--- title: iPhone 6: How to Get a Free One and Some Cash Too description: Several new trade-in programs will let you obtain with a two-year contract an iPhone 6 for free—and also leave you with extra cash canonical: https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-10T16:14:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:03:08.822Z article:section: Business og:title: iPhone 6: How to Get a Free One and Some Cash Too og:description: Several new trade-in programs will let you obtain with a two-year contract an iPhone 6 for free—and also leave you with extra cash og:url: https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f440428ed3ce271/6986a2a8810bbb80d1c93591/iphone-6-plus1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Apple Inc. Reveals Bigger-Screen iPhones Alongside Wearables og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: iPhone 6: How to Get a Free One and Some Cash Too twitter:description: Several new trade-in programs will let you obtain with a two-year contract an iPhone 6 for free—and also leave you with extra cash twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f440428ed3ce271/6986a2a8810bbb80d1c93591/iphone-6-plus1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Get a Free iPhone 6 and Some Cash, Too  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Sep 10, 2014 4:14 PM CUT  An attendee displays the new Apple Inc. iPhone 6, left, and iPhone 6 Plus for a photograph after a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2014. An attendee displays the new Apple Inc. iPhone 6, left, and iPhone 6 Plus for a photograph after a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif. on Sept. 9, 2014.Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Jack Linshi](/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Sep 10, 2014 4:14 PM CUT If you’re desperate for an [iPhone 6](http://time.com/3311862/10-things-iphone-6-apple/ "undefined"), then you’re in luck: Competing trade-in programs between major U.S. carriers have made it so that many customers will not only get a free iPhone 6, but also some extra cash. Verizon announced Tuesday a new trade-in program in which customers swap in their old iPhones and sign a two-year contract for a free iPhone 6, according to Verizon. Specifically, Verizon will collect working iPhones of the 4, 4S, 5, 5S and 5C models in exchange for a $200 gift card, which can then be credited to the $199 16GB iPhone 6. Verizon’s deal, while glamorous, isn’t actually the best one you can get—but it’s probably the most convenient. Several other trade in programs through non-wireless carriers have surfaced offering more lucrative deals, though they haven’t yet announced when and if they’ll carry the iPhone 6\. Walmart, for example, is offering [$300 for a 16GB iPhone 5](http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2013/09/10/walmart-launches-smartphone-trade-in-program-in-the-us "undefined"), and Amazon is offering [$225 for a 16GB iPhone 5.](http://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Trade-In/b?ie=UTF8&node=2226766011 "undefined") All of these offers are independent of your wireless carrier. If you’re not a Verizon customer, then there’s even better news—not only will your iPhone 6 probably be free, you’ll likely also profit from it. Sprint and T-Mobile both announced trade-in programs that will match buyback programs of all major U.S. carriers—including Verizon. While Sprint currently offers deals with credit up to $300, T-Mobile has said it’ll not only match all major buyback programs, but it’ll also [add an extra $50.](http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news/t-mobile-guarantees-industrys-best-trade-in.htm "undefined") In other words: if you’re with T-Mobile, you’ll be profiting at least $50 from your trade-in program. AT&T told TIME it will announce its trade-in program by Sept. 12, when pre-orders of the iPhone 6 begin. It’s unusual for carriers to offer such heavy discounts for a new product, but the nationwide craze for Apple’s latest product is a prime opportunity for carriers to steal and attract new customers. Generally, prices of older models are often slashed to maintain sales and attract new customers: Several major carriers sell the older iPhone 4S at 99 cents with at two-year contract. And in some cases, new products that are performing far below expectations—like [Amazon’s Fire phone](http://time.com/3304149/amazon-fire-phone-99-cents-mobile-technology/ "undefined")—are offered at steep discounts to remain afloat in the market. If you do decide to participate in one of the many trade-in programs, here’s what you need to know about [getting rid of your old iPhone.](http://time.com/money/3269233/iphone6-selling-your-old-iphone/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/"},"headline":"How to Get a Free iPhone 6 and Some Cash, Too","datePublished":"2014-09-10T16:14:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:08.822Z","description":"Several new trade-in programs will let you obtain with a two-year contract an iPhone 6 for free—and also leave you with extra cash","url":"https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/","keywords":["Tech","Smartphones","Technology & Media","Companies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f440428ed3ce271/6986a2a8810bbb80d1c93591/iphone-6-plus1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f440428ed3ce271/6986a2a8810bbb80d1c93591/iphone-6-plus1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Apple Inc. Reveals Bigger-Screen iPhones Alongside Wearables","caption":"Apple Inc. Reveals Bigger-Screen iPhones Alongside Wearables","creditText":"Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3318536/iphone-6-verizon-trade-in/","name":"How to Get a Free iPhone 6 and Some Cash, Too"}}]}] ```