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Contract implications of the inevitable iPhone 2?

C

Cuchulainn

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 7, 2007
5
0
As the UK arrival of the iPhone looms, I find myself becoming worried about the contract implications of iPhone 2, which will, inevitably, appear sometime during 2008. Since we will all be buying this iconic gizmo outright, rather than receiving it at a discounted cost or even free (the usual arrangement in the UK with contract phones), common sense (not to say natural justice) would justice that when the extra whizzy iPhone 2 appears, there will be nothing to stop us simply selling the current model, if we so desire, and transferring our part-way-through-the-contract sims into the new one. But I'm worried that Apple/ O2/ AT&T etc will instead try and pull some sort of stunt, like insisting we start brand new contracts with iPhone 2, and/ or (the horror!) charging some kind of contract cancellation fee. Imagine if iPhone 2 was announced at MacWorld in January for instance - that's just eight weeks or so away...
I did try asking an O2 helpline person about this, but naturally just got the usual robotic disclaimers :(
Not everyone will be concerned about this issue, of course, but Mac-heads and technology fans (and I definitely fit into the latter categories) will want to upgrade. Thoughts welcome!
 
Can't remember where I read it but O2 have said that once the iPhone 2 comes out then we can simply switch our current iPhone contract to the new one for free I think. The only thing you will have to do is buy the new handset.

However, you never know but this may change when the iPhone 2 is announced but this is what has been said so far.
 
danielforman said:
Can't remember where I read it but O2 have said that once the iPhone 2 comes out then we can simply switch our current iPhone contract to the new one for free I think. The only thing you will have to do is buy the new handset.

However, you never know but this may change when the iPhone 2 is announced but this is what has been said so far.
Click to expand...

That's good news if true. Can anyone source this?
 
I'd have thought they will ask you to sign a new 18 month contract. Otherwise they're not getting anything out of it as the money for the handset is going to Apple.
 
We (the public) haven't even got through the launch of the first generation of iPhones yet - and people are already on about the second generation.

Nobody really knows the specifics of the contracts they're offering the first time around until Friday - let alone 6/12/18/whenever Apple releases the phone-months down the line.

If you like the first gen iPhone, get it.

If there's a risk you'll want to upgrade half way through or whenever the new one is released - do it. Either via a legit way, should O2 allow, or by buying one and hacking it, which is also sure to happen.

Either way - it's not even released yet. We don't even have the first ones yet. I know technology is always changing, and they're probably building prototypes of the iPhone 2 now, but you've got to buy for what suits you now - what you need now - not what you'll want 6 months down the line.

(or however long it takes to get the second iPhone :) )

PS: I'm pretty sure if you were already in a contract with AT&T in the US, you could 'upgrade' your existing contract to an iPhone one. What they will probably do with the iPhone 2 is either let you upgrade free of charge, providing you re-start another 12/18 month contract and give you no penalties for ending the first one early - or they might give you a discounted early termination fee. We will have to wait, probably almost another year)
 
I know that in the US with AT&T if you want a new phone in the middle of a contract, you pay full price. With iphone that was the case anyway. There was never a free uprade or discount. So as an existing iphone custimer, if you want a new iphone before your contract is up there should be no problem, as you'll already have the data plan as well.

Now if you are in the middle of a contract and have a regular phone...I don't know how that works, since iphone has it's own data plan. I guess that's up tp the carrier as to when and whether they let you upgrade or downgrade your plan.
 
mackk said:
Now if you are in the middle of a contract and have a regular phone...I don't know how that works, since iphone has it's own data plan.
Click to expand...

With AT&T, if you already have a a regular phone and buy and iPhone, you can activate it on the existing plan. Your existing data plan will autoamtically be switched out to the iPhone Data plan, and your account will start on a fresh new 2-year contract.

This is why people advise that if you're buying an iPhone, you just sign up for AT&T service, pick a regular phone that you'll either want to keep as a backup OR sell on eBay, and then walk right into an Apple store and get the iPhone. There is no penalty for doing this.

(BTW, the rationale for selling the original Phone on eBay is that, if the phone is a desirable model, you can sell it for a higher price than the subsidized cost you paid for it. AT&T customers who are not eligible for a subsidized upgrade, but don't want to pay full price for a new phone, will happily buy your phone at a profitable price.)
 
I put this question to the o2 staff in my local store. They said it wouldn't be possible to upgrade to iPhone 2 before your 18 months are up.
 
sandsl said:
I put this question to the o2 staff in my local store. They said it wouldn't be possible to upgrade to iPhone 2 before your 18 months are up.
Click to expand...

I doubt they can be classified as a reliable source.. Apple and O2 do not tend to tell the monkeys on the floor until the last minute.
 
It's standard that phone upgrades start a new contract.. in fact any change to a phone contract starts a new one. eg. With my last provider I kepy getting emails and even the occasional phone call saying I can now call my my closest friends free, more minutes, etc.. I just need to fill in a simple web form - except in the 'terms and conditions' (which is itself pretty well hidden) in a small font it states that this is a new 18 month contract. Easily missed and a lot of people wouldn't find this out until they tried to cancel.

You also can't officially upgrade less than 3 (or 6, depending on contract) months before the end of your current contract. Of course there's absolutely nothing stopping you buying a new phone and swapping the SIM. The only question is whether the activation would work on the iphone2 after such a swap.
 
http://www.o2.co.uk/termsconditions/iphone

Check this page out.

Under Pay Monthly tariff terms and conditions for iPhone, General 2. states the following:-


If you end your contract during the 18 month minimum term, you may be required to pay the applicable monthly charge for your tariff until the end of the minimum term. This will not apply if your purchase a new iPhone from us, in which case you agree that a new 18 month minimum term will apply.


This suggest that one could buy a new iPhone (2?) during the first 18 months, and simply re-sign up for another 18 months without having to cancel or pay up the initial agreement.

So say you bought a new version of the iPhone in February '08, just 4 months into your 18 month contract with O2. Your initial agreement would end, and a new one would start with your new iPhone lasting for another 18 months until Jul 09.
 
danielforman said:
Can't remember where I read it but O2 have said that once the iPhone 2 comes out then we can simply switch our current iPhone contract to the new one for free I think. The only thing you will have to do is buy the new handset.

However, you never know but this may change when the iPhone 2 is announced but this is what has been said so far.
Click to expand...

Buy the new handset? What do you mean?
 
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