Don't rush into a new phone plan without checking their service first — these phone carriers offer free trials

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Nowadays you can trial just about any service you like. Subscriptions are becoming the norm for a lot of things, and that usually means you can cancel after a month or two if you're not satisfied with what you're paying for. Obviously, there are some things where this doesn't work, since you have to sign up for several months, or even a few years for service.What you might not know is that the best mobile carriers are not part of that latter group. The big three — AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile — will all let you trial their service for 30 days before you make a commitment. The best part is that this doesn't actually cost anything, and you don't need to hand over your credit card details just to sign up.How carrier trials work (Image credit: Tom's Guide)The 30-day wireless trials offered by AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile rely on two things: The official carrier app, available from both Google Play and the Apple App Store, and your phone's eSIM functionality.You sign up within the app, a process that does not involve any sort of payment or credit check, and once you've finished you'll receive instructions on how to activate your new eSIM. That eSIM will be valid for the next 30 days, though it only affects your data plan.Your actual phone service still comes through onto your existing SIM and phone number, so you can stay in touch with people without having to try and explain that you're swapping phone numbers for the next month. This also means you can swap back and forth between the two SIMs, and compare the actual service you're getting.What you actually get (Image credit: Tom's Guide)Carriers really want you to switch, and that means the free trials have some rather generous allowances to help you make the most of their service. Here's the breakdown:AT&T offers 100GB of 5G data, including 25GB of hotspot data, as well as unlimited calls and texts between the U.S, Canada and Mexico. You also get free international texting between the U.S. and over 200 other countries.Verizon offers unlimited calls and texting, 100GB of 5G data, and up to 4K streaming if you connect to its Ultra Wideband 5G network.T-Mobile offers unlimited high speed data, access to T-Mobile's satellite services, as well as unlimited calls and texts.What's the catch? (Image credit: Shutterstock)Once your 30 days are up, you'll be given the option to switch over to that new carrier. However these are totally commitment-free, meaning you're under no obligation to actually switch once your trial is over. That said, this doesn't mean you can keep using trial after trial.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.AT&T and T-Mobile limit these trials to one per user, but don't elaborate further than that. Verizon won't let you start a free trial if you've already had one within the last year. In other words, you can't jump from free trial to free trial to try and avoid paying for cell service — the carriers already anticipated you might think of thatIt's important to note that the trials are only available to non-customers, and on unlocked phones. Because you can't run a different carrier's service on your phone if it's locked to someone else's network — even if it is from an eSIM.Carriers will unlock your phone if they meet your criteria, and in some cases it will happen automatically without you actually asking for it. Typically this means you will need to have paid off your phone in full, not have any overdue payments and haven't reported your device as lost or stolen.If you meet those criteria, AT&T and Verizon will unlock your phone 60 days after purchase, while T-Mobile will do it after 45. However prepaid phones won't be eligible until a year after the original purchase date.Other carriers offer similar trials (Image credit: Shutterstock)The big three carriers may be the ones that immediately come to mind when it comes to cell service, but they're not the only ones that offer a free trial. Here's what some popular no-contract and MVNO providers offer:Visible, an MVNO owned by Verizon, offers all the same perks as Verizon, but only as part of a 15 day trial.Cricket Wireless, on the other hand, offers a 14 day trial but limits your consumption to 3GB of data — with no call or text time.U.S. Mobile offers one of the best free trials compared to other MVNOs. The 30 day trial offers unlimited calls and texts, 30GB of data, 5GB of hotspot data and access to mmWave 5G. You do need to sign up with a credit card, however, and AutoPay has to be enabled for the full 30 days. So make sure to remember to cancel, lest you get an unexpected charge on day 31.Google Fi Wireless offers a seven day free trial, requires a credit card and automatically renews at the end of that week. This means you need to remember to cancel the trial before you wind up with an extra $50 charge on your next bill.Other carriers that don't offer a free trial may still offer a limited refund policy. Examples include a seven-day refund policy from Mint, while Boost Mobile offers a 30-day money back guarantee. That means you should always check and see what policies specific MVNOs offer before you decide who to join. (Image credit: Future)Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!More from Tom's Guide Planning to buy the iPhone Duo? Here's how to get one on pre-order dayiOS 27 finally fixed my biggest pet peeve when texting Android usersI tested the iPhone 18 Pro Max vs. iPhone 15 Pro Max side-by-side: Is it time to upgrade? Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.