ATT Moved up Iphone updates!

[rbutler222]

rbutler222

I read your posts and they answered a lot of questions for me. I am eligible for a disounted upgrade + $250 fee but I cannot afford that with plans on getting the iPhone 5 64GB if that is the highest they offer. So basically I cannot afford a $649 iPhone. The remedy is to get a line added to my AT&T Family Plan. I do have an iPad but it is The New iPad and I've had it since March 2012.

Getting a new line added is the best thing I can do. However, I have been told that once I add a new $9.99 line to my Family plan I will loose my Unlimited Data. Is this true? I don't see how adding a line will do that.

I was told that once I add the line and get the new iPhone 5 I should go into the AT&T store and have the new iPhone activated on my phone number and put a dummy phone on the new line. Making sure to take away the data plan and just have that new number as a plain phone with no data plan or text.

Please give me your views on this. Thank you in advance for your help.

Another thought--purchase the 16GB phone (assuming that's still the smallest phone in the 5S lineup) + the $250 and don't purchase the ACPP until later. Unless Apple has changed (which I think they have) the only price for the ACPP is now $99. Currently you have a choice between the $49 and $99 plans. But, I believe with the 5S, the only plan is the plus plan at $99.

 

[rbutler222]

I just checked my upgrade eligibility on my at&t account online and I got this: "Great news! You qualify for an early iPhone upgrade with a new 2-year commitment.
Full upgrade available: October 08, 2013"

I double checked by dialing *639# and got the same thing.

Congratulations. Waiting until October 8 to pre-order is better not paying the $250 fee any day.

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I'm giving AT&T the benefit of waiting for the actual iPhone release to give me a chance to upgrade early at the fully subsidized price. If I don't get it I'm going to switch to Verizon. If I have to wait 20 months to upgrade I might as well get a good connection. I've counted on AT&T giving me the early upgrade to buy my loyalty for bad connections. AT&T has done right by me before I'm hoping they come through again.

Keep in mind the cost of the ETF to do this. Also, call Corporate and threaten to leave AT&T for Verizon because of this. Can't hurt. If they don't agree then as them to at least cancel the ETF to save that money.

Good luck with that one.

 

[orangebluedevil]

Oh I see.
I still dont know if its worth it to do early upgrades every year or pay full price one year and get the full upgrade next year.
Or maybe just add a line to a family plan to be able to get a full upgrade every year for an additional $10 per month.

I've come out way ahead getting a new one each year. Every year I've been able to immediately sell my "old" iPhone for either a gain or even. Basically every year I've gotten a free phone. This was mostly due to the international demand before Apple rolled out the huge international push with the 4. It made the price differential worth it for international buyers. Not to mention I went from 8GB up to 32GB for "free" also. The economics are changing now, since ATT has changed policies, and the international demand has been filled by Apple. So this won't work as well anymore, but this is my rough recollection of costs:

iPhone 1 - bought $500, sold $620
iPhone 3G - bought $400, sold $500
iPhone 3GS - bought $500, sold $510
iPhone 4 - bought $500, sold $500
iPhone 4S - bought $500, sold ___
iPhone 5 - buy $550

 

[Europa13]

If I had your same situation, I would call Corporate CS, not 611 and discuss why you have not been given the $250 EUFee as many others have. If they can't find the reason, generally, they will fix the problem and you should see the results and next day. But call today or tomorrow at the latest.

Thanks. I'll try that and let you know what they say.

 

[troop231]

I upgraded early to the 4S last year, so that's why I'm not receiving the text that says I can early upgrade this year.

 

[greytmom]

I have a family plan. Typically, I upgrade my phone and pass along my old one to my daughter. So, her phone is always 2 years old when the next release comes along. Therefore, I have a full upgrade available to me every year.

 

[rbutler222]

Does anybody think that they will automatically upgrade everyone that is eligible within the next year? If memory serves me right they did this for the iPhone 4 launch.

Once anyone who has a phone or other device requiring a phone line has the line/device for 20 months, will get the chance to upgrade without paying the $250 EUG fee. Once 12 months has passed, one can upgrade but will have to pay the EUF of $250.

With 2+ devices bought at different time of a year (ideally, 6 months apart, then he/she can upgrade without the EUFee every year by cross upgrading.

But, the days of getting a free iPhone upgrade every year are over. By using Mobile Share, the money I save in a year would, along with the sale of my current iPhone, easily pay for a full-price, no-commitment iPhone every year and the early upgrade issue becomes moot.

