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It was only a matter of time. Good thing I took one last advantage of a subsidized phone after the iPhone 6S came out. I guess between paying full price, not getting the $25 Next discount, and raising the price of the unlimited data plans, that's how AT&T is going to try to get the rest of us off UDPs.



Not if you use tons of data. I never have to worry about overages. Also, AT&T has been upgrading lots of these (even the 450 minute plans) to unlimited voice and text, so after all the discounts it winds up being slightly less than a 5GB shared data plan.

I use 30+ a month and pay less than my unlimited AND I can tether.
 
I've stayed on 2-yr contracts because they have been cheaper for me than buying the iPhone for full-price.

The iPhone costs $650 retail (plus tax).
I could always sell the iPhone for about $200 at the end of the 2 year contact.
Subsidy was $450.

So doing the math, I was always breaking even after 2 years. In other words I have been getting free iPhone upgrades for the last 6 years. Coupled with Unlimited data and it was a sweet deal.

If the 2 year contracts were soo overpriced, AT&T would be making a huge profit from it and would keep them. The fact that they are getting rid of them shows that they were actually too good a value for the consumer.

Contracts and now upcoming installment/full priced plans are same.

With contracts, you paid $40 smartphone fees.

With installment/full price upfront, you are paying $25 smartphone fees. $15 if you have the larger data buckets.

So with contract, you pay $200 (when buying first on contract) and then $40 X 24 = total $1160

With installment/full price upfront, you pay $650 and then pay $25 X 24 = total $1250. If you were paying $15, then total would be $650 + $15 X 24 = $1010.

In either case, you can sell the phone after 2 years for $200 so it doesnt matter here. Do the math and see the difference.
 
Contracts and now upcoming installment/full priced plans are same.

With contracts, you paid $40 smartphone fees.

With installment/full price upfront, you are paying $25 smartphone fees. $15 if you have the larger data buckets.

So with contract, you pay $200 (when buying first on contract) and then $40 X 24 = total $1160

With installment/full price upfront, you pay $650 and then pay $25 X 24 = total $1250. If you were paying $15, then total would be $650 + $15 X 24 = $1010.

In either case, you can sell the phone after 2 years for $200 so it doesnt matter here. Do the math and see the difference.

I don't have a mobile share plan. I am still on an older FamilyTalk plan. So there is no 40 a month fee for me.

I did do the math and bottom line is I pay 250 right now. I could get the 25GB plan and also pay 250 a month. Difference is I would no longer get iPhone subsidy and would have to pay for each phone full price. In other words I would lose a 450*5/24 = $94 dollar a month subsidy savings.

Likely one needs to call for this deal. When I add4 lines to the cart, the total comes up as $280 per month.

Yes or go in store.
 
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Supply and demand. I wish people stopped paying those 2-year pyramid schemes eons ago. People allowed the Telecoms to control the Market. How did they repay you? They throttled your Data, said you don't own your phone, leeched you for cancellations, squeezed you on overages, capped your texts and MMS, streaming, false advertised, locked you in for much, much longer than 2-years, etc. C'mon people! We ARE the Market! Stop letting them control it. Consumers often forget that fact.
 
You mentioned having AT&T waive the ETF...do you just call and ask them to waive it? I have been a customer with them for 12 years, not sure if that would help.

AT&T will waive the ETF fee if you're on unlimited data plan on that line that is still under contract.

If you choose to cancel your unlimited data plan and you're under a two-year service contract, we'll waive your early termination fee. Just cancel your unlimited data plan line(s) within 60 days after the price increase first appears on your bill. Cancellations made after that time will be subject to the usual early termination fee.
 
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AT&T will waive the ETF fee if you're on unlimited data plan on that line that is still under contract.

If you choose to cancel your unlimited data plan and you're under a two-year service contract, we'll waive your early termination fee. Just cancel your unlimited data plan line(s) within 60 days after the price increase first appears on your bill. Cancellations made after that time will be subject to the usual early termination fee.

