T-Mobile’s free Galaxy Watch 9 deal may be nearing an end — how to claim yours this week

The holiday season is just around the corner, which means we’re about to see some of the best smartwatch deals of the year. That said, if you want an LTE-powered wearable and you don’t want to pay a penny for it, T-Mobile is running a promotion that will cover the full cost of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 (40mm) when you add a device line on Watch Plan Plus 2.0. That’s $430 in promo credits over 36 months, no trade-in required.

The Galaxy Watch 9: a great flagship wearable with one big issue

One of the best smartwatches we tested this year, the Galaxy Watch 9 boasts a thin and lightweight design with a new Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, a bright AMOLED display, and all of the latest health and fitness tracking features powered by Samsung Health.

The smartwatch also comes with accurate GPS tracking, onboard AI features from Gemini, and five major OS updates guaranteed, which is the most we’ve ever received from a Galaxy Watch.

The only real problem that I have with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is its battery life. The device will usually only last up to 48 hours before it needs to recharge, which falls behind rivals like the Google Pixel Watch 5 and OnePlus Watch 3. That said, if you want smooth Wear OS performance and accurate activity tracking, the Galaxy Watch 9 is one of the best wearables around; you’ll just need to keep that charger handy.

So what’s the catch?

To get the free Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 from T-Mobile, you’ll need to activate a service line with the carrier’s Watch Plan Plus 2.0. This plan costs just $15 per month and comes with unlimited talk, text, and data, plus you’ll get 15GB of data in Mexico and Canada along with unlimited texting and 5GB of monthly data in over 200 countries worldwide. You’ll also need to cover the $35 activation fee and any applicable sales tax on the watch.

This T-Mobile deal has been available for a few months, but with the Black Friday sales quickly approaching, I’m anticipating that many of the best carrier promotions will begin expiring on November 1st. In other words, if you’ve had your eye on this smartwatch deal for a while, I’d act fast or prepare to wait until the holiday sale season begins in earnest.