Making yourself eligible for iPhone every year?

[DryEyez]

So I seen this mentioned in other posts before. US iPhone users have said they can have a 10 dollar dummy line and effectively upgrade every single year.

My question is does anyone in the UK have any experience of this at all and are there any UK plans whereby this could be replicated?

 

[CyBeRino]

Not to my knowledge, because outside the US, the concept of having more than one phone number ('line') in an account is pretty much non-existent, except perhaps for businesses.

Also, outside the US, one can get better pricing on a plan if one were to not get a subsidised phone, so one could upgrade every year just by doing that.

Keep in mind, Americans often pay upwards of $2000 for their phones over the two-year period (if they want any kind of interesting data amount). I pay €1252 for mine over the same period, assuming the phone is €700 (which is overestimating for 16GB) including unlimited data.


You could look into getting a one-year plan from your carrier instead. You will have to pay more for the phone of course.

 

[jerrahh]

3 lines. 2 dumb phones 1 iphone. 2 dumblines are not on contract anymore and i can use them to upgrade when any iphone comes out. so when 5s comes out ill get that. then by that time 6 comes ill have another etc

 

[DryEyez]

In that case then I guess contract wise the best thing to do is just go with 12 month contracts or just buy the phone outright

 

[snook911]

3 lines. 2 dumb phones 1 iphone. 2 dumblines are not on contract anymore and i can use them to upgrade when any iphone comes out. so when 5s comes out ill get that. then by that time 6 comes ill have another etc

Why 3 lines? Since you get a full upgrade every 20 months you only need 2 lines to be able to upgrade every year for the full subsidy? That 3rd line is costing you an extra $120 a year.

 

[jerrahh]

Why 3 lines? Since you get a full upgrade every 20 months you only need 2 lines to be able to upgrade every year for the full subsidy? That 3rd line is costing you an extra $120 a year.

there was a reason i had to get another but i forgot why. it might have been to get a friend an iphone but i have 3, its not that taxing on me since i have a 20% discount

 

[i-John]

Doesn't seem to make financial sense to pay for three lines just to get a subsidized upgrade.

When you upgrade one of your other lines, it adds the contract to that line. You can switch the phone to another line, but the full contract sticks to the line you just upgraded, so over time, you're paying for three full lines.

 

[CyBeRino]

In that case then I guess contract wise the best thing to do is just go with 12 month contracts or just buy the phone outright

If you have the money, just buy the phone and get a SIM-only contract. You're paying your own subsidy anyway.

It'll give you the freedom to do whatever you want later. The next iPhone not to your liking? Keep this one. With a subsidised phone, if you do that you're overpaying for the phone because you'd keep paying for the "subsidy". If you jsut buy it however, it gets cheaper (relatively of course) the longer you use it.

 

[DryEyez]

If I buy an iPhone outright then had a 30 day rolling contract it would work out around £670 for the year or alternatively a 12 month contract works out at £770. So not that much difference. Think I will just do that next time round

 

[aquadisiac]

i currently have a 4S with sprint. do i just add a line and buy the 5? but then what do i do with the line that has the 4S? And how would i use my phone number for the 4S with my 5? Im confused if you cant tell