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Best option for mid-2 year plan 5s upgrade to 6? (AT&T)

997.2

997.2

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 22, 2013
128
2
Knoxvegas
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse but I am sure others are wondering the same. I use my upgrades every other (1-3GS-4S-5s) but now kinda want to get a new one every time... What is the best option for me to get a 6? I have a gold ATT 32GB 5s. I am thinking walk up to apple, drop $749 on a 64GB 6, sell locked 5s on ebay and eat the loss? Am I missing anything here?

Thanks guys
 
997.2 said:
Sorry if this is beating a dead horse but I am sure others are wondering the same. I use my upgrades every other (1-3GS-4S-5s) but now kinda want to get a new one every time... What is the best option for me to get a 6? I have a gold ATT 32GB 5s. I am thinking walk up to apple, drop $749 on a 64GB 6, sell locked 5s on ebay and eat the loss? Am I missing anything here?

Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Have you checked to see if you are eligble for ATT Next? I was surprised to find that I am even though I only have a 12 month old 5S. It's the same as buying your phone outright, its just spread over monthly installments, 0% interest. No $40 upgrade fee.
 
rhaezorblue said:
Have you checked to see if you are eligble for ATT Next? I was surprised to find that I am even though I only have a 12 month old 5S. It's the same as buying your phone outright, its just spread over monthly installments, 0% interest. No $40 upgrade fee.
Click to expand...


ATT next is more expensive than buying a new phone and selling the old one
 
You may want to research ATT Next - that is exactly what it is. You ARE buying your phone, just in smaller installments.. basically at 0% interest.
 
997.2 said:
ATT next is more expensive than buying a new phone and selling the old one
Click to expand...

I am in the same boat as you and, depending on your data plan, AT&T is either marginally more expensive or will save you money. The break comes at the 10GB data plans.

I've been crunching the numbers all week and, for my situation, I calculated that AT&T Next is about $50 extra over two years ($77 if you count the difference in sales tax between the subsidized vs. unsubsidized pricing) which works out to between $3 - $5 extra per month.

If you're cool paying that slight premium to be off-contract and have the option of upgrading whenever you want, then go with Next. Further you can buy out your phone next year when the 6S comes out, sell it on eBay, and start the process all over again.
 
At first I was against Next but then I realized that I can finance the phone at 0% interest, not have a contract, can switch to a lower priced plan, and can have complete flexibility when it comes time to upgrade next year. Next fan for life now, no more contracts.
 
I'm in the same boat. New upgrade every year. NEXT is NOT the way to go, you will cancel your contract if you are grandfathered in for your data plan and will NEVER get it back. I'm going to check out adding a 9.99 a month line to my account but I suspect that's for like a track phone, that a Iphone costs at least 40+ a month to add a line. The NEXT option costs me about 50 dollars more a month and I own the phone after 20 months or trade it in at 12 and stay on the hamster wheel. No Bueno!!! I've found, if it holds out to be true, on 9/21 we are eligible for a 200 dollar discount like last year. If you go on apple.com and check your elig with the pre order function you'll see what I'm talking about.
 
nflea7 said:
I'm in the same boat. New upgrade every year. NEXT is NOT the way to go, you will cancel your contract if you are grandfathered in for your data plan and will NEVER get it back.
Click to expand...

Actually, others have said that you can switch to Next while retaining your same service and your unlimited data plan. However, it may not be financially better to do that. But it is possible from what I've read on this forum.

nflea7 said:
The NEXT option costs me about 50 dollars more a month and I own the phone after 20 months or trade it in at 12 and stay on the hamster wheel.
Click to expand...

Yeah it depends on what plan you already have and whether you want to switch to a higher/lower plan. If you're already on the Mobile Share plans, Next shouldn't be too bad for most.

Also there is a third option of paying off the phone early after 12 months, reselling it yourself, and then getting on another Next installment plan. Trading it in, in most cases, would be a net loss based on previous pricing of used iPhones after a year. Of course, it's also much easier...
 
I saw someone on the ATT forum who said that in his case it is not true you can't keep your data plan and switch to next. It forces your account off contract. The NEXT plan WILL cancel your existing 2 yr contract and force you into a next plan. To paraphrase the posting from the ATT site, there is no way to get your grandfathered data plan back if you choose the NEXT program! ATT apologized up and down but they WILL NOT put you back on an unlimited plan once you go off..
 
This has been brought up a dozen times. Depends on your plan. If you are on a family or mobile share plan, go with AT&T next. If you are on a really good individual plan then sell your 5s and purchase the 6 outright, then next year sell your 6 and buy the new phone on contract and keep extra cash.

If you go the Next Route, you won't have to put all the cash down now and still can sell your 5S, apply those payments to your Next Payments. If you are disciplined enough, you will pay off the phone in 12 months so you don't have to trade it back in, but sell it. Then you can get the next iphone next september. Usually if you go on the NEXT plan you will get a discount on your monthly plan.
 
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