Quick Best Buy Trade-In Values (With $200 T-Mobile Promotion):
| Model | before Feb. 7 | since Feb. 07 |
| iPhone SE (2nd generation) | $340 | $330 |
| iPhone 12 | $650 | $575 |
| iPhone 12 mini | $525 | $450 |
| iPhone 11 Pro Max | $650 | $585 |
| iPhone 11 Pro | $590 | $510 |
| iPhone 11 | $500 | $445 |
| iPhone XS Max | $275 | $425 |
| iPhone XS | $410 | |
| iPhone XR | $390 | $365 |
| iPhone X | $380 | $360 |
| iPhone 8 Plus | $340 | |
| iPhone 8 | $230 | |
| iPhone 7 Plus | $240 | |
| iPhone 7 | $190 | |
| iPhone 6s Plus | $200 | |
| iPhone 6s | $180 | |
| iPhone SE (1st generation) | $165 | $165 |
| Samsung S21 Ultra | $770 | |
| Samsung S21+ | $650 | |
| Samsung S21 | $550 | $550 |
| Pixel 6 Pro | $0 | $500 |
| Pixel 4a 5G | $325 | $325 |
This is not the full list of accepted phones (i.e. missing Google and most Samsung phones)
Looking for trade-in phones to buy? Here are your options.
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Q: Who can take advantage of this T-Mobile & Best Buy promotion?
Ans: T-mobile post-paid subscribers only. No prepaid, business, Metro, Mint, etc. accounts. Some business and government T-Mobile discounts will prevent Best Buy from accessing the plan from T-Mobile, and will result in an error (this promotion is not for you unless you remove your discount). T-Mobile insider discount is okay and does not interfere with Best Buy from accessing your plan.
Q: Do we have to pick a plan from Best Buy for T-Mobile if we are not a current customer?
Ans: You don't have to signup for a post paid T-Mobile plan from Best Buy to get this deal. You can sign up for the plan anywhere and have it active before trading in your device at Best Buy. In fact, other retailers like Costco have promotions
they run for new T-Mobile customers / lines, which you can stack with this promotion for extra cash. Also, the cheapest postpaid plan that works for this Best Buy promotion ($20 Talk and Text) is not available to signup at Best Buy, so if you want that plan you will have to signup elsewhere.
Q: What is the cheapest T-Mobile plan that works for this promotion?
Ans: The cheapest T-mobile postpaid plan that works for this promotion is $20/month per line. Plan name is "Unlimited Talk & Text Only". You cannot sign up for it online, you have to call in, chat, or visit a store / reseller. https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/u...hone-deals
Q: What are the acceptable methods of purchasing?
Ans: Order online for in-store trade-in and pickup (same time), or purchase directly in store. Your store must have stock of the phone model you want to purchase.
Q: Can we cancel the plan immediately out of the store?
Ans: If you cancel the plan immediately out of the store then you won't be able to unlock the phone because you are no longer with T-Mobile.
Q: Do they accept trade-in phones with a lightly cracked front / back / any other damage?
Ans: Depends on the rep helping you. We can't tell you what a best buy rep considers as acceptable wear and tear. Typically, the agent does a quick examination of the exterior of the phone and powers on the phone to grab IMEI and other information. Therefore, make it easy for the agent by removing the case, screen protector, resetting the phone, etc.
Q. Can I insert a SIM card from a different carrier other than Tmobile?
Ans: Due to Flex Policy, the iPhone is locked to the first USA sim card inserted. If you don't mind getting the phone unlocked in the future by your carrier, you can insert a USA sim card of your choice. Flex Policy blocks international sims from being used UNTIL the iPhone is fully unlocked (No SIM Restrictions).
Q. Can I trade-in multiple phones for a single purchased iPhone?
Ans: Only 1 trade-in will receive the T-mobile $200 bonus per purchased phone. You can trade-in as many phones as you want for Best Buy gift cards, but that will not include the $200 T-mobile bonus.
Q. Can I trade-in multiple phones for using the same T-mobile phone number?
Ans: Only 1 active trade-in & pickup order per phone number. Once your trade-in and pickup is completed, you can reuse the same number to order another trade-in and pickup. There is a cap on this, but it's unknown / differs by person. Best Buy may block your account by automatically cancelling orders if they suspect you are a reseller or abusing the promotion.
