Why T-Mobile Customers May Hit a Snag With New Netflix Policy

Do you get your Netflix subscription through a T-Mobile promotion? You may have trouble with Netflix’s new password sharing policy.

The popular video streaming giant recently announced that it would start charging United States customers who are sharing an account with someone who lives outside their household.

But some customers who are willing to hand over the $7.99 per month to add an extra member to their account are being turned away.

As Team Clark began to look at ways to adhere to this new policy, we uncovered some issues for customers who have a subscription through a partner package or third-party provider like T-Mobile’s “Netflix on Us” promotion.

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Netflix Customers Cannot Add an “Extra Member” on Select Subscriptions

Shortly after Netflix announced that customers would have to pay for users outside their household, a member of Team Clark logged into their account to make the appropriate changes to stay above board.

They were surprised to find that their Netflix account, which is paid for through their T-Mobile account, did not have the option to add an extra member to their account.

According to Netflix’s new help page for this process, that’s no mistake:

“Extra members cannot be added to partner packages or third-party billed accounts.”

T-Mobile customers are likely one of the larger groups to be impacted by this policy since the wireless provider has such a popular partner package with the “Netflix on Us” promotion.

But, really, this could complicate things for anyone who has a Netflix subscription provided by a partner or third party.

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So What Are the Options for T-Mobile Customers Who Were Sharing Accounts?

The news that you won’t simply be able to add an extra member and pay the $7.99 per month for your existing subscription is likely disappointing.

But, for now, you’re likely going to need a different approach.

The good news is that Netflix is allowing existing profiles to be transferred to new customer accounts. That will allow your out-of-household account sharer to bring their settings, show progress and favorites to a new account.

In the short term, that likely means the path of least resistance for customers who are aligned with Netflix through a partner program like T-Mobile is going to be paying for a separate account for the out-of-household user.

This can actually be done for as little as $6.99 per month if that user is willing to weather the commercials that are associated with the “Standards with Ads” subscription level. That’s $1 per month cheaper than paying for an extra member on an existing account.

That’s probably not ideal for extra members who were accustomed to Premium package perks, but it’s the most cost-efficient solution.

In the longer term, let’s hope that Netflix finds a way to make it possible to share accounts that are acquired via partnership programs or third parties. Surely they want the extra income associated with these customers.

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Some Other “Extra Member” Facts You May Not Know

The restriction on the “Extra Member” subscription for third parties and partners is just one of the things we found when researching the new program.

Some other things you may find interesting about this new Netflix policy include:

• Netflix restricts the number of “extra members” you can pay for based on your subscription package. If you have a Standard plan, you receive one “extra member” slot per account. Premium plan members get two per account. If you’re a Standard with Ads member, you’re out of luck. But, again, Standard with Ads subscriptions are cheaper than adding extra members anyway.
• Extra member access is somewhat limited. You’re paying to let them have full access to Netflix content associated with your subscription tier, but they are limited in how they can use it. They can only use one device at a time, can only download content on one device, cannot create any additional profiles and must live in the same country as the primary account holder.
• You can cancel an extra member and bring them back with no penalty. If you decide that paying $7.99 for an extra member isn’t working out, you can cancel that charge with no obligation. You won’t get a refund for the current month, but the user will retain access through the duration of the billing period. You can bring them back later at no penalty.
• You can change an extra member at any time, up to 2 times per billing period. However, doing so will immediately cut off the access of your outgoing extra member. So, choose carefully.

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Are you utilizing the “Extra Member” feature on Netflix? Are you a T-Mobile customer who cannot access it? We’d love to hear your strategies for optimal use in the Clark.com community.