T-Mobile set to accept broken devices for trade-in, but don’t get too excited

Trade-in deals have become the de facto way to buy a new phone through a carrier — few people are shelling out full retail and just eating a $40-a-month finance charge for two years. But if your phone takes an unfortunate trip to the pavement before upgrade day, you’ve traditionally been out of luck — at least with T-Mobile.

That should be changing, starting now. According to leaked internal documents shared by The Mobile Report, T-Mobile will start giving partial credit for damaged devices on some of its biggest promos. Beginning Oct. 2, phones with cracked screens or water damage that still power on will get 50% of their normal promo value toward a new device. Dead phones, or those with Find My still enabled, are still a no-go.

An apparent step in the right direction

But some users worry about increased trade-in complexity

This is a meaningful shift for Magenta. Historically, busted devices were only accepted for low-tier “free 5G phone” promos — unless you happened to upgrade during rare full-value exceptions like the iPhone 16 launch in late 2024. The new policy means that ifyou have, say, a Pixel 7 with a shattered display, you can still get $500 off a Pixel 10 under a $1,000 promo.

But before you go raiding eBay for cheap broken phones, there’s another twist. T-Mobile now requires broken trade-ins to have been used on its network for at least 30 days in the last year. This is meant to prevent people from gaming the system with $40 paperweights. Some users are already grumbling that it’s yet another hoop to jump through, while others argue it’s just smart business.

Compared to the competition, T-Mobile still lags a bit. Verizon gives full promo credit for most broken devices (but asks for 60 days of network use), and AT&T will take busted phones too — as long as their residual value clears a minimum threshold.

Still, this is a clear step forward for T-Mobile customers who’ve been burned by “no credit for cracked glass” policies. The first wave of promos covers Google Pixel flagships and Motorola’s top-tier phones, and it’s a fair guess iPhone and Samsung promos won’t be far behind.

So yes, you can finally stop babying that phone with the spiderwebbed screen — at least if you’re ready to upgrade soon. Just make sure it’s been on T-Mobile’s network recently, or you might still walk away empty.