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New Contract, Old Phone. Upgrade eligible?

A

AnthonyCM

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 17, 2007
202
7
My wife is done with the Palm Pre. Great software, crappy hardware. Here's the question:

If I give her my old iPhone (1st gen.) and put her on AT&T, will she be eligible for the reduced upgrade pricing when the iP5 comes out? In other words, is she only able to utilize reduced phone pricing when she first signs up to AT&T, or can she use that privilege when the new phone comes out?

Thanks,
-anthony
 
Nope only in 2 years will she be able to get reduced pricing again. Or possibly one year mark for some people.
 
AnthonyCM said:
My wife is done with the Palm Pre. Great software, crappy hardware. Here's the question:

If I give her my old iPhone (1st gen.) and put her on AT&T, will she be eligible for the reduced upgrade pricing when the iP5 comes out? In other words, is she only able to utilize reduced phone pricing when she first signs up to AT&T, or can she use that privilege when the new phone comes out?

Thanks,
-anthony
Click to expand...

Well, I know on Verizon that this is possible; I don't know about ATT. The iPhone 5 won't be out until June of 2012, the 4S will be out most likely in September though.
 
AreYouIn? said:
Nope only in 2 years will she be able to get reduced pricing again. Or possibly one year mark for some people.
Click to expand...

Um, if I understand right, I don't think you got the question.

It sounds like his wife isn't on AT&T right now (note the "and put her on AT&T" which implies she's on something different).

I'd ask AT&T. I suspect that if you already have an account with AT&T and you just add her as a line (but she doesn't sign a 2 year contract), that you'll be fine. She'll just need to sign a 2 year contract when she does want to get subsidized pricing (The pricing is incentive to sign a contract). And I know that even if she is an added line that signing a 2 year contract will still get her a subsidized price even though she's an added line to a current plan (my iphone is an added line to my roommate's account and we have a family plan. I was even told I could upgrade my iphone before he did his but that would mean that if he decided to leave AT&T before my contract was up I'd have to be able to have a good enough credit score in order to transfer the plan in my name or he'd end up having to trust that I'd pay the bills cause if I stopped paying/tried to leave early it would be on his credit/responsibility). Basically I think they'll allow you to add a line without a new contract being signed. But, here is the important thing, I could be wrong (about the adding a line without her signing a 2 year contract) so ask AT&T about this.

But, I'm pretty sure that if she starts her own account on AT&T, they will require her to sign a contract (basically I don't think they will allow month to month for a single user unless you have a pay by the minute phone kinda deal and they don't allow that for iphones... though I did hear a rumor real recently on here that they had started having pay per minute plans for iphones so once again, I could be wrong ;) ).
 
Last edited:
AreYouIn? said:
Nope only in 2 years will she be able to get reduced pricing again. Or possibly one year mark for some people.
Click to expand...
False. Once you sign a contract the upgrade discount is on the line/account. You can wait and use it whenever you want, however most people would not do this because the only reason to sign a contract is to get the discounted hardware.

To answer the OP: it would work fine, but if you'd rather keep her options open, you might want to keep her off contract until it actually comes out.
 
pyro008 said:
False. Once you sign a contract the upgrade discount is on the line/account. You can wait and use it whenever you want, however most people would not do this because the only reason to sign a contract is to get the discounted hardware.

To answer the OP: it would work fine, but if you'd rather keep her options open, you might want to keep her off contract until it actually comes out.
Click to expand...

Not always. I have definitely been in the same situation and been refused an upgrade by AT&T. In my case I canceled the line (there was no contract) and added the line again. I know it doesn't sound right, but that's what I had to do.
 
If you just activated a new line and didn't buy any hardware from AT&T than you'll be fine.

I did this when I switched to AT&T (no contract, had iPhone 3G w/ T-Mobile) and was eligible to get the iPhone 4 @ $200.
 
dave420 said:
Not always. I have definitely been in the same situation and been refused an upgrade by AT&T. In my case I canceled the line (there was no contract) and added the line again. I know it doesn't sound right, but that's what I had to do.
Click to expand...
If there was no contract why would you be eligible for an upgrade?
 
Yes, you'll be able to upgrade to the iPhone 5 since you won't be signing a contract by using your own device. I'd be careful about signing up through iTunes just in case it automatically registers you into a 2 year contract (which I believe it does). I would just go to the store and tell them you that you have the device so you don't need to sign a contract.
 
pyro008 said:
If there was no contract why would you be eligible for an upgrade?
Click to expand...

I'm upgrade eligible, and I didn't sign a contract. I had canceled my account with AT&T after purchasing the iPhone 4 to go to a different carrier. After I couldn't deal without my iPhone, I went back. I made sure to tell them that I wasn't interested in signing a contract, since I already had the phone that I was going to be using. It wasn't an issue at all. No contract for now, and I can get the new iPhone when it comes out at the 2-year price contract price.
 
megsalias said:
I'm upgrade eligible, and I didn't sign a contract. I had canceled my account with AT&T after purchasing the iPhone 4 to go to a different carrier. After I couldn't deal without my iPhone, I went back. I made sure to tell them that I wasn't interested in signing a contract, since I already had the phone that I was going to be using. It wasn't an issue at all. No contract for now, and I can get the new iPhone when it comes out at the 2-year price contract price.
Click to expand...
Obviously...if you sign a contract.
 
pyro008 said:
If there was no contract why would you be eligible for an upgrade?
Click to expand...

It was a line on a family plan. All 3 lines were able to be canceled without an ETF (that's what I meant by no contract), but one line was not eligible for an upgrade. I argued with the guys at the AT&T store for a while, but in the end I just canceled that line and added a new one.
 
pyro008 said:
False. Once you sign a contract the upgrade discount is on the line/account. You can wait and use it whenever you want, however most people would not do this because the only reason to sign a contract is to get the discounted hardware.

To answer the OP: it would work fine, but if you'd rather keep her options open, you might want to keep her off contract until it actually comes out.
Click to expand...

I agree. If you start her a new line she would be available for a full upgrade until she uses it. She would be available for a full upgrade when she wants it.
 
dave420 said:
It was a line on a family plan. All 3 lines were able to be canceled without an ETF (that's what I meant by no contract), but one line was not eligible for an upgrade. I argued with the guys at the AT&T store for a while, but in the end I just canceled that line and added a new one.
Click to expand...
That seems like more of a glitch than a policy. I don't know how there could be a reason why they would not give you the discount if you were willing to sign a new 2 year contract with them.
 
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