Verizon will give you up to $ 1000 in credits for your broken phone

April Fool’s Day is just around the corner, and Verizon has voluntarily stepped into the fray with a deal that sounds too good to be true – especially for people with broken, useless phones. The US carrier insists that starting tomorrow, April 1, customers can trade in an “old cracked or water damaged phone” for up to $ 1,000 off a new 5G phone, like an iPhone 12 or Samsung’s Galaxy S21. Promotion does not extend to phones with damaged battery (for safety reasons).

You will get the most out of this offer if you are on another carrier and looking to open a new line and port your number to Verizon’s network. But current customers can also save money. You can find out the value of your phone online or at one of its retail stores, although if you plan to visit in person, the company encourages you to make an appointment on its store locator page. or through the My Verizon app. The offer will be posted on this page from April 1.

So here’s the fine print (there’s a lot, but it’s worth browsing if you think you might want to try the deal):

• Eligibility requires upgrading, or adding a new line and porting a number, to one of Verizon’s unlimited plans with 5G
• For new lines and phone number entry ports, or for existing customers transferring a line from another network: you can get a $ 300 Verizon e-gift card for an iPhone trade-in , or a $ 200 card for an Android phone (sent to you within eight weeks of the transaction)
• Stacked on this for new lines and entry ports (and also applicable for current customers who want to add a line, but not a port in a number): you will get up to $ 700 in monthly credits sent for an exchange iPhone- in, or up to $ 800 for a qualifying Android phone (sent as a credit each month over a 24-month period)
• If you just upgrade your phone, but only have a broken phone to trade in, Verizon will save you up to $ 440.
• There is no limit to the number of people per account who can trade in broken phones to take advantage of the deal.
• This is a “limited time” offer, but Verizon has not shared the end date

Once that’s all said and done, you will eventually have $ 300 Verizon credit on your account and / or additional credit each month, which will lower the cost of your monthly bill. This won’t make the investment of buying an expensive new 5G phone any less steep upfront, but it will mitigate the blow a bit by spreading the credits over time.

Verizon didn’t exactly share each phone’s trade-in value, but it did offer a list of phones that fell into a “higher value” category and others that would get “lower value”.

Updated at 3:00 p.m. ET: Verizon responded to The edge’s asked for clarification on a few points, including how many people can take advantage of this promo within a single account, when the promo will end, and how the credits received differ depending on whether you are a new or current customer.