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Also curious about the carrier option for the Upgrade Program. All of the Space Gray 64gb phones are out of stock around me on AT&T and T-Mobile, but in-stock for Sprint and Verizon.

Anyone have a definitive answer from Apple on this?
 
Then you're stuck with Verizon unless you pay the etf.

And if you pay the ETF, you have to close the account and give up the phone number. :( I called Verizon this morning, trying to buy my way out of the remaining contract on two phones, without giving up the account and numbers, however they would not budge.
 
And if you pay the ETF, you have to close the account and give up the phone number. :( I called Verizon this morning, trying to buy my way out of the remaining contract on two phones, without giving up the account and numbers, however they would not budge.

When does Verizon charge the ETF? My plan was to sell my current iPhone 6 and use the money to pay the ETF on Verizon. However there is no way to keep my phone number?
 
You ca
And if you pay the ETF, you have to close the account and give up the phone number. :( I called Verizon this morning, trying to buy my way out of the remaining contract on two phones, without giving up the account and numbers, however they would not budge.

You can still buy a phone on the upgrade program you just can't leave Verizon.
 
What did the AT&T rep say that made you change your mind?

As I see it....the only real main reason to go with Apple is the Applecare+.

With Next or a carrier.....you don't have to pay by credit card like Apple (so for people who don't have a card or carry a balance, the carrier would be better).

-Kevin

I have 5 lines on my account and have staggered the upgrades for a few years. I have the older talk/text plan and unlimited data.

I have 2 of my lines eligible for the Next upgrade. I was on the Apple site last night and nearly started the Next plan with those 2 lines. But before I did, I spoke with AT&T rep via the chat online. My intent was to start the Next with those 2 lines and transfer the phones to my 2 primary numbers. Slowly let those "extra" phone contracts expire and get rid of them.

She proceeds to tell me that's not an option. The Next program "agreement" is attached to that line. I argued with her about how that makes no sense. I am still bound to AT&T by my other existing contracts. Their phone will get paid for no matter what line it's attached to.

So I say, ok fine I'll go to Apple and get a phone from them. She then proceeds to tell me I cannot get a phone via the new Apple program without having a line that's eligible for upgrade. I then have to school her on the fact that by financing the phone thru Apple, AT&T has zero ties to it and I can upgrade if I want. She disagrees with me and tells me Apple and AT&T are "partners"! I school her once again....chat ends. I was done getting a bunch of BS handed to me.

I promptly go to Apple Store and talk to rep. He confirms everything I tried to tell AT&T. Upgrade eligibility is not a requirement :)
 
After chatting with Apple support tonight I was directed to the terms and conditions for the program, that answered 99% of my questions that I struggled to find answers for on the forum.

  • SOFT credit check, no hard pull.
  • ONLY credit cards are acceptable. Corporate cards aren't eligible either.
  • At the reservation appointment taxes for both AppleCare+ & the iPhone itself are due.
  • The first payment is also due at the time of pickup.
  • After 6 months you can make advance payments to upgrade anytime, as long as you have satisfied the first 12 payments. This could be helpful for making sure your phone is paid off in time for the iPhone 7 (or whatever comes next) and not having an outstanding payment come next September. You can also completely pay the phone off after 6 months by the looks of things, thus ending the LEASE and making the phone yours to do with as you please. Paying the phone off in full and keeping it defeats the purpose of saving money and upgrading hassle free, but thats just my opinion.
Another big point is about discounts with carriers. If you opt to do a 2 year contract with your carrier such as AT&T you will be charged the full $40 fee each month for your smartphone. If you bring your own phone (the whole idea behind this plan) you'll only owe $15 a month (on AT&T), a savings of $25.

Hopefully I helped clear a little confusion for people looking for unanswered questions. As a side note for anyone doing this I'd recommend at least $200 of available credit on the card you choose to bring in to the reservation, the more the better.

http://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/iphoneupgrade_us/

Here are the other big questions that I had. The info was clarified via chat on Apple's website:

I have a reservation for the 25th to pick up an iPhone 6s Plus (AT&T) through the iPhone upgrade Program.

