- Trump Mobile’s gold T1 phone has missed multiple promised launch dates, with the latest claim now pointing to shipments by the end of January
- Questions continue to swirl around Trump Mobile’s supply chain and manufacturing
- Despite bold promises to “shake up” wireless with a $47.45 plan, Trump Mobile has shown little market traction so far
UPDATE: Jan. 15, 2026, 5:15 p.m. ET — Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and nine other lawmakers have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address Trump Mobile’s potentially deceptive marketing practices and false claims about the T1 gold phone.
They also asked the FTC if the Trump White House intervened in the "agency's enforcement of consumer protection laws and regulations."
According to the letter, Trump Mobile is still accepting $100 deposits for the phone, and as Fierce Network wrote below, no phone has been delivered.
Instead, "Trump Mobile has been selling refurbished iPhones, which are largely manufactured in China, and Samsung devices, which are manufactured by a Korean company, while claiming these products are 'brought to life right here in the USA.'," Warren's statement about the letter noted.
The nine who signed the letter include: Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), along with Representatives Greg Casar (D-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).
Jan. 5, 2026, 12:51 p.m. ET — CES, which is happening in Las Vegas this week, would be a great place to drum up support for a snazzy new phone, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards for Trump Mobile’s promised new gold T1 phone.
A customer service representative for Trump Mobile told Fierce that production of the T1 phone came to a halt last year due to the government shutdown but that it has since resumed and the phone is now going to be shipping at the end of January.
That said, the representative wasn’t entirely sure about the specifics. “They didn't give us in the call center all the minute details. They just said that it has something to do with the Federal Communications Commission,” he told Fierce.
It’s possible that the government shutdown prevented the FCC from certifying the device in a timely fashion. But the actual delivery date of this phone has been postponed so many times, we’re not holding our breath for a January debut.
When President Trump’s sons unveiled the Trump Mobile phone service last summer, the plan was to debut the T1 Android phone – proudly “built in the United States” – in August, according to a press release. But at the same time, the website promised it would be available in September.
September came and went, as did October, November and December – but no T1 phone. Fierce inquired about the delivery date in early November and was informed by a Trump Mobile service rep at that time the phone would be coming by the end of November and if not then, the end of December. Since that didn’t happen, we’re kind of feeling the old “one bitten, twice shy” vibe here.
A quick search on Reddit turns up examples of wronged customers and, predictably, plenty of snarky comments. Over at Android Authority, C. Scott Brown lamented how he put down a $100 deposit when pre-ordering the T1 Trump phone back in June and he still hasn’t seen the device – nor received anything close to a refund or even an email saying it’s on its way.
At the launch last year, the Trump organization made a big deal about how the gold T1 Phone would be “proudly designed and built in the United States,” a feat that hardly looked possible based on the expected device launch timeline and $499 price point. Ultimately, the claims about “made in America” appeared to be aspirational rather than something near term.
Fierce reached out to Trump Mobile for more details on the T1’s expected distribution, but did not hear back before publication.
Consumers don’t need to buy the T1 phone to get Trump Mobile service. They can BYOD or buy one of the refurbished Samsung or Apple iPhone models – described as “renewed” on the Trump Mobile website – for anywhere from $369 (Samsung S23) to $629 (iPhone15).
Trump Mobile trumpets the “47 Plan,” which is $47.45/month in a nod to President Trump’s first and second terms. Early on, the terms of use section on the Trump Mobile website said the service was “powered by” Liberty Mobile Wireless LLC, an MVNO using T-Mobile’s network, but Liberty Mobile never confirmed its involvement directly to Fierce, nor did any of the major U.S. carriers for that matter.
Big aspirations to shake up wireless
Trump Mobile was one of several high-profile and celebrity-backed MVNOs to launch in 2025, with SmartLess Mobile and Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile being among them. Business Insider reported in December that YouTuber MrBeast has designs to launch an MVNO called Beast Mobile.
Like some of the other MVNOs, Trump Mobile talked about how the wireless industry needs shaking up. Back on the June 16 launch day, Eric Trump told Fox Business that the plan was for Trump Mobile to “revolutionize” the cell phone and mobile calling business.
“I think we’re going to really shake up the space in a very big way,” both in terms of the hardware of the phones and “then obviously, eSIM cards,” Eric Trump said. “And then just what you get with a plan per month,” starting at $47.45/month with roadside assistance and telehealth services.
Pretty quiet on the Trump Mobile front
The Trump Mobile brand no doubt appeals to a segment of the MAGA movement, but it’s not doing a lot by way of ads or social media mentions, according to Wave7 Research, which closely monitors advertising in the wireless industry.
In Wave7’s Q3 dealer survey, the Trump Mobile brand didn’t come up as having been activated by any of the 30 dealers who participated in the survey, according to Jeff Moore, Wave7 principal.
AH Prepaid is a master dealer that distributes Trump Mobile as well as Lyca Mobile, MobileX and LinkUp Mobile; it has pitched the Trump Mobile service to other dealers as a source of income, but Fierce was unable to reach anyone at the company.
“We’re not seeing much presence from Trump Mobile in the wireless market,” Moore told Fierce, noting it’s hard to gauge how many customers are using it.
“Trump Mobile has not tweeted since August, as seen here. The MVNO has 34K followers on Twitter, but this number has not been growing in recent months,” Wave7 noted in its December prepaid report.
Who knows? The end of January is still weeks away, so maybe we’ll see the T1 soon. If not, there’s always next month.