Forum Discussion
Do back glass cracks disqualifies for trade-in at T-Mobile?
Unless I’m reading it wrong or interpreting T-Mobile’s document wrong, I don’t think the trade-in policy disqualifies back glass crack.
I’m talking about this T-Mobile support document
https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/device-troubleshooting/check-the-condition-of-a-device
Checking your device condition
There are four main things to check on your device. Click each link to learn more.
Find My iPhone & Anti-Theft disabled
Device turns on (Not required for buyer's remorse or warranty exchange)
Screen & LCD damage
Screen damage (LCD or display damage) voids all warranties and can't be accepted.
- When inspecting a screen, remove any screen protectors and cases first. Tilt the device under good lighting conditions, and inspect at multiple angles. Screen damage includes hairline cracks that are difficult to see.
- Screen damage includes:
- Cracked screen
- Cracks or chips in glass that is connected to the screen (including edges)
- Crushed or shattered screen
- Not readable, pixelated, or distorted display
- Screen replacement or repair through an unauthorized third-party
- Scratches and scuffs can occur from normal use and can be accepted.
- Examples (click images to enlarge)
To me, this is pretty clear that back glass doesn’t constitute Screen & LCD damage. I’m being told different things in-store and over the phone so I’m trying the community to see what the actual policy is.
I can see that this topic has been around for a while and I know that it still is getting a lot of attention. I wanted to make sure that there is a clear answer to this question to avoid any further confusion. The device condition check that is done by our teams includes the screen and glass connected to it. It does not include the glass on the back, camera lenses, or things like that. If the glass on the back of the screen is cracked but the screen’s glass and LCD are pristine, then the device should pass that part of the inspection. You do want to make sure that it meets the other requirements as well, of course, but at least this gives a definitive answer on the glass on the back of devices.
Hope this is helpful.
Ok everyone listen up! DO NOT send your phone in with a cracked back glass. I really hope this message reaches people. This is a scam that Tmobile is running. They make it very vague on whether it's ok to send it in with cracked back glass and they say that only the lcd screen is what's important. Well I was just denied my $800 promotional trade in after thinking it was good because I already received 2 monthly bill credits. They want you to send it in that way so you buy the new phone, they give you a couple monthly credits so you think everything is all good. Then they take it away and you end up having to pay full price for the new phone. I told them I wanted my old phone back and to take this 256g galaxy s21 ultra $1400 phone back which was impossible. You can't get your old phone back at this point. Such an obvious scam because they know that just about everyone has at least 1 crack in that back glass. It cracks very easily. Its just a way to get you to buy a new expensive phone and also you are giving them your old phone for free which they will just quickly refurbished and resell. You can order this back glass on Amazon for like $15 and replace it yourself. There are videos showing exactly how to do it. I was about to do this but decided I didn't have to because the back glass isn't part of their 4 point inspection which is just what they want you to think. They guy on the phone was trying to tell me the back glass is the display. I was like how is it the display? It doesn't display anything and it's a separate piece of glass! They ended up giving me a $300 credit after a long hold which I'm sure is what they are taught to do. The long hold makes you think they are talking to supervisors and managers but really they are just sitting in their chair playing candy crush or something. So if you're in this situation, make sure to at least get your $300 credit. I hate big companies and their scam tactics so much. They think they have everyone fooled. Please share this message I'm very upset about this and I would like to get the word out on this. It's pathetic.
Robin wrote:
Commenting to receive updates on this question because I am wondering the same thing. I saw the exact same terms and wanted to know if the back glass counts.
Well I already returned a device over the mail with a broken glass and I got a message from T-mo yesterday saying that the trade in was approved and credited. I’m guessing it is covered. Just unacceptable that T-mobile representatives in store and some over the phone doesn’t know the actual policies.Commenting to receive updates on this question because I am wondering the same thing. I saw the exact same terms and wanted to know if the back glass counts.
Robin wrote:
Commenting to receive updates on this question because I am wondering the same thing. I saw the exact same terms and wanted to know if the back glass counts.
I reached out to T-Force, since no one answered my question here and they did confirm that I was correct.The "Check the condition of a device" page that you shared yesterday is almost identical to the official internal policy page that customer care has access to on our side of things. It even has the same example pictures and everything! The policy is the same for both instant (in-store) trade-ins and deferred (ship-back) trade-ins. The only reason I can think of for the store adamantly denying a phone with any kind of damage is that this policy was recently updated within the last year. We used to be unable to accept devices with any kind of damage. Now, it's been changed to devices that meet all of the criteria outlines in the condition check page. This isn't to excuse my in-store teammates for their lack of resource usage, but to help explain where the outdated conflicting information is coming from.
I can see that this topic has been around for a while and I know that it still is getting a lot of attention. I wanted to make sure that there is a clear answer to this question to avoid any further confusion. The device condition check that is done by our teams includes the screen and glass connected to it. It does not include the glass on the back, camera lenses, or things like that. If the glass on the back of the screen is cracked but the screen’s glass and LCD are pristine, then the device should pass that part of the inspection. You do want to make sure that it meets the other requirements as well, of course, but at least this gives a definitive answer on the glass on the back of devices.
Hope this is helpful.
if you were looking for an agent to give you an answer the site here is not where you will get that..this is mainly peer to peer with a few moderators to keep order.
for answers your best bet is either via FB or Twitter.
Silsil how did your trade in go?
Troy I’m not sure if your being entire honest sound like your making up excuses for sending a phone that clearly doesn’t work. If your needing to go into this much detail well there’s a lot more your not telling us which fine I’ll just have make sure remember the miasma that spews out of your mouth.
DonSinRostro wrote:
Troy I’m not sure if your being entire honest sound like your making up excuses for sending a phone that clearly doesn’t work. If your needing to go into this much detail well there’s a lot more your not telling us which fine I’ll just have make sure remember the miasma that spews out of your mouth.
That makes no sense whatsoever. If I sent in a phone that didn't work, why would I be so upset when they didn't accept it? Everything I wrote is true. I had my s9 for 3 years with 0 damage. The back glass cracked just a couple months prior to sending it in. I'm not sure why you feel the need to say I'm lying about my phone what purpose does that serve for you? I simply felt the need to warn people to not send their phones in with cracked back glass when it can easily be fixed for $18.
Beng36 wrote:
Silsil how did your trade in go?
My trade went through perfectly fine. I got annoyed and filed an complaint to the three different stores that I went to. Not sure if that did anything. The explanation that I got from a previous tmo employee from reddit /r/tmobile (not from my call with higher customer support rep) was that stores would get a chargeback for devices that the warehouses deemed not eligible so even if the internal documents change, the reps are not willing to take anything that they will be liable for.
