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For some reason, for the last few years, the Google Pixel has been offered for free to T-Mobile customers on most older plans. Even if you don’t usually get the “good” promos anymore, the Pixel has been free a number of times.
That now seems to be true once again this year, as T-Mobile is offering the Pixel 11 for $0 on legacy and even Essentials plans, as long as you’re lucky enough to be targeted.
On Us with Any Condition Trade-In
A new promo is appearing for many T-Mobile customers on legacy plans, ranging from old Simple Choice and ONE customers (that were never migrated to newer plans) to Experience Signature customers who have been migrated. Even customers on the Essentials plans can be eligible.
The offer allows for up to four (!) Pixel 11 devices per account to trade in an eligible device and receive a full $900 credit for their trade-in (spread over the 24 or 36-month installment).
Even more impressive is that, as the title of the promo implies, the trade-in devices can be damaged or non-functional. If you can get it’s IMEI, and it’s on the qualifying list of devices, you’re good to go.
Speaking of the list of eligible trade-in devices, T-Mobile has actually been pretty generous. Any Google Pixel device as far back as the Pixel 4 are eligible, along with any Apple iPhone literally ever, even an OG iPhone 1. A litany of Samsung devices are also eligible, as far back as the S6 series, as well as a number of A-series devices.
It’s quite the deal, and it seems like T-Mobile isn’t publicizing the deal too much either, because it isn’t even listed on their Pixel 11 announcement news post.
$900 Off Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL
The promo also works for the Pixel 11 Pro and the Pixel 11 Pro XL. For these devices, you’ll receive the same $900 off with trade, and the remainder of the cost of the device will be added to your bill over 24 or 36 months.
The same promo works on all three Pixel 11 devices, so that limit of 4 is total, not per Pixel 11 device. For example, you can get three Pixel 11’s and one Pixel 11 Pro, or two Pixel 11s and two Pixel 11 Pro XLs, etc, up to a maximum of four total per account.
Who qualifies?
Sources say that this promo is “targeted”, however, like many previous offers of this nature, it seems most customers will qualify.
If you’re on any plan that isn’t Experience More, Experience Beyond, or the Go5G equivalents, you’re likely to qualify. Customers on those plans have a different promo, like a free Pixel 11 Pro or better.
To check if you qualify, open the T-Life app or the T-Mobile website and sign in. From there, go to Shop, and find the Pixel 11. Click/tap the Pixel 11 to bring up it’s full details. The promo seems to be picky as to when it shows, and we’ve seen it not show when you’re on the full list of devices. So be sure to actually open the Pixel 11 listing.
Once on the listing for the phone, tap the promotions banner at the top. If you see an offer that says “Get Google Pixel 11 On Us with Any Condition trade-in on Essentials and select legacy plans.“, you qualify.
From there simply complete the purchase process on up to 4 qualifying lines. Be sure to choose your trade-in device (it doesn’t even have to be one that’s on your account), and the site should say your trade-in qualifies for $899.99.
The Costco Perk
Many customers “in the know” about T-Mobile are aware that linking your Costco account has benefits.
For this deal, there are two: you can have your $35 Device Connection Charge waived on each purchase, and you get a $100 Costco Gift Card after 90 days. That means you can pay just taxes up front for your new device, and come out ahead.
In our testing, we’ve noticed a quirk about stacking both the free Pixel 11 and the Costco benefits. When entering your trade-in device while Costco is connected, the site may only show a “$100 benefit” as the value of your trade-in. However, don’t panic. In the cart itself, you should see the full promo attached.
To sign in to your T-Mobile account via Costco, simply visit this link, scroll down, and click “Upgrade Now” under the “Upgrade Your Device” pane. We recommend using the web to do this process, as doing it via T-Life is a bit messier. Sign in on Costco, then once you’re on the T-Mobile site, if you’re not already logged in, click the 3 dots on the top right of the page and click sign in.
If successful, you should see a Costco banner across the top of the T-Mobile page.
A good deal?
If you know for sure you’re going to stick with T-Mobile for a while, this deal is almost a no brainer. Even if you have no trade-in device to use, a used older Pixel or iPhone can be had for quite cheap to be used as a trade-in device.
However, if T-Mobile’s recent price increases have rubbed you the wrong way, you may want to hold off. This Pixel 11 is only free if you stick with them for another two years, so if you think you might leave before then, keep that in mind.
That being said, given how many bad moves T-Mobile has made lately, it’s nice to see an occasional good deal slip through. Let us know below if you’ll be snagging one of these free Pixels.
