Will NEXT accept a trade-in if it was replaced by 3rd party insurance?

I agree with you... "should", however, i just have not been able to locate anything on a website that specifically says "3rd party insured replacement phones, that are the same model, color, yada yada, in good working condition, etc, will be accepted as trade-in at your 12mo or 18mo trade-in date".  I'd love to see it say that somewhere, just so that i feel 100% confident in purchasing my insurance via a 3rd party insurer.  But thanks for that info, it does give me a "better" feeling about it, but not yet a 100% better feeling. 🙂

Lol. No problem. I mean, lets be honest, AT&T can be a bit "strict" on certain things, but I don't think they would care or even question the fact that you are trading in a phone that didn't have the same IMEI that the original phone you purchased had. 

Note I checked with AT&T on this. If you go with AT&T Next and use a 3rd party warranty or insurance provider OTHER than Asurion, if you break your phone or need to make a claim to the 3rd party warranty provider, AT&T will NOT accept the new phone you get as an acceptable trade-in when it comes time to upgrade!! So in my opinion, it makes no sense to use AT&T Next other than the 30 month option, because by the time your 2 year warranty expires, you can upgrade anyway.

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@adamshort wrote:

Note I checked with AT&T on this. If you go with AT&T Next and use a 3rd party warranty or insurance provider OTHER than Asurion, if you break your phone or need to make a claim to the 3rd party warranty provider, AT&T will NOT accept the new phone you get as an acceptable trade-in when it comes time to upgrade!! So in my opinion, it makes no sense to use AT&T Next other than the 30 month option, because by the time your 2 year warranty expires, you can upgrade anyway.

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I'm not quite sure where you got your information, but 4 out or 4 AT&T reps I've spoken with about NEXT trade-in phones have all told me that as long as the phone I'm trading in is the sme model, storage capacity, AT&T network compatibile & is in goodworking order, it is acceptable for the trade-in on AT&T NEXT.  Specifically, they said that if Apple replaces a phone under warranty, then the replacement phone would be considered the same as the original phone, so it could be used for the trade-in.  Perhaps the AT&T person who gave you that response thought you were trying to trade in a broken phone for a NEXT upgrade, not a like new replacement for a broken phone.

Sounds as if it will be OK. On AT&T's site https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/returnpolicy.html under the "AT&T Next Trade-In" tab, it says that tradeins must meet these criteria:

1. The smartphone is the same make and model as your original smartphone.
2. It is in good physical and fully functional condition, which means:

• It must power on and off.
• The screen must be intact, free of any chips, and function properly.
• The device must be free of breaks or cracks.
• The battery must be included.
• The Activation Lock must be disabled (apps like Find My iPhone lock the phone and need to be disabled).

1. The phone has been reset, and does not any type of lock disabling it (such as Find my iPhone).
2. The phone has not been reported as lost or stolen (for example, blacklisted).
3. We need to receive your trade-in within 44 days (for customers or Individual Responsibility Users, or 75 days for Corporate Responsibility Users).

@jmeray Here's the thing, your iPhone is (almost always) worth more than AT&T is going to pay you (the last 6-8 payments). I think Gazelle.com will generally give you more (and that's pretty effortless) and you could probably do even better at eBay too.