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ATT Moved up Iphone updates!
- Thread starter gta50419
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Yes, this means you get the fully subsidized price. 199$. Mine says this same thing and I also just got off of the phone with AT&T. I asked the rep why (my contract doesn't end until Dec 29th) and she said your upgrade sometimes comes in 3-4 months early.
A) sprint offers that too...
B) not all of us have unlimited data, and in my post, I was speaking about my situation.
Meaning at 20 months instead of 24 months, yes. But people shouldn't be relying on misleading texts as they don't really say what kind of upgrade you're eligible for.
The only way to know for sure is to log onto at&t website and click on Upgrade Eligibility. You're eligible for the full upgrade if you get "You're eligible for an upgrade at a discounted price." So far, no subsidized 4S owner has come forward with that message.
It's throttled down to an unusable speed after 3 GB, so it's not really an advantage.
I would have to disagree here. Reason being, overages. Have you seen the prices that the wireless carriers are now charging for going over your 3GB limit? As much as $15/1GB. That is outrageous, IMHO. Last year when I was using the HTC Rezound on Verizon's LTE network, I went through 4GB in 5 days doing nothing more than what I do on my 4S on AT&T's HSPA+ network. If this is any indication of the amount of data that I'd consume with a LTE iPhone, I will happily keep my unlimited plan and risk the possibility of being throttled. Besides, I've read about other AT&T customers who say they were throttled as a result of the 3GB data rule and they say it isn't that bad. Perhaps, throttling with LTE will bring speeds down to either HSPA+ or 3G. I'll take that VS having my bill increased by as much as $30 or more each month for using more data than the limited plan that I'd be on allowed. YMMV.....
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So I called ATT today to see what my upgrade would be. I bought the 4S a week after launch so I knew I wouldn't get a full upgrade. The site and their *639# texts were telling me I didn't get any sort of upgrade. So when talking to her she basically said to just open 2 new lines and get the phones that way at a full discount and do what they called a "cross over upgrade" and pay for 4 lines with the new 2 lines costing 9.99 each per month.
Exactly, this is why I am either staying with AT&T as long as they honor my unlimited, or switching to T-Mobile.
I would assume so but she didn't say anything about that of course. I'm tempted to ditch our unlimited data for either Verizon or Sprint because at work I get terrible signal anyway.
I too am only eligible for the $250 plus cost of phone and $36 upgrade fee because i purchased my 4s at launch. Used to get upgraded every 12 months, last year pushed back to 18 months, same as everyone else.
However, its all how you approach this issue with the customer service rep. I am a FAN account, 15 year ATT subscriber. So I complained in a oh so subtle way how unhappy I was with the this change of policy etc etc etc.
Bottom line is they agreed to credit my account $250 when I purchase the new phone, gave me an instant $25 credit on my bill, and 6 months of free texting.
Its all in the way that you ask. managers may not be able to change your eligibility date because it is set by the subsidy cost of the equipment by Apple, but they can sure credit your account for the costs.
So being nice and not expecting anything in return from ATT resulted in $250 credit, $25 credit and $20 credit for unlimited texting for 6 months for $120 value.
And the fact that I already have someone to purchase my 4s after the i receive my new phone (he buys my phones every year) even makes this better because i have upgraded every year with little to no out of pocket costs.
However, its all how you approach this issue with the customer service rep. I am a FAN account, 15 year ATT subscriber. So I complained in a oh so subtle way how unhappy I was with the this change of policy etc etc etc.
Bottom line is they agreed to credit my account $250 when I purchase the new phone, gave me an instant $25 credit on my bill, and 6 months of free texting.
Its all in the way that you ask. managers may not be able to change your eligibility date because it is set by the subsidy cost of the equipment by Apple, but they can sure credit your account for the costs.
So being nice and not expecting anything in return from ATT resulted in $250 credit, $25 credit and $20 credit for unlimited texting for 6 months for $120 value.
And the fact that I already have someone to purchase my 4s after the i receive my new phone (he buys my phones every year) even makes this better because i have upgraded every year with little to no out of pocket costs.
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Make sure you keep an eye on your bill. I got the same deal last year, and found out they didn't credit me the texting until I called them out on it. Make sure they notate your account when you get your new phone.