My questions:

When I arrive to my appointment, will I have the option to:
  1. Switch to T-Mobile at that time since they are both (AT&T, T-Mobile) GSM?
  2. Buy the phone out right if I decided to not do the iPhone Upgrade Program
  3. Decide instead to do the AT&T Next program instead of the iPhone Upgrade program
Answers:
  • Yes, if you decide to switch the iPhone from an AT&T one to a T-Mobile one you just need to let them know.
  • Yes, you will be able to choose to buy the iPhone out right or put on the AT&T Next Plan, if you decide not to do the iPhone Upgrade Program.
So, just to summarize and make it easier to understand: The iPhone reservation is essentially just securing the iPhone model you chose for an appointment to pick up on 9/25. The actual purchase decision (iPhone Upgrade Program, ATT Next, or pay full price, etc.) will be made at the time of pick of the reservation.
 
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You can do that on Next. With Next you are only locked into the payment of the phone. If you want to pay it off and leave you can.

-Kevin

Right, but if I want to trade it in for a new one after a year with NEXT, I have to stay with AT&T. With the Apple plan, I can trade the phone in, but go with any carrier I want.
 
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okay. so here are my questions.

i reserved the iphone 6s plus 64GB on iphone upgrade program which is to be picked up on 25th of september. I am replacing my wife's 5s with the 6s plus. She is using ATT go phone sim card in 5s. so will i be able to activate the phone with that ATT go phone sim card?


if not then the scenario is

i am using 6 plus which on AT&T next on my brothers line. can i use my sim card to activate the 6s and then swap the sims with my wife after getting out of apple store? Thanks
 
I have 5 lines on my account and have staggered the upgrades for a few years. I have the older talk/text plan and unlimited data.

I have 2 of my lines eligible for the Next upgrade. I was on the Apple site last night and nearly started the Next plan with those 2 lines. But before I did, I spoke with AT&T rep via the chat online. My intent was to start the Next with those 2 lines and transfer the phones to my 2 primary numbers. Slowly let those "extra" phone contracts expire and get rid of them.

She proceeds to tell me that's not an option. The Next program "agreement" is attached to that line. I argued with her about how that makes no sense. I am still bound to AT&T by my other existing contracts. Their phone will get paid for no matter what line it's attached to.

So I say, ok fine I'll go to Apple and get a phone from them. She then proceeds to tell me I cannot get a phone via the new Apple program without having a line that's eligible for upgrade. I then have to school her on the fact that by financing the phone thru Apple, AT&T has zero ties to it and I can upgrade if I want. She disagrees with me and tells me Apple and AT&T are "partners"! I school her once again....chat ends. I was done getting a bunch of BS handed to me.

I promptly go to Apple Store and talk to rep. He confirms everything I tried to tell AT&T. Upgrade eligibility is not a requirement :)

Two AT&T reps told me that there's no eligibility involved to do the Apple payment plan (which is CORRECT). It's exasperating how different reps give you different answers!

I also tried to swip-swap upgrade eligibility between two of my three lines, just in case I had a hard time with the iPhone pre-order. Well, when we bought my son's Samsung Galaxy S5 on NEXT, the rep somehow attached the NEXT plan to MY line, and not his. So my line sort of shows two phones attached to it, mine and his, and his line sort of shows none. They also managed to switch the IMEI numbers between our two phones, which locked me out of being able to use my phone as a mobile hotspot for a while until they could untangle the mess. It's all so complicated!

Meanwhile, my dad is just chillin' on the third line of my plan, with his beloved flip phone, upgrade eligible but happy as a clam with his $14.99 phone. *sigh*

I love AT&T's physical service - I have full bars just about everywhere, no dropped calls, LTE everywhere, no issues with the actual phones. But man, is their system overly complicated...and sadly, none of their reps seem to understand it.
 
