, AMD Free sync Premium Pro, 2.1 channel audio and a 144Hz variable refresh rate.
We’ve seen the price of this model drop during sales before, but while this TV typically lists for $1,050, it’s currently marked down by $370 at Amazon. That brings the cost of this 65-inch screen to just $680, which is the lowest price we’ve seen and a solid deal for most people. We don’t know how long this offer will last, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later.
And if this TV isn’t quite the right fit for you, we’ve rounded up the best TV deals currently available so that you can shop various brands, display types, screen sizes and costs to find one that meets your needs. If you need help, be sure to check out our TV buying guide for a ton of helpful information.
There’s a tantalizing clash of styles in store for cricket fans this week as England and their gung-ho Bazball approach take on India’s kings of spin in the first Test of an epic five-match series between the two sides.
Both teams come into this series opener in Hyderabad with strong recent Test records on the line. England chalked up two series wins and two draws in 2023, while India were also unbeaten last year, with three series wins and a draw.
Lancashire’s Tom Hartley is set to make his Test debut for the tourists, while Ben Foakes returns as England’s wicketkeeper.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be without Virat Kohli, who’s set to miss the first two Tests of this series for personal reasons, with Rajat Patidar having the unenviable job of replacing his country’s star batsman.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the first match of the series, no matter where you are in the world.
India vs. England: When and where?
India take on England in the first match of this Test series at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad from Thursday, Jan. 25 until Monday, Jan. 29. Play is set to start each day at 9:30 a.m. IST local time in India — that’s 4 a.m. GMTin the UK, 3 p.m. AEDT in Australia, and at 11 p.m. ET or 8 p.m. PT in the US on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
How to watch India vs. England, 1st Test online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view this Test match locally, you may need a different way to watch the action — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Australia, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.
Livestream India vs. England in the US
This first Test in the series will be available to watch live on dedicated cricket streaming service Willow TV.
Stream the 1st Test in India for free
The first Test between India and England will be available to watch in the host nation on sport network Sports 18. That means you’ll be able to watch for free via its OTT platform JioCinema.
Watch India vs. England in the UK
This series is being shown exclusively live in the UK by Sky and its dedicated Sky Sports Cricket channel. If you already have Sky Sports as part of your TV package, you can stream the final via its Sky Go app, but cord-cutters will want to get set up with a Now account and a Now Sports membership to stream the match.
Stream India vs. England in Australia
Pay-TV network Foxtel and its streaming platform Kayo is showing the first Test match of this series Down Under.
Quick tips for streaming India vs. England using a VPN
With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming this Test match live may vary.
If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
Starting with Chrome version M121, users will be able to enable various Experimental AI features from the Settings page. This includes Tab Groups, or the ability to automatically sort tabs in specific groups. To do this, right-click on a tab and select Organize Similar Tabs.
Google said the features will be rolling out over the next few days. For Experimental AI features to take effect, Chrome may require a restart.
Another Chrome AI feature allows AI to create custom themes, similar to the Pixel 8’s generative AI wallpapers. To enable, open a new tab and click on Customize Chrome in the bottom-right corner of the screen. After clicking Change theme there should be another option to Create with AI.
Chrome’s new AI features comes as Google doubles down on AI, the generative technology that can create novel text, code, images and video, all with a few simple prompts. With the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 and its subsequent mainstream success, Google, Microsoft, Apple and pretty much every major tech company has been looking to use AI to muscle-up its suite of software and services.
Along with Tab Groups and AI themes, soon Chrome will be able to help you draft restaurant reviews and other text with the help of generative AI. Starting next month, this experimental AI feature will allow you to right-click on a text box and ask Chrome to help you write text with just a few keywords.
Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to help create some stories. For more, see this post.
With a cool $1.62 million prize and 500 FedEx Cup points up for grabs, defending champ Max Homa will be hoping to replicate his heroics from last year at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open.
This year’s field includes local hero Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley.
The 2024 edition of the tournament takes place across two courses, with players having to negotiate Torrey Pines’ North and South on Wednesday and Thursday, before sticking to the familiar setting of the South course for the decisive final two rounds.
The Farmers Insurance Open stands out as the only tournament on the current PGA Tour calendar that takes place from Wednesday to Saturday. The unusual scheduling is made in order to avoid clashing with Sunday’s NFL conference finals.
Keep reading to find out the best live TV streaming services to use to watch each day of the tournament live wherever you are in the world.
Livestream the Farmers Insurance Open 2024 in the US
Linear TV coverage in the US is on The Golf Channel and CBS, while streaming service Peacock also boasts the same coverage of the entire tournament.
