T-Mobile is offering free 5G phones in exchange for old phones

In a webcast today, T-Mobile announced a new free 5G phone upgrade offer and the 'Great Unlimited Trade-Up,' a program that gives competitors' non-unlimited customers the chance to switch to T-Mobile's unlimited plan for up to the same price they're already paying. The announcements joined T-Mobile's Home Internet launch and its T-Mobile Hometown 5G commitment to rural American communities.

The 'Free 5G Upgrade' plan is giving Americans the opportunity to trade in their current non-5G phone in exchange for a free Samsung Galaxy A32 5G handset. The promotion is available to both new and current postpaid T-Mobile customers and includes any smartphone that's still in working condition, including old models and even flip phones.

The 'free' aspect of the phone deal involves 24 monthly bill credits rather than an outright full-value credit, meaning you should plan to stick with the carrier for a while. Joining it is the Unlimited Trade-Up promotion, which targets consumers who are still on a limited-data cellular plan.

In that case, customers who have plans with competitors are given the opportunity to jump to T-Mobile's unlimited data plan with 5G for the 'same or better price' than they're currently paying for their limited-data plans. The promotion also applies to all former Sprint customers (T-Mobile now owns Sprint), as well as all postpaid T-Mobile customers.

According to T-Mobile, the 5G phone upgrade and unlimited trade-up plans will kick off on April 18 and remain available for the rest of 2021. These promotions are joined by T-Mobile's Home Internet announcement. With this launch, consumers who live somewhere with T-Mobile 5G coverage can use the network to get high-speed Internet at home.