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AT&T no yearly upgrade this time?

appleguy123

appleguy123

macrumors 604
Original poster
Apr 1, 2009
6,873
2,589
15 minutes in the future
Because I paid more than $100 on my line per month, I have been entitled to a yearly upgrade for as long as I have been checking.

This year, it says that I'm not eligible until 5/5/13 from my launch day 4S. Is this an AT&T oversight that I can call to get fixed, or is it a policy change? Does anyone get yearly upgrades anymore?

Thanks for the help.
 
Same boat here. I thought my line was upgrade eligible, but it was my brother's line. My line is also the same as yours, over $100/month and my upgrade is still at 5/13/13.
 
appleguy123 said:
So there is no monthly bill that can get you a yearly upgrade? Why am I not surprised though? Everything that was good about Cingular/AT&T has been quickly rectified.
Click to expand...

This has been announced a very long time ago.
No more 12 month full upgrades no matter how much your bill is.
Same like every other carrier now, every 20 months.
 
appleguy123 said:
So there is no monthly bill that can get you a yearly upgrade?
Click to expand...

Correct. It's not automatic anymore. There is still a selected few at&t customers who are eligible after one year but it's not based on the monthly bill and the criteria is unknown. The vast majority are either eligible for the early iPhone upgrade ($250 on top of the subsidized price) or ineligible for any discount.
 
Applejuiced said:
This has been announced a very long time ago.
No more 12 month full upgrades no matter how much your bill is.
Same like every other carrier now, every 20 months.
Click to expand...

I can't believe I didn't see it. I might have to skip this upgrade. Probably no chance in hell of AT&T moving up upgrades like they did for the iPhone 4 either. :mad:

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JayLenochiniMac said:
Correct. It's not automatic anymore. There is still a selected few at&t customers who are eligible after one year but it's not based on the monthly bill and the criteria is unknown. The vast majority are either eligible for the early iPhone upgrade ($250 on top of the subsidized price) or ineligible for any discount.
Click to expand...

I'll call AT&T in a few days to ask them about the criteria. We have a FAN account, so maybe that will help?
 
appleguy123 said:
I can't believe I didn't see it. I might have to skip this upgrade. Probably no chance in hell of AT&T moving up upgrades like they did for the iPhone 4 either. :mad:

----------



I'll call AT&T in a few days to ask them about the criteria. We have a FAN account, so maybe that will help?
Click to expand...

Don't feel too bad, I wasn't made aware of it until about 5 months ago. If I had known then I would have waited on the 4S. Really ticks me off too because it was never disclosed, all of a sudden the policy changed after years.

Yes I know I shouldn't expect a new device every year, but at the same time I became accustomed to it and then all of a sudden a change with no warning.

I believe that both parties, AT&T and myself are both partially at fault for the way it was handled.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
Don't feel too bad, I wasn't made aware of it until about 5 months ago. If I had known then I would have waited on the 4S. Really ticks me off too because it was never disclosed, all of a sudden the policy changed after years.

Yes I know I shouldn't expect a new device every year, but at the same time I became accustomed to it and then all of a sudden a change with no warning.

I believe that both parties, AT&T and myself are both partially at fault for the way it was handled.
Click to expand...
When I pay >$2000 a year for their service, I feel entitled to a new device every year. I can understand raising the threshold, but eliminating yearly upgrades altogether pisses me off.

I love how there's no competition at all in the mobile industry. Once AT&T does something, Verizon follows and vice versa. I'd be surprised if their isn't collusion and anti-competitive behavior going on.
 
appleguy123 said:
I can't believe I didn't see it. I might have to skip this upgrade. Probably no chance in hell of AT&T moving up upgrades like they did for the iPhone 4 either. :mad:
Click to expand...

If I'm not mistaken, the iP4 was the last one they did it for. I'd been eligible for the 3GS and 4 and got the rude awakening last year.
 
appleguy123 said:
I'll call AT&T in a few days to ask them about the criteria. We have a FAN account, so maybe that will help?
Click to expand...

Many have tried that to little or no success. FAN accounts won't help.

appleguy123 said:
When I pay >$2000 a year for their service, I feel entitled to a new device every year. I can understand raising the threshold, but eliminating yearly upgrades altogether pisses me off.
Click to expand...

We've been spoiled the past few years, but we're only entitled to what we agreed to in the contract. Don't like the price? Then find some cheaper alternative (pre-paid, etc.).
 
