AT&T finally has a network test drive program

T-Mobile and Verizon have been offering free network trials for a couple of years at this point; now, AT&T has finally introduced a trial program of its own. It's a no-commitment way to give the AT&T network a try while still holding on to your current carrier, number, and device. Pretty cool! But you'll need an unlocked phone, which might disqualify a lot of people who are still paying off their current device - though the FCC is trying to do something about that.

AT&T calls its program Try AT&T, and at the moment, it's iOS only; the carrier's blog post states that Android support will be introduced in 2025. The trial makes use of eSIM, which allows you to use a secondary line on your phone without ditching your primary number. Likewise, you'll need an eSIM-compatible device - iPhone XR or newer - to take part.

There's no credit card or commitment required, you just need to head to the Try AT&T website or download the myAT&T app to get started. The program runs for 30 days and includes 100GB of data plus 25GB of hotspot data. Oh, and you can't be a current AT&T customer, but that one seems obvious.

T-Mobile was offering a trial program of some sort long before eSIM was a thing: previously, the company would give you a free mobile hotspot and even loan you a whole phone so you could try its network. These days, it's much more straightforward with a 3-month trial period initiated by downloading an app. Verizon's program, introduced in 2022, provides 30 days free. AT&T has offered a network test drive through its Cricket Wireless brand for the past couple of years, but today marks the first time you can start a trial through AT&T proper.

To take advantage of any of these programs, you'll need one important thing: an unlocked phone. If your phone is financed through a carrier installment plan then it might be locked to your current carrier. T-Mobile and AT&T won't unlock a phone until it's paid off; only Verizon will unlock a phone with an outstanding balance. It's confusing at the very least, but the FCC introduced a proposal this year to simplify things by requiring all carriers to automatically unlock a device 60 days after it's been activated. That proposal is still a long way from becoming law, but if that does happen, then comparison shopping between carriers could become a lot easier.