Last week, I reiterated that the T1 Phone from Trump Mobile remains nonexistent and might never materialize, despite the corporation’s presentation of a handset to me in an endeavor to persuade me otherwise. Nevertheless, today I offer grounds for optimism to those who believe in the Trump phone: it seems to have received endorsement from the FCC.
Documents from the FCC concerning a smartphone named “T1” indicate that testing was conducted late last year, with official certification awarded by the FCC in January. This timeline corresponds with statements made by two Trump Mobile executives I met last month when viewing the device; they asserted it had already secured certification.
The files within the listing are redacted, a common practice for public FCC records, meaning they contain no images or pictures of the device. Furthermore, they don’t verify many noteworthy specifications, beyond its compatibility with Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. No mention is made of Trump, Trump Mobile, or even the carrier’s parent entity, Liberty Mobile, which explains why I only recently discovered them. Instead, a completely different entity, Smart Gadgets Global, LLC, submitted the phone for evaluation. And *that* is precisely why I am so convinced this is indeed the Trump phone.
Smart Gadgets Global’s online platform pledges “Top Quality Electronics created for ‘YOUR’ customer!” and purports to offer “Product development, material sourcing, production all the way through final packaging of your product or private labeling one of ours.” The site is as obsolete and flawed as every other Trump Mobile-associated webpage I’ve encountered thus far, featuring an empty “Shop” area, a “Terms and Conditions” section that merely provides instructions on drafting such terms, and a privacy policy marked as “coming soon.” A chatbot is also present, but it failed to provide any information regarding the T1 Phone, the manufacturing locations of Smart Gadgets Global’s products, or the company’s core operations.
While Smart Gadgets Global might be a new entity to me, its chief executive is not: Eric Thomas, one of the two Trump Mobile executives with whom I spoke last month. I needed to confirm that this was the *identical* Eric Thomas, a task that proved straightforward: Smart Gadgets Global’s FCC documentation specifies an address in Ogden, Utah — the very same address listed as a mailing point for construction and excavation enterprises owned by the Eric Thomas I previously met. Additionally, among a multitude of generic visualizations on the Smart Gadgets Global website, the sole identifiable item is a health tracker branded Vmed Mobile. This device appears to be manufactured by Smart Gadgets Ltd., a Shenzhen, China-based firm claiming to be a wholly owned division of Vmedical, Inc. — where Thomas serves as CEO.
I attempted to contact Thomas and Trump Mobile, neither of whom responded. I also tried reaching Thomas via the Smart Gadgets Global email address provided in the FCC records, but received no reply there either, nor did I get a callback from a query submitted through Smart Gadgets Global’s contact form. Phoning the number listed as Thomas’s on the FCC applications also proved fruitless; after I identified myself to the automated call screening system, the individual on the other end opted not to accept my call. Furthermore, I contacted Eurofins, the testing laboratory mentioned in some of the paperwork, but have yet to hear back. As an additional measure, I again reached out to T-Mobile to ascertain if they had finalized their own certification for the T1 Phone, but the corporation chose not to provide a statement.
Receiving FCC certification does not assure that the Trump phone will be launched soon, or even at all. However, it provides further evidence that Trump Mobile is at least *endeavoring* to produce and introduce some form of mobile device. The final judgment on its eventual success, however, remains to be seen.
Possess confidential information regarding Trump Mobile or the Trump phone? Communicate securely from a personal device to tips@theverge.com, or refer to our How to Tip Us resource page.
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