You are correct that a carrier provided free phone is never truly free, but that is the same for all carriers. While there is no service contract for most carriers they essentially lock you into a service for the two years it takes to pay off the device. It can take a couple of months for bill credits equal to the monthly phone payment to show up on the account, but I am confused by the odd amount showing up on your bill. Any phone payment for a new iPhone 16 that would be offset by bill credits is definitely going to be way higher than $8.96 Unfortunately if you change your plan you will likely lose those bill credits so any plan savings you get will be offset by the phone payments and you will be paying just as much if not more than your current cost. If you are still within the return window your best option may be returning the phone and canceling service, then return to your old plan at ATT or explore other options like an MVMO carrier. Expect at the least a restocking fee if you are still in the time window where you can return the phone. The only other viable option is paying off the phone then canceling service if you can not get a plan that meets your needs, If you go with that you will end up being responsible for the full retail cost of the phone which is not going to be cheap for a flagship phone. More on reddit.com

Don't do it, it's a trap More on reddit.com

Moving to go5g would be the same cost as your current plan. You could move to the essentials 4 for $100 plan which would be $150 + taxes and fees for 6 lines ($125 for 5), but you would lose the free line going this route. More on reddit.com

Helium mobile $30/month unlimited T-Mobile towers No contacts BYOD (must be unlocked) More on reddit.com