At&t changing phone uprade eligability for many iphone users

[Savetheempire]

Yes, last year 09 and also July 08, if you qualifed for an early upgrade, you just paid $200 more the the lowest subsized price. Last year, you could even pre-order on announce day and have it delivered to your home on launch day rather then stand in line.

Random comment: There was a great UPS tracking tread that kept many of us up late tracking our flights from China.

Dave

I thought in July 08 when the 3G came out everyone was allowed to purchase it at the subsized price? I could be wrong but I remember my friend saying that last year when the 3GS came out.

 

[Geckotek]

I thought in July 08 when the 3G came out everyone was allowed to purchase it at the subsized price? I could be wrong but I remember my friend saying that last year when the 3GS came out.

That was a one time thing that they didn't repeat with the 3Gs. And it wasn't everyone, it was original iPhone owners.

 

[danpass]

Mine recently changed from 2.20.10 to 11.20.10 after I added unlimited family texting (likely because of the $100 "rule"). I hope this changes to 6.21.10 as we get get closer

You can also dial *639# (*NEW#) to get your eligibility via free SMS.

cool, I'm eligible now. Guess I'll hold on to that for now

 

[elephunkman]

Because the 2G was unsubsidized, this time it's totally different.

 

[labman]

Still hoping mine gets changed Mine is 11/20/10 but that's still 6 months shorter then 2 years contract. SO am not going to complain. it just might be a long wait!

 

[IBradMac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

I hate to be the one bringing this up because I hate seeing Verizon rumors so much, but if this is true that they are bumping up peoples upgrade dates I think it's as good a sign as any that for some reason AT&T is trying to not lose customers this summer to other carriers.

It's a thought, that's for sure.

I'm ready to bite on iPhone 4.

 

[dave006]

That was a one time thing that they didn't repeat with the 3Gs. And it wasn't everyone, it was original iPhone owners.

In July 08, if you had an iPhone on your line as of lauch day you were upgrade eligible (full subsidy). Yes, it took AT&T a few days to fix loop hole, some customers were recycling the same original iPhone across multiple lines / accounts to get the full subsidy. There were some very ugly threads here in the forum.

AT&T had scanned all the iPhone lines and adjusted the upgrade status. The scans were done based on the customer having the iPhone Data feature on the line.

There were many customers that had purchased the original iPhone but after the 3G announcement, they sold their phones early and then the launch was not until July and they got caught unable to qualify for the upgrade since they had dropped the iPhone data from the line.

Dave

 

[skymj]

iphone

I have had all three iphone's at one point in time or another and unfortunately I recently (May 12th, 2010) had to replace my iPhone 3GS. My line was not eligible at the time for a discount so I had to replace the 3GS at the cost of $499.

Several days later I saw where my upgrade eligibility on this particular line was May 12, 2012. Today that same line has been changed to January 12, 2012. In addition the other 4 lines on my account had the "eligibility dates" moved back 5 months as well. At least two of those lines are now eligible for the 4G!!! Thank God....Apple is breaking my wallet!!!

 

[Blueline29]

Random comment: There was a great UPS tracking tread that kept many of us up late tracking our flights from China.

Dave

That was fun, tracking everything obsessively. I remember giggling like a little girl when I finally saw that mine was on the truck for delivery, triumphantly screencapping it so I could post the info here.

 

[splashnader]

No go for me.

Nope nothing changed for me. Still November. I will just be waiting till November. Not a big deal to me.

 

[Geckotek]

In July 08, if you had an iPhone on your line as of lauch day you were upgrade eligible (full subsidy). Yes, it took AT&T a few days to fix loop hole, some customers were recycling the same original iPhone across multiple lines / accounts to get the full subsidy. There were some very ugly threads here in the forum.

AT&T had scanned all the iPhone lines and adjusted the upgrade status. The scans were done based on the customer having the iPhone Data feature on the line.

There were many customers that had purchased the original iPhone but after the 3G announcement, they sold their phones early and then the launch was not until July and they got caught unable to qualify for the upgrade since they had dropped the iPhone data from the line.

Dave

Yup, that's exactly what I'm referring to. And I swear up and down that I did NOT activate my roommate's iPhone on my line to get a discount. I repeat..DID NOT!

 

[elephunkman]

So can anyone confirm that if I add the iPhone data plan on my line, my upgrade date will be moved up?

 

[Applejuiced]

So can anyone confirm that if I add the iPhone data plan on my line, my upgrade date will be moved up?

Doubt it.
It's not set in stone and doesn't work thruout all customers. Kinda like a weird hit or miss.

 

[JosephBergdoll]

I used an upgrade from another line on my account to get the iPhone, since I wasn't eligible at the time. I am now eligible on my number, but will the upgrade eligibity on theirs change? My mom wants an iPhone too.

