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engelke2010

macrumors 65816
Mar 28, 2010
1,132
188
There were a few problems that I went through yesterday. The big one is a retail store person might not know that someone who has an older plan on their phone they can still go on contract (at least for now). Also, the woman who processed my payment wanted me to give up my phone, which I had been told I didn't have to. Even with the problems, everything ended up fine. I can now either go back on contract or another Next plan.
 

Nikos

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2008
1,641
291
New York
My only thought is if I am going to trade in, I want to do it before a 13th payment is made. Unless I missed it, the credit for the 13th payment would be left with the trade-in. Meaning, I would have to hand over a device I made 13 payments on which is one month more than I should have unless I was planning to keep the phone. Hope that makes sense.

Wouldn't the amount of that 13th payment be credited to your account since the phone was traded in? From what I understand, if you make more than 12 payments before trading your phone in, you are credited the difference. I could definitely be wrong though.
 

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
Wouldn't the amount of that 13th payment be credited to your account since the phone was traded in? From what I understand, if you make more than 12 payments before trading your phone in, you are credited the difference. I could definitely be wrong though.
I don't know. I will look for the info though. I wondered about people that paid their phone balance then did a trade-in. Surely there is a way this is being dealt with but at the moment I don't have an answer.
 

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
If anyone is having issues making the final payment in store, I just did what another member suggested. Just proceed with an upgrade online with any other next phone. It'll prompt you to make a separate transaction for the final payment first. Then just close the window.
 

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
Wouldn't the amount of that 13th payment be credited to your account since the phone was traded in? From what I understand, if you make more than 12 payments before trading your phone in, you are credited the difference. I could definitely be wrong though.
No credit. Just asked. You are paying for the phone in installments with the idea to payoff the balance after 20 months interest free. If you like, you can trade-in after 12 months and start over. If you pay for more than 12 months it will get you closer to payoff but will not count towards your next device. You would simply start over on your new Next 12 plan. So, its either trade at 12 months or payoff and sell. If you pay longer than 12 months (the minimum required to trade) then you are only doing a disservice to your budget.

It was the same in the past. If you kept your phone longer than your 2 year contract you were paying too much for your phone. You might not have see it but the monthly bill included an amount for the device. The device cost was spread over 20-24 months. If you kept the phone and plan past that 24 months you were still paying an amount per month towards the phone. This is the advantage of Next. You see when the phone is paid for and your bill drops in price by that amount after payoff.

So, the question here is. What is the best way to manage this with consideration of monthly payments towards a device you could trade or payoff and sell. I have to do the math for myself.
 

Nikos

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2008
1,641
291
New York
No credit. Just asked. You are paying for the phone in installments with the idea to payoff the balance after 20 months interest free. If you like, you can trade-in after 12 months and start over. If you pay for more than 12 months it will get you closer to payoff but will not count towards your next device. You would simply start over on your new Next 12 plan. So, its either trade at 12 months or payoff and sell. If you pay longer than 12 months (the minimum required to trade) then you are only doing a disservice to your budget.

It was the same in the past. If you kept your phone longer than your 2 year contract you were paying too much for your phone. You might not have see it but the monthly bill included an amount for the device. The device cost was spread over 20-24 months. If you kept the phone and plan past that 24 months you were still paying an amount per month towards the phone. This is the advantage of Next. You see when the phone is paid for and your bill drops in price by that amount after payoff.

So, the question here is. What is the best way to manage this with consideration of monthly payments towards a device you could trade or payoff and sell. I have to do the math for myself.

Thanks for the heads up. Guess it doesn't make sense to ever make more than 12 payments, unless you plan on keeping your old iPhone for an unsubsidized price.
 

b1scu1t

macrumors regular
Mar 17, 2011
208
29
So going with ATT Next 12, the price of the phone is divided into 20 payments, and 12 payments on, do I just return my old phone and re-up for another 20 months? or should I pay off the first Next 12 term?



