We've made it easier than ever to make the switch to T-Mobile.
On this page:
What's the deal
When you make the move to T-Mobile from an eligible carrier, trade-in an eligible device, purchase a new device, port in your number, and sign up for qualifying service (allow 8 weeks) we’ll:
- Pay off your previous carrier’s service contracts
- Reimburse your previous carrier's remaining device payment balance and/or early termination fee (ETF)
- Up to $650 per line via trade-in credit applied to bill and prepaid card minus trade-in value
Did I already take part in Carrier Freedom?
As of December 5, 2017, if you submitted a mobile number for reimbursement, and you then ported (transferred) that number to another carrier, you’re eligible to participate in Carrier Freedom again if two years have passed since the date of the first reimbursement payout. If you ported your line(s) back to T-Mobile before December 5, 2017, you're not eligible to redeem these line(s) for Carrier Freedom again.
If you're not sure if you've already received a reimbursement payout in the past two years, we can help you find out by following these steps:
- Go to https://www.switch2t-mobile.com.
- Under the Log In button see "Check to see if you have already received the Carrier Freedom promotion here", and select "here".
- Enter in the 10-digit mobile number you want to check.
- Select SEARCH.
- If eligible, you'll see the following message: Alright! Looks like you could be eligible for one of our Carrier Freedom offers.
- If the number has already taken advantage of Carrier Freedom offers, you'll see the following message: Uh Oh! Looks like you have already claimed the Carrier Freedom promotion.
Requirements
To participate in Carrier Freedom, you need to meet the following requirements:
- Trade-in your device
You'll need to trade in a phone or tablet, and make sure of the following:- If you're submitting for device plan reimbursement, the device you're trading in must be the one on the device financing agreement from your previous carrier.
- The device must be able to power on.
- The LCD and display must be acceptable and there can be no liquid damage.
- Turn off any of your device's security features, such as activation lock, anti-theft, and Find My iPhone features.
- The device has been on a payment plan for at least 90 days, and you've made at least three successful minimum payments.
- You'll need to accept the trade-in quote from Assurant.
- Buy or finance a new phone or tablet
You'll need to purchase a new phone – either pay full price or use our Equipment Installment Plan – as part of the trade-in process. - Port in your number
You'll need to port in (transfer) your number from any U.S. carrier (including landlines) to a T-Mobile U.S. account OR port in from any Puerto Rico carrier to a T-Mobile Puerto Rico account.- You’ll need to port in your number to a line of Magenta, ONE Plan or T-Mobile Essentials service.
- This offer is not available to port-ins from T-Mobile providers, including T-Mobile Prepaid, Metro by T-Mobile, or mobile virtual network operators that use the T-Mobile network. Starting August 2, 2020, this offer is not available for port-ins from Sprint, Boost, or Shentel.
- This offer is also not available to port-ins of numbers that have been used with T-Mobile service within the past 90 days.
- Show your device financing details and/or final bill
The information you need to show depends on the type of reimbursements you're submitting for, whether if it's for device financing, ETF, or both.- For a device financing reimbursement:
- You'll need to submit an image of the financing details, including months remaining, payments made, and the final amount still owed.
- You'll need to have had a device payment plan with your current carrier for at least 90 days and you've made at least three successful minimum payments.
- If you're using third-party financing, those details must appear on the carrier's bill.
- For early termination fee reimbursement, you'll need to submit a copy of your final bill.
- For a device financing reimbursement:
Redemption process
Recommendation: Visit a T-Mobile store
For the best Carrier Freedom experience, we suggest going to a T-Mobile store. When you buy a new device in-store, you have the option of doing an instant trade-in right then and there at the time of purchase OR you can defer your trade-in for a later time. The device you're trading in must be the one on the device financing agreement from your previous carrier. The store rep will be able to walk you through the entire process: activation, port-in, trade-in, and reimbursement submission requirements. You’ll take it from there and complete the online submission for your reimbursement. Our knowledgeable reps will be able to answer any questions you have during the process.
Online or over the phone
If you decide to purchase your new phone or tablet online or over the phone (instead of in-store), you'll need to complete the activation and port-in, as well as initiate the trade-in with your new device order prior to submitting for reimbursement.
- Your trade-in must be processed at the time of order.
- You must mail your trade-in device within 14 days of receiving your new device.
- You must use the prepaid USPS mailing label to return your trade-in device. This label is accessible from your online account by accessing Phone > Trade-in > Trade-in Status.
- The device you're trading in must be the one on the device financing agreement from your previous carrier.
- The trade-ins need to be received at Assurant within 30 days of your original online or phone order.
- You will receive text message confirmation when your trade-in device has been received and processed.
Ready to redeem
If you've completed the activation and port-in, initiated the trade-in, and you have images of your device financing details and/or final bill information captured, you're ready to follow these steps to perform the online reimbursement submission.
- Go to www.switch2tmobile.com.
- Select LOG IN and sign in using your T-Mobile ID. You may be prompted to complete special verification steps, so check out Two-step verification security for details if so.
- Under FINDING THE RIGHT SWITCHING OFFER:
- In the drop-down, Select Carrier: AT&T, Verizon, or Other. Select CONTINUE.
- In the next drop-down, Select Payment Type: Device Financing Reimbursement or Early Termination Fee Reimbursement. Select CONTINUE.
- Read the "Terms & Conditions" and then select the check box next to "I have read and agree to the Terms & Conditions of this promotion". Select CONTINUE.
- On the Trade-In requirement eligibility rules page, select CONTINUE.
