T-Mobile Will Pay Off Your Current Phone Up to $1,000 If You Switch - MacRumors
Skip to Content

T-Mobile Will Pay Off Your Current Phone Up to $1,000 If You Switch

T-Mobile today announced that, starting October 22, it will pay off a qualifying customer's remaining eligible smartphone payments up to $1,000 via virtual prepaid MasterCard when they switch to the carrier in the United States.

iphone se black
The limited time offer is designed to allow customers to switch from their current carrier to T-Mobile and continue using their existing smartphone without cost. T-Mobile has more details available on its website, including instructions for customers looking to switch from Verizon, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, and select other carriers.

The steps on T-Mobile's website include verifying your smartphone is an eligible device, submitting screenshot proof of your current device payment plan balance, ordering a T-Mobile SIM card and choosing a plan, and submitting a rebate claim. The prepaid MasterCard can then be used to pay off the remaining device balance at your previous carrier.

Fine print indicates that a credit check and an eligible T-Mobile plan is required. The smartphone must be unlocked before being ported in to T-Mobile.

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Release These 15 New Products Later This Year

Friday June 12, 2026 7:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual WWDC developers conference is drawing to a close, but there is still a lot to look forward to in the second half of the year. Apple is expected to release at least 15 more products later this year. Now that the more intelligent and personal version of Siri has finally arrived in beta, a full two years after Apple first previewed it at WWDC 2024, we should begin to see some new ...
Apple Lists 250 Changes Across iOS 27 and More Feature

Apple Shares List of 250 Changes Across iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and More

Wednesday June 10, 2026 1:34 pm PDT by
During its WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, Apple briefly showed a slide with hundreds of new features and enhancements coming across iOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27. All of the software updates are currently available as developer betas, and they are expected to be released to all users in September. We already highlighted some of the key new features from the ...
Apple Logo Top Half

Have One of These 16 Apple Devices? Software Support Ends This Fall

Saturday June 13, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple will end software support for 16 devices this fall across four product lines, with the Apple Watch seeing the most sweeping cull in the product's history. The full extent of this year's software drops became clear with the announcements of macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and watchOS 27 at WWDC this week. The one bright spot is that iOS 27 features identical device support to...

Top Rated Comments

noone Avatar
61 months ago
And they'll give you free identity theft protection when they get hacked! Again.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roncron Avatar
61 months ago
Doesn’t help people who bought their phones outright. I guess T-Mobile just wants customers who like financing things.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago

Doesn’t help people who bought their phones outright. I guess T-Mobile just wants customers who like financing things.
So they offer up to $1000 and there is still something to moan about?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago

If you bought your phone outright, you have no outstanding balance for them to pay, so I don't get your complaint. The point is they are trying to remove a potential barrier from people switching ("I'd like to switch, but then I'd have to pay off my phone balance, and I can't afford to right now").
The point they are making is that if I were to pay $1000 upfront for my phone vs someone who chose to pay over time gets rewarded by having the remaining phone paid for by T-Mobile. By not putting myself in debt, or saving up before making purchases I don't get the same reward. This is the complaint.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VolceOntra Avatar
61 months ago
Been with TMO for almost a decade now, it's been great in MD, CA, GA, SC, and MO. The worst was in parts of CA along the coast though.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
61 months ago

So, if you pay for your phone in full when you purchase it you are not rewarded.
Beware of a deal like this. It almost certainly means they're trying to switch you over from a vastly superior network and experience.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)