Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming service, arrived at the end of 2019, so it’s been around for a while now, but it only really came into its own recently as more and more people discovered the shows on offer. Shows including Ted Lasso and For all mankindas well as movies like doggystyle, looking 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 catalogs of movies and TV shows offered by Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu or Disney+. If you want to learn more about what you can watch on Apple TV+, read All You Can Watch on Apple TV+, which also includes 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 for the various companies to bundle a free Apple TV+ subscription with their services. For example, there’s the option to get a free 1-year subscription to Apple TV+ with T-Mobile (if you live in the US), you can also get 6 months free of Apple TV+ with a PlayStation 5 Learn more about these deals below.
Watch the first episodes for free on Apple TV+
There are several ways to watch shows on Apple TV+ for free. Apple offers limited time trials (discussed below) and the service also lets you watch the first episode of many shows for free. In fact, several dozen episodes are available to watch for free, including the first episodes of Ted Lasso, The morning show, See, Tryingand more.
Get 7 days of Apple TV+ for free
If you want to watch a show and have plenty of time in the immediate future, you can activate your seven-day free trial and binge watch it!
You can subscribe to Apple TV+ on Apple’s website here or through the Apple TV app on your device.
The 7-day trial will auto-renew to a monthly subscription, so you’ll need to be prepared to cancel within a week if you don’t want the cash out.
The 7-day trial might sound appealing if you think you can watch an entire series in a week. But make sure the series is complete as Apple usually adds new episodes every week.
The easiest way to cancel a subscription is to go to Settings and click on the Apple ID section on your iPhone. Press on Subscriptions. Locate Apple TV+ in the Asset list then unsubscribe. More details on how to cancel your subscription below. Note that you won’t find Apple TV+ in the Active list until the trial ends.
It’s great if you can watch the whole season in a week, but what if you think you need a little more time?
Get 6 months of Apple TV+ for free with PlayStation 5
If you’re lucky enough to already own a PlayStation 5 – or manage to buy one (read where to buy playstation 5 for help), you can get a free six-month subscription to Apple TV+. This offer is valid until July 22, 2022. If you own a PlayStation 4, you are eligible for a three-month free trial.
What do you need:
- You will need a PS5 or a new PS4, a PlayStation Network account and an Apple ID.
- The offer is valid in the UK and USA as well as Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia and South Africa.
We can confirm that even if you’ve already taken advantage of Apple’s Apple TV+ free trial, 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, look in the media section under All apps. On PS4, look in the TV and Video section.
- Download the app.
- Open the app and follow the instructions.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
Get 12 months of Apple TV+ for free with T-Mobile US
T-Mobile is currently offering Apple TV+ free to new and existing customers for one year, if you have an eligible plan (most plans are eligible).
Customers can redeem the gift by logging into the T-Mobile app or their T-Mobile account online. Those at Sprint (now owned by T-Mobile) can take advantage of the offer by heading to promotions.t-mobile.com and using the code 2021APPLETVP1. Magenta customers can also take advantage of the offer this way. More details here.
This offer Is stack with current subscriptions and free offers! T-Mobile will stop giving out codes on June 30, 2022 and codes will stop working after June 31, 2022.
Get 3 months of Apple TV+ for free when you buy an Apple product
Previously, if you purchased a new qualifying Apple product, you could get an entire year of Apple TV+ for free.
Now that the “one year free” deal is done, Apple is giving away three months of Apple TV+ for free to anyone with a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, or Mac.
Offer must be redeemed within 90 days of setting up your new device.
Eligible devices include any new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac. Apple Watch, HomePod, AirPods and other Apple devices are not eligible. In short, your device is eligible if it’s a new Apple device capable of running the TV app and watching Apple TV+ content.
Get 3 months of Apple TV+ for free with Currys (UK)
Currys in the UK is also offering three free months of Apple TV+, but in this case you don’t need to buy an Apple product. It is an advantage of Currys Perks, details here.
This is Currys new membership service, which will give members access to exclusive discounts, offers on top brands, partner benefits and chances to win prizes.
Get 3 months of Apple TV+ for free through Best Buy (US)
Those in the US can get three months of Apple TV+ for free through Best Buy, without even making a qualifying special purchase. Just go to Best Buy Apple TV+ Promo Page, click on Add to basket and validate. Follow the prompts to access your digital download, which is a code you can enter for three months free when you first sign up for Apple TV+. The code will only work for new subscribers.
This code must be used during registration, so it’s probably the one you should use first, before redeeming other offers like 3 months free 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’re a college student, you’ll be able to get Apple Music for half price, and starting in summer 2021, Apple has bundled free Apple TV+ subscriptions with Apple Music student subscriptions, which cost $4.99. £/$4.99.
Visit this Apple page for more details.
How to claim your free trial of Apple TV+ from Apple
After making a qualifying purchase or deciding to try the 7-day free trial, all you need to do is:
- Make sure the device is running 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 purchased a new device, otherwise you will only see the 7 day trial offer.
- Click on Continue.
- Confirm that you want to activate the free trial.
- You will see a message that the free trial will begin immediately and continue until the trial ends, when it will renew for a monthly subscription. If you wish to cancel the subscription, you can do so.
You have 90 days from the purchase of a new device to start the free one-year subscription. Therefore, as long as you purchased your new Apple product recently, you should be able to activate your trial. Also, if you stop the free trial before it ends, you won’t be able to restart it.
What if you plan to buy a new Apple device later? Will you be able to switch from a subscription to the free trial? We think the way to go would be to cancel your subscription before re-subscribing via the three-month trial.
Share an Apple TV+ subscription with your family
You can also share a TV+ subscription with six members of your family, yourself and five others.
To do this, you must all be in the same Family Sharing group.
By linking your Apple accounts under the Family Sharing group, you can all:
- Share purchased music 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 (in-app purchases cannot be shared, however)
- 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 will need to be the family organizer, who essentially chooses who joins the group and must provide their bank details to pay for any purchases.
It is supposed to be family members in the same household. While you could set this up with other “family” members, we think the frustration of seeing all payments for everything go through the “organizer’s” bank account might make this a tough sell. However, that at least means you and your partner don’t have to subscribe to the service to watch shows on both of your iPhones.
How to cancel an Apple TV+ subscription
So here are some 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 cancel at any time. You can watch whatever you want this month, then stop subscribing next month and it’ll only cost you £4.99/$4.99. Sign up for Apple TV+ here.
To cancel your Apple TV+ subscription, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap the Apple ID section at the top with your name.
- Press on Subscriptions.
- Now tap any subscription you want to cancel (in this case, Apple TV+).
- On the next page, press unsubscribe.
