iPhone 6 upgrade eligible 9/22 not 9/19

[mtneer]

Wait 2 days?

I can't understand why this isn't the instant response.

Wait a couple days. If you don't have the maturity to handle two days of waiting, you have no business buying something that requires a contract or monthly charge.

Lol
Oh my God, I cant wait an extra 2-3 days.

Impatience and also the fear of running our of stock.

When the iPhone 5 was released; those who did not pre-order in the first wave were then left flapping in the wind for a couple of weeks or more until supplies stabilized.

Instant gratification vs. chasing rumors and calling stores all over the place to inquire about available supplies.

 

[Applejuiced]

What kind of discount do you have on your plan?

I believe its 29% off data and voice.
Kickass deal.

This must be a company plan as AT&T did away with 18-20 month subsidy upgrades awhile ago.

I think you're right. They were always around 18-20 months, now they raised the wait to 22-24 months I believe.

Sure, that's a good deal. Like I said in my statement it's not for everyone. What you have is something that most people cant have these days, so they can only go by what is currently offered, so with what is currently being offered many that can't have these older plans can have Next be a good deal for them. Again what I'm saying is that for many on the current plan something like Next is not a rip off at all and can be the better deal. For some on other plans it might not be as worthwhile, sure, but it doesn't make Next a rip off for everyone or even most (given that your type of situation is fairly uncommon these days in the overall sense), that's the point.

I hear you.
Hope with current competition and price wars it will all benefit the end consumer with lower monthly payments and not the carriers billion dollar pockets

When the iPhone 5 was released; those who did not pre-order in the first wave were then left flapping in the wind for a couple of weeks or more until supplies stabilized.

Lets not be overly dramatic.
I can wait a few weeks for the latest and greatest gadget phone out there.
I will not be left crying or flapping in the wind.
I will survive

 

[mtneer]

Lets not be overly dramatic.
I can wait a few weeks for the latest and greatest gadget phone out there.
I will not be left crying or flapping in the wind.
I will survive

You've been around the block here.. You know the threads that will arise with all the melodrama!

 

[Applejuiced]

You've been around the block here.. You know the threads that will arise with all the melodrama!

I know
It will be complaining and crying every day. I cant believe Apple, AT&T, Verizon is doing this to their customers. Making me wait another month. I want my iphone now, why should I have to wait that long and other beautifull and fun stories Get me a violin

 

[whsbuss]

Not that Next is needed or anything, but seems like Next can be used for that type of setup just fine.

It sure can. I just don't want to finance over 24 months.

 

[iMas70]

I just went onto the AT&T site to go though the purchase process and see how much it would come up to. Selected a 32GB iPhone 5S and plan that is the same that I have now. The only difference I see in the monthly price is the additional $31.25 per month for the phone.

I currently have -

National 450 with Rollover - $39.99
Messaging Unlimited - $20.00
Data Unlimited - $30.00
National Account Discount - $16.10

Total monthly charges - $73.89 plus tax

When I went though the process under the Next plan, it showed me the same total plus $31.25 for the phone for a total of $105.14. I don't see where the Next plan is a financial benefit. You end up paying full price for the phone instead of getting it at the reduced price ($299.00 for a 32GB phone). Only benefit that I see is you don't have to wait 2 years to buy another phone but your pretty much paying the price to do that.

 

[C DM]

I just went onto the AT&T site to go though the purchase process and see how much it would come up to. Selected a 32GB iPhone 5S and plan that is the same that I have now. The only difference I see in the monthly price is the additional $31.25 per month for the phone.

I currently have -

National 450 with Rollover - $39.99
Messaging Unlimited - $20.00
Data Unlimited - $30.00
National Account Discount - $16.10

Total monthly charges - $73.89 plus tax

When I went though the process under the Next plan, it showed me the same total plus $31.25 for the phone for a total of $105.14. I don't see where the Next plan is a financial benefit. You end up paying full price for the phone instead of getting it at the reduced price ($299.00 for a 32GB phone). Only benefit that I see is you don't have to wait 2 years to buy another phone but your pretty much paying the price to do that.

On the current shared plans, depending on the shared data you have, you get $10 or $25 off a month on lines that have phones that aren't under contract. So especially in the case of having $25 off each month you'd be paying less over 2 years than you would if you got a subsidized phone on contract and didn't get that $25 off each month.

It all basically depends on your plan and your particular situation as to what can be cheaper and/or make more sense for you in general.

