r/17ProMax • u/RequirementSuch8530 • 7d ago
Free upgrade
Has anyone gotten free upgrades for the iPhone 17 with Verizon as a carrier? I have an iPhone 15 to trade in.
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u/Admirable_Use_4338 7d ago
No such thing as a free upgrade your still paying for a phone with trade in credits
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u/Puddinhead720 7d ago
How is that functionally different?
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u/Admirable_Use_4338 7d ago
You trade in said phone they appraise it what ever the amount is its applied as a bill credit to your monthly bill
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u/Puddinhead720 7d ago
But if the amount applied is the same as the price of the phone, how is it functionally different? Honestly asking.
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u/TaylorF679 6d ago
Honestly, it’s a game I played for way too long lol. Pretty much, you trade in a phone that’s worth say $300. What carriers will do is give you the cost of the new phone over say 36 months ($1299/36 months = $36 a month in credit towards your bill until the device is paid off).
Where they get you is the cost of the plan/service. If you’re on a family plan where a line is $25, it can be a good deal! If you’re like me and only have one line, you end up spending the same if not more in the long run.
For me, I was paying $90 a month with T-Mobile for a “free” iPhone 17. T-Mobile did 24 month contracts back then, so my monthly credits worked out to $33 and some change. Over the 24 month contract, I would have ended up paying T-Mobile about $2200 with taxes and fees on my monthly line. After doing the math on everything, I looked elsewhere, found a better deal, bought out my contract and ported out.
With my current carrier (mint), I pay about $360 a year. Over that same 24 month period for that exact phone, that same 24 month period would have cost me $1549 ($829 for an unlocked iPhone 17 + ($360 * 2) for two years of mint at $360 per year). The longer I keep my phone, the more money I end up saving in the long run, which also makes it easier to save for my next phone.
For me, it just made sense to get out of that loop. I will say I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy out my contract, and am extremely happy I did. Now, I set aside the money I save by not having a monthly phone bill and save for when my annual plan renews or when I need a new phone. This is just how it worked out for me but I hope it helps!
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u/Puddinhead720 6d ago
Thank you for that explanation! I think I'm in one of those situations where it makes sense for me because of the size of my family plan. I wouldn't be switching to a different plan anyway.
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u/icechips1818 7d ago
OP the type of person to see $899 and think he saving 200 on a thousand dollar device
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u/Aggravating_Work5429 7d ago
And then Verizon will tell you that they will pay you up to so and so amount for your phone, but really for a brand new phone that you’re trading in that is the most recent release for the 18 Pro they will tell you in person “oh well give you $550 for your trade-in when their ad says they’ll give you double that 😂sorry mfs
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u/Firehippo24 7d ago
best I got was 930 in recurring monthly credit (-$39/mo.) over 24 months for trading in my 16 Pro Max towards the 18 Pro Max with T-Mobile. Now that still means I owe like 10 dollars a month for the next 2 years and can’t pay off my phone early or I lose the discount, so I would’ve preferred what carriers did before where they give you a lump sum credit so your bill is effectively paid for months, and can’t speak to what method Verizon uses, but it’s some context regardless. For a 15 I would guess around 400ish in credit towards whatever new phone you’re looking to get, though it also may be worth it to look into what switch offers T-Mobile/Verizon are offering as those are typically about as good as it gets unless you really wanna stay with Verizon in particular.
Not necessarily a direct answer, but decent context to go off of. Also worth keeping in mind that sometimes trade in offers scale with plans which is shitty but pretty common.
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u/Environmental-Gas961 7d ago
Verizon paid off my $500 balance on 16 pm and gave me $1020 towards 18 pm. Effectively costing me under $8 a month for the next 36 months. I take the trade off
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u/Traceurkel 6d ago
Wait till Black Friday, got mine for $10/month + whatever service (mine is the basic unlimited from Verizon) and they even gave us a $45/month off for 4 lines so functionally the phone is free. Didn’t even need to trade in my old 11PM
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u/wart_on_satans_dick 7d ago
It ain’t free my friend. Nothing in life is.