I just got that in the mail the other day and completely forgot about it. However, it states that those prices don't go into effect until February...and the T-Mobile offer I am looking at expires on January 15th :(
 
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I was refe
How do you get a $20 credit? Would you happen to know what the terms are to get and keep it? I just have never heard of it on the Next plans.
i was referring to Verizon. Not too sure how AT&T does it, I would imagine it's the same or very similar
 
If you choose to cancel your unlimited data plan and you're under a two-year service contract, we'll waive your early termination fee. Just cancel your unlimited data plan line(s) within 60 days after the price increase first appears on your bill. Cancellations made after that time will be subject to the usual early termination fee.

A bait & switch scam if I've ever seen one. It's just like the tiny 1pt text on TV commercials. Legally, it has to be there. But nothing is ever enforced to the CONSUMERS advantage. EVER. Just facts.
 
I don't have a mobile share plan. I am still on an older FamilyTalk plan. So there is no 40 a month fee for me.

I did do the math and bottom line is I pay 250 right now. I could get the 25GB plan and also pay 250 a month. Difference is I would no longer get iPhone subsidy and would have to pay for each phone full price. In other words I would lose a 450*5/24 = $94 dollar a month subsidy savings.



Yes or go in store.

ok for you maybe because I totally forgot what was the pricing like with those limited talk and text plans 5 years ago but most of us are already in those mobile share plans. So for us, it doesnt make any difference over 2 year contract and installment.
 
I just got that in the mail the other day and completely forgot about it. However, it states that those prices don't go into effect until February...and the T-Mobile offer I am looking at expires on January 15th :(

You can start service now with tmobile and port your numbers in february from AT&T.
Or be patient, I'm sure Tmobile will put out some more enticing plans to push over the edge those of us that want to leave AT&T with this great ETF free opportunity.
 
thinking about doing the same
I just got that in the mail the other day and completely forgot about it. However, it states that those prices don't go into effect until February...and the T-Mobile offer I am looking at expires on January 15th :(
 
Likely one needs to call for this deal. When I add4 lines to the cart, the total comes up as $280 per month.

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You can start service now with tmobile and port your numbers in february from AT&T.
Or be patient, I'm sure Tmobile will put out some more enticing plans to push over the edge those of us that want to leave AT&T with this great ETF free opportunity.

thinking about doing the same

Do you guys know if I can "start" service with T-mobile by simply ordering the SIM cards from them for this plan by the 15th, or does the service not "start" until I activate the SIM cards?

If I can hold this plan by ordering the SIM cards I might just do that.

Another option: Does porting numbers cancel your plan, or do you still end up with a plan attached to no numbers? If the plan stays open then I would just go ahead and port the numbers and wait until the increased bill shows up and cancel service that day.
 
Do you guys know if I can "start" service with T-mobile by simply ordering the SIM cards from them for this plan by the 15th, or does the service not "start" until I activate the SIM cards?

If I can hold this plan by ordering the SIM cards I might just do that.

Another option: Does porting numbers cancel your plan, or do you still end up with a plan attached to no numbers? If the plan stays open then I would just go ahead and port the numbers and wait until the increased bill shows up and cancel service that day.

I'm pretty sure you will need to have the sims activated and start the plan by January 15 to take advantage of this tmobile deal.
When you port your number every line that is ported over to the new carrier gets closed/cancelled from the old carrier.
You cant have a plan with no phone numbers or lines on it.
 
Actually, that's exactly what AT&T does - they lower the bill. I'm on a family plan with 5 lines and every line on a NEXT plan has a monthly discount. It's actually cheaper to have 5 NEXT lines than 5 two-year contracts. Even with payments for 5 iPhones. The discount for using NEXT makes the plan quite comparable, and if you keep the phone longer than two years (aka paying it off in full) then it gets even cheaper per month.

If you're on an unlimited plan, that's a different story, but for family plans, I don't see where NEXT is more expensive...
Some of us live alone and not on a family plan...the price was not lowered...
 
