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T-Mobile Offering iPhone XR at No Extra Cost When Adding New Lines and Trading in Old iPhone

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T-Mobile kicked off a new promotion today that lets new and existing customers get the 64GB iPhone XR at no extra cost when they add new voice lines and trade in a qualifying device.

t-mobile-offer-320.jpg

Specifically, the promotion is for up to $750 off the iPhone XR over 36 monthly bill credits at $20.84 per month. You can also put the $750 credit towards an iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max to reduce the price of the smartphones.

New customers will need to activate two new lines of qualifying service, one of which needs to be used with the new device being purchased. Existing T-Mobile customers will need to activate at least one new line of qualifying service to be used with the new device.

Secondly, you'll need to trade in one of the following eligible devices in good condition: iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, or iPhone 6 Plus.

T-Mobile notes that this offer is available both in store nationwide and online at T-Mobile's website, but it'll only last for a limited time.

Article Link: T-Mobile Offering iPhone XR at No Extra Cost When Adding New Lines and Trading in Old iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/20/t-mobile-iphone-xr-no-extra-cost/
If you have access to Costco, check there for a similar promotion. I did back in November, traded in iPhone 6s for $50, added a line, received a MasterCard debit card with $700 about 20 days into the new line, and cancelled new line.

Used Apple Pay Cash to deposit MasterCard debit card to checking account. iPhone XR 128 GB cost about $80 after rebate.
 
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2 of my family members have a X and an 8 through Sprint and they are frustrated with the phones, entirely due to the network. Both phones drop calls and are just overall buggy when it comes to holding a signal and not being able to use voice and data simultaneously in 2019 is an embarrassment.

Would they be able to trade in their phones for this deal or do they have to be paid off. I know T-Mobile used to pay off the contract balance back in the day but not sure if they still do that now.
 
AllergyDoc said:
Just make sure you keep an eye on your bill. T-Mobile often fails to apply the credit now and then, necessitating a call and about ten minutes of your life.
Click to expand...

Or in my case back with the iPhone 7, it took 9 months, about 15 phone calls and easily 15 hours of my time, and eventually a letter to the executive team to finally get my monthly credits. That was incredibly frustrating.

Aside from that potential issue, one needs to understand that to realize the full $750 discount, you will have to hold onto this phone for 3 full years (actually comes out to 3 years and 2 months since it takes two months to start your credits) and you will have to keep your line of service active with no interruptions. Furthermore, you also lose the value of whatever it is that you’re trading in, so you’re not really saving $750 either...

All just factors to consider.
 
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Too bad new lines need to be added. I would buy 2 XRs if you could trade in 7’s. Couple of years ago you could get the whole cost of a 7 covered with even a 5c trade in. No more of that.
 
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When I switched my parents to t-mobile a few years ago, they required a trade in of their old phone. Just one. We mailed the phone in and they screwed up so bad that they ended up having a credit of over $2,000. I let it ride for a few months and then I guess the good in me called in to correct it. To be fair, I did bring it up to them at first, but they never really moved on it.
 
consumerDan said:
If you have access to Costco, check there for a similar promotion. I did back in November, traded in iPhone 6s for $50, added a line, received a MasterCard debit card with $700 about 20 days into the new line, and cancelled new line.

Used Apple Pay Cash to deposit MasterCard debit card to checking account. iPhone XR 128 GB cost about $80 after rebate.
Click to expand...
My understanding was that if you cancelled the lines within a year, the credit was taken away...
 
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Andres Cantu said:
Too bad new lines need to be added. I would buy 2 XRs if you could trade in 7’s. Couple of years ago you could get the whole cost of a 7 covered with even a 5c trade in. No more of that.
Click to expand...

I miss those promos without the annoying add a line component. Now, T-Mobile has enough subscribers where they can go back to being a “carrier.”

Once the merger gets approved, they’ll even have less reasons to be a market disruptor.
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tennisproha said:
My understanding was that if you cancelled the lines within a year, the credit was taken away...
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t be surprised they have a repercussion for using a prepaid debit card early to payoff the lease early and cancel lines. I understand that T-Mobile can claim they have new subscribers, but wouldn’t they crack down on the subsidy usage?
 
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Love TMobile, but they need to do a lot better. Either require a trade in without a new line or allow special pricing on new lines without a required trade in. Not every new line is a port. Not every upgrade is replacing a new device. I missed my window for trading in my S7 and now I can’t get special pricing to upgrade it.
 
4jasontv said:
Love TMobile, but they need to do a lot better. Either require a trade in without a new line or allow special pricing on new lines without a required trade in. Not every new line is a port. Not every upgrade is replacing a new device. I missed my window for trading in my S7 and now I can’t get special pricing to upgrade it.
Click to expand...


T-Mobile changes promotions frequently. Not too long ago you got a 390 credit with trade in and no line. Since I didn’t need a line and I had an older phone that was a better deal.

This deal has been around before. It also offered XRs included with service for 40 a month. There probably was a line minimum.
 
Terrinb said:
T-Mobile changes promotions frequently. Not too long ago you got a 390 credit with trade in and no line. Since I didn’t need a line and I had an older phone that was a better deal.

This deal has been around before. It also offered XRs included with service for 40 a month. There probably was a line minimum.
Click to expand...

The issue is that it’s usually a ‘qualifying’ trade in.
 
Terrinb said:
T-Mobile changes promotions frequently. Not too long ago you got a 390 credit with trade in and no line. Since I didn’t need a line and I had an older phone that was a better deal.

This deal has been around before. It also offered XRs included with service for 40 a month. There probably was a line minimum.
Click to expand...
This deal definitely was around before. In fact they had it around Thanksgiving when I added my parents and brother to my plan to take advantage of it and the $35 a month promo they were offering at the time.
 
I don’t get it. Why can’t the iPhone 8 be free instead of this? My parents need a new iPhone and they don’t want a notch or no home button.
 
The eligible device rule is a bit ridiculous. It's a better deal for iPhone 6 owners than iPhone X owners by a long shot.

Even though I'm a T-Mobile customer. I won't go for this. I'd have to switch to one of their considerably more expensive plans. Which would end up costing and extra $35 per month with no added plan value. Making the iPhone Xr cost $1,260. Sorry T-Mobile but I'm no fool. I'm not giving up my grandfathered plan which fits my needs perfectly. I'll just keep picking up 2-3 year old flagship phones for $130 to $200 every couple of years. They still have excellent performance.
 
I would look hard at what each of the carriers offer for your old phone. I recently checked on trade-in value for an iPhone 6. AT&T offered $60. Verizon offered $300. Big difference!
 
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