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AT&T Upgrade $399 Question

D

dylanursula

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 27, 2010
313
1
All

I have the iphone4 16Gb and would like to upgrade to the new iPhone comes along. I just got a replacement iPhone4 for a dodgy home button and as its mint could sell it for decent money I have seen. As I am not eligble for an upgrade until Feb 2012, the price currently being offered for a new 16Gb iphone4 is $399 which I assume would also apply for the new iphone when it comes along assuming a retail price of $199. The question I have for AT&T folks is if I take advantage of the $399 price, do I extend my contract for 2 years?

Thanks
 
dylanursula said:
All

I have the iphone4 16Gb and would like to upgrade to the new iPhone comes along. I just got a replacement iPhone4 for a dodgy home button and as its mint could sell it for decent money I have seen. As I am not eligble for an upgrade until Feb 2012, the price currently being offered for a new 16Gb iphone4 is $399 which I assume would also apply for the new iphone when it comes along assuming a retail price of $199. The question I have for AT&T folks is if I take advantage of the $399 price, do I extend my contract for 2 years?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If I understand you correctly then the only way not to extend your contract is to pay the full retail price. If that is $399 then so be it. However, I believe the no-commitment price is $599 and $699. Your $399 price is likely a discounted early upgrade price that will require a new commitment .
 
$199 is for an eligible upgrade or new customer.

$399 is for an early upgrade, and you will have to sign a new 2 year contract.

$599 is the full retail price and does not require a new contract.

$649 is for a Unlocked iPhone that does not require a contract or a carrier.
 
saving107 said:
$199 is for an eligible upgrade or new customer.

$399 is for an early upgrade, and you will have to sign a new 2 year contract.

$599 is the full retail price and does not require a new contract.

$649 is for a Unlocked iPhone that does not require a contract or a carrier.
Click to expand...

Thanks saving107
 
This begs the question, is it worth the $200 to wait and buy it in January/February, or is it better to shell out the $200 and have the item now (or when it's released).


For me, I think I'd have to wait...
 
$399? I text *639# and I get this;

"A full discount on a standard device or iPhone upgrade is not available at this time but you may qualify on 05/29/2012. We can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at 2-yr commitment pricing + $250 along with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. Please visit a participating iPhone sales location for pricing on this offer."

That's $468
 
willsoriano said:
$399? I text *639# and I get this;

"A full discount on a standard device or iPhone upgrade is not available at this time but you may qualify on 05/29/2012. We can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at 2-yr commitment pricing + $250 along with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. Please visit a participating iPhone sales location for pricing on this offer."

That's $468
Click to expand...

His upgrade date is ~4 months earlier than yours. That's why he gets a better price.

For him it will be $399 + $18 upgrade fee.

He's saving $50 over you.
 
fireshot91 said:
His upgrade date is ~4 months earlier than yours. That's why he gets a better price.

For him it will be $399 + $18 upgrade fee.

He's saving $50 over you.
Click to expand...

And of course my math fails me again. I'm jus happy to be able to get an early upgrade after having just got service in december.
 
fireshot91 said:
His upgrade date is ~4 months earlier than yours. That's why he gets a better price.

For him it will be $399 + $18 upgrade fee.

He's saving $50 over you.
Click to expand...

It used to be just $200 more than normal upgrade price to get an early upgrade through AT&T. They recently (the last 3-4 months maybe?) raised that to $250.

FYI - you can go to Apple and it's still only $200 more ;)
 
iFiend said:
It used to be just $200 more than normal upgrade price to get an early upgrade through AT&T. They recently (the last 3-4 months maybe?) raised that to $250.

FYI - you can go to Apple and it's still only $200 more ;)
Click to expand...

See that's what I was curious about. I want to do a pre-order (which I remember reading apple store only, could be wrong), but does that meani pay full price or early upgrade price.
 
Just curious, how long is the time between upgrades supposed to be? I got my 4 on launch day and...

EAbpO.png
 
fireshot91 said:
This begs the question, is it worth the $200 to wait and buy it in January/February, or is it better to shell out the $200 and have the item now (or when it's released).


For me, I think I'd have to wait...
Click to expand...

It's not but sometimes logic is trumped by the desire to have the latest and greatest. It is clear a 2 year contract no longer has the same meaning these days, ergo, the OP is willing to waste his money to get it now. /shrug it's his money.
 
nmork said:
Just curious, how long is the time between upgrades supposed to be? I got my 4 on launch day and...

EAbpO.png
Click to expand...

I think AT&T screwed you over.


You bought your phone in July, and signed a 2 year contract, which should end in July of '12.


Your upgrade date is December of '12 (Judging by your AT&T signal-logo-thing).
 
matbook101 said:
Depend on how much you pay them each month. The more you pay the earlier the upgrade.
Click to expand...

This.

I bought my iPhone 4 on launch day and got an upgrade on 6/24. I am a single line and spend $99/mo before taxes. Seems to be the sweet spot as every year I am eligible for an upgrade on launch day.
 
fireshot91 said:
I think AT&T screwed you over.


You bought your phone in July, and signed a 2 year contract, which should end in July of '12.


Your upgrade date is December of '12 (Judging by your AT&T signal-logo-thing).
Click to expand...

Since the iPhone 4 came out in 2011 wouldn't that put the contract end in 2013? So it looks like December of 2012 is correct since you can usually upgrade a few months early.
 
emoore said:
Since the iPhone 4 came out in 2011 wouldn't that put the contract end in 2013? So it looks like December of 2012 is correct since you can usually upgrade a few months early.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked I bought my iPhone 4 in 2010 :)
 
emoore said:
Since the iPhone 4 came out in 2011 wouldn't that put the contract end in 2013? So it looks like December of 2012 is correct since you can usually upgrade a few months early.
Click to expand...

The iPhone 4 came out in summer of 2010.

Meaning the contract should end in summer of 2012.

It is now 2011 and the iPhone 5 is almost out. They release one iPhone every year.


Yes, the Verizon iPhone 4 came out earlier this year, but that was a different story, as he's on AT&T. And he specifically stated he bought it on launch day.
 
nmork said:
Just curious, how long is the time between upgrades supposed to be? I got my 4 on launch day and...

EAbpO.png
Click to expand...

You are eligible for an early upgrade 6 months after having used your full upgrade. You are not eligible for a full upgrade until 20 months into your 24 month contract, but for the last few years AT&T has made exceptions for current iPhone owners and has allowed only iPhone owners to upgrade to the newest iPhone released (but if you have a different phone, you have to complete your contract or wait to be eligible), but this is not a written policy and varies year-to-year.
 
I went from 2/25/12 to 11/25/11 back to 2/25/12. I'm a sad panda lol. I don't know if switching my sim card to the Motorola Atrix a couple days ago had any affect on it but I'm switching back lol.

44602593-eba0-b81f.jpg


44602593-ebad-7c4a.jpg
 
i bought two iphone4's on launch day and like the rest of you that pay less than $100/line, we're not eligible for upgrade until Feb/2012. However, we are eligible for the early upgrade for $199 + $250 plus the $18 fee. So for us, the iphone 5 will cost $467+tax each under the current contract in my wife's name.

I rather not pay that much so I came up with another plan. The early termination fee, by the time the iphone 5 comes out, should be around $175 give or take. ($325 - $10 for each month on contract) The new iphone 5 should then cost us about $374+tax each under my name as a new account. Selling the unlocked iphone 4 on craigslist should be enough to cover most if not all of that.

To get around the new account/new phone number issue, I will port our current AT&T numbers to google voice and never have to worry about giving out new numbers to friends/family again.
 
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