 

[dave006]

So can anyone confirm that if I add the iPhone data plan on my line, my upgrade date will be moved up?

Short answer: No, this was a specific case with the original iPhone for 2008 when the iPhone 3G launched. The original iPhone did not have a device subsidy. Everyone paid full price.

Consider it a one time only deal in 2008 not vaild in 2010.

Dave

 

[dave006]

I used an upgrade from another line on my account to get the iPhone, since I wasn't eligible at the time. I am now eligible on my number, but will the upgrade eligibity on theirs change? My mom wants an iPhone too.

Again start by checking the current "upgrade eligible" date from the phone line, Dial *NEW# (*639#) to receive a free text message with the "upgrade eligible" date. Which line is the primary line and is that line's MRC > $99.99?

Again, there is no free lunch here...

Dave

 

[CarbonCrew]

Upgraded to the 3G on March 2, 2009 from the iPhone 2G. I've been checking everyday and it keeps telling me my upgrade date is 11/05/2010. Sad face sigh..


What's really frustrating is that there seems to by no rhyme nor reason to the upgrade dates. I have coworkers that purchased phones a few days later than I and they are showing upgrade dates in June.

 

[dave006]

Ahh, upgrade eligible envy...it is not magic or random.

Let's try this again, the base upgrade eligiblity is based on each lines Montly Recurring Charges (MRC). The more you spend the quicker AT&T recovers the cost of the device subsidy and the faster you get to spend even more money with AT&T.

MRC is based on a three month average of your rate plan plus selected data features (AT&T gets to pick). There are three blocks: < $69, $69-$98.99, > $99 and the upgrade eligible dates normally are 21-24 months for < $69 lines, 18-21 months for $69-$98.99 and 12 months for > $99.

Note: This all assumes your account is current and there have been no late payments, late payments, expect your upgrade eligible date to move out by an additional 6 months.

Dave

 

[JosephBergdoll]

Again start by checking the current "upgrade eligible" date from the phone line, Dial *NEW# (*639#) to receive a free text message with the "upgrade eligible" date. Which line is the primary line and is that line's MRC > $99.99?

Again, there is no free lunch here...

Dave

I did, I keep getting error message texts instead of upgrade eligibility texts lol. The primary line is my dad's line, who is also on an iPhone 3GS and we pay just under $300 a month for everything on our plan, which is 4 lines, 2100 monthly minutes, 3 unlimited data plans, unlimited text throughout, and a 3G wireless card.

 

[Geckotek]

I did, I keep getting error message texts instead of upgrade eligibility texts lol. The primary line is my dad's line, who is also on an iPhone 3GS and we pay just under $300 a month for everything on our plan, which is 4 lines, 2100 monthly minutes, 3 unlimited data plans, unlimited text throughout, and a 3G wireless card.

If the text doesn't work, you should call AT&T. They can actually answer your question better than anybody here can.

 

[JosephBergdoll]

Yup, I would be doing that if they were open right now haha.

 

[corriewf]

Note: This all assumes your account is current and there have been no late payments, late payments, expect your upgrade eligible date to move out by an additional 6 months.

Dave

Umm no. I am late every month because that's just how I roll....and I get an upgrade date one year after purchase of my 3GS.

 

[Applejuiced]

Umm no. I am late every month because that's just how I roll....and I get an upgrade date one year after purchase of my 3GS.

Nice

 

[calvy]

Ahh, upgrade eligible envy...it is not magic or random.

Let's try this again, the base upgrade eligiblity is based on each lines Montly Recurring Charges (MRC). The more you spend the quicker AT&T recovers the cost of the device subsidy and the faster you get to spend even more money with AT&T.

MRC is based on a three month average of your rate plan plus selected data features (AT&T gets to pick). There are three blocks: < $69, $69-$98.99, > $99 and the upgrade eligible dates normally are 21-24 months for < $69 lines, 18-21 months for $69-$98.99 and 12 months for > $99.

Note: This all assumes your account is current and there have been no late payments, late payments, expect your upgrade eligible date to move out by an additional 6 months.

Dave

So, is it possible to spend enough on an account with only one phone on it to then qualify for annual upgrades? And is this breakdown before or after discounts?

 

[maflynn]

So, is it possible to spend enough on an account with only one phone on it to then qualify for annual upgrades? And is this breakdown before or after discounts?

Probably, but instead of raising your plans and spending over a 100 bucks a month, why not just put that money in the bank and then buy the iPhone with the no-commitment price that ATT is offering. I'm sure you'll come out ahead then artificially raising your plan just to qualify for a reduced price (and thusly extending your 2 year contract)