Has anyone been able to confirm whether this will work if you're a T-Mobile prepaid customer. I've gotten different answers from different Apple Store reps.
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iPhone Upgrade Program [MERGED]
- Thread starter kybldmstr
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Don't consider this any sort of "confirmation" but I just talked to someone at my local Apple Store and, in my opinion, it does not sound like it would work in your situation. I could be wrong. I was told that you have to have a contract with a carrier, and that they will ping the carrier service to verify contract in order to sell using this program. The reason this came up was because I have an AT&T Premier account and I can't get a phone under this program either, even though I'm eligible by the carrier. They said that their normal sales process will take place, which is: give them your carrier info (number, zip, last 4 of social), they will do their whatever check, then they will activate the phone on the line. I asked: what if you have a service like Cricket, or other prepaid options, and he said,"You would not be able to get a phone under the iPhone Upgrade Program."
Do you just have a FAN discount or is your account/line under the control of your employer?
Just a FAN discount, but 8 lines (big family) so they have us categorized as a small business even though we are not.
Oh okay good. Our account just has a regular fan discount. I believe the reps when they say I'll be able to sign up for the program. Apple's site lets me check line upgrade eligibilities in other cases so I know they can read the account.
If you can get through the pre-order process (right before checkout) on the Apple site, you're fine. in my case, I can choose the phone but as soon as I put my AT&T credentials, it tells me I have to contact my carrier to purchase. It's so frustrating. I never get to take advantage of retailer offers.
Mine told me I could buy at full price or wait until April to upgrade with NEXT. I didn't get the message that you received.
I have unified billing through AT&T. As such I can't do the NEXT program through Apple. I'm concerned it will be an issue with using the program. Any one have any information on it? I called the Apple store and they seem to think it wouldn't a problem. She did confirm that every upgrade phone has to be activated (this is why an AU or account holder needs to be present).
Well I spoke to someone from Apple earlier and from they said...
This program has really nothing to do with the carrier at all. I was concerned because I already have a phone on next and it has a few more payments left.
From what I was told this is completely through Apple and not your carrier and it doesn't matter if you have an upgrade available or not on the account. All in all this should be a pretty big PITA if Apple doesn't have all their ducks in a row and people who aren't qualified try doing this promo and you have big lines of people standing around to do credit checks.
I think they should have done a screening when the phone went live and if you were eligible to take advantage of the promo you would be able to reserve a phone. The way it looks now is that you will have tons of people showing up with no idea of what to expect and it will be very time consuming for the reps to go through the process.
This program has really nothing to do with the carrier at all. I was concerned because I already have a phone on next and it has a few more payments left.
From what I was told this is completely through Apple and not your carrier and it doesn't matter if you have an upgrade available or not on the account. All in all this should be a pretty big PITA if Apple doesn't have all their ducks in a row and people who aren't qualified try doing this promo and you have big lines of people standing around to do credit checks.
I think they should have done a screening when the phone went live and if you were eligible to take advantage of the promo you would be able to reserve a phone. The way it looks now is that you will have tons of people showing up with no idea of what to expect and it will be very time consuming for the reps to go through the process.
I don't understand what would take so long about it. They get a few pieces of info, run it through their system, the system responds whether or not the customer is eligible. If they're not eligible, they're given the option to pay full price. If they are eligible, they sign the financing agreement, pay, activate and leave.
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I agree, in a perfect world that would work. I'm in NYC and i can see a good amount of people showing up for this promo that just wont be eligible and will have the reps go through the process with them, and when and if they are told they are not eligible, will try other means of getting the phone on launch day, next upgrade or carrier upgrade, etc. My point is this will take double or triple the time because of the time needed to go through all the necessary steps.
I think doubling or tripling the time is probably overestimating it. How many ways is there for someone to buy an iPhone? If you're denied the AUP, you're almost certainly not eligible for the regular 24-month financing, so that's an option off the table right there. People are already going to be on a carrier, so they'll know if they're eligible for an upgrade or not, and if they are, then the time it took to check the AUP would likely be five minutes or less, and some of the info they gave for that would likely be recycled into setting up the carrier upgrade. If they're not eligible for AUP, financing, or carrier, then they can buy full price or leave.
And if they were planning to switch carriers anyway, the time it takes to check the AUP first isn't going to double or triple the time is my guess.
I'm not saying there won't be problems and that everything will run perfectly every time. I just think that projecting doom and gloom scenarios is going to make you a nervous wreck before you even get to the store.
And if they were planning to switch carriers anyway, the time it takes to check the AUP first isn't going to double or triple the time is my guess.
I'm not saying there won't be problems and that everything will run perfectly every time. I just think that projecting doom and gloom scenarios is going to make you a nervous wreck before you even get to the store.
I think doubling or tripling the time is probably overestimating it. How many ways is there for someone to buy an iPhone? If you're denied the AUP, you're almost certainly not eligible for the regular 24-month financing, so that's an option off the table right there. People are already going to be on a carrier, so they'll know if they're eligible for an upgrade or not, and if they are, then the time it took to check the AUP would likely be five minutes or less, and some of the info they gave for that would likely be recycled into setting up the carrier upgrade. If they're not eligible for AUP, financing, or carrier, then they can buy full price or leave.
And if they were planning to switch carriers anyway, the time it takes to check the AUP first isn't going to double or triple the time is my guess.
I'm not saying there won't be problems and that everything will run perfectly every time. I just think that projecting doom and gloom scenarios is going to make you a nervous wreck before you even get to the store.
Have you ever been to an Apple store the first week of a release? It's Chaos!!! This is an added eliminate to an already chaotic process of upgrading people through their carriers. If it really gets that crazy at the store i'm going to and i see it getting out of hand and things just taking way to long. I'll walk out and wait a few days. I live in NYC where there is just so many stores here and in the surrounding boroughs, I've never had an issue getting a phone within the first week of it releasing anyway. Like you I like to role with the common sense side of things, however not everyone else does and I can see people who are not really eligible trying to get this done and just wasting time in the store and taking up the appointments.
It's never been promoted as having anything to do with the carrier. It's up to consumers to determine if they can upgrade with this program now or later based on their current conditions. This will not be a pain in the ass unless you let it become one. Today will go just fine.
I really want to know why apple recommended having three payment of the iphone installment available on your credit card, would that be the "deposit" for the lesser qualified applicant?
hopefully you guys update on how your experience went for the iphone upgrade program
hopefully you guys update on how your experience went for the iphone upgrade program
If you have less than $150 in available credit on a card you really shouldn't be financing a phone. It's just a way of mitigating risk.
I disagree. What if you consolidated balances to pay it off at 0% interest and aren't using that card but can make monthly payments for an iPhone?
Think of it from the point of view of a lender. If you were lending someone $1000 over 24 payments wouldn't you feel better about their financial responsibility if they had at least $100 of available credit on their method of repayment?
Yes. And, i'm wondering since I just read above in this thread that the phone has to be activated before you leave the store, that means I can't swap sim cards between my 6+ and 6S+? Therefore, I lose my unlimited data on Verizon?
From the view of a lender though, wouldn't they rather you repay them using a debit card(real money) than a credit card? Paying debt with credit isn't usually the best idea.