Unfortunately they will not. ATT will not unlock any phone that has an active finance plan. So in 24 months you could buy a new phone, but your old phone will remain locked to ATT until the 30 months are up or you pay off the finance plan early. But if you pay it off early you will lose the last 6 months of credits.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Carrier AT&T Trade In... $800 bucks?
- Thread starter ripsaw650
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Unfortunately they will not. ATT will not unlock any phone that has an active finance plan. So in 24 months you could buy a new phone, but your old phone will remain locked to ATT until the 30 months are up or you pay off the finance plan early. But if you pay it off early you will lose the last 6 months of credits.
Yes, you can do that if you pay the extra $5 per month for the early upgrade option and if you are OK with losing $400 of your credits. The deal is to get $800 in credits over 30 months. If you trade in the phone after 15 months then you will only get 15 months worth of credits, or $400.
Didn’t know about the $5 fee. Was just speaking in terms of not necessarily stuck for the 30 months.
This deal not good if truly expect to want new device next release.
I'm with VZW but my wife is still with AT&T. She had no clue about the $800 trade in offer until I showed her last night. I must admit that offer is pretty attractive but I promised myself I'd never give another dime to AT&T ever again and that's a promise I'll never break. Dealing with AT&T is like dealing with Satan. Only difference is Satan might actually give you something in return while he screws you. Not so much with AT&T.....
Just hold onto it or give it to a family member or sell it to someone with that disclaimer
if you hold onto it it’ll probably be part of another hot trade in deal by the time its paid off
[automerge]1602869081[/automerge]
Changing to store pickup will certainly need your order cancelled. That’s what I was told
In this case, I think you would be better off paying the phone off after 24 months, having AT&T unlock it, and then turn around and sell it for more than you would have received for the additional 6 months of credit.
I believe this is going to be the correct way to process the trade in online via AT&T. Make sure to use the promo code: TRADEINOFFER20 during the process.
I'm still gonna wait and process this in person at a corporate AT&T store. I just feel a little more comfortable doing that.
I've had the same phone number with AT&T since 1996. Clearly I'm not going anywhere, so being "LOCKED to ATT" doesn't matter much to me.
So after working with a snippy chat rep last night I got more info on the deal for anyone that hasn't found the answers yet: If you trade in a phone worth at least 25 bucks you get a $350 credit, and if you trade in a phone worth at least 95 bucks you get an $800 credit in the form of bill credits for 30 months. Use the Trade In link on the ATT website to find out the value of your phone. The deal requires an Unlimited plan of some sort, be it grandfathered or the new Your Way plans. Also on that note, only the new Unlimited plans offer 5G, which is kind of BS but whatever. It is what it is.
You can mail in your trade in phone or do it in person at a local store. I will definitely be doing it in person.
You can mail in your trade in phone or do it in person at a local store. I will definitely be doing it in person.
Being locked has nothing to do with switching carriers, but being able to switch SIMS. Most people aren't carrier hopping.
I hate the way some of the language in the offer is kind of ambiguous. I have been with ATT well over a decade now with no plans to switch, so getting locked into the service for 30 months is no big deal for me. I would rather not get locked into the device though, or find it extra expensive to upgrade in a year or two. From the ATT trade in site:
- To get all the credits, the discounted device must remain on installment agreement and you must keep eligible service for entire installment term.
- If you cancel wireless service, your credits will end and you’ll owe the balance of up to $1600.
- If you cancel service on any other line on your account within 90 days of activating the line under this offer, device credits will stop.
- If you upgrade or pay up/off the installment agreement on the discounted device early, your credits may cease.
... so if you want to sell the phone unlocked for whatever reason, pay off the remaining balance. They're still offering 800 bucks worth of credit for a 95 dollar or more phone. I'm trading in a 2020 SE that is averaging around 350-400 on eBay right now, so after seller and paypal fees the most I would get all said and done is about 340 dollars. Even if I do pay off the new phone so I can sell it and upgrade to the 13 or whatever in 12 months, I'll still be getting roughy equivalent to that top dollar eBay sale, and every month I wait to upgrade beyond that is basically free money for me.
Like all promotional deals, there's more benefit to some than others. YMMV, but for me it's a solid choice.
A locked phone can switch SIMs all day long. It just has to be a SIM from that phones carrier.
I think you’ve got it backwards.
This may be true, but again, for me at least I have not once in the past 19 years that I have been with ATT needed or wanted to switch SIMs. And like I said above, you aren’t really locked in for 30 months - you can pay off the phone at any time. You need to stay locked in if you want to get the full credit, but if I suddenly decide to travel to Europe next summer and want to be able to use another SIM in my phone then I can pay off the contract and ATT will unlock my phone. I’ll lose the rest of my credits, but it’s not like I would be totally stuck. As long as I have gotten enough credit to cover the cost of the phone I traded in then I will still be ahead.
Are you sure you weren’t just getting credits from a different offer when you got the new upgrade phone?
There's no reason to switch SIMs to the same carrier (unless you're having service issues) lmao. When people talk of switching SIMs, it's to join another carrier's network for a period of time. 😂
So your issue is carrier hopping.
That’s exactly what you’re describing.
And there is a reason for swapping a SIM from the same carrier. It’s called selling the phone.
😁
@jsnuff1 I just got my address changed. It defaulted to the billing address on the AT&T account. I called Apple and the rep changed it to my address in like 30 seconds. Shanika if you're reading this, you're my hero!!! 😭
If you're selling your phone, you REMOVE the SIM, you don't swap it lol. I tell ya, the MR members today... 😂
Anyone have feedback on my post #443? Thanks in advance.
forums.macrumors.com
AT&T Trade In... $800 bucks?
I need some advice here. Preorder iPhone 12 Pro / trade iPhone 8 to take advantage of the AT&T bill credits promo. The home button is broken. Other than that, the phone is fine. She is using the virtual home button to get by. I am getting conflicting info or the cost to replace home button...
forums.macrumors.com
Anyone recall when several carriers were doing something similar for the iPhone 7 (IIRC) launch? I remember trading in several iPhones in order to get all of my family members free iPhone 7s (I think $100 more for my 128 GB model).
Verizon announced their trade in after the other carriers. They paid out the credit over 24 months.
Wondering if Verizon might do that again this year? Would be sweet, but my XS has a broken back glass so probably won't be able to do it with that one.
Edit: I see Verizon's deal for the 12. Not as good, but I'm not going back to AT&T anytime soon so....
Verizon announced their trade in after the other carriers. They paid out the credit over 24 months.
Edit: I see Verizon's deal for the 12. Not as good, but I'm not going back to AT&T anytime soon so....
Last edited:
Anyone have feedback on my post #443? Thanks in advance.
AT&T Trade In... $800 bucks?
I need some advice here. Preorder iPhone 12 Pro / trade iPhone 8 to take advantage of the AT&T bill credits promo. The home button is broken. Other than that, the phone is fine. She is using the virtual home button to get by. I am getting conflicting info or the cost to replace home button...
Don’t lie on the trade-in calculator.
Guaranteed disappointment.
Do the repair first or take it in to a corporate store and get their opinion first but make sure you leave yourself enough time to get the repair done if they say you need to before the deadline.