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I lost my iPhone 5s ;(

G

gsusser

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
308
17
Medellín, Colombia
Here's my dilemma. I lost my AT&T iPhone 5s, 64gb, no insurance. BUMMER! The phone was purchased in Sept. 2013. The unlocked phone sells for $850.

I spoke with AT&T and they gave me 2 alternatives. One is NEXT. Pay a monthly fee which will totals $850, i.e., $42.50 for 20 months. Unlimited voice, text (int'l included) and 2gb of data for the phone and my iPad is $75. The program includes a new phone every year. So, the entire monthly fee would be $117.50 plus taxes and baloney charges. It doesn't seem bad.

The other alternative is to go with their exception program. Pay $659 for the phone and $90 month for the same monthly services. Two year contract.

I don't like the idea of a contract when I buy an unsubsidized phone, although the NEXT plan basically requires a 1 year contract too.

Another alternative is to pay the $250 cancellation fee and go elsewhere. T-Mobile has good service in my area but I hear people who swear by them and swear at them.

Advice welcome!!
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,489
43,414
Do you have Find My Phone turned on?

Perhaps you can use that to locate the phone.

Bummer on the loss. If I had to choose, I'd go with the first option
 
braddick

braddick

macrumors 68040
Jun 28, 2009
3,921
1,018
Encinitas, CA
I'd be tempted to go with purchasing a used one (perhaps here or on Craigslist) and paying month by month (no long term contract).
 
G

gsusser

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
308
17
Medellín, Colombia
I think it fell out of my pocket when I got out of a cab. I realized it about a minute later and it was nowhere to be found. I checked Find My Phone and for a half hour, it indicated it was located where I got out of the cab. Then it went offline. The battery was fully charged. Either someone found it and turned it off or it got run over by a car. I think it was the latter. [I did offer a reward with the Find My Phone feature.]
 
richwoodrocket

richwoodrocket

macrumors 68020
Apr 7, 2014
2,133
112
Buffalo, NY
I would go and switch to t mobile. It seems like it would be a pain on at with next. Just start fresh and go to t mobile if they have good coverage in your area. I'm sure you've seen all the un carrier ads.
 
eddiec312

eddiec312

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2008
361
7
Miami, FL
If you like your at&t coverage I would just buy a used iphone 5. You can get one on swappa for around $275 probably less and hold off until the iphone 6 comes out. If you're patient of course.
 
T5BRICK

T5BRICK

macrumors G3
Aug 3, 2006
8,313
2,387
Oregon
maflynn said:
Yes, but they need to have good coverage where the OP is at. Then perhaps it may be a viable alternative.
Click to expand...

gsusser said:
T-Mobile has good service in my area but I hear people who swear by them and swear at them.
Click to expand...

Anyway, I just wanted to remind the OP that T-Mobile is still paying ETFs. But now that I think about it, they may require that you trade in your phone to get that credit? It's something worth looking into.
 
techiegirl

techiegirl

macrumors 65816
Sep 7, 2007
1,242
297
T5BRICK said:
Anyway, I just wanted to remind the OP that T-Mobile is still paying ETFs. But now that I think about it, they may require that you trade in your phone to get that credit? It's something worth looking into.
Click to expand...

You can buy any "dumb" phone for a trade in. I traded in a $15 phone that I bought at Walmart and received $5 credit from T-Mobile for it.
 
G

gsusser

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
308
17
Medellín, Colombia
I went to T-Mobile today and I was hoping for better. Yes, they'll pay my $225 cancel fee, but that's the only advantage I can see. Plus I'll have to buy one of those $15 gizmos from Walmart to qualify, a very stupid policy. I was really looking for reasons to switch to them too. The monthly rate is almost identical to AT&T - $75 vs $70. And as I mentioned, the service is good in this area.

What bothers me the most about both companies is that you don't get any or much of a break if you have an unlocked phone. Why does AT&T still need to charge the almost the same for monthly service that they charge to customers who paid upgrade price?

Having said all this, I still have my unlocked 4s. After using the 5s, it feels twice as big and heavy plus it's only got 32gb vs. 64gb on my 5s. But alas, I might bite the bullet and "suffer" until the 6s comes out.
 
bmac4

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,853
1,856
Atlanta Ga
gsusser said:
I went to T-Mobile today and I was hoping for better. Yes, they'll pay my $225 cancel fee, but that's the only advantage I can see. Plus I'll have to buy one of those $15 gizmos from Walmart to qualify, a very stupid policy. I was really looking for reasons to switch to them too. The monthly rate is almost identical to AT&T - $75 vs $70. And as I mentioned, the service is good in this area.



