Buy a ‘free’ iPhone 13 with trade-in: Everything to know about Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T’s deals

The three carriers offer the iPhone 13, 13 Mini and 13 Pro for $0 with a trade-in, but there are caveats to keep in mind.
The iPhone 13 lineup arrived last month, and as usual carriers rolled out tempting trade-in deals to entice people to switch over to Apple’s latest and greatest. (Here are some of the best iPhone 13 deals around.) AT&T came out of the gate essentially giving away the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Mini for a starting price that can go as low as “free” to new and existing customers. Verizon later effectively matched that offer, while AT&T bumped its deal to also allow for a free iPhone 13 (and will also offer $1,000 off the iPhone 13 Pro Max with qualifying trade-ins, too).
T-Mobile is similarly offering all three devices for free to both new and existing customers.
In all cases, there are plenty of caveats. It all depends on the phone model you’re trading in, the wireless plan you have and the financing.
The iPhone 13 models are now available (already backordered, in some cases). To help you avoid having to comb through the fine print, we’ve outlined the key details on the three carriers’ respective trade-in offers.
Note: These deals don’t include taxes in their prices, which are often based on the full price of the phone. Some carriers may also charge a one-time activation or upgrade fee (usually around $30) as well.
It is also worth noting that T-Mobile has added a new Magenta Max iPhone upgrade program it calls Forever Upgrade that will guarantee you “up to $800” back (up to $700 for the Mini, or less if you’re buying an iPhone 12 today) in future trade-in credits.
The catch here: You will need to wait two years to trade in the iPhone 13 or iPhone 12 that you’re buying today to get the credits, and you will need to be on Magenta Max for the entire time.
Those with other T-Mobile plans can get up to $500 off, but you will need to trade in an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, or an iPhone 12 Pro or 12 Pro Max to get that discount. Those with older devices can get up to $400 offer, with full details available by clicking on the “On us with Magenta Max with trade” link on T-Mobile’s product pages.