The T-Mobile and Verizon iPad rebate program, in partnership with Apple, promised to give customers a rebate of up to $200 on the purchase of a cellular iPad that would be activated via the aforementioned carriers. It is now reported that the carriers have suspended their iPad rebate program, after various users complained about it on social media.
Multiple customers previously took to social media to air their grievances about the rebate program. Some said that the carriers would straight up refuse to issue the $200 rebate for the iPad. One user complained that when he enquired about the rebate, Verizon said that “there was no such thing”.
However, this issue doesn’t appear to be limited to Verizon and T-Mobile users alone. An AT&T subscriber echoed the same issue and added that the carrier refused to budge despite sharing screenshots and emails of the rebate program. Mark Gurman also tried to highlight the problem by forwarding multiple user complaints to Verizon and was told that the “promotion is working as it should for eligible Verizon customers.”
“Verizon said it has looked into the complaints about iPad rebates and found the ‘promotion is working as it should for eligible Verizon customers.’ I had provided the carrier with 13 claims on Twitter from customers stating that the rebate didn’t work properly for them.” https://t.co/ENHRD4I3ix
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) December 5, 2021
Gurman previously brought to light that T-Mobile was denying $100 rebates on the Apple Watch Series 7 to customers. Later, he reported that T-Mobile trade-ins against iPhone 13 purchases were also being denied.
Last year, back in April, major wireless carriers in the US partnered with Apple to offer a subsidy for the 5G iPad Pro. This was done in a bid to encourage customers to choose the 5G iPad Pro over the standard WiFi version. Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint were offering $200 rebates, whereas AT&T promised a $150 rebate.
Apple has now erased all references of Verizon and T-Mobile’s $200 rebate program for the iPad from its website. The carriers have not yet made any official statements regarding the suspension of iPad rebates.
Update: A T-Mobile spokesperson informed MacRumors that the iPad rebate program with Apple was a limited time offer that started from April 2021 and was set to end on December 31, 2021. Additionally, the spokesperson said that T-Mobile is “always looking for opportunities to give our customers the best deals on devices.”
[Via MacRumors]Update: @TMobile spokesperson says the offer was set to end at the end of the year after it began in April, adding they’re “always looking for opportunities to give our customers the best deals on devices.” https://t.co/CHUp55CGJI pic.twitter.com/UH5thbaLb5
— . (@SamiFathi_) January 3, 2022