I also have a T-Mobile family plan. You can get new phones at the 11 month mark. You may have to speak to a supervisor, but the general rule is that they'll match new-customer offers (taking in to account the activation fee, of course). You do have to commit to an additional year, but you do not have to change your plan. That said, I changed my plan - same $$, same features, more minutes (now 1000 anytime). I looked around, back in January, I couldn't find a better deal from anyone else.