Honestly, nobody wants to pay $9.99 a month for another streaming service. We’re all buried in subscriptions. But with the return of Severance Season 2 this month, the search for free Apple TV January 2025 deals has absolutely exploded. Apple knows they have the prestige content, and they also know that dangling a free trial is the easiest way to get you hooked on their ecosystem.
It’s kind of funny how Apple handles these promos. They aren't just one-size-fits-all. You’ve got the standard trials, the "hidden" retail partnerships, and the hardware bundles that most people forget to redeem until it's too late.
If you're looking to binge Silo or Slow Horses right now without touching your bank account, you have to be tactical. Some of these offers are literally sitting in your inbox or your "Home" app right now, completely ignored.
The Standard Methods for Free Apple TV January 2025
Let’s start with the basics. If you haven't had a subscription in a while, the easiest path to free Apple TV January 2025 access is the classic seven-day trial. It’s short. It’s barely enough time to finish a single season of Ted Lasso. But it works.
However, the real "pro" move is the Apple One trial. If you haven't bundled your services before, Apple usually gives you a full month of the entire suite—Music, Arcade, and TV+—for free. Just remember that if you’ve paid for any of these individually in the past, the system might kick you back.
Then there’s the hardware angle. Did you get a new iPhone, iPad, or Mac for the holidays? Apple gives you three months. Period. But here is the catch: you only have 90 days from the moment you set up the device to claim it. If you bought an iPhone 16 back in September and haven't clicked that "Enjoy 3 Months Free" button in your settings yet, your window is closing fast.
Retailer Workarounds: Best Buy and Target Circle
This is where things get interesting. Best Buy has a long-standing relationship with Apple. If you go to the Best Buy website and search for Apple TV+, you will often find a "subscription" listed for $0.00.
They’ve been known to give out three months to new subscribers and sometimes even a month or two for "returning" subscribers. It’s a bit of a gamble depending on how long it’s been since you last paid Apple, but it's worth the two minutes it takes to "checkout" with a digital code.
Target Circle is another heavy hitter. Their rewards program—which is free to join, by the way—frequently features "Partner Offers." In January 2025, they are still pushing Apple services to keep people engaged with their app. You just sign in, check your perks, and redeem the code.
The T-Mobile and Verizon "On Us" Factor
If you’re on a premium cellular plan, you might already be paying for this and not even know it. T-Mobile’s "Go5G Next" and "Go5G Plus" plans basically bake the cost of Apple TV+ into your monthly bill. It’s not "free" in the sense that your phone bill is $0, but it’s a zero-added-cost perk.
Verizon does something similar with their "myPlan" perks. You can opt into an Apple One bundle for $10, which is a massive discount, but occasionally they run "On Us" promos for six months of individual services. Check your carrier app. Seriously. Most people leave hundreds of dollars in streaming perks on the table every year because the UI is clunky.
📖 Related: How to watch Twitter Lives: The stuff the app doesn't actually tell you
Why January 2025 is Different
Timing is everything in the streaming wars. January is a massive month for Apple because of the winter slump. People are stuck indoors. The holidays are over, budgets are tight, and Apple wants to inflate their subscriber numbers for the Q1 earnings call.
This is why you see more "influencer" links and "collaborator" trials during this window. Sometimes artists like Selena Gomez or major sports figures will post a link on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram offering two free months to celebrate a premiere.
The strategy here is simple:
- Use a secondary Apple ID if you’ve already burned your "new subscriber" status on your main one (though Apple is getting better at tracking device IDs, not just emails).
- Use a virtual credit card (like Privacy.com) so you don't get hit with a $9.99 charge when you inevitably forget to cancel.
- Stack what you can. You usually can't stack two 3-month codes, but you can often follow a hardware trial with a specific retailer promotion after a cooling-off period.
The "Family Sharing" Loophole
If you have a friend or family member who has free Apple TV January 2025 access through a new phone purchase, they can add you to their "Family Sharing" group. Apple allows up to six people to share one subscription.
The beautiful thing about this is that your watch history remains private. Your brother won’t see that you’re re-watching The Morning Show for the fifth time. He just pays (or redeems the promo) and you reap the benefits. It’s arguably the most underutilized feature in the Apple ecosystem.
Navigating the Fine Print
Don't get burned. Most of these "free" offers require "Auto-Renew" to be toggled on. The second you redeem the code, go into your Subscriptions in Settings and hit "Cancel."
Usually—and I say usually because terms change—Apple allows you to keep the remaining "free" time even after you cancel. This isn't like Netflix where sometimes the service cuts off the moment you say you're leaving. Apple is confident enough that you'll forget to cancel or that you'll like the content enough to come back.
Real Talk: Is it Worth the Hassle?
Honestly? Yes. Apple TV+ has the highest "hit rate" of any streamer right now. While Netflix dumps 50 shows a month and 45 of them are unwatchable, Apple puts out maybe two shows, but they’re usually high-budget, well-acted, and gorgeous to look at.
If you can snag three months for free by clicking a link on the Best Buy site, you've essentially saved $30. That’s a few pizzas or a decent bottle of wine.
Your Immediate Action Plan
Stop scrolling and do these four things in order:
- Check your Settings app. Open it on your iPhone, tap your name, then tap "Subscriptions." If there’s an eligible "Free for 3 Months" banner at the top, that’s your winner.
- Visit the Best Buy website. Search for "Free Apple TV" and see if the digital download for $0.00 is active. It often is, especially in the post-holiday season.
- Log into Target Circle. Look under "Partner Offers." This is the most common place for 2-3 month codes to hide.
- Set a Calendar Alert. If you don't cancel immediately, set an alarm for 2 days before the trial ends. Apple’s billing system is efficient; they will charge you the second that clock strikes midnight.
By the time you finish this, you should have at least 30 days of high-bitrate 4K content ready to go. No credit card charges, no long-term commitments—just the best sci-fi on television for the low price of absolutely nothing.