[Samsung Galaxy A32 5G] GalaxyA325G:
Thank you for helping others by posting this information which I took advantage of.

A few more details I found out after getting the phone are that you can talk T-Mobile USA out of charging you a few of the (somewhat hidden so-called nominal) fees given they didn't charge me them (they only charged me the state tax on the $282 estimated MSRP) for the 64GB Samsung Galaxy A32 5G (Model SM-A326U).

You either call them up or visit a store or use your T-Mobile account online to order the "upgrade"

If you do not have or use your T-Mobile account online then you can talk them out of charging you the $20 (I did) but you have to have a good excuse - otherwise the only way to save that $20 charge is to do it online (they will walk you through the process on the phone though and not charge you).

Also you can talk them out of the $5.99 shipping & handling fee if you come up with a good excuse (ask me how I know this).

But if you don't talk them out of the nominal charges, the cost to you is:

State sales tax on the $282 MSRPP

$6 shipping & handling

$20 for ordering at a brick-and-mortar store or ordering via telephone support personnel

They send you a link to print a two-page PDF, the first page of which is essentially a generic checklist of what to do and the second page of which is specific to your trade-in device which contains three things.

The USPS free shipping label that goes on the outside of the box

The description of your trade-in phone that goes inside the box

An optional receipt for your records

You have to find your own box to ship back the old phone (or you can use the brown cardboard box that the new phone came in if you want. Don't worry the new phone comes with its own white box so you don't need the brown cardboard outside box.)

As stated in the OP, they told me you can trade in as many as four phones but each trade-in phone has to be in its own box with its own receipt inside and its own label on the outside.

You stick the receipt inside the box, along with your old phone, turned off but with the battery in place, and you stick a shipping label on the outside of the box.

When you go to the US Post Office to drop it off you can ask for a receipt from the Post Office and they will print one out (and email it to you if you like). You do not need to insure the shipment - you have to trust the US Post Office that they won't go postal on your package (so I snapped a photo at the post office, just in case).

You will get a series of texts from T-Mobile telling you the status such as these I received:

"Your T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 White with serial number 1234567890 has been received and is currently being processed. For trade-in details, go to t-mo.co/mytradein01"​

And then... the somewhat scary zero-dollar indicator...

T-Mobile has applied a device trade-in credit of $0 to your Equipment Installation Plan for your Samsung Galaxy S3 White. Please visit t-mo.co/order01 for details or call 611.​

And finally... the reassuring word "complete"...

T-Mobile promo msg: The trade-in for line 2015551212 is complete and will receive a monthly bill credit for the 2021 Samsung Trade P7 promotion as long as you maintain eligibility & service. For details, go to t-mo.co/tradein01​

​

To expand further upon the terms and conditions it seems you have one month to send the tradin where they will nag you by text a few times if you procrastinate (ask me how I know this).

They don't want your charger or your cables or your SIM card or sdcard. They only want the phone which has to be complete and in a single unit all put together as a single item (phone + battery + the battery cover for example).

As was stated in the OP, they told me your old phone must work which they define as "being able to make a call" (even though it won't have a SIM card in it most likely). It doesn't matter what network, nor if it's old technology (some bands no longer even exist, I think).

However, the phone must be "undamaged" in so much as the screen can be scratched but not broken or cracked or washed out. There must not be water damage but the back and front can be scratched and dented as long as it's not major damage. The battery just has to have enough charge to power up the phone (as mine hadn't been charged in over a decade or so and wasn't even the original battery anyway).

In my situation the back cover was a different color than the phone and they said that's ok but that they'd note their pre-approval in the records.

Interestingly they say the phone must not be locked to a PIN but mine was locked to a PIN that I've long forgotten. After attempting all the old PINs I could think of, I called them back in exasperation to ask how to wipe out the PIN.

Thankfully they told me they'd note in the records that the phone is locked to a PIN and that those notes would inform the people checking the phone that it's OK that it's locked to a personal PIN.

Just to be clear this is a different "lock" than a carrier lock. My trade-in was a T-Mobile locked phone but they said the carrier lock status didn't matter to them (i.e., it could have been carrier locked to Verizon or AT&T and it wouldn't have mattered).

When I asked what happens if they don't approve the trade-in phone, I received various answers each time I called (which is the bane of all customer support queries) but the general answer was that they'd give us a chance to rectify the problem with another battery (if it was overbloated for example) or with another phone if necessary.

Although one person I asked said they'd have to cancel the order and start fresh with a new order - so if this happens to you that they don't approve your trade-in when they test it out - then let us know how they handled it - as that was my biggest worry given I had to punch a hole in the battery with a pin to let out the bloat just so that I could get the back cover to barely stay on as I had scrambled to find a back that fit (it was the wrong color) and I had it locked to a personal PIN, etc., any or all of which are faults which you'd expect in a 10 year old phone that has been sitting in a drawer waiting to be deemed useful again (just like The Brave Little Toaster was finally found useful after years of neglect).