See How Much Your Old Phone Is Worth

New versions of electronics are coming onto the market every year, multiple times a year. This means when you get your own updated phone, you may have older obsolete versions lying around the house. The good news is, there are companies that allow you to trade in old obsolete phones for your own new upgraded phone, or even for cash. Read more here to find out about these trade-in programs and how you can get rid of your old unwanted cell phone.  

What is a Cell Phone Trade-In Program? 

Cell phone trade-in programs are offered by electronic cell phone companies or stores that sell smartphones. These stores often allow you to trade in your old obsolete phone for a newer model, or a different model, through discounted pricing or cash rewards. When you are trading in your cell phone with a cellular company, you can usually only trade in your old cell phone if you have an upgrade available with your personal plan. 

When you take your old cell phone to your carrier’s store, they offer you an estimate based on its worth, and allow you to deduct costs from your start-up fees. Sometimes they also deduct the trade- in amount from the cost of your new personal electronic device.  The company then takes your old cell phone and either strips it for parts to use in repairing other phones, or they refurbish them and resell them at a lower price. Therefore, it is very important that you first upload all your data from your phone into some type of storage, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or in the Cloud. Otherwise, you risk your important information falling into unscrupulous hands. If you are not tech savvy, or simply did not have time to do this, then simply ask the sales associate at the store to pull everything off for you onto a flash drive. You must provide the flash drive yourself. Keep in mind that not all stores offer this service, so call ahead first to confirm. 

Companies That Offer Cell Phone Trade-In 

There are a variety of companies offering a personal device trade-in program. Here is a comprehensive list of the companies with personal device trade-in programs, as well as details about their programs. 

• T-Mobile: T-Mobile offers a personal cellular device trade-in program that allows you to seek an estimate on the worth of your current personal device and receive discounts on start-up costs for a new device when an upgrade is available on your personal phone line or when you are opening a new phone line with them. For example, if you are seeking to trade-in an iPhone 8 with T-Mobile, you will receive about $70 off your new personal device. There are no fees when trading in a personal device with T-Mobile. They appreciate the recycled parts they can salvage from your old obsolete device, and you receive benefits in return.

• AT&T: AT&T offers a personal device trade-in and recycling program as well. When you trade in a device at AT&T you receive a discount off your new personal device, or you receive an AT&T gift card to be used towards phone bills and payments. AT&T allows you to estimate the worth of your old obsolete device online, and when you are shipped your new personal device, you receive mailing materials to send your old obsolete device to AT&T. There are no fees associated with trading in your old personal devices at AT&T, and with them you can trade in multiple old personal obsolete devices to help pay for your current personal phone bills. 

• Verizon: Verizon offers a personal cell phone trade-in program that helps you recycle materials from old obsolete devices and receive discounts on buying your new personal device. Verizon allows you to trade in your old personal smartphone, basic cell phone, tablet, smart watch, or mobile hotspot devices. They do not allow you to trade in the Samsung Galaxy Camera, or any other connective devices not listed. Verizon allows you to trade in your old personal obsolete device for credit towards a new personal device, a Verizon gift card, or even PayPal credit. You do not need to ship in the old personal charger, or personal sim cards. 

• Spectrum Mobile: Spectrum Mobile has a trade-in program that allows you to trade-in old personal devices for credit. Spectrum Mobile is offering a special where you receive an extra $100 when you trade in your old obsolete personal device, in addition to the worth determined by their estimating system. With Spectrum Mobile, you check your old personal device’s worth online, then send in the old personal obsolete device, then receive your trade-in credit. With Spectrum Mobile, you only trade-in an old personal device if it has been paid in full, if it is able to turn on, has no liquid damage, and it has been restored to factory settings. There is no fee to trade in your device at Spectrum Mobile either, so you receive benefits immediately when you recycle your old obsolete personal device. 

• Apple: Apple offers a personal obsolete trade-in program that allows you to trade-in your old personal obsolete Apple devices or have them recycled for free if they are not eligible for credit. You can receive up to $650 in credit for your old personal iPhone 12 at the maximum amount of benefits you are eligible for per personal cell phone device, and as much as $30 per personal iPhone 6 device. You can get an estimate online or in person for your personal device, and then mail it in or bring it to the Apple store to receive benefits. Either trade your personal device in to receive credit for a new personal device or receive Apple credit that goes toward other personal items. You can trade in personal computers, personal watches, personal tablets, or personal smartphones with Apple.