 

[rbutler222]

Hi,

I just called corporate and did what you said, with no luck. They said I got the early upgrade last year and would have to wait. If, I want to get it now it would be 649. I'd tried!!

At least you tried. But what they are really saying has nothing to do with "a free upgrade every other year which would make them seem to be gifting you every year.". It's just that every other year you will have exhausted your two-year contract. BIG DEAL!!!

They should have been open and stated that every other year equals 24 months.

Why not sell your 4S at least $300 and pay $349 net? Some are saying they are getting $600 for the 64GB on eBay. I am getting $320 and since I am cross upgrading, the $320 pays for the phone and the cross upgrading eliminates the $250 early upgrade fee. Additionally, Mobile Share saves me $40 per month and will be welcome next year as pure savings. By cross upgrading every year, I will never have to pay the EUFee again--unless the rules change.

 

[Europa13]

If I had your same situation, I would call Corporate CS, not 611 and discuss why you have not been given the $250 EUFee as many others have. If they can't find the reason, generally, they will fix the problem and you should see the results and next day. But call today or tomorrow at the latest.

I just got off the phone with Corporate. They said NO ONE with a 4S is early for an ANY subsidization right now. They said early upgrades ($200 discount) for iPhones are offered after 12 months, so myself and everyone else who bought a 4S last October will have to pay FULL PRICE if we purchase the new iPhone when it comes out later this month. I told them about all the people I know who are getting texts that they are eligible for partial subsidy ($199+$250+36) and all the people on Macrumors, and they basically repeated what they had just said. They are essentially calling me a liar. This is pretty frustrating.

 

[Lyons00]

I just got off the phone with Corporate. They said NO ONE with a 4S is early for an ANY subsidization right now. They said early upgrades ($200 discount) for iPhones are offered after 12 months, so myself and everyone else who bought a 4S last October will have to pay FULL PRICE if we purchase the new iPhone when it comes out later this month. I told them about all the people I know who are getting texts that they are eligible for partial subsidy ($199+$250+36) and all the people on Macrumors, and they basically repeated what they had just said. They are essentially calling me a liar. This is pretty frustrating.

They said the same thing to me!!

 

[Europa13]

They said the same thing to me!!

I think I'm going to switch to Verizon as well since AT&T isn't offering me any subsidization and I'll still come out a couple hundred ahead after paying them the ETF. AT&T doesn't have LTE here and Verizon does, plus my bill will decrease since I won't have to pay for mobile hotspot anymore.

The only downfall is that Verizon doesn't offer partial subsidy after a year, but better coverage will make up for that.

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If the new iPhone is LTE, simultaneous voice and data will work on Verizon as long as you're in a 4G area, right?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

The only downfall is that Verizon doesn't offer partial subsidy after a year, but better coverage will make up for that.

For all we know, AT&T may eliminate the partial subsidy next year and we can look forward to another round of crybabies.

 

[Irish Rose]

For all we know, AT&T may eliminate the partial subsidy next year and we can look forward to another round of crybabies.

So you are saying that the people in this thread who are complaining about not getting a partial subsidy this year are crybabies as well? I would disagree if this is the case. Simply people voicing their disappointment over not getting something that they have received in the past from AT&T.

Sent from my iPhone 4S via Tapatalk

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

So you are saying that the people in this thread who are complaining about not getting a partial subsidy this year are crybabies as well? I would disagree if this is the case. Simply people voicing their disappointment over not getting something that they have received in the past from AT&T.

It was a nice bonus while we had it, but they never guaranteed us a yearly upgrade even in the contract we signed. No other carriers are doing the 12 month full upgrade cycle and at&t is the only carrier that gives 4S owners a subsidy at all ($250) so why be overly harsh on at&t for eliminating the 12 month full upgrade? There are more relevant things to complain about like only allowing FaceTime over cellular on mobile share plans.

 

[julienpdx]

They'll definitely move the dates up for those who got 4S's on launch day. They always do.

No they dont.


Full upgrade = subsidized price of phone (199, 299, 399)
"Early upgrade" = $250 + subsidized price of phone (199, 299, 399)
"Not Eligible" = 649, 749, 849 (but no contract)


You are eligible for an early upgrade starting at 6 to 12 months after you purchase an iPhone if you spend over 100.00/month on your phone bill. If you spend less than that, you can "early upgrade" at 12 months but get a full upgrade at 18 months. This is all assuming you've had no issues with paying your bill on time. Any interruptions to your service due to nonpayment will penalize you with a "startover" time on your eligibilty and in some cases, will kill any chance of upgrading early altogether.

That's the secret formula (with AT&T)

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They said the same thing to me!!

