Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A rumor claims T-Mobile may soon conduct a TAC audit of customer plans.
- The audit would check whether the associated device’s TAC is authorized to be used on that plan.
- If there’s a discrepancy, the user may have their service disrupted.
T-Mobile may be planning to start making sure you’re using the right device on the right plan. A new rumor claims the company is preparing to conduct a Type Allocation Code (TAC) audit of customer plans soon.
As you may or may not know, every phone has a unique 15-digit number known as its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). This number can be found in several places, such as the SIM tray, battery, or even on the phone’s box. With this identifier, the network has everything it needs to know about your device, including the device type, brand, model, and color. On top of revealing the identity of your device, the IMEI can also be used to verify if your device is compatible with the network and if it’s authorized to be used with that plan.
If you’re wondering how this relates to TAC, these are the first eight digits of an IMEI. It is used to identify the device manufacturer and the model. With the TAC, T-Mobile can tell if you’re using an improper device on a plan and act accordingly. However, the Un-carrier hasn’t really gone down the route of enforcing device type and plan by TAC up to now.
According to The Mobile Report, this status quo may soon change. The outlet claims an inside source within T-Mobile has told them the company is getting ready to audit customer plans to ensure every device’s TAC is authorized to be used with the plan it’s using. So if a discrepancy is spotted, the user may have their service disrupted on that device. It’s alleged that this audit will be done on a majority of, if not all, plans.
No information is available on when this audit may start, but it’s said that it could happen soon. The outlet says the rumor is pointing to sometime in Q2.
Android Authority has reached out to T-Mobile for comment on the rumor. If we hear back, we’ll update this article with the new information.