No credit. Just asked. You are paying for the phone in installments with the idea to payoff the balance after 20 months interest free. If you like, you can trade-in after 12 months and start over. If you pay for more than 12 months it will get you closer to payoff but will not count towards your next device. You would simply start over on your new Next 12 plan. So, its either trade at 12 months or payoff and sell. If you pay longer than 12 months (the minimum required to trade) then you are only doing a disservice to your budget.

It was the same in the past. If you kept your phone longer than your 2 year contract you were paying too much for your phone. You might not have see it but the monthly bill included an amount for the device. The device cost was spread over 20-24 months. If you kept the phone and plan past that 24 months you were still paying an amount per month towards the phone. This is the advantage of Next. You see when the phone is paid for and your bill drops in price by that amount after payoff.

So, the question here is. What is the best way to manage this with consideration of monthly payments towards a device you could trade or payoff and sell. I have to do the math for myself.
 

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
So going with ATT Next 12, the price of the phone is divided into 20 payments, and 12 payments on, do I just return my old phone and re-up for another 20 months? or should I pay off the first Next 12 term?
This is up to you. After you have paid 12 of your 20 payments you are free to upgrade. If you make 13 or more payments and upgrade by turning the phone in you are giving up more money than you would have at the 12 month mark. I suggest trading at 12 or waiting until the phone is paid and selling it to regain some money. You lose no matter what. The trick is how you want to lose and by how much. It can be a hassle to sell a phone so if that does not appeal and you want a new phone each year might as well just update with Next every 12 months and make the payments.

Here is what I see in my case, tell me if I'm wrong.
Pay $42.50 for 12 months-$510 (ready for trade)
Pay $42.50 for 20 months-$850 (own the phone)
Pay $42.50 for 12 months then payoff the phone-$850 (own the phone)
Sell the phone for as much as I can, lets say $750. I "lose" $100 or it cost me $100 to use a phone for a year.
Trade the phone and give up the $510 I have paid so far. No hassles with selling but it cost me 5x as much to use the phone for a year.

I was planning to trade in and move on but the way this looks, it would be better to pay the phone off and sell it. Doing so would save me money and free me to pre-order if I wanted without having to worry about the trade-in process. The hassle is in selling the phone to someone or to a service. Right?

Looking, trade-in to a service like Gazelle is only going to pay me $340-$360. The same amount I owe in order to pay the phone off. Still a "loss" of $510. This means, selling the phone to someone on eBay or Craigslist is the only way to reduce the loss outside of just keeping the phone and using the life out if it. Keeping it for 3 years and using it is the most sound financially but the least attractive as a fan of new devices.
 
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duaneu

macrumors 6502a
Jun 19, 2010
717
279
Bellevue, WA
This is up to you. After you have paid 12 of your 20 payments you are free to upgrade. If you make 13 or more payments and upgrade by turning the phone in you are giving up more money than you would have at the 12 month mark. I suggest trading at 12 or waiting until the phone is paid and selling it to regain some money. You lose no matter what. The trick is how you want to lose and by how much. It can be a hassle to sell a phone so if that does not appeal and you want a new phone each year might as well just update with Next every 12 months and make the payments.

Here is what I see in my case, tell me if I'm wrong.
Pay $42.50 for 12 months-$510 (ready for trade)
Pay $42.50 for 20 months-$850 (own the phone)
Pay $42.50 for 12 months then payoff the phone-$850 (own the phone)
Sell the phone for as much as I can, lets say $750. I "lose" $100 or it cost me $100 to use a phone for a year.
Trade the phone and give up the $510 I have paid so far. No hassles with selling but it cost me 5x as much to use the phone for a year.

I was planning to trade in and move on but the way this looks, it would be better to pay the phone off and sell it. Doing so would save me money and free me to pre-order if I wanted without having to worry about the trade-in process. The hassle is in selling the phone to someone or to a service. Right?

Yes, you can get more for your phone if you sell it yourself, but it's more of a hassle. Just like selling a car yourself vs. trading it in to the dealer.
 

