T-Mobile's iPhone 18 Pro promotion no longer covers the full price of the base model. The carrier's live Apple offer page, retrieved Oct. 12, advertises up to $1,000 off an iPhone 18 Pro, spread across as many as 36 monthly bill credits. At launch, the ceiling was $1,200.
T-Mobile prices the 256GB model at $1,199.99. Take the full credit and you still owe $199.99, about $5.56 a month over 36 months before tax. That's the best case. The maximum credit isn't automatic, and collecting it still takes premium service and up to 36 months of bill credits.
The cut lands hardest on two kinds of shoppers: people moving an eligible number from AT&T, Verizon or another approved carrier to a new T-Mobile line, and existing T-Mobile customers weighing a trade-in. It also matters to anyone who saw launch-week "free iPhone 18 Pro" coverage and assumed it still applies.
What changed
T-Mobile's Sept. 10 newsroom release advertised up to $1,200 off any iPhone 18 Pro model with a qualifying trade-in or a switch to an eligible premium plan. On the $1,199.99 base model, that was enough for the carrier to call the phone an on-us offer. The page we retrieved Oct. 12 caps the credit at $1,000, which is $200 less. We couldn't establish when the change took effect.
TechRadar, whose T-Mobile deals page was last updated Oct. 8, independently reported that the carrier pared back its iPhone 18-series promotion once the preorder period ended. It put the current maximum at $1,000 with a new Experience Beyond line or an eligible trade-in.
Two ways to qualify
- Switch. You need qualifying credit, a new line and an eligible number transferred from AT&T, Verizon or another approved carrier. T-Mobile describes the qualifying service as $100 or more a month with AutoPay.
- Trade in. You need qualifying credit, qualifying service and an eligible phone, and the credit depends on the model. T-Mobile's own examples are $1,000 for an iPhone 16 and $730 for an iPhone 14. The offer page says eligible trade-ins are accepted in any condition, but the full list of eligible devices wasn't available to us, so don't assume your phone earns the maximum.
What you actually pay
At the time of sale, you pay a $35 device connection charge per line, plus sales tax on the phone's full $1,199.99 pre-credit price rather than on the $199.99 balance. Credits may take two billing cycles to begin.
Then there's the service. Experience Beyond 2.0, the plan listed for both new and existing customers, runs $105 for one line before AutoPay and other discounts, plus taxes and fees. Across the 36 months the credits run, that list price totals $3,780. Treat it as an illustration, not a quote: AutoPay, other discounts, taxes and fees will move the number. T-Mobile's plan page also gives conflicting provider-fee amounts in different places, so confirm surcharges at checkout.
The plan includes unlimited premium smartphone data and 250GB of high-speed hotspot data, after which hotspot use continues at a maximum of 3G speeds. Roaming covers 30GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico, plus 15GB in more than 215 other countries and destinations. The offer page also lists legacy Experience Beyond and Go5G Next, but for existing customers only; we couldn't verify that those plans carry the same pricing or allowances.
The 36-month strings
The plan itself has no annual contract and no early-termination fee. The phone discount is a separate commitment. You get all of it only if the account, the line and the financing stay active and in good standing for the full credit period. Pay the phone off early or take an early upgrade, and the credits stop. Cancel the account and the credits stop too, with the remaining financed balance coming due. T-Mobile allows no more than four discounted devices per account, and customers who canceled lines in the previous 90 days may need to reactivate them first.
No verified deadline
Some coverage has called this a weekend deal. T-Mobile's page lists no expiration date and says only that the offer is limited-time and subject to change. The $1,000 cap is what the carrier advertised on Oct. 12. That credit has already dropped once since launch, so check the offer page and your trade-in value again before you sign.