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iPhone Upgrade Program Experience Thread

mrt209 said:
Finally worked after 3 visits!!! :)

1st Visit (Friday):

Spent 2.5 hours at the store trying to get approved, but the apple employees didn't really know how to do the upgrade program through T-Mobile, and then got declined because of Citizens system not working. Finally told them I just wanted to buy the phone, but they somehow ended up financing it through T-Mobile...

2nd Visit (Saturday):

Was at the store for 1.5 hours and iUP was working, but there was a glitch with T-Mobile so they could not get iUP to work for T-Mobile customers. Was about ready to give up at this point.

3rd Visit (Sunday):

Went back today and spent 2 hours at the store. First there was an issue with returning the phone (got an error saying returning the phone would not cancel the T-Mobile finance agreement, so had to call T-Mobile and sort that out). After that was all taken care of and they could process the return, signing up for iUP and getting approved took 10 min.

Happy finally worked out and I didn't give up. For reference, my credit sore is 775, and used my Discover card to sign up with a limit of $5600 and cash back limit of $400.
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As a fellow T-Mobile customer, I also had to make multiple visits to the Apple store trying to sign up for iUP--except I'm still unable to join. After logging into the tap.t-mobile.com website to "upgrade" my line to my new iPhone 6S Plus, none of the phone lines from my family plan were listed on the website as eligible.

Upon calling T-Mobile to report this issue, there was mass confusion about the word "upgrade" because T-Mobile assumes they're referring to JUMP! (I had JUMP v1, but got rid of it in anticipation of joining iUP). Several phone calls later, Apple simply points the finger at T-Mobile saying that I have a "weird" account setup and T-Mobile points the finger right back at Apple saying that their system must be acting up.

From what I understood, the Apple store needs to upgrade my phone line to the new iPhone (via their T-Mobile portal) as part of the process to retrieve a QR code which will then be used to associate the phone to my account on the Apple store's end. I couldn't even get to the point where I would apply for the program. I ended up buying the phone at full price.

Can anyone who went through the iUP with T-Mobile comment on how the upgrade and activation process went? Better yet, did anyone have the same issues that I had? I couldn't seem to find anything via search.
 
tluu87 said:
Can anyone who went through the iUP with T-Mobile comment on how the upgrade and activation process went? Better yet, did anyone have the same issues that I had? I couldn't seem to find anything via search.
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Other than T-Mobile's system having some issues and being slow, it was seamless for me.
 
Great experience for me... I put in a reservation Saturday morning around 9am for a 128GB silver 6S. I came in at 11:30 -- my reservation time -- spent a few minutes in line outside the store and then got in. The rep I was with seemed well versed with the process. She had me approved within a few minutes and the whole transaction only took maybe 10 minutes.

I'll note that a credit card (not debit) was required to get approved. I hear also that they're requiring a major bank credit card; luckily my one and only CC is with the corporate masters at Wells Fargo. My credit score isn't the best but it's also not bad; I have on-time payments but I am using most of my available credit. Like others have said, it is indeed a hard pull.

AT&T shows my line as having an "unknown device" with iPhone 4G LTE w/ VVM features.

Overall a great experience and I'm not under contract with a cell provider! :D
 
shareef777 said:
Strange that the AUP doesn't impact your carrier program, but still requires you to have a carrier. I have a company provided SIM and because I'm not on the account am not eligible for the AUP.
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I have the same problem, I'm gonna buy the T Mobile version and cancel the plan ASAP, I think that's doable, not 100% sure
 
Does anyone know if it is possible to buy the T Mobile version and cancel the plan, say a month later ? it should be right? you are not buying any device through T Mobile
 
betovel said:
Does anyone know if it is possible to buy the T Mobile version and cancel the plan, say a month later ? it should be right? you are not buying any device through T Mobile
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You can, but then you'll be charged an activation fee and one month of service (which I believe is $50).
 
mc603zp said:
I was lurking this thread all day yesterday as I had an 830pm appointment and was unsure what to expect, but this gave me a good idea of how things were going to go down. Here is my experience with this program:

First, I was expecting to get denied due to my credit score. My score is sub-600s, and I figured if I go in expecting the worst, at least I won't be disappointed. After showing up around 815p I ended up having to wait until almost 945p before I even got into the store. Apparently the sprint and t mobile outages early in the day really delayed the appointments. So I finally get paired with an associate and begin the process with a capital one credit card. I get declined. Ok, no surprise there. I mention to the associate that someone claiming to be an apple associate on Reddit said that applications that were run a second time were usually going through in his store. He says ok, we try again. Declined again. Oh well. I opt not to buy the phone outright and head home to think about my options.

