Carrier AT&T Options

[mpayne2k]

I'm due for an upgrade Mid-October, so I'm skipping the pre-order party (for now). I've locked in $50 off an upgrade with Best Buy, so I'll most likely trade in my iP5 there too.

My question is about the options with AT&T. I currently have the grandfathered "unlimited" data plan. I pay around $130.00/mo for a two line, two iPhone 5 with shared minutes (never a concern), 200 texts per line (never a concern) and throttled at 5gb data LTE.

A buddy of mine that is also due for upgrade said AT&T was spamming him hard about ditching his old contract and moving to NEXT. I told him that means he'll be paying his standard bill (with subsidy) and on top of that, a monthly cost of his iPhone spread out over 20 or 24 months.

Is that true? I was curious to about any potential benefits of NEXT, with upgrading on a yearly basis and not actually "owning" the phone.

Anyone knowledgeable with the benefit of switching to Next please let me know. Concerns I have:

1. I currently have to jailbreak my phone each new release as I'm not going to pay for a tethering plan, with Next that comes standard, right?

2. If I switch to Next, will I be switching my 2/line contract to a data bucket? Say 10gb data bucket which would push my monthly payment up again?

3. Again, if I switched, is there a way to reduce my current monthly bill as I'm no longer taking the subsidy?

TL;DR -- What's up with ATT Next, your input appreciated!

 

[ssl0408]

I'm currently on the Mobile Share 10gb data, unlimited text and calling with free tethering. The cost is $130. The subsidy has been removed and that's why the plan is discounted. If I want to upgrade to the iPhone 6 64gb my plan will go up by $31.25. If I do a two year contract it increases by $25. It's cheaper for me to do the NEXT plan, though only about $125 overall (24 months) when you factor in taxes. I would suggest that you keep your current plan.

 

[BeeJee]

If you don't mind paying for the phone outright then you should look at the GoPhone plans as well. I get Unlimited talk and text with 2.5GB LTE and the hotspot for 60 dollars a month. If you sign up for their autofill plan they take off 5 dollars more a month, bringing it down to 55. Not bad considering you get all the good features plus the option of leaving whenever.

 

[Rugburn]

I think the biggest benefit to the mobile share value plan was for folks who did not get on the smartphone bandwagon when unlimited data was even an option. I got my 1st iPhone in 2011, and unlimited data was not offered. I paid for a pool of minutes, 200 texts and $30(?) for Data Pro 2gbs.

By the time the mobile share value plan was out, there were 3 smartphones in my family and we were paying $185/mo after FAN discounts. The kids only had 300mb data plans, and it was a constant struggle to keep texts/data from going over.

Once the Mobile Share Value Plan came out, our bill is $140 after FAN. No more worries about texts, and now more Data than we could ever need... virtually unlimited. And being able to tether the iPad or notebook on the go is another bonus.

All that bonus, AND the bill is $45 LESS per month??? It was a no brainer for me. Happy to lose my subsidy (which actually cost me more) to improve my services for less money.

Really it is a matter of YMMV. Remember, not everyone had the option of Unlimited to begin with. That doesn't make you a sucker for keeping it, any more than it makes me a sucker for chosing the Mobile Share Value Plan.

Since *forever* cell phone companies have been creating new plans and phasing old plans out. I had an "awesome" Cingular plan that I was grandfathered in, and wouldn't give up for YEARS. The price couldn't be beat. But eventually the woo of the iPhone won me over and I gave it up for something newer.

Hold onto your unlimited plan for however long it works for you. But don't be afraid to give it up when need be. Trust me, no one would envy my grandfathered Cingular plan in 2014

 

[tbobmccoy]

NEXT is a good plan IF and ONLY IF you do not have unlimited data.

Because I dropped my unlimited data for tethering a while ago, I moved to NEXT because I also get a $25 discount on my plan per month with the "value sharing" proram. If I had upgraded with a contract, I would have lost that discount, and had to pay the "subsidized price" for a phone. Instead, my iPhone is costing me 42.50 a month added to my bill, but I don't have to pay anything down on the phone AND I get to upgrade next year to the new iPhone 6 Plus (s). I ALSO get the 25 discount, making it a net 17.50 I pay a month for the phone, over the course of the year I'll have it, that's 210 bucks. This phone would have cost me 400 to get with the subsidized price. I think That NEXT works VERY well for me, since I want to upgrade every year now

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If you don't mind paying for the phone outright then you should look at the GoPhone plans as well. I get Unlimited talk and text with 2.5GB LTE and the hotspot for 60 dollars a month. If you sign up for their autofill plan they take off 5 dollars more a month, bringing it down to 55. Not bad considering you get all the good features plus the option of leaving whenever.

This would actually cost my family more. My wife and I pay 120 a month for 10GB of data, unlimited talk and text with our FAN discount.

 

[BeeJee]

This would actually cost my family more. My wife and I pay 120 a month for 10GB of data, unlimited talk and text with our FAN discount.

That's the beauty of having options. I usually buy my phones locked on eBay and have AT&T unlock them for free. Then when I want to change phones I sell it for more because the phone is now worth more being unlocked. You pay 210 a year for the phone, I pay 0 or make money. Lots of variables to consider.

 

[tbobmccoy]

That's the beauty of having options. I usually buy my phones locked on eBay and have AT&T unlock them for free. Then when I want to change phones I sell it for more because the phone is now worth more being unlocked. You pay 210 a year for the phone, I pay 0 or make money. Lots of variables to consider.

