If you’re planning to trade in your phone to T-Mobile, you’ll want to hear this cautionary tale. Several customers have reported nightmares with the carrier’s Yearly Upgrade program, where shipped trade-in phones mysteriously go missing or get misidentified—leaving them without their old phone, without their new phone, and stuck with a bill.
According to PhoneArena, one customer sent in his iPhone 16 Pro but received an email from T-Mobile claiming they got a completely different phone with a wrong serial number. Instead of getting his new iPhone 17 Pro, he was credited just $504 and lost access to promotional deals. Another customer reported being credited only $1 toward their balance when their trade-in should have cleared their entire installment payment.
The issue seems widespread enough that experienced T-Mobile customers have developed their own protection strategy. One subscriber recommends taking photos of your phone, weighing the box with the phone inside, photographing the sealed package, and getting a receipt from USPS when you drop it off. Yes, it’s that serious.
The stakes are particularly high for those on T-Mobile’s Yearly Upgrade program, which requires customers to trade in the exact phone they received from T-Mobile the previous year—verified by its unique IMEI number. When T-Mobile claims they received the wrong phone, customers lose everything: their trade-in value, their promotional credits, and often their new device.
If you’re trading in a phone, document everything. Take photos, keep receipts, and consider going to a T-Mobile store in person if possible—though even that isn’t foolproof. The few extra minutes spent creating a paper trail could save you from losing hundreds of dollars and a major headache.
Source: PhoneArena