I have already done so. Called back and confirmed my account was noted with the free texting and the manager made notations about the offer to credit my account with the $250. I always get the persons name I talk to, and I always confirm that they have notated my account.
Not necessarily. When you do a "device swap," you move the iPhone 5 from the newly opened line to your existing line then eliminate the data plan/put a dumbphone on the new line. It's $9.99 per month for each additional line so $120 a year. It won't work with the new mobile share plan (or rather, it'd be more expensive at $30/mo for even a dumbphone). The mobile share plan is obviously designed to close this "loophole" by making it too expensive to open a line for the purpose of device swapping/cross over upgrading.
If you take advantage of early upgrades (199 + 250) does it also push back the date you are eligible for full upgrade?
I thought one of the requirement of the $199 price was to have a data plan for 24 months. So that extra line for $9.99 is really $9.99 + data plan and by cancelling the data plan they will charge you the ETF... Is that no longer true?
Absolutely. You begin a new 2-year contract the day you get the new phone and your eligibility also starts back at day one.
Data plan is required if you have an iPhone on that line. However, if you remove the iPhone from the line and replace it with a dumbphone you're free to remove the data plan. You'll get charged the ETF if you cancel the line but not if you replace it with a dumbphone and ride out the contract.
You keep a data plan with a smart phone only. You can cancel data if you switch to a dumb phone.
This is all very confusing to me. I bought the 4S on launch day and AT&T is telling me that I can upgrade to a brand-new 4S for $199, today.
Isn't there something in all this about how much you spend each month on service? I seem to recall from years past that those of us who were spending more than $100something each month for one line of service were getting early upgrade eligibility annually for the new iPhone launch.
Isn't there something in all this about how much you spend each month on service? I seem to recall from years past that those of us who were spending more than $100something each month for one line of service were getting early upgrade eligibility annually for the new iPhone launch.
Is it worth calling now or do I have to wait until the iPhone 5 is actually announced? I see some people saying they called already and have a note on their account but an ATT rep told me that I have to wait until the iPhone 5 is actually released (just casually asked while talking to an online rep).
And folks wonder why our cellphone bills continue to rise...
I wonder how many people are trying to game the system as discussed in this thread?
When you buy a $199 iPhone with a 2 year contract you are getting a $400 to $450 discount on the cost of the phone. That is the amount that the carrier tries to recoup through your monthly bill. Let's say a little less than $20 per month over two years.
When you start messing around with opening new lines and transferring phones, or act as if you've been slapped in the face when the carrier won't essentially lend you $450 only a year after they lent you $450 for your previous phone, and then get an early upgrade eligibility, all you're doing is causing the carriers to recoup their costs by bumping up their monthly voice and data rates. If you negotiate your way out of the early termination fee, the carrier still has to pay for the phone you now own.
I know that sounds very pro-carrier when the prevailing attitude on this forum is that the carriers suck, but really, everybody seems to want something for nothing, or at least something for a lot less than it's market value.
Now everybody can pile on with the 'carriers make obscene profits' argument.
How about Apple lowering their prices and profits?
I wonder how many people are trying to game the system as discussed in this thread?
When you buy a $199 iPhone with a 2 year contract you are getting a $400 to $450 discount on the cost of the phone. That is the amount that the carrier tries to recoup through your monthly bill. Let's say a little less than $20 per month over two years.
When you start messing around with opening new lines and transferring phones, or act as if you've been slapped in the face when the carrier won't essentially lend you $450 only a year after they lent you $450 for your previous phone, and then get an early upgrade eligibility, all you're doing is causing the carriers to recoup their costs by bumping up their monthly voice and data rates. If you negotiate your way out of the early termination fee, the carrier still has to pay for the phone you now own.
I know that sounds very pro-carrier when the prevailing attitude on this forum is that the carriers suck, but really, everybody seems to want something for nothing, or at least something for a lot less than it's market value.
Now everybody can pile on with the 'carriers make obscene profits' argument.
How about Apple lowering their prices and profits?
You were likely misled by at&t's text, as did many people. "As a valued customer, we can offer you an upgrade..." doesn't tell you what kind of upgrade you're eligible for and you're likely eligible for the early iPhone upgrade ($199 + $250).
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Hence why they're introducing the mobile share plans where it's $30 per month for even a dumbphone, thereby closing the loophole.