AT&T new upgrade policy

figures, no carrier can dare do anything different than the others, after verizon pulled this it was only a matter of time.

i still cant figure out how in the living hell this even remotely benefits carriers...no incentive to stay with att anymore like i did on this ip5 upgrade just recently, had been thinking of verizon but the early upgrade sucked me in.

guess next time around ill take my business elsewhere.

Not surprised. VZW just did this.

Not a big deal to me. I've never been denied an early upgrade by AT&T, especially because I've been around so long anyways.

No reason for me to jump ship. I like my phone to actually work everywhere I go.

Tmobile looks better and better...

I wonder if this will still apply to iPhone users. Even though you sign a 2 year contract, AT&T has always allowed iPhone users to upgrade yearly on launch day. They usually just moved up the date automatically or you just called in and asked.

the real problem i have is that they are applying this bogus rule to all contracts ending in march '14 or later, rather than new contracts signed after date x, such as tomorrow when the change takes effect.

i take issue with them modifying my already in place contract and my (soon to be invalid) upgrade date of december next year.

**** US carriers and their unregulated screwing of the consumer.

Since I stick with the iPhone this doesn't even affect me.

Buy 4s in October 2011
Buy 5s in October 2013
Buy 6s in October 2015
Etc...

Only people this would mess with are Android / Windows phone users.

AutoUnion39 said:

Not surprised. VZW just did this.

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Which is crazy since they didn't really advertise the early upgrades before.

waa1futs said:

Since I stick with the iPhone this doesn't even affect me.

Buy 4s in October 2011
Buy 5s in October 2013
Buy 6s in October 2015
Etc...

Only people this would mess with are Android / Windows phone users.

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dont be naive.

most would rather get a new phone every year and a half roughly (2 of every 3 phones released) than wait an entire two years.

also not everyone was fortunate enough to get their first phone on launch day, not that that really matters anyway based on the above.

puma1552 said:

also not everyone was fortunate enough to get their first phone on launch day, not that that really matters anyway based on the above.

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Well I guess it sucks to be them but that's not mine or AT&T's problem.

If anything this change to 24 month makes me HAPPY since that means those people not smart enough to align their upgrades for launch dates are left out and there's a better chance for me to get one on launch day

waa1futs said:

Well I guess it sucks to be them but that's not mine or AT&T's problem.

If anything this change to 24 month makes me HAPPY since that means those people not smart enough to align their upgrades for launch dates are left out and there's a better chance for me to get one on launch day

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Smart man.


I only buy phones at launch or I don't buy them at all.

I'm holding out for the galaxy note 3

puma1552 said:

the real problem i have is that they are applying this bogus rule to all contracts ending in march '14 or later, rather than new contracts signed after date x, such as tomorrow when the change takes effect.

i take issue with them modifying my already in place contract and my (soon to be invalid) upgrade date of december next year.

**** US carriers and their unregulated screwing of the consumer.

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This frustrated me when Verizon did it. They made all contracts ending in 2014 on push their early upgrade, but luckily Verizon allows you to share upgrades, so I used my mom's upgrade to get the iPhone 5 AND I'll have my upgrade for my line too, so at least we can do that.

puma1552 said:

the real problem i have is that they are applying this bogus rule to all contracts ending in march '14 or later, rather than new contracts signed after date x, such as tomorrow when the change takes effect.

i take issue with them modifying my already in place contract and my (soon to be invalid) upgrade date of december next year.

**** US carriers and their unregulated screwing of the consumer.

Click to expand...

They can do whatever they want to us since they give full access to the government and they in turn let them get away with anti consumer and anticompetitive practices.

waa1futs said:

Well I guess it sucks to be them but that's not mine or AT&T's problem.

