CommunityCategoryPress Release

T-Mobile Responds to Hurricane Ida

August 27, 2021
Update: September 13, 2021

Since Hurricane Ida made landfall two weeks ago, T-Mobile has worked tirelessly to help ensure quick restoration of our network and support the hardest hit communities across the South and Eastern seaboard.

Network  
After Ida swept through the Southeast, our engineering team braved challenging conditions but were able to move quickly to assess network impacts and begin recovery in even the hardest hit areas of southeast Louisiana. Thanks to their efforts, we can report that our network is nearing complete restoration. A very small number of sites remain down due to lack of commercial power, however, our teams will continue to use temporary network solutions such as Cells on Wheels (COWs) and Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) satellite infrastructure to minimize customer impacts until they are fully restored.

Community Response 
Our community support teams have traveled across southeast Louisiana providing much-needed supplies at recreation centers, churches and schools. They made 28 stops throughout New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and in small towns like Covington, Houma and Berwick. To date, T-Mobile has provided nearly 8,000 phone chargers, 7,400 charging cables, and more than 5,600 pre-activated devices to help residents stay connected.

Customer Support
Even as the majority of our T-Mobile, Sprint, and Metro by T-Mobile customers are on plans offering unlimited talk, text and data, after Ida hit the Gulf Coast, T-Mobile offered free talk, text and unlimited data to T-Mobile, Sprint consumer and business customers, and T-Mobile Pre-Paid customers in select areas of Louisiana and Mississippi who were not. If you are a customer and need assistance or have questions about your account or service, please call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset and we will be happy to help.

Store Update
As we recover from the effects of the storm, nearly all of our T-Mobile, Sprint and Metro by T-Mobile retail locations have reopened to serve the community. A small number of stores that sustained damage during the storm remain temporarily closed or are working on reduced hours. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be glad to assist.

Update: September 7, 2021

Network
Our network remains strong in the northeastern U-S with minimal impacts from the remnants of Ida. As flooding remains in parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we will continue to monitor the situation in that region.

In Louisiana, T-Mobile engineering teams are working towards full restoration of our network in the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, St Tammany, East and West Baton Rouge and Ascension.  Sites in severely impacted cities like Houma and New Orleans are coming back online, with the help of network support equipment like COWs and COLTs. Teams also continue to refuel generators as local utilities work on resolving ongoing power outages.

Community Support
T-Mobile disaster recovery teams have visited 21 community support locations in Louisiana, including the cities of Denham, Hammond, and Berwick. They’ve set up in high school gyms, churches, and civic centers to provide more than 14,000 supplies including device charging banks and cables, so people can stay connected with their friends and family during the ongoing recovery.

Store Update
A small number of stores remain closed in Louisiana. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Text to Donate
Text IDA to 90999 to make a one-time $10 donation to the American Red Cross. They’ve already mobilized to the Gulf Coast and are readying supplies, food and volunteers to help people in need. Or text RUBICON to 20222 to make a one-time $10 donation to Team Rubicon to help the Greyshirts remain at the ready to support with expedient home repair and reconstruction, muckouts and assessments to water damaged homes, and clearing debris away from residences. Text messaging charges may apply, and the one-time donation will show up on their next T-Mobile bill. For more information, please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com/customers/text-to-give

Update: September 3, 2021

Network
T-Mobile’s network in the northeast U.S. is holding up strong even as flooding from Ida continues in several states. We will continue to monitor the situation and remain ready to engage if needed.

In southeast Louisiana, T-Mobile engineering teams have made significant progress over the past 24 hours restoring service in Jefferson, Orleans, St Tammany, East and West Baton Rouge and Ascension parishes. Our teams have nearly completed their assessment of the offline network sites they could safely access. They now understand the extent of the damage and can focus on repairs and restoration. With much of the area still without electricity, teams are refueling generators regularly to help make sure our customers are connected while local power and utilities teams work to restore power.

Community Support
In Louisiana, T-Mobile response teams are on the ground providing much-needed supplies in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafourche Parish, including phones with 30 days of free T-Mobile voice, text and data; phone battery chargers and universal charging cables.

Customer Assistance
To further assist our customers affected by Ida, we have extended our offer for free talk, text, and unlimited data through September 10th in select Louisiana Parishes. This applies to T-Mobile, Sprint consumer and business customers (except Enterprise and Government accounts), and T-Mobile Pre-Paid who are not already on unlimited plans. As a reminder, Metro by T-Mobile customers always have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

  • Louisiana Parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, Saint Tammany, St John The Baptist
Update: September 2, 2021

Network
As remnants of Ida move through the northeast U.S. causing flooding in New York, New Jersey and other states, our network in that region has held strong and customers there have felt minimal impacts.

In the southeast, our teams in Louisiana are continuing work to restore connectivity to areas that were previously hard hit when the hurricane came through earlier in the week. In New Orleans, network sites have come back online in the parishes of Ascension, Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa. Our crews there are safely navigating storm hazards while working around the clock to bring in emergency equipment such as generators, Cell site on Light Trucks (COLT), Cell on Wheels (COWs), and satellite equipment, and setting up refueling schedules for generators.

Our teams are very close to having all power needs addressed with portable generators and restoration from local utilities.

