Cheapest, fastest way of getting unlocked Note 4?

[samiznaetekto]

I went to ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Best Buy. None of them offer preorders for unlocked Note 4. Only contract preorders. Same for their websites.

Ideally, I'd like to take advantage of the $200 promotion. But it doesn't seem to be possible. Best Buy said "check back late next week or in a couple of weeks, we might have more info about unlocked phones then".

What if I preorder it on a contract, then terminate it ASAP and pay ETF? What would be the total price to get Note 4 unlocked, off-contract, no service, no SIM, no nothing? (I'm not interested in using N4 as a phone, I want it as a computing device-only.)

For each carrier (I don't care about carrier since don't need the "phone" part), what is the total price going this route?

 

[AppleRobert]

It is $825 off contract at BB.

 

[spinedoc77]

Well you could get the international version off of Amazon, but it doesn't have all the right bands, not sure what's missing. Alternatively you can get one from Tmobile, sign up for their cheapest plan which I believe is $45/month, they will waive the activation fee. At that point you would just cancel within I think it's 10-14 days and they will only prorate the days you used and charge you the full price of the phone if you subsidized it or put it on their monthly finance. In the 2nd case you should be able to still take advantage of the Samsung $200 rebate if you trade in a phone with Tmobile. This is how I was going to get the N4 until I read about issues using the Tmobile one on ATT so I decided to just get the ATT one at that point.

Oh almost forgot, Tmobile requires you to have the phone on their service for I think it's 45 days before they will unlock it. You would have to go to a 3rd party and pay a small fee to unlock it yourself but it shouldn't be an issue, it wasn't an issue at all with the Note 3.

Last, there has been confusion about buying one full price from BB. My store said no problem at all, but I opted for the Next program because it makes more sense. Others have said their stores said you can't buy full price yet. As always ymmv with BB and what level of intelligence you get on that particular day and store.

 

[samiznaetekto]

Is it cheaper to buy it with a contract and then terminate ASAP? For example, ATT ETF is $325, so total cost would be $299 + $325 = $625? Plus, I guess, 2 months of cheapest plan before they can unlock it? Still, cheaper (with $200 rebate) than $825 with no rebate?