Slickdeals is community-supported.  We may get paid by brands for deals, including promoted items.
Heads up, this deal has expired. Want to create a deal alert for this item?
expired Posted by treo • Mar 23, 2023
expired Posted by treo • Mar 23, 2023

256GB Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G 2-in-1 Smartphone (Various Carriers)

(Activation Required) + Free Shipping

from $300

$1,800

Best Buy
1,739 Comments 315,130 Views
Visit Best Buy
Good Deal
Save
Share
Deal Details
Best Buy has 256GB Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G 2-in-1 Foldable Smartphone Tablet (AT&T or Verizon) on sale from $299.99. Shipping is free or select free store pickup where available.

Thanks to Community Member treo for finding this deal.

Note: Activation on cellular carrier is required. Be sure to select your carrier and select 'Activate Today' to see pricing. Availability for store pickup may vary by location.

Available Carriers:Available Colors:
  • Phantom Black
  • Phantom Green
  • Phantom Silver
Specs:
  • Screens:
    • Main: 7.6" Infinity Flex display - Cover: 6.2" Dynamic AMOLED
    • 120Hz AMOLED 2X Screen
  • Memory: 12GB
  • Storage: 256GB
  • Main Camera: 12MP Wide, 12MP UW, 12MP Tele + 2x optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, 10MP Front
  • Battery: 4,400mAh / 25W Super Fast Charge
  • S Pen Support
  • IPX8 rating

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Activation on a cellular carrier is required for from $299.99 pricing. Activation fees may apply and vary by carrier.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.4 from over 140 Best Buy customer reviews.
  • Additional Note:

Original Post

Written by treo
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Product Info
Community Notes
About the Poster
Best Buy has 256GB Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G 2-in-1 Foldable Smartphone Tablet (AT&T or Verizon) on sale from $299.99. Shipping is free or select free store pickup where available.

Thanks to Community Member treo for finding this deal.

Note: Activation on cellular carrier is required. Be sure to select your carrier and select 'Activate Today' to see pricing. Availability for store pickup may vary by location.

Available Carriers:Available Colors:
  • Phantom Black
  • Phantom Green
  • Phantom Silver
Specs:
  • Screens:
    • Main: 7.6" Infinity Flex display - Cover: 6.2" Dynamic AMOLED
    • 120Hz AMOLED 2X Screen
  • Memory: 12GB
  • Storage: 256GB
  • Main Camera: 12MP Wide, 12MP UW, 12MP Tele + 2x optical zoom, 10x digital zoom, 10MP Front
  • Battery: 4,400mAh / 25W Super Fast Charge
  • S Pen Support
  • IPX8 rating

Editor's Notes

Written by powerfuldoppler | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Activation on a cellular carrier is required for from $299.99 pricing. Activation fees may apply and vary by carrier.
  • About this product:
    • Rating of 4.4 from over 140 Best Buy customer reviews.
  • Additional Note:

Original Post

Written by treo

Community Voting

Deal Score
+132
Good Deal
Visit Best Buy

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

Top Comments

stealth805
136 Posts
95 Reputation
Want this phone for $299 and not have to pay the monthly fee and be able to use another carrier??
Let me save y'all about 4 hours, which is how long it took me to finally get to the right people to make this happen. Here is how I got this handled
I ordered a $5 Tello number, selected e-sim, received number within a few minutes. Make sure to register the pin they give you in the email, it gives you all the port out info access. Theres a code there that is needed to enter in Best Buy portal when you port it over to ATT.
Ported that number in to ATT via Best Buy portal
Picked up phone
Powered on Phone with ATT sim
Finished ALL account creation, including pin number creation etc via ATT email
Spent 3 hours getting tossed around 10 different reps and departments and supervisors via online chat, disconnected multiple times, told no multiple times, etc etc etc.
Don't bother submitting request online for unlock, it will be denied.
Just call technical support, JUST CALL!!! 1800-288-2020. Call from a phone other that the Z Fold 3. Reason you call from other phone is you will want to pop your sim in from other provider to get to the sim unlock prompt while you are on the phone with them. Tell them you need technical support, you may get tossed around one more time, but you WILL get someone that can help you.
Have your link ready that states phones paid in full at purchase can be unlocked without waiting 60 days. I had to legit provide not just the wording, but the exact link. The rep will literally navigate to it and will be super surprised and state that this is the first they've ever heard of this policy and that they always get hassled by the unlock team and ultimately never get the unlock code for the customer.
Have your receipt from Best Buy ready ready to go (I had to legit take pics with my phone and text them to a number they gave me).
After about 10 minutes with the rep, they provided the unlock code.
Make sure to input the unlock code prior to getting transferred over to cancellation department.
Get sent over to cancellation department and submit for cancellation under buyer's remorse policy.
Done and done. Save yourself a lot of time and just call them. I paid $299 plus tax and have a fully unlocked phone on T-mobile with no issues at all. ATT service is shut down, I didn't care about the Tello number, much easier to pay the $5 for a Tello than mess with a number you actually care about keeping. Just cancel the service and it is over and done with.
I obviously can't promise this is gonna work for every single person. I suppose a non-cooperative rep might not wanna go the extra mile for you, but my telephone rep was super helpful and patient. She admitted I had done my diligence with researching the terms and pushed the "unlock team" to help her with the code. YMMV of course, but this worked for me. Just be patient and courteous to the rep. I was frustrated with how long it was taking but you need to acknowledge that each new person you talk to, it is their first interaction with you, they have no idea how long you've been dealing with people. You can avoid a lot of frustration by just calling to start out instead of trying to manage the situation via online chat.
Questions, feel free to ask, perhaps I wasn't completely thorough, but that was basically what I went through. Good luck all.
quantecipher
2786 Posts
1616 Reputation
As soon as yo have the phone in hand.

