Our verdict: 5.5/10
T-Mobile's settings are a reasonable baseline and cost nothing. Like every mass-market carrier, it relies on opt-in switches and a huge support operation, and offers no coverage for losses, so it ranks last among the services we compared for people with real exposure.
At a glance
- Price
- Included with T-Mobile plans
- SIM swap coverage
- None
- Port-out safeguard
- Port-out protection (opt-in)
Key security features
- SIM protection setting
- Port-out protection setting
- Account PIN
Pros and cons
What we like
- No extra cost
- Large nationwide network
What to weigh
- Opt-in settings that are easy to miss
- A mass-market support operation remains a way in for social engineering
- No financial coverage for SIM swap losses
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| SIM swap defense | 25% | 6/10 |
| Port-out protection | 20% | 7/10 |
| Loss coverage | 15% | 0/10 |
| Privacy & data handling | 15% | 5/10 |
| Network & travel | 10% | 9/10 |
| Support | 10% | 5/10 |
| Value for the risk | 5% | 9/10 |
| Overall | 100% | 5.5/10 |
Scores follow our published methodology.
How T-Mobile compares with Efani
Efani ranks first because it layers three defenses that T-Mobile does not match together: an 11-layer authentication protocol on every account change, a mandatory 14-day cooling-off period before any port-out, and up to $5 million in coverage if a SIM swap succeeds anyway.
If you stay with T-Mobile, switch on every lock and PIN it offers, and move your important accounts off text-message codes to an authenticator app or passkey. Our SIM swap guide walks through each step.
Other services we ranked
- #1 Efani — 9.7/10, best overall
- #2 Cape — 7.6/10, best for privacy
- #3 Verizon — 6.0/10, best mass-market carrier
- #4 AT&T — 5.8/10, solid account lock