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Apple Implementing 'Reservation Pass' System at Retail Stores for iPhone 6 Launch
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I was searching online for this info too. I wish the media and sites would add a sentence or two that they have no info on how and when it's going to work and if they'll be posting an update instead of hyping this up.
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Can u walk into any T-Mobile store and buy the device without any plan or contract?
That's why I hate white people. Quit scalping our iPhones crackers!
I'm also sure the nationality of the people you referred to is American.
When you wait in line at an Apple store, they send an employee out around 6:30-7:00am to walk the line. They ask what phone you would like, and hand you a small card. The card has the iPhones information on it. This way, when they run out of cards, they can tell the rest of the people they are sold out. The only problem with this, is if you loose your card, you don't get a phone.
All they are doing now is giving you an email or sms "card".
You can, but the phone will be locked even if you pay full price. T-mobile will unlock it after using it for something like 50 days on a pre or post paid plan. The only way to get unlocked from day one is to buy "device only" full price online or in Apple Store
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The ATT one is exactly the same as the T-mobile one. You can preorder a T-mobile one and be fine.
Alternatively on the 19th you can go to the Apple Store and purchase an ATT one (or a Tmobile or VZ one) "device only" and they will all be unlocked and they will all work fine on ATT.
This is assuming Apple doesn't change from what they did last year.
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Question: I currently use prepaid on AT&T. Am I able to purchase a phone at full price in store? If so, should I get an AT&T phone or a Verizon one?
Yes, either one should work and so should a T-mobile one. A VZ one might have a small resale premium as it can be used on 3 carriers, but any of the 3 will work equally well on ATT.
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Not true....T-mobile's is unlocked.
I believe the reason it's not expressly written on Apple's website that the Tmobile one is unlocked is that Tmobile gets irritated that the phones that are supposed to be "theirs" sell out and then there aren't enough available for people who actually want Tmobile service. So then Tmobile loses out on getting new customers.
It's the same reason VZ ones can't be ordered "device only" online and also why VZ won't sell them to you in their shops unless you activate them to a line with them. They don't want a phone allocated to them to walk to another carrier.
You will get conflicting stories from Apple Chat and from Apple Store people. The carriers don't want Apple to be straightforward about it because then the carrier may lose out on a line being activated. But if it works out like last year, then ATT, Tmobile, and VZ phones will all be available "device only" in Apple Stores on day 1 and will be unlocked.
Even if they change it this year, the worst that could happen is that it won't be unlocked and work with your SIM and you return it Apple the next day. But given the new legislation around cell phone unlocking I'd be very surprised if they became more restrictive about locks this year than they were in the past.
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The phenomena of security attached to obtaining a new gadget at launch is very foreign to me.
don't have to wait: AT&T Next program
Me, too, but it's not so. Read the fine print when checking for upgrade eligibility.
It says you can make payments early, so you don't have to wait until the 21st to pay for this month, and I believe it says you'll then be eligible for upgrade early. The monthly phone payment is only about $28 each month, so just pay that part now and that'll be your 12th payment. Do it Thursday and maybe then you can either pre-order on Friday or go in on the 19th and get it then.
I haven't decided whether I'll upgrade from iPhone 5S. If I was more certain, I'd go into an AT&T store, or maybe a mall kiosk, and tell them my situation and ask them about making a phone payment and confirm whether that would make me eligible for upgrading. Remember, on the NEXT program billing it has service fees (minutes, text, data, etc.) and the phone payment described separately. After 20 months, the phone payments are done and then there's only the service fees. So at any time you can pay off the phone payments as much as you like. The phone cost is no longer hidden like in the other contract types.
I'm suspecting that's a side bonus to the NEXT program. Not only can we upgrade after just 12 months, it might actually be only 12 months of phone payments. That would mean it's not time, it's money. We're in control of when we can upgrade. Maybe.
Anyways, try out the upgrade eligibility again and read all the text about the remaining payments you have. I believe I did it from the Apple Store website and found that out about my AT&T account there. (I also checked from the Apple Store app on my iPhone 5S but I don't think it gave me as much information, perhaps because of the smaller screen.) It should say something about how you can make your payment early if want to do that.
