Does anyone know how much it would cost in order to upgrade to an iPhone 5? I'd like to end my contract, give my iPhone 4S to my mother, and get the iPhone 5.
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Cost of breaking an ATT iPhone 4S contract to buy iPhone 5?
- Thread starter St. Germain
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Depending how long you have had your iphone 4S and when you upgraded. The ETF will be (I believe) either $325 or $375 from the start and each month it reduces about $25 I believe or could be a bit more. You will have to call AT&T about this.
I would wait till around Fall when it happens so you pay less ETF then you would now.
I would wait till around Fall when it happens so you pay less ETF then you would now.
$325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete
From: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp
So if you bought the 4S on launch day and 'The New iPhone' comes out in October you'd owe approx. $200 to AT&T for an ETF.
From: http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/articles-resources/early-term-fees.jsp
So if you bought the 4S on launch day and 'The New iPhone' comes out in October you'd owe approx. $200 to AT&T for an ETF.
I know that AT&T used to let you upgrade to the new iPhone with no consequences. All you had to do was sign an NEW 2 year contract. I really hope that is the case. I just upgraded to the iPhone 4S in January.
That pretty much ended along with AT&T's exclusivity on the iPhone. A lot of people on contract were not able to upgrade at the contract price when the 4S came out.
You'll probably come out ahead buying the next iPhone at the no-contract price. You'll get an unlocked iPhone, and it'll probably cost about as much as breaking your contract and then upgrading.
Depending on the status of your account (business/personal and $/mo) you can generally do an 'early upgrade' after 18-24 months. If memory serves the iPhone 3G was the last phone that AT&T did the 'upgrade anytime'.
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So if it comes out in October, it's only going to cost me $200 to cancel my contract? That seems much better than $325.
Even if you cancel your contract you still wouldn't be able to get new customer pricing for 60 or 90 days after your cancellation. You would do better paying the $199 + $250 early upgrade pricing if you're willing to cancel and then give away your 4S. Just a thought.
my wife and i bought our iphone 4s when it was released. then about 16 months later at the launch of the 4S, I called ATT and found out it was only $90/line to cancel (it didn't make sense to me according to their $325-$10/month but i didn't complain). The customer rep then credited me $30/line because the system wouldn't let me early upgrade, making it just $60/line to cancel.
We bought two 4S with my wife's name and got new numbers. Then I ported our two ATT numbers to tmobile prepaid for about 24 hours, effectively terminating my account. I then ported the two numbers back from tmobile to my wife's account.
I plan to pull the same stunt when the next iphone comes out.
We bought two 4S with my wife's name and got new numbers. Then I ported our two ATT numbers to tmobile prepaid for about 24 hours, effectively terminating my account. I then ported the two numbers back from tmobile to my wife's account.
I plan to pull the same stunt when the next iphone comes out.
Before the 4S came out the ETF with AT&T was only $250 - it was either 5 or 10 per month u had the contract. AT&T upped the ETF right after VZW and Sprint did.
AT&T's early upgrade $299+ $200. your almost better just buying it off contract since you will be paying about the same to early (midterm 12month) upgrade.
"...it's only going to cost me $200 to cancel my contract? That seems much better than $325."
Man, I wish I had the money you guys had to waste on early termination fees for a new phone only 12 months after buying your current phone.
Slightly correct.
Etf for all phones was $175 prior to June 2010. AT&T got smart and changed smartphone etf to $325-$10/month
Left dumbphones at $175etf minus $5/month.
Yep. Agree Better to pay full price over early upgrade price and gets official unlock iPhone.
really, i thought with the iphone 4 ATT started the $325 ETF...oh well, usually selling the last-gen iphone still recoups most of the upgrade cost
U are correct. AT&T made all the changes in June 2010....drums roll. iPhone 4 was released in June 2010.
That's when the ETF changes were made.
thats why i thought it was strange that they only charged me $90/line to terminate when we've only had the phones for about 16 months between the 4 and 4S.
1) You can update after 18months in most accounts instead of waiting the whole 2 years
2) I believe they still let you buy and make a new 2 year contract even after just one year; you would have to pay the early upgrade price of the iPhone which I think it was around $200 more and won't have to do no ETF or any other issues.
3)ETF and canceling your account means that you can't be an AT&T mobile consumer for a couple of months after cancellation AFAIK.
2) I believe they still let you buy and make a new 2 year contract even after just one year; you would have to pay the early upgrade price of the iPhone which I think it was around $200 more and won't have to do no ETF or any other issues.
3)ETF and canceling your account means that you can't be an AT&T mobile consumer for a couple of months after cancellation AFAIK.
There seems to be a lot of mis-information thrown around regarding the ETF.
If you're planning on staying with AT&T, there will be no ETF. you either buy the phone at full retail price (no new contract), or AT&T lets you upgrade at a "reduced" price. What this means is you'll pay the normal contract price plus $250.
The ETF (Early Termination Fee) comes into play when you are ending your contract with your carrier, eg switching to a different carrier while still under contract with AT&T.
If you're planning on staying with AT&T, there will be no ETF. you either buy the phone at full retail price (no new contract), or AT&T lets you upgrade at a "reduced" price. What this means is you'll pay the normal contract price plus $250.
The ETF (Early Termination Fee) comes into play when you are ending your contract with your carrier, eg switching to a different carrier while still under contract with AT&T.
Why not just buy the iPhone 5 off contract? I don't think it's really worth extending your contract by 2 years for what will end up being about $200 saved.
Well, 1) it's a business expense and 2) the iPhone 3GS my mother is using has a cracked screen so I'd really like to give her my iPhone 4S.
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Makes sense.
Nothing about this thread sounds like a solution.
1. You give her your 4S now... there is no iPhone (6th gen) for you to upgrade to.
2. You wait the 6 months until you can upgrade to iPhone (6th gen) releases, your question doesn't mean much til then, and much can change. Plus your mother is stuck with cracked screen for another 6 months.
3. Your mother is on a 3GS, she ought to qualify for a upgrade herself! Now.