This morning I got the Truth in Lending disclosure from Citizens. I got two emails, one for each application processed. I called up to inquire a little further as to why I was declined. The Citizens rep said that it was too early to tell in my specific situation and that the letters with the official reasons for the decisions would be available on Monday if I called back then. But she did take some time to explain the parameters used for this loan and try to narrow it down for me. She told me that there is no minimum credit score, and what they're mostly looking for is that there aren't charge-offs or collections on the report (I have neither on mine) and that the credit card being used had enough available balance to cover an amount of three months of payments (mine did). So this just further confused me, and seemed to confuse her as well, since I seemed to be a "qualified buyer" despite my credit score.

About two hours later I get to work and speak to a coworker who was approved through the AUP yesterday. I tell him what the Citizens rep told me and he said that he does have an active collections on his report and the credit card he used didn't have enough balance for three months of payments on it, yet he was approved. It completely contradicted everything Citizens told me.

So I have no idea what the hell is going on with this whole thing. At this point I'm just waiting until Monday to call back and get the actual reason. If it's credit score related, fine. I'll figure out another way to buy the phone. If it's something that can be corrected, great, I'll make another reservation and head back to the Apple Store.

And before anyone asks, I didn't ask anything about a hard pull vs soft pull. I don't really care about that. But as of right now, nothing has shown up on credit karma as far as a Citizens credit inquiry.

I don't expect this to clarify anything for anyone, if anything it just raises more questions. But I just wanted to share my experience.
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Did you get any further answers/information on this? I am basically on the same boat as you, the only thing with me was that the rep told me to make sure the "fraud protection" is off on my CC (but when I called my CC company they said they didn't even get the transaction request from Citizens One), but since I used two different CCs already, I only have one shot left before proceeding with my 3rd shot (and if this gets declined then I'm locked out for 30 days)... any input would be helpful!!
 
dany74m said:
Do you guys think I can qualify for the program with a score of 680?

Thanks
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I can be honest and say my score is lower than that and I made the program easily. Just make sure your credit card company knows you are starting the loan agreement and you should be good to go.
 
I was recently approved for the iPhone upgrade program. I want to buy another iPhone using this program. Will i have to do another hard check on my credit? I have credit availability i just want to make sure i'll get approved.
 
Superus said:
I was recently approved for the iPhone upgrade program. I want to buy another iPhone using this program. Will i have to do another hard check on my credit? I have credit availability i just want to make sure i'll get approved.
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I heard that if you do it within 30 days, it's not another hard check. Not sure how true that is. I did two right away in the same appointment.
 
Superus said:
I was recently approved for the iPhone upgrade program. I want to buy another iPhone using this program. Will i have to do another hard check on my credit? I have credit availability i just want to make sure i'll get approved.
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Yes, they will do another credit check.
 
Question anyone with T-Mobile that has to put down a deposit with them get approved for the Upgrade program?
 
T-Mo customer. Did the program at the Apple store (had the TAP issues, but got it sorted on launch day). Got my T-Mo bill today, and they have me down as having a new EIP for my 6S. So now I have a lease with Apple/Citizens and T-Mo. Thus far, unresolved. Such a fiasco. :mad:
 
dokital said:
T-Mo customer. Did the program at the Apple store (had the TAP issues, but got it sorted on launch day). Got my T-Mo bill today, and they have me down as having a new EIP for my 6S. So now I have a lease with Apple/Citizens and T-Mo. Thus far, unresolved. Such a fiasco. :mad:
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Had same issue... IUP wasn't working first day, so wanted to buy phone for full price, but Apple employee accidentally did it as EIP through T-Mobile. Eventually returned the phone and signed up for iUP but EIP still showed. Had to call T-Mobile and they had to call the Apple Store to confirm that that I had returned the phone so they could cancel the EIP. Problem was since I bought the same phone again through iUP it is still showing up in my T-Mobile account.
 
I currently have AT&T. Although I still have unlimited data, the area I use my phone at the majority of the day has a terrible signal and the speeds are always slow. My girlfriend has T-Mobile. I brought her phone with me one day and the speed difference was night and day.

My question is, since I'm not currently a T-Mobile customer, could I go to the Apple Store, get on her plan, and be able to use the iPhone Upgrade Plan, or will I have to sign up through T-Mobile and buy a phone through them?
 
dokital said:
T-Mo customer. Did the program at the Apple store (had the TAP issues, but got it sorted on launch day). Got my T-Mo bill today, and they have me down as having a new EIP for my 6S. So now I have a lease with Apple/Citizens and T-Mo. Thus far, unresolved. Such a fiasco. :mad:
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That's a nightmare. Now I'm concerned that they'll do the same to me.

benh911f said:
I currently have AT&T. Although I still have unlimited data, the area I use my phone at the majority of the day has a terrible signal and the speeds are always slow. My girlfriend has T-Mobile. I brought her phone with me one day and the speed difference was night and day.

My question is, since I'm not currently a T-Mobile customer, could I go to the Apple Store, get on her plan, and be able to use the iPhone Upgrade Plan, or will I have to sign up through T-Mobile and buy a phone through them?
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You should be able to.
 
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