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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 314,598 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 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 10, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
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.
Take a chance, go for the FCC. Thats how I managed to unlock mine.
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Joined Nov 2020
Apr 10, 2023
CyanMeerkat9809
Apr 10, 2023
195 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.
f3 must update to Android 13 and One UI 5.1 before trying to unlock
Apr 10, 2023
54 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
Apr 10, 2023
xyan995
Apr 10, 2023
54 Posts
Anyone succeed in the past a few days using the sim swapping method?
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from CyanMeerkat9809 :
f3 must update to Android 13 and One UI 5.1 before trying to unlock
Why? Main doesn't want to update. You're saying even if I get unlock code it won't unlock because of Android 11? But how it supposed to get unlocked in 2021 when it went to the market?
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from gibsonbass :
Take a chance, go for the FCC. Thats how I managed to unlock mine.
Can you help me with text for the letter to FCC? I'll put my dates and numbers of course.
Hope you don't mind.
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Joined Nov 2020
Apr 10, 2023
CyanMeerkat9809
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
Why? Main doesn't want to update. You're saying even if I get unlock code it won't unlock because of Android 11? But how it supposed to get unlocked in 2021 when it went to the market?
b/c the phones we got from ATT were locked phone model SM-F926U and not unlocked model SM-F926U1. So you'll have to update your phone to Android 13 to unlock it
Apr 10, 2023
32 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
Apr 10, 2023
amtu15ive
Apr 10, 2023
32 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
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?
EBay sellers can't unlock. FCC and Office of President is the only solution.

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Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 10, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from CyanMeerkat9809 :
b/c the phones we got from ATT were locked phone model SM-F926U and not unlocked model SM-F926U1. So you'll have to update your phone to Android 13 to unlock it
I got mine unlocked without updating to 13. However, I m still unable to upgrade to 13.0 after unlocking the phone
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 10, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
Can you help me with text for the letter to FCC? I'll put my dates and numbers of course.
Hope you don't mind.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16532599-256gb-samsung-galaxy-z-fold3-5g-2-in-1-smartphone-various-carriers-from-300-activation-required-free-shipping?page=42#comments

Check Post no 1249 by Quincy P. I copied his complain , and made necessary modification. That worked for me
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Joined Dec 2021
Apr 10, 2023
SeriousKitten2924
Apr 10, 2023
359 Posts
Quote from gibsonbass :
I got mine unlocked without updating to 13. However, I m still unable to upgrade to 13.0 after unlocking the phone
I'm wondering if we can have a warranty exchange with Samsung directly as I think it's not ok our phones stuck with old firmware? As there are no phones at Best buy to replace.
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Joined Nov 2020
Apr 10, 2023
CyanMeerkat9809
Apr 10, 2023
195 Posts
Quote from SeriousKitten2924 :
I'm wondering if we can have a warranty exchange with Samsung directly as I think it's not ok our phones stuck with old firmware? As there are no phones at Best buy to replace.
Quote from xing4
Ran into a few issues but was able to fix all of them. Here is my experience. Hope it help.

Upgrade Android OTA:

The update in Setting quickly said "You're on the latest version" (or similar) even I'm on ATT 5G for the whole night + a few restarts. I decided to factory reset the phone and realized there was a setup wizard which I didn't complete when I powered the device on at the first time. Therefore after this reset, I completed the wizard (skipped steps where a "skip" button was offered, such as login google account, login samsung account, att cloud service with monthly charges, but I completed all other steps to the end). I especially remembered where was a step saying to setting att related software. I guess that was the key.

Then I went to the Update and updates just pop-up. It takes ~8 updates to be latest (Android 13 with March 2023 security patch). The SIM manager & 2nd IMEI (for Esim) showed up after 5~6 updates.

I update by factory reset followed this OTA
Make sure you check at ATT software upgrade
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Joined Mar 2011
Apr 10, 2023
gibsonbass
Apr 10, 2023
11,063 Posts
Quote from CyanMeerkat9809 :
Quote from xing4
Ran into a few issues but was able to fix all of them. Here is my experience. Hope it help.

Upgrade Android OTA:

The update in Setting quickly said "You're on the latest version" (or similar) even I'm on ATT 5G for the whole night + a few restarts. I decided to factory reset the phone and realized there was a setup wizard which I didn't complete when I powered the device on at the first time. Therefore after this reset, I completed the wizard (skipped steps where a "skip" button was offered, such as login google account, login samsung account, att cloud service with monthly charges, but I completed all other steps to the end). I especially remembered where was a step saying to setting att related software. I guess that was the key.

Then I went to the Update and updates just pop-up. It takes ~8 updates to be latest (Android 13 with March 2023 security patch). The SIM manager & 2nd IMEI (for Esim) showed up after 5~6 updates.

I update by factory reset followed this OTA
Make sure you check at ATT software upgrade
Do you still need to have ATT sim inside the phone to reset and force the update?
Apr 10, 2023
3,546 Posts
Joined Jan 2005
Apr 10, 2023
zettler
Apr 10, 2023
3,546 Posts
I am still in a similar boat it seems.

My fold3'is unlocked but I'm on Verizon and can't get rid of the ATT files and startup, even with the assistance of gadgetguru and then sbihue.

Maybe I don't comprehend their instructions, or, it's not working out for me.

Anyway, I have rebooted, restored, swapped SIM's, etc., and nothing seems to work...

I just wish there was a detailed summary, steb-by-step for accomplishing deleting the ATT crap on the unlocked by hhfold3 and changing the cell from ATT to Verizon and using it in the future on VERIZON BUT UPDATED to OS13, etc.
Apr 10, 2023
6,976 Posts
Joined Jul 2007
Apr 10, 2023
lou2004
Apr 10, 2023
6,976 Posts
Quote from zettler :
I am still in a similar boat it seems.

My fold3'is unlocked but I'm on Verizon and can't get rid of the ATT files and startup, even with the assistance of gadgetguru and then sbihue.

Maybe I don't comprehend their instructions, or, it's not working out for me.

Anyway, I have rebooted, restored, swapped SIM's, etc., and nothing seems to work...

I just wish there was a detailed summary, steb-by-step for accomplishing deleting the ATT crap on the unlocked by hhfold3 and changing the cell from ATT to Verizon and using it in the future on VERIZON BUT UPDATED to OS13, etc.
use the Odin method. flash the unlock version. it was posted here. search for it.

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Pro
Apr 10, 2023
3,109 Posts
Joined Nov 2012
Apr 10, 2023
gadgetNerd
Pro
Apr 10, 2023
3,109 Posts
Quote from zettler :
I am still in a similar boat it seems.

My fold3'is unlocked but I'm on Verizon and can't get rid of the ATT files and startup, even with the assistance of gadgetguru and then sbihue.

Maybe I don't comprehend their instructions, or, it's not working out for me.

Anyway, I have rebooted, restored, swapped SIM's, etc., and nothing seems to work...

I just wish there was a detailed summary, steb-by-step for accomplishing deleting the ATT crap on the unlocked by hhfold3 and changing the cell from ATT to Verizon and using it in the future on VERIZON BUT UPDATED to OS13, etc.
If you can tell me which step is failing with what error e.g. odin installation, firmware download/extract, putting fold3 in recovery mode or flashing it using odin then I can try to help.

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