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AT&T next and store pick up.
- Thread starter bfh123
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I tried to do this but failed. the only way it will work is if they have 2 of the phones you want in stock at the time of check out because they cannot sell you the same exact item twice. Once you return the one bought on contract through personal pickup they have to send it back even if it is not opened.
I've successfully done it while getting turned down prior... you really need to get lucky with a cool, knowledgeable blue shirt at the Apple stores...
what happens is when you pre-order online with the 2 year contract for in-store pickup, most of the blue shirts will tell you if you cancel the 2 year contract, the phone gets thrown back into stock for online pre-orders... sometimes they'll tell you you need to go back the next day before they open and wait on a "line" for their walk in stock...
IF you get lucky, the blue shirt will go to his/her manager and speak about it... the manager will then come over to you and say, yes we can cancel the 2 year contract and you'll have to wait for your upgrade eligibility to kick back in, which generally takes 5-10 mins... if you cancelled twice, you're SOL as it locks the upgrade and you'll have to call AT&T and they'll have to call some other to have it restored which will take 3-5 business days... to avoid that, if you're on a family plan, I'd suggest you pre-order with another line thats not looking to upgrade right away... that way your upgrade is available right away and theres no waiting around... if you're the only line, I'd suggest you log into your AT&T mobile app and keep refreshing the upgrade eligibility page until you see it kick in...
once they cancel the 2 year contract, theres an option for the NEXT or you can purchase the phone "device only" which means you pay for the phone completely, right there...
again, I've experienced stores where they will flat out tell you they cant do such a thing, blah blah blah, cancelling will put the phone back into their online pre-order batch, which is BS... you just need to get lucky and have a blue shirt willing to do it for you...
I returned and pre-ordered 2X until I got the color and configuration I wanted... good luck...
what happens is when you pre-order online with the 2 year contract for in-store pickup, most of the blue shirts will tell you if you cancel the 2 year contract, the phone gets thrown back into stock for online pre-orders... sometimes they'll tell you you need to go back the next day before they open and wait on a "line" for their walk in stock...
IF you get lucky, the blue shirt will go to his/her manager and speak about it... the manager will then come over to you and say, yes we can cancel the 2 year contract and you'll have to wait for your upgrade eligibility to kick back in, which generally takes 5-10 mins... if you cancelled twice, you're SOL as it locks the upgrade and you'll have to call AT&T and they'll have to call some other to have it restored which will take 3-5 business days... to avoid that, if you're on a family plan, I'd suggest you pre-order with another line thats not looking to upgrade right away... that way your upgrade is available right away and theres no waiting around... if you're the only line, I'd suggest you log into your AT&T mobile app and keep refreshing the upgrade eligibility page until you see it kick in...
once they cancel the 2 year contract, theres an option for the NEXT or you can purchase the phone "device only" which means you pay for the phone completely, right there...
again, I've experienced stores where they will flat out tell you they cant do such a thing, blah blah blah, cancelling will put the phone back into their online pre-order batch, which is BS... you just need to get lucky and have a blue shirt willing to do it for you...
I returned and pre-ordered 2X until I got the color and configuration I wanted... good luck...
Interesting since this is contrary to what others have reported, as well as contrary to what the store employee told me when I was asking about that.
Which ATL store was this?
Lenox. its interesting to me too now because I went through a lot of trouble because of that to get another plus I was phoneless until yesterday i lucked up and got one at the augusta store.
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I figured it was some bs but i just didnt feel like fighting ive been through so much with this release its not funny. ive had the black 6 128 gig the gold 6 128g the black plus 128 gig and now the silver plus 64g which im going to keep. my att next upgrade was messed up from the first switch between the 6s every since then it was downhill so i just bought this one on contract instead of the next plan fig at least thats 40 off my phone bill for the next year.
The employee I spoke with was at Perimeter and this was last week. He was very clear that he could do the return/re-sell but that it had to be done quickly.
