- Samsung has just improved the conditions of its phone exchange program
- There is no longer a purchase requirement and it is open all year round.
- It has started in South Korea and France and more regions will soon follow.
Are you tired of your Samsung phone and want to trade it in for something new? Samsung just upgraded its Galaxy Trade-In program to offer more generous terms, making it a tempting option if you’re looking to upgrade to one of the best Samsung phones.
In fact, one of the new changes is that you don’t need to exchange your old Samsung phone for a new one; There’s no purchase necessary, so you can simply trade in your old device for some cash if you prefer. You might have to wait a bit to do so, though: the program just started in South Korea and France, and Samsung says it plans to “expand to more regions through 2025.”
Previously, you had to buy a new Samsung phone on samsung.com or the company’s app every time you traded in an old one. If you already had one in mind and wanted to upgrade, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal, but it was less convenient if you just wanted to get rid of an old device and leave it at that. And if you were switching from a Samsung device to an iPhone or a different Android product, it wouldn’t have worked for you at all.
And there’s another improvement to the program: now you can get cash for your old phone all year round, wherever you are in the world. That was the case before if you lived in the US or most other Western places, but in South Korea, trading windows were blocked at certain times of the year, limiting your options.
These windows were often tied to major product launches, like those coming at Samsung Unpacked 2025, for example, but that’s no longer the case.
Limited eligibility
This sounds like good news for anyone looking to get rid of an old Samsung phone in 2025, whether or not they want to replace it with something better. But there’s one notable problem that means it’s not all entirely positive.
The problem is that right now you can only trade in specific Samsung devices. That includes phones from the Galaxy S20, S21, S22 and S23 series. It also covers some foldable phones, including the Z Flip 3 to Z Flip 5, as well as the Z Fold 3 to Z Fold 5.
Interestingly, neither the Galaxy S24, Z Flip 6, nor Z Fold 6 are redeemable, even though they were released last year. That means the range of products that are eligible for the program is quite narrow.
That said, it’s still a better arrangement than before. While there aren’t a huge number of devices that can be traded in, at least you now have a lot more flexibility if you want to take up Samsung’s offer. If you were thinking of upgrading from your old device anyway, it will be a welcome change.