Che Castro

macrumors 603
May 21, 2009
5,878
676
Here's what I want to do tell me if is possible , the at&t rep couldn't tell me

I have 2 lines , one is on next and the other is off contract but still on the account
An old iPhone 5

I want to give my next iphone 6 phone to the other person , and I'm going to use there iphone 5 line to upgrade to iPhone 6s plus next plan

Now my question , can I order preorder the phone using the iPhone 5 line and when I get the 6s plus I just put my iPhone 6 sim card in there and basically swap sims

The at&t rep told me I'm going to have problems doing that , is that true ?

Cause right now I can take my iPhone 6 sim and put it on the iPhone 5 and it will work just fine , so I don't know what his talking about
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,377
12,325
Sell the phone for as much as I can, lets say $750. I "lose" $100 or it cost me $100 to use a phone for a year.
Trade the phone and give up the $510 I have paid so far. No hassles with selling but it cost me 5x as much to use the phone for a year.

I was planning to trade in and move on but the way this looks, it would be better to pay the phone off and sell it.
Only if you can actually get $750 for it. Imho, that seems incredibly optimistic particularly when supply of used iPhones is much, much more plentiful compared to earlier years.

Also, if selling on ebay, just keep in mind ebay and PayPal fees.
 
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gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
Here's what I want to do tell me if is possible , the at&t rep couldn't tell me

I have 2 lines , one is on next and the other is off contract but still on the account
An old iPhone 5

I want to give my next iphone 6 phone to the other person , and I'm going to use there iphone 5 line to upgrade to iPhone 6s plus next plan

Now my question , can I order preorder the phone using the iPhone 5 line and when I get the 6s plus I just put my iPhone 6 sim card in there and basically swap sims

The at&t rep told me I'm going to have problems doing that , is that true ?

Cause right now I can take my iPhone 6 sim and put it on the iPhone 5 and it will work just fine , so I don't know what his talking about
You should be able to so that. Worst case, after you get your phone you go to a store and have the move things around to match the SIM's
 

gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
Only if you can actually get $750 for it. Imho, that seems incredibly optimistic particularly when supply of used iPhones is much, much more plentiful compared to earlier years.

Also, if selling on ebay, just keep in mind ebay and PayPal fees.
All true and good points. Maybe the trade in is not so bad but I think we can agree that going more than 12 months if I am going to trade would be a loss.
 

crazyeyes

macrumors regular
Oct 5, 2005
195
17
Easton PA
To all of you upgrading via AT&T NEXT:

To utilize the Apple Store app, since it is the most reliable, to prepare for the launch here's what you'll need to do.
Go into your closest corporate AT&T. Pay the amount that needs paid in order to upgrade. There should be two options; the amount needed in order to trade in and upgrade, and the amount to own the phone.
The representative can ring you out for the amount you need to pay in order to become upgrade eligible with Trade in, WITHOUT trading your phone in today. Wait about 5 minutes after you've cashed out with the rep and then check upgrade eligibility on the Apple Store App. Should show as eligible to upgrade on NEXT.

When you receive your new phone, the box should come with a shipping label. You will be responsible to take the phone to the post office and ship it back within 14 days of receiving your new iPhone.


I hope this all made sense and helps some of you out! Any questions I'm more than happy to answer. Just DM me! =]

I actually just went on to the att website and through a chat got them to do it through there they argued with me saying I can just pay it on upgrade day, but I want to do it now and told them I know it is possible but I can see they don't want to help me with so I will either call and ask for a supervisor or visit the store that my friend works at and they then said Oh I see we can do it manually on our end.
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,377
12,325
All true and good points. Maybe the trade in is not so bad but I think we can agree that going more than 12 months if I am going to trade would be a loss.
Well, Next 12 is already at a loss compared to selling.

On Swappa, average selling price right now for the 6 Plus is around 60-70% of MSRP (~80% on 16GB model). Doing AT&T Next at exactly 12 months gives an you effective trade-in value of just 40% of MSRP. Every extra month's payment you make decreases the trade-in value by 5%.
 

crazyeyes

macrumors regular
Oct 5, 2005
195
17
Easton PA
I just got done making my 12th installment on my iPhone 6 plus so I can now do my upgrade right through the apple store. I didn't want to go through ATT cause last year that was just a cluster****.
 
