AT&T is dumb for taking away next year's iPhone early upgrades...

[Agent OrangeZ]

People who ordered iPhone 4S today are noticing their new upgrade dates changing to 5/8/2013.

AT&T's Early Termination fee is $325 and drops by $10 for every month of completed service.

$10 x 12 months = $205 ETF next year.

16GB iPhone (2012 model)
New customer Price = $199
Full retail Price = $599

ETF + New customer price @ competing carrier = $404

I think they had better rethink this before they bleed customers.

 

[psblake]

Apple may be telling ATT what to do in this area. May not be all ATT decision.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

And again, what happens in 1/1.5 years when the iPhone 5 comes out and you'll want to upgrade to that? Then what?

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Apple may be telling ATT what to do in this area. May not be all ATT decision.

Uh... no... AT&T controls which customers get discounts and which don't. If it were up to Apple, anyone would be able to walk in and get a $199 iPhone.

 

[edk99]

People who ordered iPhone 4S today are noticing their new upgrade dates changing to 5/8/2013.

AT&T's Early Termination fee is $325 and drops by $10 for every month of completed service.

$10 x 12 months = $205 ETF next year.

16GB iPhone (2012 model)
New customer Price = $199
Full retail Price = $599

ETF + New customer price @ competing carrier = $404

I think they had better rethink this before they bleed customers.

Your forgetting about the early upgrade pricing so it would be $399.

They do this every year so why are you thinking this year is any different?

 

[bradl]

I don't know where you're getting that they are dumb, but you do realize that EVERY carrier is doing a 2 year contract, right?

the only time they didn't was when you had to buy the original iPhone outright when it came out. In my case, I bought the 3G. My contract was up in June of 2010, when the iPhone 4 came out. That meant I missed out on the 3GS. My wife bought a 3GS in November 2009. She missed out on the 4 completely, as her contract is up this November.

A 2 year contract is a 2 year contract, with maybe having the ability to upgrade after 18 months. You bought it, so honour the contract, or pay the ETF to get out of it. This is something you should have read into more before buying the phone.

BL.

 

[OneMike]

Look at it this way. By the time the next iPhone comes out. If you sell your old iPhone. Worst case you'll have to pay new customer cost.

So unlike now where you likely made enough on your old phone to have money left over after the new purchase. You can add the $199 to what you sold your phone for and get an unlocked version without extending your contract further.

 

[Stealthipad]

And again, what happens in 1/1.5 years when the iPhone 5 comes out and you'll want to upgrade to that? Then what?

You be a man and pay full price!

 

[sweetbrat]

It's not much different at Sprint...if you have 12 months left on contract, your ETF would be $240, plus $199 for a new phone from a different carrier would total $439. Even Verizon, who as far as I can tell doesn't discount the ETF based on how far into the contract you are, would come out cheaper than purchasing a new phone at full retail ($350 ETF + $199 phone = $549). So it's not just AT&T being "dumb" as you say.

I'm thinking now that Verizon & Sprint have the iPhone as well, ETF may get more painful for the customer. That would be pretty understandable, though. I think it's a little ridiculous that people expect their carrier to pay to subsidize the phone, then also let them out of their contract early. People seem to think they're entitled to a new phone every year, even though they signed a two-year contract. So I wouldn't be surprised if those ETFs go up in the future to prevent people from skipping from company to company every year.

Just my 2¢, and I expect a lot of downvotes for my opinion

 

[Jessay]

When the new iPhone comes out (whenever that is), AT&T will push up upgrade dates. They always do this when the new iPhone comes. We just have to see what customers get the best upgrade date...

 

[AndrewR23]

yeah my next upgrade is 5/8/2013.


Ive always been able to upgrade once a year. Idk why it has changed now

 

[NoHo]

It's a 2 year contract. If you don't like it, call AT&T and beg them to let you sign a 1 year contract. See how far that gets you.

 

[i hate phones]

we all know we signed a 2 year contract... first problem is that they've been letting everybody upgrade pretty much yearly since the first iphone... people have come to expect it, are we entitled to it? no but it still sucks they took a "perk" away. 2nd and bigger (imo) problem is that they are not consistant. if NOBODY was allowed to upgrade early people would probably suck it up and stop calling and begging. but they seem to have no rhyme or reason as to who gets an exception and who doesn't. my upgrade date was 11/30 until yesterday when it was pushed back to 2/29 I was told it was "pushed back because of the iphone"... what kind of sense does that make??? especially when others were pushed UP yesterday... their "calculation" is so complicated they can't even explain it. if its a "2 year contract" what kind of calculation does 2 YEARS need??? imo they set themselves up for this one.