A T-Mobile customer who recently bought a new iPhone from an Apple store could not transfer her old phone there because her wireless carrier had to handle the change. She instead drove to a T-Mobile store, where an employee found her account and arranged the transfer. The process preserved her phone number, apps, photos and settings.
That kind of in-person help may soon be less convenient for T-Mobile customers after the company decided to close a number of its stores. The number of locations involved was not specified, but the closures could make carrier-managed phone transitions harder to complete for customers who rely on store assistance. Stores are also expensive to operate, adding cost pressure to the retail footprint.