Q. Why does my trade-in receipt only show the value of the phone, without the $200 T-Mobile bonus?
Ans: For online order for in-store trade-in and pickup, this is normal. The receipt (titled "Best Buy Trade-In - Trade-In Receipt) will only show the trade-in value of the phone, not the $200 T-Mobile bonus. The charge to your credit card should be right. Do not hassle the agent about this.
For in-store purchase. your receipt will contain 3 sections:
Was Price: Current Price of the purchased phone
TRADE IN ALLOW 1: Value of trade-in (negative)
T-MOB TRADEIN 2: 200 T-Mobile bonus (negative)
Q. If I fully paid for the iPhone from Best Buy, how do I unlock?
Ans: If you fully paid for the iPhone from Best Buy (no monthly charges), you may be eligible for unlocking from the carrier of your choice. Select your carrier carefully since the Best Buy iPhone will lock to the first carrier sim that is insert in the phone.
T-Mobile
Call, Facebook Message, or Twitter T-Mobile to ask for the unlock. The official unlocking policy is 40 days on an active T-Mobile line, but SDers have reported successful unlocking anywhere between 1 to 40 days. What they need is a screenshot or photo of the Best Buy receipt showing the IMEI of the phone.
AT&T
AT&T Unlock portal works for some Best Buy iPhones for automated unlocks between 1 to 24 hours. You can check to see if the AT&T Unlock Portal supports your iPhone's IMEI without locking it to AT&T. The full instructions is in post #1534
Verizon
Verizon's official policy is automatic unlock after 60 days. YMMV, there is a paid Verizon unlock service.
Other Carriers
Other carriers are not recommended because they may not be able to unlock phones that weren't purchased directly from them. Use at your own risk.
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Tips for the first timers, keep your trade-in simple and ordinary to avoid questions and minimize time needed.
1) Trade-in a phone that looks used. Take your trade-in out of the box. Remove factory plastic wrap. Jingle it in your pockets to get some dirt and lint on it. Get some fingerprints and oil on it. You don't have to actually use or activate the phone, just make it look used. Trading in a perfect, spotless phone invites questions because it is out of the ordinary.
2) Trade-in the phone only. Remove the box, accessories, and case / screen protector. BB doesn't want them.
3) Factory reset the trade-in phone at home. Per the terms that you agreed to when you signed up for the trade-in, you must sign out of all your accounts (apple, google, etc.) and factory reset the phone. Do this at home to minimize the time at BB. Your trade-in should be at the "hello" screen when you hand it over to the BB agent.
4) Remove the sim card from the trade-in at home. You don't want to accidentally give away your sim card (some agents don't check). Also, you don't want to raise suspicion if the agent does check and finds a tracfone sim card on a "verizon" phone. Remove your sim card at home.
5) Charge your trade-in. Your trade-in just needs to be charged enough for the BB agent to get the necessary information off of it. Don't bring a dead phone and expect them to charge it.
Doing this keeps your trade-in time to under 5 mins at BB.
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Everything below is a copy from the very helpful wiki of the previous BB Tmobile iPhone thread https://slickdeals.net/f/15340573-for-t-mobile-plans-trade-in-apple-iphone-and-save-up-to-975-on-iphone-13s-or-other-brands?v=1
Slickdeals Rule 1 | You don't talk about Slickdeals.
Note for NYS: Apparently all Long Island stores are not eligible for this offer as they don't have the appropriate licensing with T-Mobile. Must go to an NYC store.
Folks not receiving verification text from BestBuy - Opt for text messages from BestBuy by sending 'HELP' to numbers - 332211 and 22891 (do both). You should receive verification text on the next try
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If you get the message "We're sorry, there was an issue processing your request. Please try again later." when trying to validate your T-Mobile account, try the follow procedure below. It seems to help some users but not all YMMV!.
Go to your T-Mobile account and turn OFF every block for "chargeable" things including sms, downloads, etc. If they are already OFF toggle them ON and OFF just to clear the system of residual blocks. You CAN leave scam block ON. Then send "HELP" (without quotes) text message from each of your mobile no. that you are trying to upgrade to 22891, 332211 and 66803. Wait 30 minutes after completing everything above and try again. If it does not work, you might an account that has employee discounts or something else.