Me, too, but it's not so. Read the fine print when checking for upgrade eligibility.
It says you can make payments early, so you don't have to wait until the 21st to pay for this month, and I believe it says you'll then be eligible for upgrade early. The monthly phone payment is only about $28 each month, so just pay that part now and that'll be your 12th payment. Do it Thursday and maybe then you can either pre-order on Friday or go in on the 19th and get it then.
I haven't decided whether I'll upgrade from iPhone 5S. If I was more certain, I'd go into an AT&T store, or maybe a mall kiosk, and tell them my situation and ask them about making a phone payment and confirm whether that would make me eligible for upgrading. Remember, on the NEXT program billing it has service fees (minutes, text, data, etc.) and the phone payment described separately. After 20 months, the phone payments are done and then there's only the service fees. So at any time you can pay off the phone payments as much as you like. The phone cost is no longer hidden like in the other contract types.
I'm suspecting that's a side bonus to the NEXT program. Not only can we upgrade after just 12 months, it might actually be only 12 months of phone payments. That would mean it's not time, it's money. We're in control of when we can upgrade. Maybe.
Anyways, try out the upgrade eligibility again and read all the text about the remaining payments you have. I believe I did it from the Apple Store website and found that out about my AT&T account there. (I also checked from the Apple Store app on my iPhone 5S but I don't think it gave me as much information, perhaps because of the smaller screen.) It should say something about how you can make your payment early if want to do that.
I just phoned Apple's Online Store as well as directly phoning my local store in Glasgow and they both said you can NOT pre-order online to reserve in-store (UK stores at least)!
They said you can either pre-order for home delivery OR wait in line next Friday (iPhones will be given on a first come first served basis).
They said you can either pre-order for home delivery OR wait in line next Friday (iPhones will be given on a first come first served basis).
Because it makes money. People from America or any where in the world would do the same if they know they can pull some serious profit.
Ah thank you - I'm undecided yet but if I was going to go pre-order I'd prefer pre-order online and pickup in the shop.
I'd personally be far too embarrassed to go to a store and stand in line for fear Look East would be there and someone would recognise me on the TV. I'd never live that down!
Pre-order (retail Price)
Can someone confirm if i'll be able to pre-order a device on the apple website for retail price? the way it's set up now, it looks like only on contract pricing....
what would be the best option if not the apple website?
Can someone confirm if i'll be able to pre-order a device on the apple website for retail price? the way it's set up now, it looks like only on contract pricing....
what would be the best option if not the apple website?
So... If I'm buying online, and have Verizon, but want to buy unlocked so I can move to TMo (maybe) in a few months - I should buy to TMo one?
No....my advice was for an ATT user. A VZ phone will work on ATT/Tmobile, but not vice versa.
But you can buy a VZ one....even on contract. You could just pay the ETF when you want to move to Tmobile. The contract price plus eventual ETF would be less than the full price as your ETF will decrease for each month you keep VZ service. The VZ phone is unlocked for ATT/Tmobile/International whether or not you buy it on contract so you won't have to worry about unlocking it if/when you go to Tmobile. But you will have to pay the ETF or I think VZ will IMEI/ESN block your phone if you just try to cancel and disappear.
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Wait, what?
Computer illiterate, yet have to have the latest and greatest iPhone?
If you can't run a computer, you can't run an iPhone. If you can run an iPhone, you can run a computer.
Cash only? Time to jump to the 21st century.
It's really not hard to jump onto a website, click a couple buttons, and order something.
Yep. my sisters one of them, yet she has an iPhone 5....
Not exactly the latest and greatest, but still, she wouldn't go online and buy.
Thanks, I'm not sure how you have this wealth of knowledge, but I appreciate it
Let's just say lots of research last year!
That's my only caution with my advice.....If somehow Apple totally changes it up this year, then all bets are off. But then they are going to have to deal with the "Mother of All Returns" from customers who made decisions based on how it worked before. It sucks that they cant more explicitly tell us how it is supposed to work, but I believe the carriers tell them to stay silent, because VZ doesn't want the general public to buy up all of "their" phones and then activate them on T-mobile, etc. Even T-mobile really doesn't want people to know their phone is unlocked because then it ends up in Russia rather than on their service.