3 Things To Know Before Upgrading Your Phone With Mint Mobile
No matter how carefully you handle it, you'll eventually notice signs that your smartphone needs an upgrade. It's all part of the shelf life of modern electronics. On average, your smartphone should last approximately three years before you need to consider buying a new one. If you're a Mint Mobile customer, moving on to a new phone is no more difficult than if you had a Verizon or T-Mobile plan. Plus, Mint Mobile has lots of discounts and perks.
That's not to say that there aren't a few quirks to be mindful of, though. While Mint Mobile does allow you to upgrade your phone and even offers options to do so in-house, you may run into a few surprises before you're fully connected to a new device.
We looked at Mint Mobile's upgrade process and pinpointed three concerning or otherwise unexpected things that consumers need to be aware of, especially prospective new customers. While Mint Mobile's plans are cheaper than the big players, one of these could be a dealbreaker
There is no in-house financing
When you upgrade your phone through Verizon Wireless or T-Mobile, you typically have two options — pay the phone off in one shot or enter into a device payment plan. These are offered through the provider and don't require a third-party company to intervene. Unfortunately, with Mint Mobile, device payment plans are only available through Affirm, a provider of flexible payment plans founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.
Though Affirm is a trusted alternative to high-interest credit cards, it's a third party that won't bill through Mint Mobile. That means you'll be responsible for paying off your device separately from your mobile plan. Through Verizon and T-Mobile, the payment plan is simply built into your monthly bill.
With Affirm, based on your credit, you may be denied outright or charged an interest rate as high as 36%. While a poor credit history can also exclude you from Verizon and T-Mobile's payment plans, or require a downpayment, they're always interest-free, so every penny goes toward the price of the phone. Furthermore, if you were hoping to bring the cost of your new smartphone down some, you're out of luck. Unlike bigger-name mobile providers, Mint Mobile doesn't offer device trade-ins.
Phones often come locked for 12 months
Though Mint Mobile offers a small selection of Motorola, Nokia, and OnePlus phones, its inventory tends to focus on Apple, Samsung, and Google devices, particularly when it comes to discounts and deals. And, if you're upgrading through Mint Mobile, there's a good chance you'll be locked into a 12-month plan.
According to the company's website, all discounted iPhones and select discounted Samsung and Google devices purchased through the provider come with a 12-month network lock. Phones with a forced lock must stay on the Mint Mobile network for the entire year before being moved to a different network. If you were hoping to sign up for a shorter plan but need a new phone, upgrading through Mint Mobile may not be the best option, unless you don't mind paying full price. Per the company, its full-price devices have a shorter waiting period of 60 days after activation before a phone can be unlocked. For both discounted and full-price phones, users must call Mint's customer care line to request the phone to be unlocked.
When shopping for a Samsung or Google phone, you can find confirmation of whether or not it's locked on the device page. Scroll to "Phone & Service Details" and look for the "Unlocked" field. If the value is "Yes," you should be able to take that phone anywhere.
You don't have to upgrade with Mint Mobile
If we've been slowly swaying you away from upgrading your phone through Mint Mobile, don't worry. You can keep your low-cost phone plan and still enjoy a brand-new device without dropping upwards of $1,000.
You can actually bring a phone purchased elsewhere. This is beneficial if you can find a good deal outside of Mint Mobile or are looking for a phone that isn't available in Mint's relatively limited inventory. So long as your device is unlocked, is compatible with a 5G or 4G LTE network, and can accept a SIM or eSIM card, it should work on Mint Mobile's network. Determining whether or not your phone is unlocked can be done differently on different devices.
On iPhones running iOS 14 or newer, open Settings, go to General, click on About, and then scroll down to Network Provider Lock. If it says "No SIM restrictions," the device is unlocked. For Android devices, the best way to confirm if it's unlocked is by swapping your current SIM card with one from a different carrier. If you insert the other SIM and receive a prompt for a SIM unlock code, then your phone is locked. Alternatively, without a second SIM card to test, you can call your current carrier to inquire. If your phone is sealed and you don't want to open it until you're sure it can be used on Mint Mobile's network, simply call the respective support line for that device (e.g. Apple support for iPhones).