For more comprehensive coverage, PGA Tour Live streaming coverage takes place Wednesday through Saturday on ESPN Plus, offering main action feeds, marquee groups, featured groups and featured hole coverage.
Four of the major live TV streaming services offer The Golf Channel.
Livestream the Farmers Insurance Open 2024 in the UK
Golf fans in the UK can watch the tournament live on Sky Sports. The tournament will be broadcast across its Sky Sports Golf and Main Events channels, with further coverage on its Red Button service.
Livestream the Farmers Insurance Open 2024 in Australia
The Farmers Insurance Open 2024 can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for streaming service Kayo Sports.
Stream the Farmers Insurance Open 2024 in Canada
Live coverage of the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord-cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus. Coverage of the third round starts at 5 p.m. ET on Friday and at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday for the final round.
Quick tips for streaming the Farmers Insurance Open 2024 using a VPN
With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the Farmers Insurance Open2024 may vary.
If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
If you’re having trouble getting the tournament after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
T-Mobile has tweaked its terms of service for its home broadband users to add a new clause: If you are a heavy internet user that passes 1.2TB of data in a monthly billing cycle, you may have your speeds slowed in “times of congestion” or when there is a lot of pressure on the network.
As spotted by The Mobile Report, the change went into effect on Jan. 18. In its updated terms, the carrier says that these users “will be prioritized last on the network” in congestion situations, which could mean painfully slow speeds for however long the congestion persists. T-Mobile does note that since its Home Internet service is available only in “limited areas” and intended to be used in a “stationary” setting, as opposed to a phone that could be in a busy place like a packed stadium, “these customers should be less likely to notice congestion in general.”
So what exactly is going on? Here is what you need to know.
Read more: T-Mobile raises home internet price back to $60 per month for new users
Is T-Mobile adding a data cap?
While it may seem similar to a data cap that other broadband providers have used — where your data fully stops after you’ve reached a maximum amount unless you pay more — this isn’t that. Instead, it’s a potential limitation that T-Mobile is adding so that in areas where its network is being taxed by too much demand, heavy home internet users could see their data slowed down while things are busy (or as wireless carriers like to describe it, “congested”).
Presumably, once that busy period subsides and the network has its normal room available, your home internet speeds and experience should return to normal. Still, for heavy home internet users, it’s not hard to imagine that this change could lead to some problems.
Will T-Mobile be throttling speeds for heavy data users?
The carrier tells CNET that it isn’t throttling speeds for users who pass 1.2TB of data in a month, except in these “congestion” situations. “Heavy data users may not notice a change, unless they’re in a congested area,” the company says, noting that today that a “single digit percentage” of its home internet customers would be classified as heavy home internet users. The carrier says it will notify users when they pass this 1.2TB threshold.
As for what speeds will be like for these users when they find themselves in this situation, we don’t really know, and T-Mobile isn’t providing specific guidance beyond saying that they will be deprioritized relative to other T-Mobile users.
It should be noted that this applies only to consumer home internet accounts, not those who have the business version of the service.
Read more: Our T-Mobile Home Internet review
Can I buy more high-speed data?
The carrier isn’t letting users buy more high-speed data and reiterates that those who pass 1.2TB in a month can still get fast speeds once the congestion is alleviated, just that in these specific instances they would be slower than other users while the network in their area is busier than normal.
Why is T-Mobile doing this?
In a statement, the carrier explained the decision as a way to protect the network for all of its users.
“Our mainstream broadband Home Internet product services millions of customers who use hundreds of gigabytes of data,” a carrier spokesperson told CNET. “To ensure all of our customers get a great network experience into the future, our terms of service have been updated to say that those who need more than 1.2TB (per) month, a single digit percent of users, would be prioritized after other Home Internet customers only during times of congestion.”
What is network prioritization?
As the name implies, network prioritization is a way carriers determine who gets priority when accessing their network. For most day-to-day tasks, when there is plenty of capacity and room on the network for everyone, this doesn’t really matter. But in busy times of “congestion,” like at a packed football stadium or during an event where there are a lot of people taxing the network, those with a higher priority may find themselves with better service than those lower down.
Top priority is given to T-Mobile’s wireless users who are within their monthly high-speed data limits on its normal plans (as well as those on pricier options like Go5G Next, Go5G Plus and Magenta Max which don’t have limits for how much high-speed data they can use), followed by lower tier plans like Essentials, Metro by T-Mobile and Assurance Wireless and then connected devices like hotspots and tablets.
At the bottom of this list, alongside “heavy data” wireless users who exceeded their monthly data limits, are home internet users. So in these instances of congestion, these heavy home internet users would be dropped even further and beyond regular home internet users.