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rui no onna

Contributor
Original poster
Oct 25, 2013
14,651
12,793
Just a heads up, Walmart has the new iPhone SE discounted by $177/178 with AT&T or Verizon 36-month device installment plan.

It's a straight up cash discount, not monthly credits like the ones offered by carriers and there's no prepayment penalty.


 

clueless88

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2020
240
149
Doesn't that lock one in for 36 months to ATT or Verizon? It might be better to switch with an alternate carrier and buy an unlocked SE. The unlocked ones seem to run a bit more than the ATT/Verizon ones, but if you have adequate coverage with something like Mint or Visible (? owned by Verizon and probably has better coverage in some areas than Mint), you can save more than $178 over three years.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Original poster
Oct 25, 2013
14,651
12,793
Doesn't that lock one in for 36 months to ATT or Verizon? It might be better to switch with an alternate carrier and buy an unlocked SE. The unlocked ones seem to run a bit more than the ATT/Verizon ones, but if you have adequate coverage with something like Mint or Visible (? owned by Verizon and probably has better coverage in some areas than Mint), you can save more than $178 over three years.

As mentioned, this is a straight cash discount so you can prepay at any time without penalty in case you wish to switch carriers. The loan amount is just $250 for 64GB or $300 for 128GB. Walmart offered a similar deal for the iPhone SE 2020 which was a bit better ($200 for 64GB, $250 for 128GB).

I expect there are plenty of users content with their existing AT&T or Verizon postpaid service and this is a decent price for an upgraded iPhone. Honestly, if AT&T and Verizon can offer $150-250 iPhone SE on cheaper prepaid plans locked for just 2-6 months, they really should offer similar deals on the SE to postpaid customers paying for more expensive plans.

As for MVNOs, I have a spare phone on Visible and quality of service is below Verizon postpaid particularly if you use hotspot (congested network).
 

B_mark_R

macrumors regular
Sep 24, 2017
205
372
Good catch! This is a great deal. They had the same deal with iphone se 2020. Upgrade and pay it off.
 

ACG12

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2015
859
744
Hopefully it comes down more. I paid $200 for my 2020 SE 128gb and $250 for a 256gb from them a few months after it released.
 

tuc

macrumors 6502
Aug 25, 2003
333
67
I see this is still going on, or a similar deal for slightly more.

My question is, can I get this in store, or by mail only? (I'm on T-Mobile, but I'm trying to help someone with AT&T.)
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Original poster
Oct 25, 2013
14,651
12,793
I see this is still going on, or a similar deal for slightly more.

My question is, can I get this in store, or by mail only? (I'm on T-Mobile, but I'm trying to help someone with AT&T.)

I’m not sure. I believe the previous promo (for SE2) was also available in store.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Original poster
Oct 25, 2013
14,651
12,793
I believe you need to add a new line for this, right?

Upgrade is fine. We upgraded from the SE2 to the SE3 (mostly because we're concerned the SE3 might be Apple's last LCD & TouchID iPhone).

I think online may actually be restricted to upgrades. For add a line and new account, you might need to go into a brick and mortar Walmart store (at least that was the case in 2020)
 
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SpotOnT

macrumors 6502a
Dec 7, 2016
883
1,810
Any drawbacks from getting an iPhone from walmart?

Mainly thinking about slow stock turnaround time or improper storage temperatures leading to degraded battery, etc.

Or am I just being paranoid? (lol I have purchased many things from Walmart, but never electronics).
 

ssdaytona

macrumors regular
Apr 20, 2011
136
24
nope, no drawbacks whatsoever. it's better because there are no bill credits involved. you can pay it off and still be eligible for an upgrade.

too bad the att iPhone se3 is not discounted compared to vz
 
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