You guys expect AT&T to give you the "right answer" over the phone??? wow, um...no.

 

[Irish Rose]

It was a nice bonus while we had it, but they never guaranteed us a yearly upgrade even in the contract we signed. No other carriers are doing the 12 month full upgrade cycle and at&t is the only carrier that gives 4S owners a subsidy at all ($250) so why be overly harsh on at&t for eliminating the 12 month full upgrade? There are more relevant things to complain about like only allowing FaceTime over cellular on mobile share plans.

Absolutely there are more things to complain about, and as with everything else people will too. That said, yes, it was a nice offering from AT&T and I think a lot of people will miss the partial subsidy if in fact AT&T is really eliminating it. Although, I am still seeing others getting it this year on another Apple site that I go to. Also, if AT&T was getting rid of it I would think it would be announced somewhere, but as of now it hasn't been.

Sent from my iPhone 4S via Tapatalk

 

[Europa13]

For all we know, AT&T may eliminate the partial subsidy next year and we can look forward to another round of crybabies.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they did. Nothing they do surprises me anymore. Data is data and AT&T customers with capped data plans should be able to use the limited data they are paying for facetime and mobile hotspot without extra charges.

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You guys expect AT&T to give you the "right answer" over the phone??? wow, um...no.

Yeah, I do. I think they should be consistent. Why should one person with the exact same plan as me who upgraded to a 4S on the exact same day as me be given partial subsidy while I would be charged full price? I mean, if they could give me a reason, say for example if I had paid a bill late or if my FAN account was penalizing me or something else, I could accept that as the reason. But I didn't pay a bill late and I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't be offered the same $200 discount, and they aren't giving me a reason why I won't get any discount at all. All they can tell me NO ONE with a 4S is eligible for partial subsidy right now, which obviously isn't true - this thread is filled with posts from people who are.

 

[alent1234]

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they did. Nothing they do surprises me anymore. Data is data and AT&T customers with capped data plans should be able to use the limited data they are paying for facetime and mobile hotspot without extra charges.

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Yeah, I do. I think they should be consistent. Why should one person with the exact same plan as me who upgraded to a 4S on the exact same day as me be given partial subsidy while I would be charged full price? I mean, if they could give me a reason, say for example if I had paid a bill late or if my FAN account was penalizing me or something else, I could accept that as the reason. But I didn't pay a bill late and I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't be offered the same $200 discount, and they aren't giving me a reason why I won't get any discount at all. All they can tell me NO ONE with a 4S is eligible for partial subsidy right now, which obviously isn't true - this thread is filled with posts from people who are.

i'm bet your account age matters as well

 

[Europa13]

i'm bet your account age matters as well

I've been with AT&T for more than 4 years, so that can't be it.

 

[jpw16]

I just spoke to our ATT business rep and he told me that he got manager's approval to get our 4 lines on full upgrades. All of our lines were not eligible until late next year.

 

[AHDuke99]

I just spoke to our ATT business rep and he told me that he got manager's approval to get our 4 lines on full upgrades. All of our lines were not eligible until late next year.

How did you go about it? I pay $200 a month on my bill and I am not eligible till May 2013. I won't pay $550 for my next iPhone, and I know I won't sell it for that much on eBay.

 

[GoreVidal]

I have a family plan. Typically, I upgrade my phone and pass along my old one to my daughter. So, her phone is always 2 years old when the next release comes along. Therefore, I have a full upgrade available to me every year.

So THAT'S the upside to having kids!

 

[greytmom]

So THAT'S the upside to having kids!

Yep. After she got to be too old to allow me to claim an exemption on my taxes, she had to pay her way somehow.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

I just spoke to our ATT business rep and he told me that he got manager's approval to get our 4 lines on full upgrades. All of our lines were not eligible until late next year.

That's meaningless until you tell us what those full upgrades are eligible for. Plenty of 4S owners have called and were able to receive full upgrade if they wanted a new phone other than the iPhone. They just won't do it for the iPhone 5.

 

[spaceballl]

I think this is really interesting. Now that we're going to be getting LTE, there really is no advantage to staying with AT&T. I chose to stay with AT&T last year because of talk + web at the same time and the slightly faster speeds. This year, I have zero incentive to stay with them.

I bought my iPhone 4S the day it came out last year.

If they give me the full upgrade pricing, I'll stick it out with AT&T. They'll have made it worth my while.

Otherwise I'll either switch to Verizon (pro-rated ETF is pretty much the same as the AT&T upgrade fee), Sprint, or get myself an unlocked iPhone... hmmmmm