Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AT&T iPhone 3G Upgrades and Eligibility
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yea there's still so many questions. Like what about the people who ended up with the prepaid on the original iPhone- will their plans be grandfathered in and allowed to keep them and get the new phone? And how will the Apple store employees deal with the credit approval process, or will they just hand you the phone and you have to deal with AT&T later. Or people like me, who have the prepaid, but have recently received a letter stating they were pre-approved for a contract and free regular phone, wanting to use that as a contract pre-approval for an iphone? All sorts of stuff that needs to be ironed out I would think.
That is a good question.
Also, I already had an old family plan when I purchased my iPhone last year when they first came out. At that time, I was able to hold on to my old plan and just add $20/month for my iPhone (my wife does not have an iPhone) for the digital plan. My older family plan was a better plan then the one offered for new iPhone customers at the time (and it still is).
For me to upgrade to the 3G, AT&T will have to let me keep my old family plan, the $20/month iPhone plan and my roll-over minutes or I will just stick with my current iPhone. As I said earlier, there AT&T's 3G coverage is so limited that most people will not be within range of 3G coverage very often unless they live in one of the major metropolitan areas covered.
Dave
whatever happened to just being able to purchase the 3g iphone at Apple's set price, agree to the 2 year contract & a required data plan set by AT&T?
Depends on your situation.
If you change your voice plan it could affect you if your downgrading to a lower plan. Then you are only able to keep rollover minutes equal to the plan your changing to.
If your moving lateral or up then you can keep all your rollover.
If your just changing the data portion your plan then no changes will be made to your rollover.
All of the above is how AT&T handles plan changes for non-iphone plans but I assume it will apply in this case.
As Arn mentioned earlier we won't know until AT&T announces it.
i just sold my 2G iPhone so technically i'm not an iPhone owner currently.
am i eligible for the 199/299 pricing still?
if they look at my billing history they can clearly see that i had an iPhone for 6 months.
am i eligible for the 199/299 pricing still?
if they look at my billing history they can clearly see that i had an iPhone for 6 months.
hold up
This is not verified. I'm one of those current AT&T customers who doesn't have an iPhone and upgraded less than two years ago (though I just got a $50 phone for free, not a $200 discount on a new phone). I also just got off the phone with somebody at at&t who could not verify this. She said she read the same things online but as far as anybody who works the phones there knows this is just a rumor and the $199/$299 is the price for everybody as long as they get a new two-year contract.
Doesn't mean it isn't/won't be true. But unless AT&T has the worst customer service around (i know...), I'm still going to hold out hope that Steve Jobs didn't lie to me.
This is not verified. I'm one of those current AT&T customers who doesn't have an iPhone and upgraded less than two years ago (though I just got a $50 phone for free, not a $200 discount on a new phone). I also just got off the phone with somebody at at&t who could not verify this. She said she read the same things online but as far as anybody who works the phones there knows this is just a rumor and the $199/$299 is the price for everybody as long as they get a new two-year contract.
Doesn't mean it isn't/won't be true. But unless AT&T has the worst customer service around (i know...), I'm still going to hold out hope that Steve Jobs didn't lie to me.
I agree that this will be the case. Since there is not much clear information out there, people start to speculate. Steve Jobs clearing states at 1:40 into the keynote that no one around the world will pay MORE than $199.
Yes please everyone stop saying ,am I eligible for a upgrade...what if I signed a contract a few months ago....what if I sold my phone!!!! from what I understand and have read all over EVERYONE GETS THE PHONE FOR 199.00 AND 299.00 no matter what plan or phone you have...no matter how long you been with them or not....everyone pays 199 or 299.... even if you have 6 months left or 10 months left on your contract... you will just start a new 2 year agreement from that day you buy the new 3g iphone EVERYONE PAYS 199 OR 299!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS NOT A UPGRADE ITS JUST THE PRICE!!!!
Ok what about this...
I sold my iPhone the day they announced the 3G one. I just restored it and pulled my SIM out. I'm using my wife's old crappy Nokia (it's killing me) but haven't changed anything on my rate plan so it still shows that i'm using the iPhone and am paying for the $20 iPhone data plan. I THINK I should be eligible? Do I have to show them which phone i'm currently using? If THAT'S the case, I'll just grab my wife's iPhone and we can pass it down the line to whoever needs to prove they are using a 1st Gen iPhone.
I don't know, i'm getting one at $299 is all I have to say. I'll raise holy hell...
I sold my iPhone the day they announced the 3G one. I just restored it and pulled my SIM out. I'm using my wife's old crappy Nokia (it's killing me) but haven't changed anything on my rate plan so it still shows that i'm using the iPhone and am paying for the $20 iPhone data plan. I THINK I should be eligible? Do I have to show them which phone i'm currently using? If THAT'S the case, I'll just grab my wife's iPhone and we can pass it down the line to whoever needs to prove they are using a 1st Gen iPhone.
I don't know, i'm getting one at $299 is all I have to say. I'll raise holy hell...
Correct, but my question is, can I keep my sim card and my 20 dollar a month data and text?
I think you are wrong...I just did that online chat thing with an att rep and was told this...