As much as I hate AT&T, I think this is a right move, separating the cost of phone and service. For sooo long people here in the US have thought that an iPhone costs only $200. I've seen numerous confused faces when they're told that they are paying $650+ for their shiny new iPhone every year. Teaching these points to my shared plan of 9 people was one of the hardest things I had to do and I guarantee you half of them still think that they got their phones "free" using Next.

Disclaimer: my carrier is AT&T!

Well I did the calculation and it turns out that with the 2 year contract I save $200 per line over 2 years. However I have to get a new phone every 2 years otherwise it will not be cost effective. The things is now with taking those 2 year contracts away it is only a matter of time before they start raising the costs on their current plans and before you know it the monthly costs with no subsidized phone will be the same as the what you paid with a 2 year contract which included $450 subsidy on a new phone.
 
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Do you guys know if I can "start" service with T-mobile by simply ordering the SIM cards from them for this plan by the 15th, or does the service not "start" until I activate the SIM cards?

If I can hold this plan by ordering the SIM cards I might just do that.

Another option: Does porting numbers cancel your plan, or do you still end up with a plan attached to no numbers? If the plan stays open then I would just go ahead and port the numbers and wait until the increased bill shows up and cancel service that day.
Cuz I have done this before I will explain what to do.

Before that. First I've talked to 2 T-mo reps and neither confirmed an end-date so I would get a second opinion on your Jan 15 date. Second we should call AT&T and see if they will waive the cancellation fee before the price change goes into effect. We might need to speak to a manager and YMMV.

Okay now the actual steps you take.

First you goto the T-Mobile Store and order 4 lines of unlimited. Get those lines with new phone numbers. Once the phones are working you will port your AT&T numbers to T-Mo. Once all 4 numbers have been ported your ATT account will be automatically closed.

Now there are 1 or 2 problems here.

First your iPhone is currently locked to AT&T. So it will not work with T-Mobile until it is unlocked. You can unlock your phone here. https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/#/ FYI they will send 2 emails, one to confirm you want the unlock and another to give you the status result. Often you can unlock an iPhone early after 1 yr of service. If not you will have to either purchase an unlock or wait for AT&T to process your final bill and then unlock it.

Second if you want T-Mo to pay off your ETF in the case ATT will not pay it off e.g. with lines that are not on unlimited plans. T-Mo want you to purchase a phone, trade in a phone (can be junk phone that just physically works off CL) and then submit your final. I am not actually sure if the buying and trading in of the phone matters tho, especially the buying. https://www.switch2tmobile.com/?icid=WMD_TM_Q115CRRRFR_RZQFH4HBBS61835 Cuz It doesnt say anything about buying a phone here and even the selling might be "optional."
 
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Well I did the calculation and it turns out that with the 2 year contract I save $200 per line over 2 years. However I have to get a new phone every 2 years otherwise it will not be cost effective. The things is now with taking those 2 year contracts away it is only a matter of time before they start raising the costs on their current plans and before you know it the monthly costs with no subsidized phone will be the same as the what you paid with a 2 year contract which included $450 subsidy on a new phone.
It already is for me. I pay 250, would pay 250 with 25GB plan but lose all subsidys and be forced to pay full price for iPhone.
 
They a**hats are already going to raise my monthly rate starting Feb 16. I have until Sept. to drop them when my 2 years are up. UNLESS I can drop them in Jan without penalty??

I have to read the full article and of course the *footnotes of any penalties.
Bottom line, I'm sick of ATT's *********!
You can cancel within 60 days with no ETF.
 
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On unlimited on the old family plan. I guess I'm safe for the time being as we have FAN through my wife's former employer, meaning we can still upgrade at the subsidized pricing with a two-year commitment.

Is her company still paying the bill (i.e., a Corporate Responsibility User)? If not, you're considered an Individual Responsibility User (IRU) and are ineligible for the contract upgrades.
 
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