If anything this change to 24 month makes me HAPPY since that means those people not smart enough to align their upgrades for launch dates are left out and there's a better chance for me to get one on launch day

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i still dont think you get it.

its not about launch day phones, its about getting phones more often than every two years.

getting a phone on launch day makes no difference. so what if someone bought a 4s in may of 2012? 24 month upgrade for them isnt any worse than it is for you:

May 2012: 4s
May 2014: 5s
May 2016: 6s

its still a new phone to the person buying it, nobody but the biggest fanboys care about launch day, which is completely irrelevant to the issue at hand.

AutoUnion39 said:

I wonder if this will still apply to iPhone users. Even though you sign a 2 year contract, AT&T has always allowed iPhone users to upgrade yearly on launch day. They usually just moved up the date automatically or you just called in and asked.

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actually this applied to iPhone users starting with the 4S. AT&T took the yearly full upgrade away. i got the 4S on launch day and just became eligible for full upgrade pricing on the next iPhone

Good thing I'm on Tmobile. Upgrade whenever I want. Unfortunate that they don't work for everyone but luckily I'm in an area where I'm not forced to choose between the duopoly.

Just add a line for the extra $10/mo and use the upgrade with that. I did this, and it costs me $10 extra/mo. Saves me $400 for the upgrade from full price and I can alternate upgrades between my lines and only costs $120 extra/year.

Everyone realizes this is for "subsidized" phones right? In other words, AT&T is paying a large portion of the phone's price for you. Now you're complaining they're screwing you?

Don't get me wrong, I use their subsidized prices every year and upgrade...so I feel the pain. But the bottom line is, they offset the cost of your phone so you don't have to spend a lot up front.

Buy a phone off contract and u can upgrade whenever you want and not get be tied to their lawyers! The only issue here, is off contract iPhones are not available on launch days. This is what's most upsetting!!!

puma1552 said:

i still dont think you get it.

its not about launch day phones, its about getting phones more often than every two years.

getting a phone on launch day makes no difference. so what if someone bought a 4s in may of 2012? 24 month upgrade for them isnt any worse than it is for you:

May 2012: 4s
May 2014: 5s
May 2016: 6s

its still a new phone to the person buying it, nobody but the biggest fanboys care about launch day, which is completely irrelevant to the issue at hand.

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Of course getting a phone on launch day makes a difference.

If I bought an iPhone 5 in October 2012... why the hell would I even need an early upgrade since the next iPhone Im going to get is in October 2014?

If anything an early upgrade (20 months instead of 24) would fall under July 2014 and do me no good since I'm going to wait for the next iPhone in October (24 months later) anyways.

As for those who's upgrade is later then October well that's just too bad for them and they should have planned better. If anything the early upgrades rewarded people for buying an iPhone late in its life cycle and eventually allowing them to 'catch up' to the release date of the newest model, thereby making it harder for those that were smart about their upgrades to make them in October to obtain an iPhone on launch day.

Now it's simply concrete: Want to buy a phone in May near the end of its life cycle? Fine. Just be prepared to wait until May two years from now and have to get your next iPhone late in its life cycle as well.

nitemare said:

actually this applied to iPhone users starting with the 4S. AT&T took the yearly full upgrade away. i got the 4S on launch day and just became eligible for full upgrade pricing on the next iPhone

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Nope. I got the 4S on launch day and was able to order the 5 on launch day also. Just had to call and ask.

Applejuiced said:

Tmobile looks better and better...

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I was just thinking that. I'm going to see how good they are in this area and when my contract is up, bye at&t

These new rules do not bode well for Apple. They will equate to less iPhones sold. And I feel Apple will be more affected by this than the makers of Android phones because I have the notion that iPhone owners have the expectation of an annual upgrade, why Android owners do not.

I'm surprised Apple is taking this laying down though. Or, perhaps they are not and these new rules are being made in response to the development of Apple's "low-cost" iPhone.

AT&T Sucks. My upgrade just went through though, so I'm good. Debating if I should wait for the 5S or not though.

Looks like the original link is bad. Can anyone paraphrase or correct the link?

By the way I love it when someone provides the link for verification but also quotes the important part of the text.