ATT Rep: Hello and welcome to the New AT&T Technical Support Live Chat. My name is Chris. I will be more than happy to assist you with your AT&T service. May I ask what brings you to our chat room today?
Me: Hi Chris, I am just wondering if someone who began a new ATT contract last year with with a basic flip phone would be able to upgrade to the IPhone 3G at the advertised prices ($199 for the 8gb, $299 for the 16gb) if they sign i new two year contract.
ATT Rep: You would be able to purchase the new iPhone at that price, if you are eligible for an upgrade at that time.
Me: what determines if i am eligible
Me: a new 2 year contract was started 1 year ago
ATT Rep: Thank you for your question. In most cases you become eligible 2 months prior to the end of your contract.
Me: ok, so what cases would justify being eligible before that?
ATT Rep: I can check to see what the date is for you.
..at which point i told him i was not an ATT customer (since i still have Verizon) and didn't go any further, but it looks as if those prices are not for everyone.
it's the subsidy
I don't think that helps your case, but it's just my theory. ATT and
have a new deal, and the previous contract called for to get a share of the monthly revenue stream from each of those original iPhones, I think the logic behind letting us upgrade so easily is so that ATT gets to keep all the monthly revenue. I'm just 'speculating' - it could be that protected us a bit, and said ''we will cancel the revenue sharing altogether, but all of our loyalists have to be eligible for upgrades right away" ... seems unlikely.
However, if you don't have an iPhone anymore - I wouldn't say I sold it, I would tell them I dropped it in a lake or something... Of course if the buyer already activated it with ATT ...
(I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I just live with one)
I don't think that helps your case, but it's just my theory. ATT and
have a new deal, and the previous contract called for to get a share of the monthly revenue stream from each of those original iPhones, I think the logic behind letting us upgrade so easily is so that ATT gets to keep all the monthly revenue. I'm just 'speculating' - it could be that protected us a bit, and said ''we will cancel the revenue sharing altogether, but all of our loyalists have to be eligible for upgrades right away" ... seems unlikely. However, if you don't have an iPhone anymore - I wouldn't say I sold it, I would tell them I dropped it in a lake or something... Of course if the buyer already activated it with ATT ...
(I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I just live with one)
Gizmodo said "AT&T just gave us details," but they quoted pages that are quoting AT&T's "normal" policy. Apple was receiving full price for the iPhones, PLUS revenue sharing at estimates ranging from $8-$18.50 per customer per month, AND a better data plan for iPhone users (so presumably more people would buy phone, especially those that had never had data plans before) AND an easy activation process, allowing them and AT&T to sell on-line. In return AT&T got an EXCLUSIVE "multi-year" agreement for what's now the most popular smart phone in the U.S., whose owners were less likely than owners of any other handset to leave AT&T, and who spent twice as much as the average AT&T customer (maybe true of all smartphones), and the publicity and hype. If Apple renogiated that EXCLUSIVE agreement to get for itself and its customers the same as any manufacturer WITHOUT an exclusive agreement, no wonder Steve Jobs has lost weight! I'll remain skeptical until there's something definitive directly from AT&T. Especially since they are expecting such a hit on their revenue -- $.10-$12 less in profit per share -- if they're making up a minimum of $18 per month right away, and only offering the deal the same as any other subsidy which they're offering anyway, I don't see how it would take two years to start to make money on it.
I have been wanting to give my old iPhone to my wife and upgrade to a 3G. Now I'm practically dreading 7/11 for the complexity of it all.
Oh, and I HATE the idea of being stuck with only 16GB of memory through 2010. That's going to be the equivalent of running around with a 256MB thumb drive today.
Oh, and I HATE the idea of being stuck with only 16GB of memory through 2010. That's going to be the equivalent of running around with a 256MB thumb drive today.
I am also a non iphone att customer (only 8months into contract). I bought my phone on amazon. I heard that there wont be any iphones available for sale without a new 2 yr contract (even at a higher price). Usually when you pay the full price for the phone when your not eligible for an upgrade, you aren't required to sign a new contract. If they still require a contract, why wouldn't it be discounted in some way? I find it very frustrating that the keynote was all about the 199/299 price point and had no mention of this subsidizing crap at all. Its very misleading. I dont have a problem paying more because i'm not eligible for the upgrade price. But I'm not paying more AND signing a new contract.
I agree Steve Jobs NEVER SAID (Unless i missed it) That att is subsidizing. I think apple is just going to make less money off of them and isnt subsidizing but thats me either way im going to be in line on 7/11 and i will get it no matter the cost(well i wont pay over 599).
Anyone think it is odd that there are no answers coming from Apple and AT&T and just tons of questions? In fact, AT&T isn't even advertising or mentioning iPhone on their website-- unless you go google searching several layers into the website.
It really seems like this whole plan was thrown together by high school students, with very little planning.... not like anything Apple (or any other massive corporation) has ever done before.
What IS the problem with Apple these days????
It really seems like this whole plan was thrown together by high school students, with very little planning.... not like anything Apple (or any other massive corporation) has ever done before.
What IS the problem with Apple these days????