Port out the line to cancel. Line automatically cancels as soon as the number it ported out (5-10 mins). You can port to Tello for $2.50.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16531969-tello-50-off-selected-plans

These phones are subsidized by the carriers and hoping people would switch or add more lines and stay with them, etc; therefore different carrier may offer different prices.

You can request unlock right away because it's paid in full with no money owed; i.e., no monthly installment,

Yes.

Port out the number to cancel right away (5-10 min, as soon as the number is ported) so that you don't have to deal with rep that doesn't allow you to cancel. You can port to Tello for $2.50.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16531969-tello-50-off-selected-plans

Yes, but you can cancel right away.
snoopykul
26 Posts
18 Reputation
Option 1 worked for me

I picked up my Fold 3 this morning from bestbuy. ATT variant.
Ordered online with the porting in option as it wouldn't let me order otherwise. Used a random boost mobile number I had and have no intention of porting in a number.
BB didn't ask for anything in store, just gave me the phone and i walked out.

Received att emails after pickup, created account, created ATT PIN, jotted down account number, and saw $60 plan but $0 due.

unboxed and booted with t-mobile sim card, asked for unlock code.

tried to unlock from my att portal, but denied.
tried to unlock using the request unlock website for non att members, but denied via email

Started a chat with att to cancel service and request unlock.
I mentioned having bad service reception in my area and wanted to cancel and wanted to unlock phone to use it for work which was a different provider.
They wanted me to reset the network, but i said not interested just want to cancel.

They also mentioned that i lose my port in number if i cancelled. which was wierd since i never actually ported in the number yet.

Eventually, they said, "Since the total due balance if $0.00 there will be no charges now. Your services with AT&T will be completely shut off."

Then i asked about the network unlock, which they said they sent directly to my phone. Didn't work even though she said it was unlocked on their system. Eventually they provided the unlock code which worked.

Now my fold 3 is cancelled with att service with 0 payments or fees and unlocked so i can use my Tmobile sim.

hope that helps some of ya.

1,738 Comments

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Mar 25, 2023
2,471 Posts
Joined Mar 2012
Mar 25, 2023
stanclave
Mar 25, 2023
2,471 Posts
how does Verizon unlock process work? no one talking about it. Everyone on ATT
Mar 25, 2023
120 Posts
Joined Oct 2017
Mar 25, 2023
ricennoodle
Mar 25, 2023
120 Posts
Quote from pthug :
Ordered yesterday via shipping and it arrived today. I already have ATT service and they let me cancel the new line with no issues. Feels good not to be locked into a contract with Bill credits. These Best Buy smartphone deals have been great the last couple of years.
did you call or did you do process online via the unlock website?
Mar 25, 2023
96 Posts
Joined Aug 2019
Mar 25, 2023
Tempo4200
Mar 25, 2023
96 Posts
Quote from milyomai :
How much sales tax did you guy pat? Nobody mentions it and I'm wondering if everyone has to pay tax of the full price? I paid ~$150 for tax
I paid $24 in Maryland
Mar 25, 2023
2,771 Posts
Joined Jul 2004
Mar 25, 2023
fungo45
Mar 25, 2023
2,771 Posts
Can anyone confirm that if I unlock and use on T-Mobile that I will not get Android updates automatically? Not interested in flashing any firmware. Thanks.
1
Mar 25, 2023
169 Posts
Joined May 2007
Mar 25, 2023
iHass
Mar 25, 2023
169 Posts
Quote from stanclave :
how does Verizon unlock process work? no one talking about it. Everyone on ATT
60 days from date of device activation to get unlocked. At least with iPhone, that happens automagically on the 60th or 61st day with no Verizon rep engagement necessary.
Mar 25, 2023
1,774 Posts
Joined Jul 2019
Mar 25, 2023
Milk4Ever
Mar 25, 2023
1,774 Posts
Quote from stanclave :
Can shipping work ? What is the issue ? Why everyone wants in store ?

online shipping to home asks for ATT account activation, credit pull etc.