What bothers me the most about both companies is that you don't get any or much of a break if you have an unlocked phone. Why does AT&T still need to charge the almost the same for monthly service that they charge to customers who paid upgrade price?



Having said all this, I still have my unlocked 4s. After using the 5s, it feels twice as big and heavy plus it's only got 32gb vs. 64gb on my 5s. But alas, I might bite the bullet and "suffer" until the 6s comes out.
Click to expand...


I hear you on the discount for an unlocked phone. I was thinking about doing the Next program when the iPhone 6 is released, but my bill will end up being more if I do that. Yes I get a $15 discount, but the monthly payment is at least $20, so I am still paying at least $5 more a month, and they are making tons of extra money off me this way. Has anyone tried Next? If you pay money upfront. Like say $200 does the monthly price go down, or do they shorten your months to pay?
 
G

gsusser

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 20, 2012
308
17
Medellín, Colombia
bmac4 said:
Has anyone tried Next? If you pay money upfront. Like say $200 does the monthly price go down, or do they shorten your months to pay?
Click to expand...

The answer is no, I asked. I offered to pay the entire amount of the phone and they acted as if I was from Mars. There's something shady about the Next program but I can't put my finger on it.
 
bmac4

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,853
1,856
Atlanta Ga
gsusser said:
The answer is no, I asked. I offered to pay the entire amount of the phone and they acted as if I was from Mars. There's something shady about the Next program but I can't put my finger on it.
Click to expand...


Well the shady part is they are only taking $15 off your bill, and getting more per month in payments. It seems to me that they are still charging subsidy prices for monthly data and voice while making you pay the phone off per month. The service price was suppose to be covering the price of the phone, so now it seems we are paying double if we go with Next.
 
C

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,458
gsusser said:
I went to T-Mobile today and I was hoping for better. Yes, they'll pay my $225 cancel fee, but that's the only advantage I can see. Plus I'll have to buy one of those $15 gizmos from Walmart to qualify, a very stupid policy. I was really looking for reasons to switch to them too. The monthly rate is almost identical to AT&T - $75 vs $70. And as I mentioned, the service is good in this area.

What bothers me the most about both companies is that you don't get any or much of a break if you have an unlocked phone. Why does AT&T still need to charge the almost the same for monthly service that they charge to customers who paid upgrade price?

Having said all this, I still have my unlocked 4s. After using the 5s, it feels twice as big and heavy plus it's only got 32gb vs. 64gb on my 5s. But alas, I might bite the bullet and "suffer" until the 6s comes out.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you get a discount on the line for being on something like Next, you just have to pay the Next phone cost, which kind of balances it out. But if you bring your own device or buy one at full price then you should be getting a discount, like $15 or $25 off monthly (depending on how much data your plan has).
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,489
43,414
gsusser said:
What bothers me the most about both companies is that you don't get any or much of a break if you have an unlocked phone. Why does AT&T still need to charge the almost the same for monthly service that they charge to customers who paid upgrade price?
Click to expand...

Agreed, I see no reason to bring a unlocked phone if they're not going to charge you less $$

Good luck with T-Mo
 
Bacong

Bacong

macrumors 68030
Mar 7, 2009
2,607
1,109
Westland, Michigan
gsusser said:
The answer is no, I asked. I offered to pay the entire amount of the phone and they acted as if I was from Mars. There's something shady about the Next program but I can't put my finger on it.
Click to expand...

there's no way they wouldn't take a full device payment if you offered it.
 
bmac4

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,853
1,856
Atlanta Ga
Bacong said:
there's no way they wouldn't take a full device payment if you offered it.
Click to expand...


I think he was referring to giving them something like $200 towards the phone. Not paying the full price because then there would be no purpose in singing up Next.
 
jredecop

jredecop

macrumors 6502a
May 20, 2009
601
15
bmac4 said:
I think he was referring to giving them something like $200 towards the phone. Not paying the full price because then there would be no purpose in singing up Next.
Click to expand...

Ya you can't make partial payments. I just went through this and signed up with next, paid nothing down, waited a couple of months then paid the phone off fully and the installment came off my monthly bill, as it should. Then att unlocked the phone for me. I really like it. Worked out great.
 
bmac4

bmac4

macrumors 601
Feb 14, 2013
4,853
1,856
Atlanta Ga
jredecop said:
Ya you can't make partial payments. I just went through this and signed up with next, paid nothing down, waited a couple of months then paid the phone off fully and the installment came off my monthly bill, as it should. Then att unlocked the phone for me. I really like it. Worked out great.
Click to expand...


So what if you wanted to pay $200 towards it at a later date. Will they do that?
 
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