- Trump Mobile’s T1 phone is finally shipping after months of delays
- Despite early claims, the T1 is “assembled” in the U.S. rather than manufactured here
- Scrutiny continues as to where the T1 is actually sourced and manufactured
It appears the Trump Mobile T1 phone is real and it’s shipping, but with a few hitches.
For one, it’s “assembled” in the USA, not manufactured in the United States, which was one of the original claims about the gold-plated phone. The Trump website now says it’s “shaped by American innovation” and “proudly American.”
For another, Trump Mobile’s promotional video announcing its arrival was flagged as being AI on X.com, and the U.S. flag depicted on the device has only 11 stripes instead of 13, which represent the original 13 colonies.
Commenters on X also said this: “Based on the specs the T1 is a rehoused T-Mobile REVVL 7 Pro 5G (a 2024 model, which retails on Amazon $126). Wingtech/Luxshare makes it in Jiaxing, Wuxi, or Kunming China. It’s not American made.”
Ouch. Really, China? The irony.
Device delayed multiple times
Back to our original point. The fact that the phone is shipping – and NBC News did an unboxing of the long-awaited Android phone – is rather stunning because it’s been delayed for about nine months.
The original press release said it would be released in August and the website said September, and then for some months thereafter, we were told by Trump Mobile customer service reps that the phone would ship at the end of that month, or the end of the next month.
The federal government’s 43-day shutdown got some of the blame because device certifications weren’t happening for a while there, but we’re not entirely sure what triggered the multiple delays.
Not that it matters to the Trump organization. Trump Mobile CEO Pat O'Brien last week told USA Today that delays “were worth it in our minds as we are delivering an amazing product.”
Orders are being filled as quickly as possible and the company anticipates all pre-ordered phones to be delivered within the next several weeks, he told the publication.
Of course, the T1 isn’t the only way to get Trump Mobile service. Customers can bring their own device or buy a refurbished Apple iPhone or Samsung device to get the $47.45/month service.
Trump Mobile originally said it would offer 5G service through all three major cell phone carriers, but the current underlying network provider is believed to be T-Mobile, though the operator has not confirmed that to Fierce.
Security bug reportedly fixed
It’s unknown how many people put down a $100 deposit for the $499 phone. Some reports said Trump Mobile secured nearly 600,000 preorders for the phone, but The Verge debunked that number back in January.
A security flaw reported today – which has since been fixed – gave some clues as to the number of Trump Mobile users, suggesting it only has about 10,000 unique customers and T1 phone orders that totaled about 30,000, according to The Verge.
Fierce reached out to Trump Mobile for confirmation about the leak and other details and we’ll update this story if we hear back.