- On the next page, you'll need to "Select which numbers you'd like to submit for Carrier Freedom". Select the box next to each line you want to submit for the selected reimbursement offer.
- Once selected, the trade-in credit amount is displayed under "Added devices".
- If you decided to defer your trade-in at the time of purchase, the trade-in credit listed is an estimated value of the device that you're trading in. The actual value of device will be determined once the trade-in has been received and passes inspection.
- You'll need to Select a Contact Phone Number.
- This is the phone number that is used to notify you once your reimbursement submission is approved or if there are any issues with the submission.
- You'll receive an additional confirmation of the reimbursement once the lines on the submission have been active for 25 days.
- Under Contact Phone Number, "Select Number" in the drop-down. Select CONTINUE.
- On the next page, are the 3 Steps To Submit For Pay Off:
- How to submit your payoff information: Customer gathers screenshots for each device being submitted.
- Upload an image of each phone number:
- Upload screenshots of final bill and/or device financing details page for each selected phone number.
- Accepted image formats: .pdf, .jpg, or .png
- Image limits: up to 5 MB per image and a max of 15 images
- The name and address on the final bill does NOT have to match the info on your My T-Mobile account.
- Select SUBMIT for processing.
- After the submission is finished processing, the page will display a message letting you know if your reimbursement was approved. (If it wasn't approved, it means an error was found during the submission process, and a T-Mobile rep will contact you shortly to help you with the process.)
Submission status
You can check the status of a submission by logging in to the www.switch2tmobile.com website and selecting Status.
Getting your reimbursements
Early Termination Fee reimbursements
Here are some important things to know about ETF reimbursements:
- After submitting for reimbursement, you should know within 5-10 minutes if your submission was successful.
- Reimbursement is for a maximum of 5 lines per account.
- Your trade-in device must be received and pass inspection before the ETF reimbursement will be issued.
- The amount paid will be equal to the ETF amount your previous carrier charges for the type of device.
- Max reimbursement per line is a $650 total cap for ETF, device payment plan, and trade-in. This is a combined total.
- Not included in reimbursements: taxes on ETF and any current or past due monthly service charges.
When you should expect to receive your ETF reimbursement
- If you're coming from Verizon or AT&T:
- ETF reimbursement generally takes place 15 days after the submission is approved and trade-in per line is received.
- Prepaid virtual cards are sent via a text message typically within 24-48 hours after the Day 15 date.
- If you're coming from one of the other carriers:
- ETF reimbursement generally takes place 25 days after the submission is approved and trade-in per line is received.
- Prepaid virtual cards are sent via text message typically within 24-48 hours after the Day 25 date.
Device Financing reimbursements
Here are some important things to know about device financing reimbursements:
- After submitting for reimbursement, you should know within 5-10 minutes if your submission was successful.
- The device you're trading in must be the one on the device financing agreement from your previous carrier.
- The trade-in device must be received and pass inspection before the device financing reimbursement will be issued.
- Max reimbursement per line is a $650 total cap for ETF, device payment plan, and trade-in. This is a combined total.
- In order to be eligible for device financing reimbursement under this promotion:
- You must have had the phone and/or tablets on installment plans with your previous carrier for at least 90 days, and
- You must have made at least three payments toward that installment plan.
- Not included in reimbursements: taxes on device financing and any current or past due monthly service charges.
When you should expect to receive your device financing reimbursement
- If you're coming from Verizon or AT&T:
- Device financing reimbursement generally takes place 15 days after the submission is approved and trade-in per line is received.
- Prepaid virtual cards are sent via a text message typically within 24-48 hours after the Day 15 date. If you don't see the message, you can access your prepaid virtual card information by checking your submission status page at www.switch2tmobile.com.
- If you're coming from one of the other carriers:
- Device financing reimbursement generally takes place 25 days after the submission is approved and trade-in per line is received.
- Prepaid virtual cards are sent via text message typically within 24-48 hours after the Day 25 date. If you don't see the message, you can access your prepaid virtual card information by checking your submission status page at www.switch2tmobile.com.
Didn't receive or lost your Virtual Card SMS?
If you never received the SMS, or if you did but accidentally deleted it, you can still get your virtual card info by following these steps:
- Go to www.switch2tmobile.com.
- Select GET STARTED.
- Sign in to My T-Mobile with your T-Mobile ID.
- On the 'Submission Status' page, select the one that states PAID. This will expand it to see more information for that submission.
- Select REDEEM VIRTUAL CARD. You can also use the step by step walk through of this process found here.
- Confirm the mobile number.
- Accept the terms and conditions.
- Once registered, a page displays your virtual card information.
Limited-time offer; subject to change. Eligible device trade-in, new device purchase, qualifying credit, port-in from eligible carriers, and qualifying service required. Payments consists of (1) credit for device trade-in applied to bill and (2) virtual prepaid MasterCard® Card in amount of carrier’s Early Termination Fee or remaining device balance, including lease purchase option if applicable, minus trade-in credit (expires in 6 months). Tax excluded. Submit proof of balance (limit $650 per individual) & 90+ days with carrier within 30 days of port-in and be active and in good standing when processed; allow 8 weeks. We might ask for more information. Up to 5 lines; must be activated in same market with same billing address. One offer per subscriber. T-Mobile Prepaid MasterCard Card is rebate/reimbursement or exchange on new device, service, or port-in; for any tax implications, consult a tax advisor. No money has been paid by you for the card. Cards issued by Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated. Physical (via mail) & virtual prepaid cards (via SMS) available; physical cards for use where MasterCard cards accepted; some limitations for virtual cards. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. Use of this card constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions stated in the Cardholder Agreement.
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