 

[Crunch]

Its all a marketing trick.
You don't believe you are really getting a discount on your service by them financing for free your device for 2 years right?
With the subsidy the phone is yours and you don't have to turn it in to get a newer version. You can sell it for a lot more than what the carrier will give you credit for obviously. Also with FAN discounts that still apply to older plans you get a nice discount on your monthly bill and still a full subsidy
Read the article with details on how much Next is a ripoff below:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/16/4528404/att-next-phone-upgrade-plans-a-huge-ripoff

Yea, that's basically why I strongly dislike AT&T's Next program. As I described above, the way I do it, I basically never pay for the upgrade. It's free. But there is some work involved, such as having it unlocked by AT&T (which is free, too), and then upgrade fee is waived for me every year based on...wait for it: FAN account. :-D

So my next question would be if I would lose the FAN discount if I did the upgrade "the Next way"?

 

[C DM]

Yea, that's basically why I strongly dislike AT&T's Next program. As I described above, the way I do it, I basically never pay for the upgrade. It's free. But there is some work involved, such as having it unlocked by AT&T (which is free, too), and then upgrade fee is waived for me every year based on...wait for it: FAN account. :-D

So my next question would be if I would lose the FAN discount if I did the upgrade "the Next way"?

And how does an iPhone come subsidized for free?

 

[rsmith83]

I think you'll be fine. Check your AT&T account on or around Sep. first and you should see the eligibility date change to the first. This is what the store rep. explained to me when I asked what my upgrade date was a few weeks ago.

I found this not to be true with iPhones through AT&T. My cousin is on my family plan and his contract expired May 28th, 2014. I called AT&T on May 16th and asked if I could go ahead and upgrade his phone early as a graduation present to him, and the agent told me: "If it were any other smartphone, we could upgrade it a couple weeks early. Unfortunately the iPhone upgrades make you wait until the last day of your contract." And they were right, at least in terms of their website -- I tried every day up to the last day of his contract to upgrade online and it still told me I wasn't eligible for a full upgrade until 5/28/2014. Maybe something has changed in the last few months to relax that, or maybe some agents are nicer and just manually wave that requirement for you (if that's even possible).

They keep trying to sell me the NEXT program but I have done the math multiple times with my 4-line Family Plan and the monthly cost is a lot higher with NEXT. Even if it somehow saves you money in the long run, my family members already pay me like $60 - 70 per month and they had no interest in switching to NEXT because it would be even higher.

 

[Crunch]

And how does an iPhone come subsidized for free?

I already went through that in my earlier post.

 

[C DM]

I already went through that in my earlier post.

Got it, didn't connect that post from easier in the thread. So basically not a free upgrade, just offsetting the cost by selling the older phone.

 

[Crunch]

Got it, didn't connect that post from easier in the thread. So basically not a free upgrade, just offsetting the cost by selling the older phone.

Exactly. And it's been consistent for me, too. I've upgraded like this since the 4. You can do it, too.

 

[Eileen89]

I found this not to be true with iPhones through AT&T. My cousin is on my family plan and his contract expired May 28th, 2014. I called AT&T on May 16th and asked if I could go ahead and upgrade his phone early as a graduation present to him, and the agent told me: "If it were any other smartphone, we could upgrade it a couple weeks early. Unfortunately the iPhone upgrades make you wait until the last day of your contract." And they were right, at least in terms of their website -- I tried every day up to the last day of his contract to upgrade online and it still told me I wasn't eligible for a full upgrade until 5/28/2014. Maybe something has changed in the last few months to relax that, or maybe some agents are nicer and just manually wave that requirement for you (if that's even possible).

They keep trying to sell me the NEXT program but I have done the math multiple times with my 4-line Family Plan and the monthly cost is a lot higher with NEXT. Even if it somehow saves you money in the long run, my family members already pay me like $60 - 70 per month and they had no interest in switching to NEXT because it would be even higher.

Maybe because your upgrade date is closer to the end of the month. Anyone that I've known that was due for an upgrade at or around the middle of the month had the upgrade date changed to the 1st of the month. In any case, I guess we will all just have to wait and see what AT&T does this year. I'm not going to use my full subsidy upgrade this year anyway so it doesn't matter in my case.

 

[megapopular]

I can't understand why this isn't the instant response.

Wait a couple days. If you don't have the maturity to handle two days of waiting, you have no business buying something that requires a contract or monthly charge.

There's the likelihood for the OP that the phone could be sold out. I don't know their exact reasoning but perhaps that's what they're worried about.

 

[C DM]

Exactly. And it's been consistent for me, too. I've upgraded like this since the 4. You can do it, too.

I pass on my devices to family members as I get new ones so the selling part doesn't really apply.

 

[Crunch]

One more thing that applies to ALL cases. You can always (drum roll) have the entire contract deleted. It just depends on how well you sell them on the idea of it.