Community Support
As T-Mobile teams work to get wireless connectivity restored, they are also supporting the local community. To date we have:

  • Supplied WiFi access, charging supplies and charging solutions at various locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafource Parish in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines
  • Delivered a much-needed generator, at the request of local government officials, to the Jefferson Parish Water Treatment plant along the Mississippi River
  • Provided a generator to restore connectivity to New Orleans city hall and the Mayor’s office
  • Made T-Mobile portable satellite units available to enable communications for national FEMA responders and the local Fire Department in Terrebonne Parish

Store Update
A number of our stores in Louisiana and Mississippi remain closed in the aftermath of the storm. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

UPDATE: August 31, 2021

Network
The majority of T-Mobile’s network in the Southeast U.S. continues to function normally as what was Hurricane Ida is now moving over land and has transitioned from a Tropical Storm to a Tropical Depression. Some sites that were previously impacted in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were restored overnight as our crews have worked tirelessly to deploy large numbers of generators and rapidly power them up again. Some sites in the hardest hit areas of Southeast Louisiana remain offline. Fortunately many of them continue to have coverage from adjacent sites and our engineering teams is continuing to make their way to those impacted sites with generators and other emergency equipment. The going is tough with debris, road closures, and other obstructions, but we are working around the clock to restore service as quickly and safely as possible.

Store Update
A number of our stores in Louisiana remain closed in the aftermath of the storm. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Text to Donate
Text IDA to 90999 to make a one-time $10 donation to the American Red Cross. They’ve already mobilized to the Gulf Coast and are readying supplies, food and volunteers to help people in need. Or text RUBICON to 20222 to make a one-time $10 donation to Team Rubicon to help the Greyshirts remain at the ready to support with expedient home repair and reconstruction, muckouts and assessments to water damaged homes, and clearing debris away from residences. Text messaging charges may apply, and the one-time donation will show up on their next T-Mobile bill. For more information, please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com/customers/text-to-give

UPDATE: August 30, 2021

Network Update

Hurricane Ida has caused widespread power outages in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. At the moment, our network is about 70% operational across Louisiana and Alabama. Some customers in these areas may experience intermittent impacts to voice, data and text service. The situation is still very fluid as first responders and utilities assess the damage caused by the storm.

Our engineering teams have a wide range of personnel and equipment to aid our response including additional generators, a fleet of temporary network solutions such as Cells on Wheels (COWs), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) satellite infrastructure, small cells, Mobile Command Trailers, WiFi hotspots and a host of other physical and technical capabilities to minimize interruptions for our customers.

The aftermath of large storms is usually a time of high demand for wireless networks as our customers look to stay in touch with loved ones and authorities. We want to remind customers that if they’re unable to make a call, they may still be able request help via text or WiFi calling (if a working Wifi connection is available). Information about WiFi calling can be found here.

Customer Support

To help keep customers connected, through September 3rd, T-Mobile is offering free talk, text and unlimited data for T-Mobile, Sprint consumer and business customers (except Enterprise and Government accounts), and T-Mobile Pre-Paid who are not already on unlimited plans in select areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. As a reminder, Metro by T-Mobile customers always have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

UPDATE: August 29, 2021

T-Mobile continues to track Hurricane Ida as it makes landfall over the U.S. Gulf Coast. Our rapid-response teams are standing by to assist our customers and help minimize any potential service interruptions. In addition, we are working to ensure our employees, stores and facilities are well prepared for the storm conditions.

Store Update

Several of our stores in Louisiana and Mississippi are taking safety precautions and may be closed ahead of the storm’s arrival. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Customer & Community Support

From August 29th through September 3rd, T-Mobile is offering free talk, text and unlimited data for T-Mobile, Sprint consumer and business customers (except Enterprise and Government accounts), and T-Mobile Pre-Paid who are not already on unlimited plans in select areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. As a reminder, Metro by T-Mobile customers always have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

  • Louisiana Parishes: Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Cameron, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iberville, Jackson, Jefferson, Jefferson, Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Richland, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, West Feliciana, Winn, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Tammany, St John The Baptist
  • Mississippi Counties: Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Clarke, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Issaquena, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Neshoba, Newton, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Walthall, Warren, Wayne, Wilkinson, Yazoo

August 27, 2021

T-Mobile is closely monitoring Hurricane Ida as it makes its way toward the Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall on Sunday. We know how important it is to our customers to stay connected at times like this, and our teams stand ready to respond when it’s safe to do so. We currently have a range of recovery equipment, including generators, positioned nearby that are ready to deploy. We also will be prepared to be on the ground in local communities with supplies as needed.

Additionally, we recommend that our customers in Gulf states take steps now to prepare themselves for the storm’s potential impact:

  • Make a disaster kit. Include things like batteries, snacks, water, first aid kit, flashlight and device chargers.
  • Update your family, friends and emergency services contact numbers. Make sure they’re saved and backed up onto a cloud or computer or written down someplace accessible.
  • Subscribe to local authorities’ text alerts or connect with local authorities’ social networks to learn about new developments before, during and after a disaster.
  • Keep your mobile devices fully charged. Have charging cables handy and consider investing in a car or portable charging device.
  • Download emergency-assistance apps from the Red Cross and FEMA.
  • Make sure your phone supports Wireless Emergency Alerts and that you have enabled notifications on your device. Visit www.t-mobile.com/wea for details on how to set up alerts on T-Mobile and Sprint devices.
  • Set up Wi-Fi Calling on your phone. For Apple phones, go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling; for Android phones, go to Settings > More Connection Settings > Wi-Fi Calling.
  • If you are in an area that could potentially be impacted, please follow any evacuation orders that may be issued by local authorities and do all you can to stay safe.

More information on how T-Mobile prepares for storms like Ida is available in the T-Mobile Newsroom: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/community/2021-hurricane-season


During congestion, heavy data users (>50GB/mo. most plans and 100GB/mo. Magenta) and customers choosing lower prioritized plans may notice lower speeds than other customers. Metro by T-Mobile customers using >35GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds and Metro customers may notice reduced speeds vs. T-Mobile due to prioritization.