T-Mobile’s Binge On service has made a name for itself, offering customers a chance to stream videos without them counting toward data caps. Right now, there are a growing number of applications you can stream from without using your data, including Netflix and HBO Now, but Binge On works by lowering the quality of the stream.
T-Mobile claims the videos are optimized to 480p DVD quality when you use Binge On to avoid having the data stream count toward your data cap. When you’re on an unlimited plan, it doesn’t use up your 4G LTE — which T-Mobile usually throttles after 23GB of usage. But sometimes you just want to watch that movie trailer or YouTube video in its full HD resolution, regardless of whether it eats up your data. There is a way to turn this off and T-Mobile does advertise that, but it’s a bit of a hassle — especially if you’re about to watch a video and have to stop to change a setting to watch it in better quality.
Previously, you had to log in your account on T-Mobile’s website, go to your profile, find phone controls, and toggle Binge On’s status there. There’s now a slightly simpler way.
A user named cr0w on Howard Forums says that he, and others likely, tweeted to T-Mobile CEO John Legere to include short codes to be able to turn off Binge On without having to log on to the company’s site. It looks like the wish was granted. All you have to do to check the status of Binge On is dial #BNG# or #264#. To turn it on, dial #BNO# or #266#, and to turn it off, dial #BNF#, or #263#.
While we haven’t yet been able to test this out to see if it works, comments on the thread and on this Reddit thread are mixed, with many users saying it works, and others reporting that it doesn’t. Do note, you will lose the free three-month unlimited data gift T-Mobile offered in December if you turn off Binge On.
These codes resemble the ones on T-Mobile’s self-service list here, such as ones to check your balance and last payment. It’s also unclear when these short codes became active, but either way it’s definitely faster than having to log into your T-Mobile account.