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I got the message that the "Package could not be added to cart". I went to the BB store to get the line added and found that i had the "International Long distance Barrring Call feature turned on which is causing the issue. We spoke to a T-Mobile Rep who removed the feature and then the order went smoothly.
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T-Mo is still the best in value overall.
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Q. Can I trade-in multiple phones for using the same T-mobile phone number?
Ans: Only 1 active trade-in & pickup order per phone number. Once your trade-in and pickup is completed, you can reuse the same number to order another trade-in and pickup. There is a cap on this, but it's unknown / differs by person. Best Buy may block your account by automatically cancelling orders if they suspect you are a reseller or abusing the promotion.
The easiest way is for you to order using your own account. The only two things you'd need from your friend are a) his T-Mobile telephone number, and b) The verification code sent to his telephone number when you're placing the order.
At the store pickup, the representative will not care who owns the T-Mobile line. The representative will want your ID and likely a fingerprint from you.
I hope this provides clarification,
Tofu Vic
I hope this helps,
Tofu Vic
The easiest way is for you to order using your own account. The only two things you'd need from your friend are a) his T-Mobile telephone number, and b) The verification code sent to his telephone number when you're placing the order.
At the store pickup, the representative will not care who owns the T-Mobile line. The representative will want your ID and likely a fingerprint from you.
I hope this provides clarification,
Tofu Vic
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She just laughed and said she didn't need my help and that she had already been offered ANY model iPhone for FREE by T-Mobile directly, with a two year contract extension, and that the offer was good until the middle of February.
She is often poorly informed so I checked the TMobile website and am seeing that with their current advertised offer she could get the iphone 12 mini for free, with 11 Pro trade, but only if she has the Magenta Max plan.
So I asked what plan she has and she doesn't know the plans name but that her monthly bill is $77 total for a single line.
"Magenta Max" is advertised at $85 (or 80 with autopay) so this would seem to preclude her from their best deal, though she would still be eligible for a $400 trade in credit, thus making the 12 mini $299... It also appears that both deals may require you to pay for the device over 2.5 years rather than the 2.0 that she claims.
So the deal from BestBuy is better, because she can get the 12 mini for $599 minus an 11 Pro trade for $590 for a total of $9 AND she would have no contract commitment.
I told her all that, but instead of simply logging into her TMobile account and checking, she just continues to laugh - even mocking my deal hunting, and says that she KNOWS what was offered to her!
I do not understand this, especially because she has a malfunctioning phone and if it eventially won't turn on then it is worth nothing.
Soooo anyway - this woman has made bets with me in the past over her erroneous information and she has lost every time.
This time I would like to bet her what appears to be the $290 savings that she will miss out on if she ultimately goes with T-Mobile. She will most likely accept and be motivated by the bet and I will get an answer.
My question though, before making the bet, IS: Does T-Mobile make customers private offers that are better than their advertised deals? And is it possible that she could have some grandfathered rate on a "Magenta Max" individual plan for $77/mo, thus qualifying her for the free phone?
Thanks for any help and I will post updates if y'all make me confident to make the bet!
I am on a grandfathered plan, needless to say. The only time that I've got something private was to participate in a $20/month add-on on one line unlimited high speed data and everything some 6-7 years ago. They decided to not market that add-on, but let me keep it. My super old grandfathered plan+add-ons for data cost very similarly to a current regular magenta plan, when configured with the same usage allowances.
My guess is that TMobile is marketing aggressively now, because it started to compete on Internet packages, and Verizon for example has $20-25 home internet add-on via 5G cell for Verizon mobile customers.
Q. Can I trade-in multiple phones for using the same T-mobile phone number?
Ans: Only 1 active trade-in & pickup order per phone number. Once your trade-in and pickup is completed, you can reuse the same number to order another trade-in and pickup. There is a cap on this, but it's unknown / differs by person. Best Buy may block your account by automatically cancelling orders if they suspect you are a reseller or abusing the promotion.
As mentioned multiple times in the thread, you can rinse/repeat multiple times. There is a limit, but no-one has reported it yet and I'm sure some folks have done 4-5 trade-ins.
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