( CNN ) -- You can keep them for only a week . But T-Mobile is handing out free iPhones , along with a trial run of its cellular service , in the latest in a string of unorthodox promotions for the No . 4 wireless carrier in the United States . Through `` T-Mobile Test Drive , '' curious consumers will get an iPhone 5S loaner and seven days of unlimited data to check out the service . Starting Monday , people can sign up for the program online . If they 're not impressed , they can drop the phone off at any T-Mobile store , at no charge . People must give T-Mobile a valid credit card number to get a phone . If they return a cracked or water-damaged phone , they 're billed $ 100 . If they do n't return the phone at all , they 're billed $ 700 , plus tax . In trying to crack the Top Three , T-Mobile has taken on the mantel of `` The Uncarrier '' under the guidance of CEO John Legere , a nontraditional business executive if ever there was one . Witness his slightly off-color quote promoting the new deal : . `` The way this industry forces Americans to buy wireless is completely , utterly broken . I 'm here to tell you there 's a better way , '' he said . `` While the carriers ask you to buy blind , the Uncarrier gives you transparency . Our network kicks ass , and now people can experience for themselves what a data-strong network can do with T-Mobile Test Drive . '' Since March 2013 , T-Mobile has eliminated binding contracts and launched deals like Jump , which lets customers upgrade phones twice a year for a modest fee instead of once every two years . On Wednesday , the carrier also announced that it would let customers stream unlimited music via Pandora , Spotify and other services without it counting against their data plans . And that 's in addition to Legere , known for sporting a pink T-Mobile t-shirt under a suit nearly every time he 's in public , engaging in stunts like crashing AT & T 's private concert for developers at the Consumer Electronics Show in January . This newly aggressive push comes even as Sprint , the third-place U.S. carrier behind AT & T and Verizon , is reported to be working on a plan to buy out T-Mobile for as much as $ 20 billion . In fairness , similar rumors have swirled for several years . If a deal does go down , it looks like T-Mobile is ready to keep thumbing its nose at Sprint and other rivals right up to the moment the papers are signed .
` ` T - Mobile Test Week '' program gives the curious an iPhone 5S for seven days . The week comes with unlimited data on the network . It 's the latest in a series of unconventional tactics by the No . 1 carrier . They started as Sprint is reportedly trying to buy T - Mobile .