T-Mobile will give you a free iPhone 17 Pro right now – how the preorder deal works

Jason Hiner/ZDNET

Apple has announced the latest iPhone 17 lineup, including the iPhone 17 Pro with its A19 Pro processor for improved battery life and performance. And if you’re ready to upgrade your smartphone, right now at T-Mobile, you can get an iPhone 17 Pro for free when you have a qualifying trade-in and sign up for or switch to the Experience Beyond mobile plan. 

If you’re switching to T-Mobile on the Experience More or Go5G Plus plans, you can get a base model iPhone 17 or up to $830 off any iPhone 17 model, no trade-in required.

Also: Every iPhone 17 model compared: Should you buy the base model, Air, Pro, or Max? 

The iPhone 17 Pro features a 6.3-inch Super Retina XDR display for better color accuracy, detailing, and contrast while viewing photos or streaming video. It also supports Dolby Vision HDR for enhanced picture quality. The phone body itself is made of a single piece of aluminum and coated in a scratch-resistant ceramic to protect the delicate electronics inside. The version T-Mobile is offering for free as part of the deal sports 256GB of internal storage, but there are options available, all the way up to 2TB.

Read more: Apple iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 16 Pro: I compared both models, and here’s how they differ 

The A19 Pro processor helps improve battery life, with up to 33 hours of use on a full charge. This means you can talk, text, and stream all day before you even need to think about topping up. With the Fusion camera system, you’ll get 48MP ultra-wide, telephoto, and primary lenses for shooting professional-quality video and photos; the 18MP front camera delivers high-quality recordings and streaming for content creation and video calls. 

The iPhone 17 Pro also features a suite of emergency functions like crash detection, satellite connectivity for texting and calling, and emergency SOS messaging to first responders and trusted contacts. 

While pre-orders for the iPhone 17 Pro and its cousins don’t go live until this Friday, T-Mobile offers plenty of information on the deal so you can decide if the phone is worth the upgrade. To take advantage of this deal, new and existing T-Mobile customers have to sign up for the Experience Beyond mobile plan for unlimited talk, text, and data. The deal is paid out over 24 monthly bill credits — if you cancel your account before then, you’ll need to pay the remaining balance. 

Customers also have to pay a $35 activation fee to connect their new phone to their account, as well as all applicable taxes and service fees. You’ll also need a qualifying device to trade in to be able to get the full discount; if your trade-in isn’t an approved brand or in poor condition, you may be responsible for a portion of the retail price of your new iPhone 17 Pro.

Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

How I rated this deal 

The iPhone 17 Pro is one of Apple’s newest smartphone offerings, with a premium price tag to match. Even with having to pay an activation fee along with taxes and service fees, paying around $50 out of pocket for one of the latest iPhones is a steal. Getting a free, premium mobile device helps take the sting out of the somewhat high monthly cost of the Experience Beyond unlimited mobile plan from T-Mobile. That’s why I gave this deal a 4/5 Editor’s deal rating.

Deals are subject to sell out or expire anytime, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to save and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com. 

Show more

We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech. 

In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.

At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members’ expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts. 

Also: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025

Show more