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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
1,739 Comments 314,685 Views
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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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Apr 8, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 8, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 8, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from rdslik :
In that case you are most likely upto date.
I m sorry, I meant firmware is stil in 11.0 not 13.0
Apr 8, 2023
6,976 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
Apr 8, 2023
lou2004
Apr 8, 2023
6,976 Posts
Quote from gibsonbass :
I m sorry, I meant firmware is stil in 11.0 not 13.0
try hard reset the phone. If it ask you questions about software update during setup, answer yes or agree. Then try update again.
Apr 8, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 8, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 8, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from lou2004 :
try hard reset the phone. If it ask you questions about software update during setup, answer yes or agree. Then try update again.
Thanks, I will try smartswitch first , if that does not work I will try to hard reset
Apr 8, 2023
20 Posts
Joined Feb 2023
Apr 8, 2023
TenderSink710
Apr 8, 2023
20 Posts
Inside screen protector was replaced by best buy geek squad support for free as it was under warranty. I had to set up appointment through Samsung support page. Went in, easy process. No questions asked, in and out when I showed them appointment information.

Att finally credited my account ($117) after 2 previous agents promised me bill would be $0. Apparently they never processed it so super shady. The third agent tried to tell me I owed prorated charges and 35 activation fee. I showed him att refund policy and he said I was correct (AT&T's legal TOS is 2.4.5 which requires AT&T to refund everything (including activation fee) if service is terminated within 3 days). He finally processed it and said bill will be reflected for $0

Two weeks later after unlock hassle, fcc reporting, screen repair, att account cancelation runaround I finally am FREEE!!!

My total cost $197 with iphone XR trade in I got for $25 last time!!
Last edited by TenderSink710 April 8, 2023 at 01:41 PM.
Apr 8, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 8, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 8, 2023
359 Posts
Have just cancelled ATT service. None of mentioned ways to unlock worked for me.
They say I have to be active with ATT for at least 60 days. Still have some time to return the Fold. And hope will be lucky to remove all charges in the bill.
Apr 9, 2023
54 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
Apr 9, 2023
xyan995
Apr 9, 2023
54 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
I'm upset and completely don't understand why swap SIM didn't work for me as it did for most of you guys.

It's my third day I'm trying to do swap with unlocked iphone xr and nothing helps. ATT portal continue showing error, that this device is active on another account. After two or three times it says wait 24 hours.

I had, as many of you had, issues with porting in my Google Voice number and had to talk to support so they manually finished the process. Besides (just for blind luck) I put Sim into the Fold and tried unlock with phone number and of course was declined as there's no 60 days of active service with ATT.

I didn't try to find someone with ATT account to use his sim and then try to unlock as a customer.

I didn't try FCC route, because I'm not sure how to properly write a complaint and my order was made in morning of 28 March, that day ATT changed their policy - so how to prove that on the time I ordered three was old policy, and afternoon they changed it?!

Fold is laying somewhere on the table, I'm more and more having intention to return it. And need to fight with those bastards to cancel service and all charges they put on me.
Did you get the "60 days active required" denials instantly or after the "in review" status?
Apr 9, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 9, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 9, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from xyan995 :
Did you get the "60 days active required" denials instantly or after the "in review" status?
No. I swapped sim to another unlocked phone and tried to unlock Fold as non customer with IMEI. And then it shows: you device is active on another account.

If I try to unlock as customer with Fold active on the account, then it says: 60 days active required.

I have canceled service a few hours ago. Of course support agent refused to unlock it, even when I told her I need two sim in the Fold. She said even if you don't use our service just stay active for 60 days, pay for this 60 days and then ask for unlock. Dumb.

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Apr 9, 2023
357 Posts
Joined Aug 2017
Apr 9, 2023
FreedomDeals
Apr 9, 2023
357 Posts
how much is the total cost with activation/monthly fees?

seems to be a great deal
Apr 9, 2023
17 Posts
Joined Nov 2009
Apr 9, 2023
skyteak
Apr 9, 2023
17 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
No. I swapped sim to another unlocked phone and tried to unlock Fold as non customer with IMEI. And then it shows: you device is active on another account.

If I try to unlock as customer with Fold active on the account, then it says: 60 days active required.

I have canceled service a few hours ago. Of course support agent refused to unlock it, even when I told her I need two sim in the Fold. She said even if you don't use our service just stay active for 60 days, pay for this 60 days and then ask for unlock. Dumb.
Dang that sucks. You made sure to make some calls on the unlocked phone after swapping the sim? And the fold 3 did not have any att sim inserted?

Now that you cancelled your account and if unlocking as a non customer doesnt work again, then yeah your options are limited.
Apr 9, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 9, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 9, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from skyteak :
Dang that sucks. You made sure to make some calls on the unlocked phone after swapping the sim? And the fold 3 did not have any att sim inserted?

Now that you cancelled your account and if unlocking as a non customer doesnt work again, then yeah your options are limited.
Of course I did all the same as guys were sharing here. A few times. Activated with ATT, made a few calls, used internet. Then put that sim into unlocked phone and made few calls, data. Iphone appeared in the account instead of Fold. And I tried to unlock Fold as non customer. And tried this for three days, as after 3 trials the ATT locked unlock portal for this IMEI. Even now, after cancelling line and no active it continues to say that device is active on another account. BS.
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Joined Nov 2020
Apr 10, 2023
CyanMeerkat9809
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
Of course I did all the same as guys were sharing here. A few times. Activated with ATT, made a few calls, used internet. Then put that sim into unlocked phone and made few calls, data. Iphone appeared in the account instead of Fold. And I tried to unlock Fold as non customer. And tried this for three days, as after 3 trials the ATT locked unlock portal for this IMEI. Even now, after cancelling line and no active it continues to say that device is active on another account. BS.
Did you update the f3 software to Android 13 before trying to unlock it?
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from CyanMeerkat9809 :
Did you update the f3 software to Android 13 before trying to unlock it?
It didn't even try to update. Neither with Sim nor without it in the phone. Not manually. Until it's on warranty I don't want to use Odin to manually update it. It's still on A11.
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 10, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
It didn't even try to update. Neither with Sim nor without it in the phone. Not manually. Until it's on warranty I don't want to use Odin to manually update it. It's still on A11.
I m also unable to update the firmware. Even failed with smarts witch. Have you tried smart switch?
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Now when trying to unlock it says:

We can't unlock your device. Service for this device was canceled within the 14-day return policy period.

Wondering if they ever unlock it 60 days after purchase.

Have anyone had success with unlocking Fold with eBay sellers?

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Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from gibsonbass :
I m also unable to update the firmware. Even failed with smarts witch. Have you tried smart switch?
No, I didn't.

Very upsetting situation, honestly. If they didn't mess my order I made on 24th March, I would have received the phone in three days. But they failed creating account, port-in number and cancelled first order and I had to reorder and got the phone on 4th April. So not sure FCC helps, as I reordered on 28 March.

Not sure whether to keep it, wait for 60 days and try again or just return it. Or try eBay unlocking. But most of those I've seen say that you have to have 60 days of active service, so looks like those eBay guys just use standard ATT unlocking portal, nothing else.

And looks like, according to many finds I did they will not unlock it even after 60 days...
As "We can't unlock your device. Service for this device was canceled within the 14-day return policy period."

Only use as expensive a bit outdated small tablet or as trade-in, however I didn't find any good values for Fold right now, not sure if they appear in the future.
Last edited by SeriousKitten2924 April 9, 2023 at 06:58 PM.

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