Okay now I'm curious - and maybe a little nosey - how did you end up phoneless from ordering for in-store pickup on contract and then being unable to return/rebuy the same phone? What happened to the phone you'd had before?
long story short i did not want the plus bc of the size at first but that was before i seen it and held it AFTER i already upgraded to the 6 from the 5s at the att store via the next plan. when i went to return the 6 to order the plus which was on backorder they had already sent my 5s back so i was phoneless until i found out that apple does the next plan. so i cancelled that and tried to do the contract/next plan switch at apple but they only had one plus which was the one i ordered for personal pick up so they said i would have to wait until they got another one in to switch it. at the time i needed the money that i paid for the contract price for my bday vacation so i returned that plus and was unable to get another one until yesterday rendering me phoneless again.
Quite a story, glad you got it sorted out in the end.
This is exactly why I hate the trade-in promos, especially around launch time. Constrains your options if the new phone isn't the perfect match since you can't simply switch back to your old phone.
This is exactly why I hate the trade-in promos, especially around launch time. Constrains your options if the new phone isn't the perfect match since you can't simply switch back to your old phone.
Short answer, yes it can be done. Find yourself a specialist in store and be sincere about what you're looking to do AFTER they bring out the phone from the back (assuming you reserved online for 2-year contract). If they give you attitude, find someone else or speak with a manager. I got very lucky and was paired up with an extremely patient and informed staff member.
If they are unfamiliar with the process, mention that you heard (through the interwebs) that what youre looking to do can be processed through an OPEN BOX return. If they do a standard return it immediately goes back into the general inventory queue and you'll lose the device. They will require you to complete the transaction and pay the subsidized price at first and then refund the full amount to your credit card. Then, they need to run some AT&T software that basically reinstates your upgrade eligibility following the refund. FYI, this takes awhile to sync with the server so have patience. Once cleared you will be able to repurchase the device under the plan of your liking I went with AT&T Next 12. You should leave the store with 3 separate receipts (#1) purchase on 2-year contract, (#2) refund on 2-year contract, and (#3) purchase on Next. In total, the entire process takes about an hour so come prepared with some other Apple questions to fill the time.
I was able to upgrade through AT&T Next last week to an iPhone 6 Plus on AT&T and reserved online for 2-year contract as Ive had ZERO success finding these available in store. Im very happy with my decision, the device is incredible! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
If they are unfamiliar with the process, mention that you heard (through the interwebs) that what youre looking to do can be processed through an OPEN BOX return. If they do a standard return it immediately goes back into the general inventory queue and you'll lose the device. They will require you to complete the transaction and pay the subsidized price at first and then refund the full amount to your credit card. Then, they need to run some AT&T software that basically reinstates your upgrade eligibility following the refund. FYI, this takes awhile to sync with the server so have patience. Once cleared you will be able to repurchase the device under the plan of your liking I went with AT&T Next 12. You should leave the store with 3 separate receipts (#1) purchase on 2-year contract, (#2) refund on 2-year contract, and (#3) purchase on Next. In total, the entire process takes about an hour so come prepared with some other Apple questions to fill the time.
I was able to upgrade through AT&T Next last week to an iPhone 6 Plus on AT&T and reserved online for 2-year contract as Ive had ZERO success finding these available in store. Im very happy with my decision, the device is incredible! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
Wish I would have known this. But on a brighter note the plus is worth the hassle and I didn't have to wait until November to get it so it's all good.
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Yeah Exactly you would think they have some type of protocol for this since you have 14 days to return the device but they don't. I do give them slack bc this is the first year they have to deal with att next upgrades.
Excellent information, thank you for posting.
What I think is they know very well what they're doing...
it's to their advantage to make buyers less likely to do a return. Someone on the fence may just svck it up and keep the device rather than go through the hassle of being without a phone or buying/borrowing an alternate.
Not to mention the programs lower the barrier for phone upgrades for those without cash reserves or sufficient credit to bridge the transition of buying the new phone and selling the old one.
Excellent information, thank you for posting.
What I think is they know very well what they're doing...
it's to their advantage to make buyers less likely to do a return. Someone on the fence may just svck it up and keep the device rather than go through the hassle of being without a phone or buying/borrowing an alternate.
Not to mention the programs lower the barrier for phone upgrades for those without cash reserves or sufficient credit to bridge the transition of buying the new phone and selling the old one.
ahhh this is true. good point.