DravenGSX said:
I got the 4s on a 12 month upgrade.

Really disappointed by this thread. :(
Click to expand...

Wow, I tried like hell and was denied at every turn; I think my upgrade date was something like Feb. 2012 & it never budged despite being > $100 a month. Ended up splintering off of my family's account and opening a new line for myself to get the subsidized price.
 
appleguy123 said:
When I pay >$2000 a year for their service, I feel entitled to a new device every year. I can understand raising the threshold, but eliminating yearly upgrades altogether pisses me off.

I love how there's no competition at all in the mobile industry. Once AT&T does something, Verizon follows and vice versa. I'd be surprised if their isn't collusion and anti-competitive behavior going on.
Click to expand...

I agree its a really crappy situation. Especially since AT&T told me back in Feb. that I could upgrade to the net iPhone at the $199-$399 pricetag. I hope its saved in my notes, because I will be calling.
 
Blueline29 said:
Wow, I tried like hell and was denied at every turn; I think my upgrade date was something like Feb. 2012 & it never budged despite being > $100 a month. Ended up splintering off of my family's account and opening a new line for myself to get the subsidized price.
Click to expand...

Are new lines still just $9.99 a month? That's cheaper than the $250 added fee for an early upgrade.
 
appleguy123 said:
Are new lines still just $9.99 a month? That's cheaper than the $250 added fee for an early upgrade.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure...I've never had to go that route before because of always being upgrade eligible. Lol. Definitely considering it this time around if applicable--my upgrade date isn't until May this time. Ugh.
 
appleguy123 said:
Are new lines still just $9.99 a month? That's cheaper than the $250 added fee for an early upgrade.
Click to expand...

Yes, you can add a new line and order the iPhone 5 for $199. Then you go to the at&t store and have them perform a "device swap" to move the iPhone 5 to your line and remove data/put a dumbphone on the new line for $9.99 per month. I just hope you haven't upgraded to the mobile share plan because even a dumbphone on the mobile share plan is $30 per month.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Yes, you can add a new line and order the iPhone 5 for $199. Then you go to the at&t store and have them perform a "device swap" to move the iPhone 5 to your line and remove data/put a dumbphone on the new line for $9.99 per month. I just hope you haven't upgraded to the mobile share plan because even a dumbphone on the mobile share plan is $30 per month.
Click to expand...

I still have unlimited data grandfathered, unless AT&T ends that when iPhone goes LTE. They took away the iPhone's awesome $20 a month texting an data plan when 3G came out.
 
$250 early upgrade fee can often be softened by selling the device you currently own. At least AT&T still offers $200 off full retail after 1 year. Verizon, I believe, does not.

We use a leapfrog approach to make sure 2 of our 4 lines are eligible each year. We upgrade on those lines, then play musical phones - our children get free hand-me-downs, and the wife and I get the new gear. It's worked well for us.

We have never "counted" on that full discount after a year, but I agree that AT&T could have, given the fact that customers had become accustomed to it, reached out by mail to alert people instead of letting them find out on their own.

That would have been a much better way to manage customer perceptions and expectations. I'm still puzzled that large corporations with all that money and collective intelligence can't manage their customer experience a little better. It's business 101
 
appleguy123 said:
I still have unlimited data grandfathered, unless AT&T ends that when iPhone goes LTE. They took away the iPhone's awesome $20 a month texting an data plan when 3G came out.
Click to expand...

True about the 3G, but existing at&t customers will be able to keep the grandfathered plan when upgrading to the iPhone 5. At least that's one perk of having at&t compared to others. Unlike Verizon, at&t will allow you to keep your unlimited plan and they're the only one offering the early iPhone upgrade for $250 on top of the subsidized price.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
Yes, you can add a new line and order the iPhone 5 for $199. Then you go to the at&t store and have them perform a "device swap" to move the iPhone 5 to your line and remove data/put a dumbphone on the new line for $9.99 per month. I just hope you haven't upgraded to the mobile share plan because even a dumbphone on the mobile share plan is $30 per month.
Click to expand...

Killer! Thanks for the info. My next steps were to search for a thread to see how to go about doing this and then to go dig this guy out of my junk drawer to attach to the new line:
v551.jpg


Lol.
 
I'm sure if you have a huge bill a month you can call up and ask them to move up your upgrade date. Same thing was happening with people that wanted there phone unlocked when they were still under contract.
 
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