These carriers will offer you a free phone when you switch

Today’s best smartphones They’re not exactly cheap. Most flagships start around $800 for the base model, with many options topping $1,000 by a wide margin, and in some cases reaching nearly $2,000. But what if you don’t have much money to spend on a phone? When choosing a budget phone, for example Pixel 8aThis is one solution, US residents have another option. Some of the most popular flagships are available for free or at significantly reduced prices through your carrier.

Let’s take a quick look at all the carriers that offer a free phone when you switch to their network, as well as a few offers that also apply to existing customers.

How to get a free phone when switching, what’s the catch?

You can’t expect anything for free, so how exactly do these carrier offers work? The exact terms will vary not only from carrier to carrier, but even from phone to phone or plan to plan, although overall they work largely the same. Typically you either have to pay for the phone upfront and get reimbursed in the form of monthly bill credits, or you have to sign up for an installment plan and then each month you’re active with your carrier you get a credit that reduces the total to zero over the course of the entire installment period. Most of these free phone offers will also require certain plans. If your plan requires you to sign up for a new line, you may also be asked to port your existing number to the program.

If you decide to change providers at any time, you will have to pay off the remaining balance on your “free phone” or have to wait until it is paid off to leave.

• Who has the right: Most deals require you to either switch from a different carrier, add a new line to an existing account, or trade in a phone. Exact terms and conditions will vary and some offers will only be available on higher tier plans.
• Is a trade-in required? Many transactions do not require an exchange, but this may vary. However, those plans that do not require an exchange often have restrictions on which plans qualify.

Verizon offers a wide variety of free phones for those who switch to Verizon or sign up for a new line, with dozens of options available as of this writing. However, there are some caveats to keep in mind. Any free phone offer that requires no trade-in will only be valid on certain unlimited plans, usually higher-tier options like Unlimited Ultimate. In other words, if you’re on Unlimited Welcome or another entry-level plan, you’ll probably have to trade something to get the phone for free. Even then, you will sometimes get a better trade-in value if you have a top-tier plan.

Let’s start with some Verizon’s best deals which require you to add a new qualifying line or have a certain plan level, but do not require an exchange:

• iPhone 16 pro – Retails $999.99, free with the new Ultimate line.
• iPhone 16 plus – Retails $929.99, free with the new Ultimate line.
• iPhone 16 – Retail $829.99, free with new Ultimate or Plus line.
• iPhone 15 – Retails $729.99, free with new Welcome line or higher.
• Galaxy S24 – Retail price 799.99, free with new Plus or Ultimate line.
• Galaxy S24 FE – Retails $649.99, free with new Welcome line or higher.

For those who are ready to trade in a device, you have even more options. In fact, Verizon tends to offer its users great deals on older trade-in models, so you can get almost any phone at a discounted price, if not for free. These are just some of the highlights. For comprehensive information on the best Verizon phones you can get for free, check out the link Verizon website.

• Who has the right: Most deals require you to either switch from a different carrier, add a new line to an existing account, or have a qualifying higher-tier plan. Exact conditions may vary.
• Is a trade-in required? Yes, all these shares require exchange.

AT&T usually has a noticeably smaller selection of free devices. All of this also requires a trade-in deal, unlike many Verizon deals. Unlike the other two major carriers, most of these promotions do not require a specific plan, except that it must be unlimited and not a legacy line.

Here are some of AT&T’s best deals on free phones:

Of course, promotions change quickly and it is possible that more may be added to this list before we have a chance to update the guide. In this case, be sure to check AT&T website for a closer look.

• Who has the right: Most deals require you to either switch from a different carrier, add a new line to an existing account, or have a qualifying higher-tier plan. Exact conditions may vary.
• Is a trade-in required? This isn’t usually the case, although you may have to trade in the device for a discount if you don’t have Go5G Plus or Next.

T-Mobile has a decent library of free phones. It also offers maximum flexibility in your choice of qualifications. For example, the Google Pixel 8 is free on T-Mobile for those who add the new Go5G Plus or Next lineup, but if you’re already a customer, you can also trade in your device and get the phone for free if you have Go5G. Plus or Next. Don’t have one of these unusual plans? You can still trade in the device for up to $500 off, which might not be enough to get the Pixel 8 for free, but it’s giving it to you at a significant discount.

Here are just a few of them T-Mobile’s best free phone deals available, all of which require either an exchange or a new line:

As you can see, at the moment there are basically only mid-range or low-end devices. Don’t worry, T-Mobile is constantly changing what it offers for free and regularly adding flagship options to it. Be sure to check out T-Mobile website for a deeper dive or to check if there are any new offerings since this article was last updated.

• Who has the right: All new Google Fi clients.
• Is a trade-in required? No, free offers do not require a trade-in.

Google Fi is one of the best prepaid carriers, and much of the appeal is that it’s more like a traditional provider, with perks like some of the best roaming of any carrier, and a billing model that’s a hybrid between postal and prepaid. depending on the plan you sign up for. This is also a good place to get cheap or even free phone deals, although there are usually only a few deals available at a time. Even a few flagship-level phones go a long way since most prepaid carriers don’t offer free plans at all, except for some services that can get you a very basic budget phone for free.

Fi doesn’t currently offer truly free phones, but it does have promotions that will get you $650 off the Galaxy S24 Ultra and $800 off the Google Pixel 9 Pro, making these devices a lot cheaper than they cost Would you like the full price? retail. To be eligible, you must sign up for Google Fi Wireless Unlimited Plus as a new customer (or be absent for more than 180 days). It’s also possible to trade your phone for a few other devices or for a larger loan, although these deals aren’t as significant.

• Who has the right: All new Boost Infinite users.
• Is a trade-in required? No, free offers do not initially require an exchange.

Boost Mobile, owned by Dish, offers both prepaid and postpaid options. The good news is that Dish is trying hard to win over customers, and that means great free phone deals. You can get the following phones completely free of charge:

While you can get all three Galaxy S models for free, only the base iPhone is free. If you want a Plus or Pro model, you can get one, but you’ll have to pay a small fee every month for the duration of your payment plan. For example, that’s $2.78 per month for the Plus or $4.72 per month for the iPhone 15 Pro. Those who want Pro Max will have to pay $10.28 per month. Keep in mind that you will also pay taxes on these fees as they are not included in the price.

There’s no exchange required at all, and you’ll get excellent coverage since Infinite uses a combination of Dish, T-mobile, and AT&T’s 5G network for coverage. You’ll have to commit to Boost Infinite for three years or pay back what you owe, but that’s to be expected. It’s also worth noting that Boost Infinite allows you to trade in and upgrade your phone after a year, although you’ll essentially reset the clock to determine how long you’ll have to stay online before you can leave.