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Nikos

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2008
1,641
291
New York
Assuming pricing doesn't change, at the end of 12 months an iPhone 6S Plus 128GB would cost a total of $570 ($47.50 per month x 12, OR $270 down payment + $23.75 per month). That leaves us with a $380 balance.

At this point, there are two options. Trade the iPhone in to have that $380 balance waived, or sell the iPhone and pay off the balance. Selling it seems to be the much better option, as it should be very easy to get more than $380 for the phone.

Let's assume we sell the phone for $500, that leaves $120 in our pocket after we pay the remaining balance of $380. Subtract the extra $120 from the $570 we paid for the phone over the course of the year, and it the phone ends up costing a total of $380 to use over the year.

It's not as a good of a deal as contract subsidized prices. I've been buying phones at subsidy for $399 + tax every year, then selling them for around the same amount to fund the new phone. With that method, you are pretty much paying nothing to use the phone all year, unless there are hidden fees involved that I haven't known about. Still, I've become accustomed to the amount of my bill, so it seemed normal.

The only reason to go with Next, in my opinion, is if you absolutely want to order via Apple or you don't want to pay anything for the phone right now.

I'm pretty much thinking out loud at this point but hopefully my banter will help someone out.
 
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gsmornot

macrumors 68040
Sep 29, 2014
3,576
3,687
I just got done making my 12th installment on my iPhone 6 plus so I can now do my upgrade right through the apple store. I didn't want to go through ATT cause last year that was just a cluster****.
I got lucky last year getting mine on launch day but my brother had to wait about a month. It was a long process but it gave me a chance to remind him I was enjoying my new phone. :D
 
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crazyeyes

macrumors regular
Oct 5, 2005
195
17
Easton PA
Assuming pricing doesn't change, at the end of 12 months an iPhone 6S Plus 128GB would cost a total of $570 ($47.50 per month x 12, OR $270 down payment + $23.75 per month). That leaves us with a $380 balance.

At this point, there are two options. Trade the iPhone in to have that $380 balance waived, or sell the iPhone and pay off the balance. Selling it seems to be the much better option, as it should be very easy to get more than $380 for the phone.

Let's assume we sell the phone for $500, that leaves $120 in our pocket after we pay the remaining balance of $380. Subtract the extra $120 from the $570 we paid for the phone over the course of the year, and it the phone ends up costing a total of $380 to use over the year.

It's not as a good of a deal as contract subsidized prices. I've been buying phones at subsidy for $399 + tax every year, then selling them for around the same amount to fund the new phone. With that method, you are pretty much paying nothing to use the phone all year, unless there are hidden fees involved that I haven't known about. Still, I've become accustomed to the amount of my bill, so it seemed normal.

The only reason to go with Next, in my opinion, is if you absolutely want to order via Apple or you don't want to pay anything for the phone right now.

I'm pretty much thinking out loud at this point but hopefully my banter will help someone out.


Your thinking makes sense but you have to take into account where are you selling your phone for $500? Ebay, craigslist, or somewhere else, if it's ebay you can usually say goodbye to at least 10% of what you sold it for in fees. Which then brings your profit down to only about $70 and at that point is it worth the $70 having to deal with shipping it, and getting the money from the person you sold it to?
 

Jman13

macrumors 68000
Aug 7, 2011
1,569
277
Columbus, OH
When I ordered my 6 last year, I remember Apple being pretty well clued in. I'm going to be taking my wife's eligibility this year, and passing my phone (on Next) to her, starting a new next plan on her line and continuing on. We may pay off early after selling her 5S, may just make the payments until the first line is up.

In any case, I see on the AT&T site, there's an easy way to simply take her eligibility on my line and swap my contract to her line. Do you think this option will be present in the Apple Store app when checking upgrade eligibility? (Worst case, i just upgrade her line with the new phone, then we swap them after...before activation, which is what we did for the 5S and 4S),
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
Assuming pricing doesn't change, at the end of 12 months an iPhone 6S Plus 128GB would cost a total of $570 ($47.50 per month x 12, OR $270 down payment + $23.75 per month). That leaves us with a $380 balance.

