Maybe we can claim that we are using these as BYOD on a family member's share plan? As I've stated previously, I may start the contract and cancel and pay the ETFs after the first month. Should even out to the full retail price I would have paid for the phones anyways. I'm mostly concerned because I'll be driving 3 hours (!) to pick up my phones... (my nearest Apple store)
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Apple.com Reserve iPhone 6+ with 2Yr & Buy Device Only at Pickup
- Thread starter jboggs85
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Maybe we can claim that we are using these as BYOD on a family member's share plan? As I've stated previously, I may start the contract and cancel and pay the ETFs after the first month. Should even out to the full retail price I would have paid for the phones anyways. I'm mostly concerned because I'll be driving 3 hours (!) to pick up my phones... (my nearest Apple store)
That seems like a jerk thing to do... If you've ordered online then I believe you have first dibs.
Only thing about cancelling with AT&T though, is that the final monthly bill has to be sent and then paid, then they'll send you the bill for the termination fees. Once it is paid, that's the only time they can unlock the phone. They won't unlock it until everything is settled. And they'll take their time sending you that final bill.
This happened to me when I left them for TMo. Cancelled 3rd week of January, which is about a week before billing period ends. Final monthly bill didn't come out until mid-February. Paid, then I have to wait for their termination fees bill which didn't arrive until 2 weeks after. I waited, I didn't have it unlocked until 1st week of March. And I have to travel 3rd week of Feb and needed an unlocked phone. I was lucky I still have my unlocked iP5 so I was still using that when I moved to TMo until AT&T unlocked my 5S.
I'll be using Cricket SIMs after cancellation which is still an AT&T subsidiary. I'm assuming I won't need the device unlocked for that to work? Also, I'm concerned that I'll cancel too early and they'll ask for the phones to be returned...
No I didn't, because Verizon couldn't activate my account (due to wrong SSN). I did this in the NYC 5th Ave store, at a VERY busy time on a Saturday!
I assume it's just luck on what Apple associate you get at the store. The girl there was trying her best to make me have the phone, and was very friendly... maybe I just got lucky.
I want to exchange my 6 for a 6 Plus, and am thinking of ordering online for store pickup to secure my 6 Plus for for a new line for my plan since I've already used my upgrade on the 6. Then when I get to the store, I want to explain that it's actually to exchange the 6 Plus it for my 6.
Sounds like you guys are doing something similar by ordering the phones with 2 year agreements, then buying it as device only.
Question - do you get charged for opening the 2 year agreement then canceling it when you get to the store for pickup? Or is the agreement never opened / cancelled since you never pick the phone up from the store but end up buying the device only?
Sounds like you guys are doing something similar by ordering the phones with 2 year agreements, then buying it as device only.
Question - do you get charged for opening the 2 year agreement then canceling it when you get to the store for pickup? Or is the agreement never opened / cancelled since you never pick the phone up from the store but end up buying the device only?
Just so we know, what did it involve eventually?
- the Apple associate has the power to cancel the original order or she has to go through a Verizon/Apple support call?
- Since the SSN is invalid, they can't activate anyway, but your card got charged when you placed the order online?
- you tell the associate upfront you just want Device only when picking up
Were you successful? At the benefit of many here, can you elaborate on your experience?
I would prefer not just in case one of the sales staff reads it.
Just know that I hate that specific apple store and will never go back again.
The abridged version, they made me call att, att asked why? They made me call apple to cancel, which i did. Then they wouldnt sell me the phone saying it was unsellable.
Needless to say, yesterday blew.
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I still recommend you not doing it. Unless you luck out and get a nice salesperson, chances are this method will not succeed. The two reps of course had to make a point that what I committed was fraud. Thumbs up to the apple store staff for busting my ***.
From my experience, the retail stores have separate stock "buckets" for instore pickup and walking customers, so when the order is canceled in the store the phone returns into the available for online order bucket, not the in store sales bucket, when they sell it in store it doesnt remove it from their online availability and it allows overbooking.
Yes, I told her up front I wanted a Verizon Device only phone, and I told her to please work with me because I have been trying to get the phone for several days, even lined up at 5AM unsuccessfully (which is true)... My card was charged for the subsidized pricing upon showing up at the store to pick up the phone. The associate said she needed to complete the activation with Verizon before she can cancel it immediately and sell the phone to me full price. I told her sure, but Verizon declined the activation due to a wrong SSN (which I kinda expected). So the associate asked her manager, who told her to call Apple support to cancel my pickup order (got a refund on the same day). Finally she proceeded with charging me full price for the phone.