WTH for prepaid???? Fully paid phone why credit pull? No wonder ATT is going down!
In store because it's nice to have it in hand sooner, and cancel the line and unlock asap.

If you're doing new line, you will naturally have to do the activation. Since the new line is postpaid, they will ask for your ssn and do a soft credit pull.

Nothing fishy going on here, except at&t and verizon dropped the ball and made the offer too good and with loopholes, so people can escape their net.
Mar 25, 2023
326 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
Mar 25, 2023
King_CiKi
Mar 25, 2023
326 Posts
Just ordered, gonna be hassle to deal with ATT but excited to experience fold, still pixel 7 pro will be daily driver

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Mar 25, 2023
153 Posts
Joined Dec 2011
Mar 25, 2023
Surge99
Mar 25, 2023
153 Posts
Quote from fungo45 :
Can anyone confirm that if I unlock and use on T-Mobile that I will not get Android updates automatically? Not interested in flashing any firmware. Thanks.
Yes when you put in your new carrier sim if unlock it switches to right carrier.

https://www.samsung.com/us/suppor...S00078492/
Mar 25, 2023
623 Posts
Joined Jul 2014
Mar 25, 2023
Nitrohamster
Mar 25, 2023
623 Posts
how do you get esim on att version?
Mar 25, 2023
120 Posts
Joined Oct 2017
Mar 25, 2023
ricennoodle
Mar 25, 2023
120 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank ricennoodle

ATT Existing Customer Experience:
- 2nd phone line tenured 2 years
- Zfold3 purchased method: $399 (Activate Today) Upgrade on 2nd phone line
- $115 Trade-in credit from Boost Mobile Xr (purchased for $28)
- Price Breakdown:
$399.99 - $115 = $284.99
Product Total: $284.99
Sales Tax, Fees & Surcharges: $36.00
Total Price: $320.99
Activation: $30.00 (Gonna dispute this on Monday)

Unlock Method for Existing Customer Upgrade:
- inserted my 2nd phone line's sim card, BestBuy were too lazy to activate the new sim in the box, it was unopenend. (that's ok, even better)
- went to https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/
- submit unlock request
- step 1: entered main account phone # ( 1st phone line )
- step 2: entered name and address, etc.
- step 3: entered imei

After Unlocked info was entered, received:
- was sent one email acknowledging the request
- 2nd email was sent 4 minutes later approving the request with instructions and unlock code
- Zfold3 is officialy unlocked

At this point I can cancel phone line by calling, port out to another service provider (GoogleFi, Tello, etc.), or continue to use the phone and existing line.

Hope this helps clarify some of the details for the folks that are upgrading on an existing line that is clear of Equipment Installment Plan and is available to upgrade by checking your account status. Good luck.
Last edited by ricennoodle March 25, 2023 at 02:18 PM.
1
Mar 25, 2023
623 Posts
Joined Jul 2014
Mar 25, 2023
Nitrohamster
Mar 25, 2023
623 Posts
What case are u guys getting?
Mar 25, 2023
1,167 Posts
Joined Aug 2007
Mar 25, 2023
MNFRUGALSHOPPER
Mar 25, 2023
1,167 Posts
Quote from Nitrohamster :
What case are u guys getting?
https://electronics.woot.com/offe...th-s-pen-3
Mar 25, 2023
21 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Mar 25, 2023
arrycomm
Mar 25, 2023
21 Posts
ATT is asking to check with BestBuy to unlock the device as it was bought from them...
Mar 25, 2023
3,586 Posts
Joined Aug 2004
Mar 25, 2023
CyberGuy
Mar 25, 2023
3,586 Posts
Is there any way to get the Tello number for $5 without providing an IMEI with e-sim? My phone doesn't have e-sim.

Also if I purchase from Bestbuy with shipping, am I required to pay the activation fee upfront? Thanks.

Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.

Mar 25, 2023
32 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
Mar 25, 2023
amtu15ive
Mar 25, 2023
32 Posts
AT&T is giving y'all the runaround. My coworker ordered and picked up today from the store. Called AT&T and after a 1/2hr conversation they unlocked the phone. They're only putting up a fight because they want you to keep the service. They can't force you into anything or deny the unlock. It's stated on their site THEY HAVE TO UNLOCK THE PHONE. It's paid in full with proof of purchase. You don't need to talk to Best Buy. It's a AT&T phone and they have the power to unlock it. No matter how much they fight stay calm and respectful. If the csr can't help ask for a supervisor.

Good luck to everyone. Mine has already shipped and will be here Tuesday. Got the woot case and the $5 uag from Verizon. Not using any screen protectors. One comes pre-installed on the front.
Last edited by amtu15ive March 25, 2023 at 02:34 PM.

Leave a Comment

Unregistered (You)

Popular Deals

View All

Trending Deals

View All