Months after its launch event, the device remains unavailable as Trump Mobile gets embroiled in mass consumer deception with stolen images, shifting timelines, and scrubbed claims.

The Trump family’s attempt to enter the mobile tech market has grown increasingly opaque, with the long-promised T1 phone by Trump Mobile still nowhere to be found – the whole thing now looking as a scam operation.

After months of delays, contradictory product images, and the quiet removal of its “Made in the USA” claim, consumer advocates say the pattern resembles textbook consumer deception — collecting payments while failing to deliver a product or consistent information.

On its website, the company claims T1 would run on the Android 15 operating system, employing a 5000mAh with 20W PD Fast Charging battery, two cameras, a 6.25-inch screen, and 256 GB internal storage.

Not a single unit has shipped.

In June, Donald Trump’s two eldest sons unveiled what they described as a proudly full American-made device, emblazoned with a U.S. flag and accompanied by a new wireless service, Trump Mobile. The announcement — timed to the 10th anniversary of Trump’s presidential campaign launch — promised an August release for the $499 T1 phone.

And yet, the company continues collecting $100 deposits, for which it issues only an automated confirmation. No proactive updates follow.

NBC reporters made five customer-service calls between September and November. One operator in October guaranteed a shipment by 13 November. When that date passed, another operator pushed delivery to “the beginning of December,” offering no specifics and citing the government shutdown without further explanation.

Shifting details and scrubbed claims

Despite the stalled rollout, Trump Mobile continues to give vague assurances that the device will be available “later this year.” Meanwhile, the company has quietly rewritten major claims about the phone’s origins and design — another hallmark of consumer deception.

Shortly after launch, the website erased its explicit “Made in the USA” promise. It now uses softer language, stating the T1 is “brought to life right here in the USA. With American hands behind every device,” and features an “American-proud design.”

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Industry experts say the initial manufacturing claim was unrealistic. Todd Weaver, CEO of Purism — the only company that actually builds a U.S.-made smartphone — described how difficult the process is. When Purism began, he said, there was “no skilled labor” in the country and “nobody [had] done it before.”

“We actually had to go over to China with our designs, to learn the process, the manufacturing process, to see what are all the steps,” Weaver said, adding that it took six years to bring the Liberty Phone to market at a $2,000 price point. Even then, some components are sourced from countries including China and India.

Stolen product images

Adding to the confusion, Trump Mobile has displayed inconsistent and possibly misleading images of the T1 phone.

The original website displayed a triple-camera setup resembling an iPhone. But in August, the company’s X account declared, “The wait is almost over!” while sharing an image of a phone with a radically different design — one that The Verge reported matched a rendered Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

When phone-case maker Spigen noticed the image appeared to be a doctored photo of a Samsung device in one of its cases, the company publicly suggested it would sue. There’s no evidence that a lawsuit has been filed.

Growing gap between marketing and reality

As the T1’s status remains a mystery, Trump Mobile directs customers to buy other devices instead — including refurbished iPhones, which are largely made in China, and Samsung phones from South Korea. Despite this, the company still labels these products as “brought to life right here in the USA.”

Trump Mobile and the Trump Organization have not commented the media reports about the T1 phone, and have not updated its release date, or the changes to its manufacturing claims.

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From shifting release dates and scrubbed “Made in the USA” language to inconsistent product imagery and continued collection of deposits, the Trump Mobile rollout matches widely recognized indicators of mass consumer deception and scam operation.

Customers have paid money based on promises the company has repeatedly altered, walked back, or failed to fulfill.

With no evidence that the T1 exists in a final production form — and no clarity from the Trump Organization — consumers remain in limbo, waiting for a phone that may never materialize.