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Has anyone ever "stole" an upgrade.

wickerman1893

wickerman1893

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 16, 2008
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I was wondering if anyone here has ever used another family members upgrade and if it will work.

Here is an example of what I want to do: (I have AT&T) I currently have the iPhone 4 and plan on getting the 5th gen with my brother's upgrade because he does not/will not use it and it's just sitting there. My upgrade is still a year away (maybe a little less) and I want to get a subsidized 5th gen model with his upgrade but I don't want to switch lines or anything. Just take his upgrade for a subsidized phone. So has any of you ever done this? It would be very helpful if you can give me some answers. Thanks :)
 
Last edited:
Yes you can. People do it all the time if you are on a family plan. Not sure it will work if you are on two individual plan.
 
on a related note, does anyone know if you buy the phone on a family members upgrade and get it shipped (preorder for delivery) if the SIM can be taken out and just not used, or if if has to be activated under that number first then switched?

I ask because this is the first release that isn't in the summer, and so is the first release where I am up at school when the phone comes out. I gave my mom my iPhone 4 earlier this year, and will be using her upgrade when the new one comes out. If I get it delivered to me at school can I go ahead and pop in my SIM and activate the phone, without hers (back at home) ever being disconnected?
 
You can do this (take a family member's upgrade and put it on your line), the only problem is that it can't be done at the Apple store.

You HAVE to do this with AT&T which means getting in their pre-order queue or jumping through whatever ******** hoops are required to get a phone shipped to an AT&T store near you. This generally means inaccurate delivery estimates and long waits. I did this with the 3GS.

It's honestly worth the hassle to fork out the extra $250 and preorder with Apple (painlessly) if you want to have it within the first 2-3 months.
 
Keep in mind that account has to be authorized to use someone's upgrade
 
catalyst6 said:
You can do this (take a family member's upgrade and put it on your line), the only problem is that it can't be done at the Apple store.

You HAVE to do this with AT&T which means getting in their pre-order queue or jumping through whatever ******** hoops are required to get a phone shipped to an AT&T store near you. This generally means inaccurate delivery estimates and long waits. I did this with the 3GS.

It's honestly worth the hassle to fork out the extra $250 and preorder with Apple (painlessly) if you want to have it within the first 2-3 months.
Click to expand...

Or preorder from apple and have it shipped, then pop your sim in. Just make sure you go to an ATT store ahead of time and get a microSIM
 
So, is the fastest way to get an iPhone to preorder on apple? I can't just go to an att store on the 14th?
 
Do they deactivate the old phone's SIM (in this case my Father's SIM) when they give me the 4S? I'm asking because he has a Samsung Focus (which doesn't use microSIM) and he's planning on using his upgrade to get me the 4S.
 
I've done it several times.

I did it at an Apple store once & a couple times at home. Make sure you have a new sim (or the sim currently in your phone) to replace the one that comes in it, though. When I went on launch day last year, no one showed up with a micro-sim even though they were doing upgrade swaps.

It's extremely simple! You will be fine. :)
 
Can someone please explain in terms a 5 year old can understand? I am upgrading a line which currently has a 3GS on it, but using the upgrade from the line which has an iPhone 4 on it. I want the 3GS upgraded to the 4S. I want the iPhone 4 line to not be touched.

Do I order on the apple site saying that I am upgrading the iPhone 4 line?
Will the new phone come with a sim card already?
Do I just call AT&T once I have the sim card and tell them to activate the 3GS line on it?
Will the iPhone 4 sim get deactivated?
 
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