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Replacing Phones and Contracts

N

NealR2000

Lurker
Family of 4, each with a phone. We have a family plan with T-Mobile, having had it for several years. Although I'm not necessarily aganist T-Mobile, I hate having to re-start the 2-year contract clock every time one of us needs a new phone. Kids are particularly hard on phones and they always seem to start malfunctioning around the 18-month mark. Even if they don't, phones get old quickly these days and replacements are always needed at least every couple of years. My question concerns these replacements and the contract renewals. I know that T-Mobile gives you the opportunity to replace phones without extending the contract, but that option comes at a much higher price.

My question is, therefore, can I buy replacement phones from a non-T-Mobile source and use them on T-Mobile? If so, is there a financial benefit to this, long-term? I just want to get to a point where I no longer have this perpectual 2-years of contract time ahead of me.
 
You can, in some cases. It depends on the phone. (Some AT&T phones will work fine on TMobile, most international phones will.) The problem is that TMobile retention can probably give you a better price for any given pphone than you'll get anywhere else. (Unless you buy a Chinese "clone" that really only looks like the original and has the same name, but isn't anything like the original. You can buy a "Samsung Note 3" for $200-$300 outright from some Chinese companies, but a) don't expect Samsung or TMobile to give you any help with it, and I don't mean just repairs - what's in it is a different phone, and 2) don't expect the hardware or software you get with a real Note 3. What you're getting is a large [much lower resolution] screen on 3 year old technology that looks like a Note 3 on the outside.

So yes, you can save money by buying junk, you can spend more by buying the real thing from some other vendor or you can probably get the best deal by talking to TMobile's retention department when you need a new phone and try to get the best price from them that you can. Four phone family plan for several years? They won't give you the store, but they might work with you a little.
 
Now that you can get the flagship Nexus 5 for $350, a Moto X for $400 or a perfectly usable Moto G for $180-200 all off-contract, I see absolutely no reason to shackle yourself to a 2-year contract extension particularly since T-Mobile has decoupled the price of the phones from the service.
 
Check Swappa.com too, you can find good deals there and it's a trustworthy site. I've used them many times and have never had a problem. I'm actually expecting a phone from there as I type :)

I'm on Verizon, contract free and plan to stay that way.

Here's the link to t-mobile phones
 
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