Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

broke my iphone 3gs. buy iphone 4?

W

winter27

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 22, 2011
20
0
so I broke my 3gs just now. was angry about something, dropped my phone on a hard surface ... and its dead. got a white screen, then nothing. so a few months ago they swapped my phone when i dropped mine in water (clumsy), so im guessing that my luck has run out for replacements.

So, not sure what to do. I have only been in my At&T contract for 1 year and 1 month. I think if i upgrade now they will charge me $399. I think to replace the 3gs it may be $199. I think to cancel my At&T contract its $100 (since it gets reduced over time).

thoughts? worth it to spend $199 on a 3gs replacement? i dont want to spend $399 but goodness $199 for a 2yr old device....
 
-aggie- said:
First, take some anger management classes. :D

Then, wait until the next version of the iPhone comes out in June.
Click to expand...

lol yes i may have to take a class or two..lol

but practically i cant be without a phone until june... and i think its pretty well documented that a phone likely wont come out until later this year, not this summer. i dont need to have the newest phone anyway (speaking of the iphone 5), just dont know if it makes sense to spend money on an old device..
 
winter27 said:
lol yes i may have to take a class or two..lol

but practically i cant be without a phone until june... and i think its pretty well documented that a phone likely wont come out until later this year, not this summer. i dont need to have the newest phone anyway (speaking of the iphone 5), just dont know if it makes sense to spend money on an old device..
Click to expand...

I’ve heard of people getting a cheap dumb phone to tied them over. You might try that. Anyway, no one knows when the next phone is coming out, but it has been June for several years now. The September thing is just a rumor, and may have no basis.
 
Go to Apple, take your girlfriend, girl - friend, or wife with you. Have her do the talking.



If they don't budge I would just buy an iPhone 4.
 
winter27 said:
so I broke my 3gs just now. was angry about something, dropped my phone on a hard surface ... and its dead. got a white screen, then nothing. so a few months ago they swapped my phone when i dropped mine in water (clumsy), so im guessing that my luck has run out for replacements.

So, not sure what to do. I have only been in my At&T contract for 1 year and 1 month. I think if i upgrade now they will charge me $399. I think to replace the 3gs it may be $199. I think to cancel my At&T contract its $100 (since it gets reduced over time).

thoughts? worth it to spend $199 on a 3gs replacement? i dont want to spend $399 but goodness $199 for a 2yr old device....
Click to expand...

Well, you're only half way Turku your contract, so you ETF would be closer to $200 and not $100. Try a restore first if it can be seen in iTunes, you never know. And I woul do the $199
 
Fernandez21 said:
Well, you're only half way Turku your contract, so you ETF would be closer to $200 and not $100. Try a restore first if it can be seen in iTunes, you never know. And I woul do the $199
Click to expand...

No, I called At&T about a month or two ago, and they said it was $120 to cancel at that time so its less now. I dont want to go to Verizon simply because i like being able to be on the phone and running data at the same time. i also hate getting locked into 2 year contracts, but whatever, ive had a cell for 16 years now.
 
wordoflife said:
Go to Apple, take your girlfriend, girl - friend, or wife with you. Have her do the talking.



If they don't budge I would just buy an iPhone 4.
Click to expand...

Im a girl, lol, so I guess ill put on some makeup? lol. Honesty usually works with Apple. so I will see what happens...
 
winter27 said:
so I broke my 3gs just now. was angry about something, dropped my phone on a hard surface ... and its dead. got a white screen, then nothing. so a few months ago they swapped my phone when i dropped mine in water (clumsy), so im guessing that my luck has run out for replacements.

So, not sure what to do. I have only been in my At&T contract for 1 year and 1 month. I think if i upgrade now they will charge me $399. I think to replace the 3gs it may be $199. I think to cancel my At&T contract its $100 (since it gets reduced over time).

thoughts? worth it to spend $199 on a 3gs replacement? i dont want to spend $399 but goodness $199 for a 2yr old device....
Click to expand...

Either option you are screwed so it doesn't matter. Get a stress ball in the mean time.
 
Fernandez21 said:
Well, you're only half way Turku your contract, so you ETF would be closer to $200 and not $100. Try a restore first if it can be seen in iTunes, you never know. And I woul do the $199
Click to expand...

The ETF didn't change to $325 from $175 until 6/1/10. So his ETF would have dropped $5 per month and should be around $110 right now.
 
If you take the shattered remains of your 3gs to the Apple store, they will give you a replacement for $200. AFAIK, the policy is that as long as the phone has something that can be salvaged, they'll give you a replacement for $200.

I personally wouldn't bother with a 4 at this time. The $200 will be a tough pill to swallow right now, but at least you can get something for it in June if the 5 is announced then (which I personally believe will be announced). It may not be much (say $50) but at least it'll be better than having a brand new phone that's already been upgraded.

You mentioned paying the ETF of ~$100 as a possible option. I assume your plan was to use a dumb phone for 2-3 months instead? Couldn't you just use a dumb phone for the next few months and pay the data fee instead? Surely it'll be cheaper to pay $30 for 3 months than $110 now?

Or you could buy the 4 unsubsidized now and then sell it when the new 5 comes out. This option would cost the most though, so I don't think it's worth doing. I personally would pay the $200 replacement cost and just try to get the best price for it in June.
 
I'm so confused on what to do now about upgrading. I don't know if I should just get the Iphone 4 now since it rumors that the Iphone might get pushed back to September. :confused:
 
CandyCane23049 said:
I'm so confused on what to do now about upgrading. I don't know if I should just get the Iphone 4 now since it rumors that the Iphone might get pushed back to September. :confused:
Click to expand...

Rumors are just that, rumors.

Objectively, you probably shouldn't shell out full price for a phone that is a year old anyway, so there's no real harm in holding out a little longer to see what happens.
 
If you can't get the cheap replacement from Apple, check out Craigslist or Kijiji and get a used 3G for like $150 to tide you over till the new phone comes out. Or just pay off your contract for the $100 that you said it would cost you and sign up again.
 
I'd say to use an old crappy phone for the time being, and wait for the iPhone 5.
 
Time for renters insurance

Call State Farm, or Allstate or anyone else and get the renters insurance that will cost about $45 bucks for a year to cover all of your property. Make sure you add the special accidental damage clause then wait 2 weeks and get it replaced.
 
mdlooker said:
Call State Farm, or Allstate or anyone else and get the renters insurance that will cost about $45 bucks for a year to cover all of your property. Make sure you add the special accidental damage clause then wait 2 weeks and get it replaced.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious....
 
mdlooker said:
Call State Farm, or Allstate or anyone else and get the renters insurance that will cost about $45 bucks for a year to cover all of your property. Make sure you add the special accidental damage clause then wait 2 weeks and get it replaced.
Click to expand...

There's a word for that...
 
Can you wait six months? If not get an iPhone 4 or buy a 3Gs from eBay or craigslist. Perhaps thus will be an expensive lesson so your emotions won't the best of you

awadeee said:
There's a word for that...
Click to expand...

Yup and it's called fraud
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back