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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
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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

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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

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Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Mar 29, 2023
gadgetNerd
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Quote from Captain_Kirk :
Sorry for the delay but just wanted to confirm this. To recap, I purchased this and added a line to my current AT&T plan then cancelled that line afterwards. Once I received the device I submitted an AT&T unlock request and it got approved. This was super smooth for me. I'm glad I didn't have to jump through some of the hoops of others on this thread. Cheers!
Mine is arriving today. I have not cancelled the line yet on the hopes of unlocking it without trouble and then I would cancel the line. Did you power on the device with the ATT SIM before submitting the unlock request?
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Joined Apr 2009
Mar 29, 2023
emofals
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Quote from gadgetNerd :
You would need the IMEI of the phone for unlock at least from the unlock portal (even if you are an existing ATT customer). I don't know if that's true from the my AT&T app too but once I started it just had the unlock portal inside the app.
That makes sense. I called BB to get the IMEI number. Did you submit the request here https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/unlockstep1?

What did you use as phone number, the ATT number or a different carrier number?
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Joined Apr 2009
Mar 29, 2023
emofals
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Quote from gadgetNerd :
Mine is arriving today. I have not cancelled the line yet on the hopes of unlocking it without trouble and then I would cancel the line. Did you power on the device with the ATT SIM before submitting the unlock request?
Quote from Captain_Kirk :
Sorry for the delay but just wanted to confirm this. To recap, I purchased this and added a line to my current AT&T plan then cancelled that line afterwards. Once I received the device I submitted an AT&T unlock request and it got approved. This was super smooth for me. I'm glad I didn't have to jump through some of the hoops of others on this thread. Cheers!
This!
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Mar 29, 2023
gadgetNerd
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Quote from emofals :
That makes sense. I called BB to get the IMEI number. Did you submit the request here https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/unlockstep1?

What did you use as phone number, the ATT number or a different carrier number?
I think couple of people who went with this route used the original ATT number on the account so that's what I'm planning to do also when I get the phone. It's also a bit better if you (or the person with the ATT) have been a customer for a while to get the unlock code at least from the CS reps. Will update what actually happens though.
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Joined Apr 2009
Mar 29, 2023
emofals
Mar 29, 2023
4,178 Posts
Quote from gadgetNerd :
I think couple of people who went with this route used the original ATT number on the account so that's what I'm planning to do also when I get the phone. It's also a bit better if you (or the person with the ATT) have been a customer for a while to get the unlock code at least from the CS reps. Will update what actually happens though.
Sounds good.

What I have gathered from reading so many of the post (some times conflicting) is that once you get the phone, dont insert the sim. Insert the sim into another unlock phone and power it one. Then make a call or so and see if the device info on the account is updated to the phone you have used to make the phone call. Once that happens, submit a unlock request with IMEI and a phone number of a different carrier...

Hope this helps.
Mar 29, 2023
198 Posts
Joined Aug 2011
Mar 29, 2023
mydealcollections
Mar 29, 2023
198 Posts
update on unlocking.

I just received my unlock code from ATT.

I tried. ATT unlock the portal (twice) but did not receive any "confirmation" email(s)

Those confirmation emails just arrived (twice) and a few mins later, Unlock code "came".

I started unlocking 3 days ago, meanwhile, I've submitted 2 case numbers (one got rejected saying I have to try in 60 days).
Last edited by mydealcollections March 29, 2023 at 03:55 PM.
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Mar 29, 2023
gadgetNerd
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Quote from emofals :
Sounds good.

What I have gathered from reading so many of the post (some times conflicting) is that once you get the phone, dont insert the sim. Insert the sim into another unlock phone and power it one. Then make a call or so and see if the device info on the account is updated to the phone you have used to make the phone call. Once that happens, submit a unlock request with IMEI and a phone number of a different carrier...

