Last Updated on June 23, 2022 by srinivas
Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming service, arrived in late 2019, so it’s been here for a while, but it’s only recently come into its own as more and more people have discovered the shows on offer. Shows included Ted Lasso and For all mankindas well as movies like Greyhound, staring at Tom Hanks. You can even watch a few MLB games every Friday night.
Apple TV+ costs $4.99 / £4.99 per month, which is less than other streaming services. But it also offers less content than many other streaming services, without the huge back catalogs of movies and TV shows offered by Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu or Disney+. To learn more about what you can watch on Apple TV+, read everything you can watch on Apple TV+, including the new shows coming to the service.
You might want to watch one of the shows broadcast by Apple, but the monthly subscription might not appeal to you. Wondering how to get Apple TV+ for free? We will review your options.
One of those options is that the various companies bundle a free Apple TV+ subscription with their services. For example, there is the option to get a free annual subscription to Apple TV+ from T-Mobile (if you live in the US), you can also get 6 months of free Apple TV+ with a PlayStation 5. Read more about these deals below.
Watch the first episodes for free on Apple TV+
There are a number of ways you can watch free shows on Apple TV+. Apple offers limited trials (discussed below), and the service also lets you watch the first episode of many shows for free. There are even several dozen episodes available to watch for free, including the first episodes of Ted Lasso† the morning show† To see† To attemptand more.
Get 7 days of free Apple TV+
If you want to watch a show and have plenty of time in the near future, you can activate your seven-day free trial and binge watch!
You can subscribe to Apple TV+ here on Apple’s website or through the Apple TV app on your device.
However, the 7-day trial automatically extends to a monthly subscription, so you should be prepared to cancel within a week if you don’t want to run out of pocket.
The 7-day trial may sound appealing if you think you can watch an entire series in a week. But make sure the series is complete, as Apple typically adds new episodes every week.
The easiest way to cancel a subscription go to Settings and click on the Apple ID section on your iPhone. Tap on Subscriptions† Find Apple TV+ in the Active list and then Cancel subscription† Below you will find more information about canceling your subscription. Please note that you will not find Apple TV+ in the active list until the trial period has ended.
That’s all fine if you can watch the entire season in one week, but what if you think you might need a little more time?
Get 6 months of free Apple TV+ with PlayStation 5
If you’re lucky enough to already own a PlayStation 5 – or if you manage to buy one (read where to buy the PlayStation 5 for help with that), you can get a free six-month subscription to Apple TV+. This offer runs until July 22, 2022. If you have a PlayStation 4, you can get a free three-month trial.
What you need:
- You will need a PS5 or new PS4, a PlayStation Network account and an Apple ID.
- The offer is valid in the UK and US, as well as Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa.
We can confirm that even if you’ve already enjoyed Apple’s free trial of Apple TV+, you can still get 6 months free with this PlayStation offer.
Here’s how to claim the PS5 offer:
You should be able to find the Apple TV app in the PS5 search bar. If you can’t find it, search the media section under All apps. On PS4, check out the TV & Video section.
- Download the app.
- Open the app and follow the instructions.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
Get 12 months of free Apple TV+ with T-Mobile US
T-Mobile currently offers Apple TV+ for free for one year to new and existing customers, if you have an eligible plan (most plans are eligible).
Customers can redeem the freebie by logging into the T-Mobile app or their T-Mobile account online. Those on Sprint (now owned by T-Mobile) can redeem the offer by going to promotions.t-mobile.com and using the code 2021APPLETVP1. Magenta customers can also redeem the offer this way. More details here.
This offer is doing stack of ongoing subscriptions and free offers! T-Mobile will stop issuing codes on June 30, 2022 and the codes will no longer work after June 31, 2022.
Get 3 months of free Apple TV+ when you buy an Apple product
It used to be that if you bought a qualifying new Apple product, you could get an entire year of Apple TV+ for free.
With the “one year free” deal now closed, Apple is offering three months of Apple TV+ free to anyone with a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.