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I'm interested in the upgrade program but there isn't an Apple store in my town. Will Apple allow Simply Mac or Best Buy, Verizon, etc to sell the phone? Can it be done thru Fed EX?

Thanks everyone!
Trvlngnrs
 
Two AT&T reps told me that there's no eligibility involved to do the Apple payment plan (which is CORRECT). It's exasperating how different reps give you different answers!

I also tried to swip-swap upgrade eligibility between two of my three lines, just in case I had a hard time with the iPhone pre-order. Well, when we bought my son's Samsung Galaxy S5 on NEXT, the rep somehow attached the NEXT plan to MY line, and not his. So my line sort of shows two phones attached to it, mine and his, and his line sort of shows none. They also managed to switch the IMEI numbers between our two phones, which locked me out of being able to use my phone as a mobile hotspot for a while until they could untangle the mess. It's all so complicated!

Meanwhile, my dad is just chillin' on the third line of my plan, with his beloved flip phone, upgrade eligible but happy as a clam with his $14.99 phone. *sigh*

I love AT&T's physical service - I have full bars just about everywhere, no dropped calls, LTE everywhere, no issues with the actual phones. But man, is their system overly complicated...and sadly, none of their reps seem to understand it.

Yes, except for some idiot reps at AT&T I have overall been happy with them. Many times I have known much more than their own employees but like you said, depends on who you get!

I have decided to use Apple to get my phone that way I'm not tied to any carrier (eventually when my contracts run out with AT&T). But in the end I'll still likely stick with AT&T because it's worked for me and good overall coverage!
 
Here are the other big questions that I had. The info was clarified via chat on Apple's website:

I have a reservation for the 25th to pick up an iPhone 6s Plus (AT&T) through the iPhone upgrade Program.

My questions:

When I arrive to my appointment, will I have the option to:
  1. Switch to T-Mobile at that time since they are both (AT&T, T-Mobile) GSM?
  2. Buy the phone out right if I decided to not do the iPhone Upgrade Program
  3. Decide instead to do the AT&T Next program instead of the iPhone Upgrade program
Answers:
  • Yes, if you decide to switch the iPhone from an AT&T one to a T-Mobile one you just need to let them know.
  • Yes, you will be able to choose to buy the iPhone out right or put on the AT&T Next Plan, if you decide not to do the iPhone Upgrade Program.
So, just to summarize and make it easier to understand: The iPhone reservation is essentially just securing the iPhone model you chose for an appointment to pick up on 9/25. The actual purchase decision (iPhone Upgrade Program, ATT Next, or pay full price, etc.) will be made at the time of pick of the reservation.

Yes that is essentially what is is. You are just reserving the phone and you will be able to select the iPhone UP or carrier financing or outright at the time of pick up.
 
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okay. so here are my questions.

i reserved the iphone 6s plus 64GB on iphone upgrade program which is to be picked up on 25th of september. I am replacing my wife's 5s with the 6s plus. She is using ATT go phone sim card in 5s. so will i be able to activate the phone with that ATT go phone sim card?


if not then the scenario is

i am using 6 plus which on AT&T next on my brothers line. can i use my sim card to activate the 6s and then swap the sims with my wife after getting out of apple store? Thanks


Can someone reply me as well? Please
 
Can someone reply me as well? Please

I don't think people definitively know the answer to this. The info so far shows that you won't be able to activate on a prepaid line, but I see no reason why your backup plan would not work.
 
I don't think people definitively know the answer to this. The info so far shows that you won't be able to activate on a prepaid line, but I see no reason why your backup plan would not work.


okay. lets see what happens on 25th. Thanks
 
Yes, except for some idiot reps at AT&T I have overall been happy with them. Many times I have known much more than their own employees but like you said, depends on who you get!

I have decided to use Apple to get my phone that way I'm not tied to any carrier (eventually when my contracts run out with AT&T). But in the end I'll still likely stick with AT&T because it's worked for me and good overall coverage!

My thoughts exactly! No plans to switch, but will be nice to know that I could if I decided to.
 
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