Hope this helps.
Yes that's the way to go if you have created an ATT account for purchasing this device only. The unlock portal has a clause along the lines "The phone shouldn't be active on another ATT account". I think doing those steps you mentioned disassociates the phone with that account. But if you already have an account and adding the line then that clause does not apply. Although all of this is up in the air as unlock policy itself has changed and God knows what they are doing to check for eligiblity now.

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Mar 29, 2023
401 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
Mar 29, 2023
Captain_Kirk
Mar 29, 2023
401 Posts
Quote from gadgetNerd :
Mine is arriving today. I have not cancelled the line yet on the hopes of unlocking it without trouble and then I would cancel the line. Did you power on the device with the ATT SIM before submitting the unlock request?
I popped my sim in as soon as I received it. When doing the unlock request I stated I was an ATT customer and provided all my info. No problems.
Mar 29, 2023
401 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
Mar 29, 2023
Captain_Kirk
Mar 29, 2023
401 Posts
Quote from emofals :
That makes sense. I called BB to get the IMEI number. Did you submit the request here https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/unlockstep1?

What did you use as phone number, the ATT number or a different carrier number?
I know you weren't quoting me but I can answer this. Just use your ATT number if that's your provider.
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Mar 29, 2023
gadgetNerd
Pro
Mar 29, 2023
3,109 Posts
Quote from Captain_Kirk :
I popped my sim in as soon as I received it. When doing the unlock request I stated I was an ATT customer and provided all my info. No problems.
I don't have high hopes of unlocking portal working but thanks for clarifying what you did.
Mar 29, 2023
20 Posts
Joined Feb 2023
Mar 29, 2023
TenderSink710
Mar 29, 2023
20 Posts
Quote from slickster112 :
I got a similar email. Did you actually call the person at AT&T or did you just email her back with the policy and asked for unlock via email?
No I did not email her Back or call her, the confirmation emails just came right after. Could be coincidence or related. Idk lol
Mar 29, 2023
152 Posts
Joined Sep 2017
Mar 29, 2023
m.rokerya
Mar 29, 2023
152 Posts
I just ordered this phone. due for deliver on April 4th. done successful porting from google voice and AT&T account is setup. It is not showing any device associated yet. Should I ask IMEI from BB customer service and try to do unlock request even without activating the at&t sim?
Mar 30, 2023
4,178 Posts
Joined Apr 2009
Mar 30, 2023
emofals
Mar 30, 2023
4,178 Posts
Quote from m.rokerya :
I just ordered this phone. due for deliver on April 4th. done successful porting from google voice and AT&T account is setup. It is not showing any device associated yet. Should I ask IMEI from BB customer service and try to do unlock request even without activating the at&t sim?
Worth a shot, I just tried that, submitted in the portal and it was denied, saying not active for 60 days. Submit another request once it is active for 60 days Frown
Mar 30, 2023
59 Posts
Joined Mar 2021
Mar 30, 2023
CrimsonWren899
Mar 30, 2023
59 Posts
I have successfully unlocked just now. Below are the steps that I did. No calls or message to Att support. 1. Inserted the new SIM card into fold3. 2. Removed the new sim and added to existing unlocked phone. 3. Made a call from new sim. 4. Went to Att unlock request site and requested to unlock and selected no Att phone number. 5. Entered imei, first name, last name and email address. 6. Got confirmation code and email to confirm unlock request. 7. Once confirmed unlock request immediately got the email saying unlock request successful with unlock code. Inserted t mobile sim and fold asked for unlock, entered what I got in email and got a message unlock successful.

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Mar 30, 2023
152 Posts
Joined Sep 2017
Mar 30, 2023
m.rokerya
Mar 30, 2023
152 Posts
Quote from emofals :
Worth a shot, I just tried that, submitted in the portal and it was denied, saying not active for 60 days. Submit another request once it is active for 60 days
Thank you for the information. I'll wait for it to arrive. I'll activate the line and then attempt to unlock it. Reading through all of the comments, it appears that it is very random; some are denied while others are successful.
One more question: do we have to be active on AT&T or can we use boost or another at&t MVNO for two months to unlock? Anyone has any experience?

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