It is necessary to claim the deal within 90 days of setting up your new device.
Suitable devices are any new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac. Apple Watch, HomePod, AirPods and other Apple devices are not eligible. Basically, your device is eligible if it’s a new Apple device that can run the TV app and watch Apple TV+ content.
Get 3 months of free Apple TV+ at Currys (UK)
Currys in the UK also offers three months of free Apple TV+, but in this case you don’t need to buy an Apple product. It’s a Currys Perks advantage, details here.
This is Currys’ new membership service, giving members access to exclusive discounts, top brand offers, partner benefits and opportunities to win prizes.
Get 3 months of free Apple TV+ from Best Buy (US)
Those in the US can get three months of free Apple TV+ through Best Buy, without even making a special qualifying purchase. Simply visit the Best Buy Apple TV+ promo page, click Add to Cart and checkout. Follow the prompts to access your digital download. This is a code you can enter for three free months when you first sign up for Apple TV+. The code only works for new subscribers.
This code must be used during sign-up, so it is likely the code you should use first before redeeming other offers, such as the free 3 months on a qualifying Apple product.
Get a student subscription to Apple Music including TV+
Another way to get Apple TV+ for free is to sign up for an Apple Music student subscription. If you qualify as a college student, you can get Apple Music for half price, and from Summer 2021, Apple will bundle free Apple TV+ subscriptions with Apple Music student subscriptions, which cost £4.99 / $4.99. 99 cost.
Visit this Apple page for more information.
Claim your free Apple TV+ trial from Apple
After you’ve made a qualifying purchase or decided to try the 7-day free trial, all you need to do is:
- Make sure the device is using the latest software.
- Open the TV app on your new Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.
- Sign in to your Apple ID.
- Click on the show you want to watch – you should see the option to Enjoy three months free† Note: This will only appear if you have purchased a new device, otherwise you will only see the 7-day trial offer.
- Click Get on†
- Confirm that you want to activate the free trial.
- You will see a message that the free trial will start immediately and will run until the end of the trial, after which it will be renewed for a monthly subscription. If you want to cancel the subscription, you can.
You have 90 days from buying a new device to start the free annual subscription, so as long as you recently purchased your new Apple product, you should be fine to activate your trial. If you stop the free trial before it ends, you won’t be able to start it again.
What if you are considering buying a new Apple device in the future? Can you switch from a subscription to the free trial? We think you can do this by canceling your subscription before signing up again through the three-month trial.
Share an Apple TV+ subscription with your family
You can also share a TV+ subscription with six family members: yourself and five others.
To do this, you all need to be part of the same Family Sharing group.
By linking your Apple accounts together under the Family Sharing group, you can all:
- Share music purchased from the iTunes Store
- Share access to Apple Music (as long as you have an Apple Music family subscription)
- Share apps purchased from the App Store (however, in-app purchases cannot be shared)
- Share Apple Books
- Access games on Apple’s Arcade gaming platform (with a subscription)
- Share a News+ subscription
- Share an iCloud storage plan
One of your family members must be the family organizer, who basically chooses who joins the group and must enter their bank details to pay for any purchases.
They should be family members in the same household. While you could sort this out with other ‘family members’, we think the frustration that all payments for everything go through the ‘organizer’ bank account could make this a tough sell. However, if at least this means that you and your partner don’t both need to subscribe to the service in order to watch shows on both iPhones.
Cancel an Apple TV+ subscription
So those are a few ways to get Apple TV+ for free, at least for a short time, or by sharing a subscription with a family member.
However, we think the best way to access Apple TV+ is to subscribe as usual, but unsubscribe at any time. You could watch all you want this month and then unsubscribe next month and it would only cost you £4.99 / $4.99. Sign up for Apple TV+ here.
Follow these steps to cancel your Apple TV+ subscription:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap the Apple ID section at the top with your name.
- Tap on Subscriptions†
- Now tap a subscription you want to cancel (in this case Apple TV+).
- On the next page, tap Cancel subscription†