At this point, there are two options. Trade the iPhone in to have that $380 balance waived, or sell the iPhone and pay off the balance. Selling it seems to be the much better option, as it should be very easy to get more than $380 for the phone.

Let's assume we sell the phone for $500, that leaves $120 in our pocket after we pay the remaining balance of $380. Subtract the extra $120 from the $570 we paid for the phone over the course of the year, and it the phone ends up costing a total of $380 to use over the year.

It's not as a good of a deal as contract subsidized prices. I've been buying phones at subsidy for $399 + tax every year, then selling them for around the same amount to fund the new phone. With that method, you are pretty much paying nothing to use the phone all year, unless there are hidden fees involved that I haven't known about. Still, I've become accustomed to the amount of my bill, so it seemed normal.

The only reason to go with Next, in my opinion, is if you absolutely want to order via Apple or you don't want to pay anything for the phone right now.

I'm pretty much thinking out loud at this point but hopefully my banter will help someone out.
It seems that you are not accounting for the monthly line cost being less for being on Next--at least on the current plans (given that on older plans that important aspect of it wouldn't apply unfortunately).
 

rui no onna

Contributor
Oct 25, 2013
14,377
12,325
Assuming pricing doesn't change, at the end of 12 months an iPhone 6S Plus 128GB would cost a total of $570 ($47.50 per month x 12, OR $270 down payment + $23.75 per month). That leaves us with a $380 balance.

At this point, there are two options. Trade the iPhone in to have that $380 balance waived, or sell the iPhone and pay off the balance. Selling it seems to be the much better option, as it should be very easy to get more than $380 for the phone.

Let's assume we sell the phone for $500, that leaves $120 in our pocket after we pay the remaining balance of $380. Subtract the extra $120 from the $570 we paid for the phone over the course of the year, and it the phone ends up costing a total of $380 to use over the year.

It's not as a good of a deal as contract subsidized prices. I've been buying phones at subsidy for $399 + tax every year, then selling them for around the same amount to fund the new phone. With that method, you are pretty much paying nothing to use the phone all year, unless there are hidden fees involved that I haven't known about. Still, I've become accustomed to the amount of my bill, so it seemed normal.
Mind, $47.50/mo translates to $950 so the subsidized pricing for that is likely $499 so it's a fairly break-even scenario all in all. Also, consider that you didn't "front" AT&T the $499 when you first started with Next. With 2-year contract, there's a front-end load, with Next, there's a back-end load.

Contract vs Next 12
Yr 1 Initial: $500 $0
Yr 1 Monthly: $40 x 12 = $480 $62.50 ($15 + $47.50) = $750
Device Sale (net): -$500 -$500
Yr 2 Initial: $950 $380 (pay off)
Net Cost after 1 year and upgrade: $1,430 $630
Yr 2 Monthly: $40 x 12 = $480 $62.50 ($15 + $47.50) = $750
Yr 2 Final: $0 $380 (payoff)
Total Cost after 2 years: $1,910 $1,760

Of course, if you can leverage dummy lines (using dumb phones), the numbers favor the 2-year contract.
 
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Nikos

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2008
1,641
291
New York
It seems that you are not accounting for the monthly line cost being less for being on Next--at least on the current plans (given that on older plans that important aspect of it wouldn't apply unfortunately).

Yr 1 Monthly: $40 x 12 = $480 $62.50 ($15 + $47.50) = $750

I guess this is the part I'm not understanding. I don't know by how much my monthly bill will be reduced once I join Next. I currently have a family plan with three lines that I plan on converting to Mobile Share, since that seems to be a bit cheaper and will offer more. I'm waiting until after receiving the phone to do so, to avoid any complication.

EDIT: Looks like I'm currently paying $50 for voice and $30 for data for my line alone, not including the other two, before taxes and fees.

If I change to a 5GB Mobile Share plan, I'll be paying $50 for Voice/Data/Text + $25 because it's a smart phone line.

Where does the discount for Next come into play? Would it end up being $50 + $25 (as stated above) + $47.50 (phone) - $15 (discount) or am I not understanding it correctly?
 
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