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Wow, this all sounds so stressful
As you said, it all depends on the salesperson you get, sorry it didn't work out for you I did that this morning with an iPhone 6 Plus. Ordered it online on a 2 year plan with AT&T. Went into Apple, "picked up" the phone, turned around and returned it and then bought it again at full price. The 2 yr. contract was canceled as soon as the phone was "returned". Apple removed the sim card that had been activated at contract purchase and replaced it with a blank sim when I rebought it. Went to AT&T, returned the 6 that I had bought on the Next plan, canceled that plan and added the 6 Plus to our Family Value Plan for $15 per month. The only extra fee that I had to pay was the $35 return fee to AT&T for the iPhone 6 that I bought a week ago. There were no fees for the 6 Plus.
Which Apple Store? Did the Apple staff instruct you to do it this way or did you hide the fact that you wanted to purchase device only and just return it thereafter?
I was totally up front with them when I went to pick up the iPhone 6 Plus that I ordered online on a 2 year contract added to our AT&T account. I just asked if there was a way that I could pay the difference and just buy the phone outright and cancel the line that I set up for it. I told them that I was going to return the 6 that I had and wanted to put the 6 Plus on the line that the 6 was on. She called the manager over and asked her if they could do it and how. No problem. She activated it, returned it and de-activated it, then rung it up full price. Once I paid for it, she removed the sim card that had been activated during the process and replaced it with a new one. It probably took 10-15 minutes. I then took it to AT&T where they returned the 6, then activated and transferred my number from the 6 to the 6 Plus. The only charge was $35 return fee at AT&T.
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I actually bought a 16gb silver iPhone 6 Plus yesterday with personal pickup on a 2-year AT&T contract that was added to my mobile share plan. I immediately hated the storage space and so I successfully replaced it this morning with a 128gb space gray iPhone 6 Plus which I had to line up for since I couldn't do personal pickup again. It was of course still under the same 2-year contract.
In the afternoon I stopped by an AT&T store to cancel the 2-year plan. I waited one hour before they finally told me I had to go to an Apple Store, have then do a refund, and then repurchase the device at full price.
I then headed to the nearest Apple Store and in less than 10 minutes they did the refund, put the refund on a gift card, replaced the sim and then rescanned it for purchase, used the gift card towards the full price, and then all I had to do was pay the difference of the phone. It was super simple and now I have a iPhone 6 on an AT&T Next mobile share plan and a contractless iPhone 6 Plus that I plan to use as a design testing/recreational phone on the side. If I want to use it I could always pop my sim from iPhone 6 and pop it into the 6 Plus.
I might have had no issues or better luck since I did it in two trips to Apple Store and not in the same trip.
In the afternoon I stopped by an AT&T store to cancel the 2-year plan. I waited one hour before they finally told me I had to go to an Apple Store, have then do a refund, and then repurchase the device at full price.
I then headed to the nearest Apple Store and in less than 10 minutes they did the refund, put the refund on a gift card, replaced the sim and then rescanned it for purchase, used the gift card towards the full price, and then all I had to do was pay the difference of the phone. It was super simple and now I have a iPhone 6 on an AT&T Next mobile share plan and a contractless iPhone 6 Plus that I plan to use as a design testing/recreational phone on the side. If I want to use it I could always pop my sim from iPhone 6 and pop it into the 6 Plus.
I might have had no issues or better luck since I did it in two trips to Apple Store and not in the same trip.
any of you happen to be in NY? I tried it with the Apple store in NY and they refused to sell it to me after I cancelled, telling me the phone is locked till the next business day...
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So I wanted to update this thread and let everyone know how this panned out for me. I ordered two IP+s using Apple.com and ATT two year contracts. I used 1-9 as my SSN which caused my activation to fail when I was in the store. I was at the Apple Store for two hours and the genius called Apple and ATT. Eventually the guy finally accepted my offer of buying it outright for the sake of getting the hell out of there.
Long story short, this works if you are willing to wait for it and you use a phony SSN when reserving as a new phone number and new 2yr contract via ATT. I can't speak for Verizon.
Long story short, this works if you are willing to wait for it and you use a phony SSN when reserving as a new phone number and new 2yr contract via ATT. I can't speak for Verizon.
I plan on doing this exact piece of work. I want the Space Gray 64GB for T-Mobile but here in the NYC tristate area it's never available. When it does, and I go to check out, I get an error each and every time, then when I try to check out again it's unavailable. All this under 1 minute after becoming available. SMH. Seems like T-Mobile stock are very very limited compare to AT&T's & Verizon. So I decided i'll try this route. Upon testing, when I checkout with a "123456789" SS and ID#'s I get an message stating that your iPhone will be only available to pick up at selected store and that AT&T or Verizon, which ever you choose may ask for a deposit. I then proceeded to purchase. My thing is I just hope that when I get to the Apple store they will allow me to buy it "device only". It seems from reading others experience that it's a bit of a hassle, but i'm fine just as long as they don't attempt to activate phone which I will assume will come up with errors since I used "1-9" generic SS and ID#'s, because I don't want to pay Verizon or AT&T anything weather its activation fees and/or useage fees.
You are dishonest and should be ashamed of yourself.
Lying and using phone SSN so you can work around the system?
Time to close this thread.
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