True, the data limit for you is lower too. I wish I could get by with just 2.5gb of data

 

[stract]

That's the beauty of having options. I usually buy my phones locked on eBay and have AT&T unlock them for free. Then when I want to change phones I sell it for more because the phone is now worth more being unlocked. You pay 210 a year for the phone, I pay 0 or make money. Lots of variables to consider.

How do you get AT&T to unlock a phone you buy on eBay for free?

 

[BeeJee]

How do you get AT&T to unlock a phone you buy on eBay for free?

As long as the phone was originally an AT&T locked phone, and was attached to an account for 6 months continuously they will unlock it for you. This has been my experience with having my GoPhone account. You get 5 free unlocks per year. I've used all 5 this year so I'm waiting to unlock the current 5S I have until going for a 6. Oh and make sure you register the IMEI under the GoPhone account or else it won't unlock because it won't be attached to the account requesting the unlock.

 

[rui no onna]

As long as the phone was originally an AT&T locked phone, and was attached to an account for 6 months continuously they will unlock it for you. This has been my experience with having my GoPhone account. You get 5 free unlocks per year. I've used all 5 this year so I'm waiting to unlock the current 5S I have until going for a 6. Oh and make sure you register the IMEI under the GoPhone account or else it won't unlock because it won't be attached to the account requesting the unlock.

Question, how did you request all 5 unlocks this year? Does the IMEI/phone not need to be attached to the GoPhone plan for 6 months? Also, do you have to call AT&T to attach the IMEI to your account or do you just pop in the GoPhone SIM card and you can request unlock right away?

 

[BeeJee]

Question, how did you request all 5 unlocks this year? Does the IMEI/phone not need to be attached to the GoPhone plan for 6 months? Also, do you have to call AT&T to attach the IMEI to your account or do you just pop in the GoPhone SIM card and you can request unlock right away?

No, it just needs to be attached to an AT&T plan continuously for 6 months. So say I bought two phones on craigslist and the people had them on their account for 7 months I could unlock both the same day, or whenever I get the confirmation. But yes, you have to call in to attach it to the account for them to unlock it, that way they know how many unlocks you are using and for what phone, more of a paper trail I gather. However I want to make it clear if you get a phone that is say, 4 months old it is not eligible for an unlock in two months. It needs to be on an AT&T account, not necessarily yours, for 6 months straight with uninterrupted service.

 

[rui no onna]

No, it just needs to be attached to an AT&T plan continuously for 6 months. So say I bought two phones on craigslist and the people had them on their account for 7 months I could unlock both the same day, or whenever I get the confirmation. But yes, you have to call in to attach it to the account for them to unlock it, that way they know how many unlocks you are using and for what phone, more of a paper trail I gather. However I want to make it clear if you get a phone that is say, 4 months old it is not eligible for an unlock in two months. It needs to be on an AT&T account, not necessarily yours, for 6 months straight with uninterrupted service.

Good to know, thanks. I've got a couple of iPhone 5s still on contract but have been continuously active for 12 months. I think I'll try this route to unlock them.

 

[fishmd]

I have been of the school of thought that I would never let my unlimited data go. I have 2 smartphones on unlimited data on my old family talk plan. However, the more I have looked at it, I am really not sure it is worth it anymore. I have only very rarely gone over 10 GB of data in a month with both lines combined and for about 50$ less a month I could get one of the shared data plans with 10 GB, or for about 30$ less a month I could get 15 GB of shared data. And this with no stupid throttling which does happen from time to time to me and full on tethering. Why I keep hanging on to this old unlimited plan, I am just not so sure any more.

Then on top of that, I could do Next and get a new phone every 12 months without dealing with the hassle of selling off old devices and such and pay about what I am paying now per month, but with a phone and the plan.

 

[aham23]

I have been of the school of thought that I would never let my unlimited data go. I have 2 smartphones on unlimited data on my old family talk plan. However, the more I have looked at it, I am really not sure it is worth it anymore. I have only very rarely gone over 10 GB of data in a month with both lines combined and for about 50$ less a month I could get one of the shared data plans with 10 GB, or for about 30$ less a month I could get 15 GB of shared data. And this with no stupid throttling which does happen from time to time to me and full on tethering. Why I keep hanging on to this old unlimited plan, I am just not so sure any more.

Then on top of that, I could do Next and get a new phone every 12 months without dealing with the hassle of selling off old devices and such and pay about what I am paying now per month, but with a phone and the plan.

so you are tossing away $600 bucks a year if my basic math skills are correct. i would switch. no need to toss bucks away. just saying.

 

[AFDoc]

Trust me, no one would envy my grandfathered Cingular plan in 2014

I was holding on to my unlimited simply..... well I don't know why. I'm not a heavy user.... biggest month was 6 gig in the last year. I just swapped to the family share 10gig plan and with my subsidized 6+ and my wife's 6 on next program my cost only went up about $12. I also didn't want to switch because I had thousands of hours of talk saved up.... I would never have used them but the thought of ATT getting anything from me for "free" was irritating to me.

 

[fishmd]

so you are tossing away $600 bucks a year if my basic math skills are correct. i would switch. no need to toss bucks away. just saying.

Yep, it is what I am thinking. Even if I go over the limit on occasion (my max usage in a month was 10.7 GB combined one time), it would only have cost me an extra 15$ vs the 600$ over the year I could save.

 

[jojosmisc]

If you don't mind paying for the phone outright then you should look at the GoPhone plans as well. I get Unlimited talk and text with 2.5GB LTE and the hotspot for 60 dollars a month. If you sign up for their autofill plan they take off 5 dollars more a month, bringing it down to 55. Not bad considering you get all the good features plus the option of leaving whenever.

I vote for the gophone plan too.