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T-Mobile Jump On Demand Options

parseckadet

parseckadet

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 13, 2010
1,495
1,278
Denver, CO
I'm looking for some opinions from folks who have an understanding of how the T-Mobile Jump On Demand plan works (and please, no comments on why carrier X is better).

First, I don't even really know what my options are and T-Mobile won't even tell me unless I go to one of their stores. I'd prefer to just have everything figured out before then so I can just be in and out. So I've got a 64GB 6S Plus on the Jump On Demand plan, and the condition is pretty much perfect. In mid-July I'll have to pay off my phone for $218. So here are the options as I see them:
1: Trade in for a 128GB 7 Plus, then trade in again in September/October for the 7S/8. This is the direction I'm leaning in, but does anyone know if I'll have to pay anything up front for doing this?

2: Pay off the 6S Plus now, then sell it when the new ones come out. I've started to hate doing this because CL and eBay are nothing more than cesspools of scammers. I've done it in the past, but it's something I really would prefer to not do anymore, even if it means getting less money for my phone.

I'm open to other suggestions as well, but I'm really leaning towards option 1. If anyone can give me details on what to expect as far as what I might be expected to pay I would be appreciative.
 
Option 1 I think you might have to pay a down payment to get the Plus model and non-base model (if you want 128gb). I believe when I was on JoD, I got the middle plus model and paid around $100-$200 at the time.
 
parseckadet said:
I'm looking for some opinions from folks who have an understanding of how the T-Mobile Jump On Demand plan works (and please, no comments on why carrier X is better).

First, I don't even really know what my options are and T-Mobile won't even tell me unless I go to one of their stores. I'd prefer to just have everything figured out before then so I can just be in and out. So I've got a 64GB 6S Plus on the Jump On Demand plan, and the condition is pretty much perfect. In mid-July I'll have to pay off my phone for $218. So here are the options as I see them:
1: Trade in for a 128GB 7 Plus, then trade in again in September/October for the 7S/8. This is the direction I'm leaning in, but does anyone know if I'll have to pay anything up front for doing this?

2: Pay off the 6S Plus now, then sell it when the new ones come out. I've started to hate doing this because CL and eBay are nothing more than cesspools of scammers. I've done it in the past, but it's something I really would prefer to not do anymore, even if it means getting less money for my phone.

I'm open to other suggestions as well, but I'm really leaning towards option 1. If anyone can give me details on what to expect as far as what I might be expected to pay I would be appreciative.
Click to expand...


Former employee here:

You have three options:

1. Pay off the device and it's yours to keep
2. Turn the device in (it only has to power on, not be water damaged, no glass cracks) and call it even.
3. Trade your device in and pick a new phone. Your 18 month JOD term renews at new payments for whatever device you pick.

As for options you mentioned, option 1 will work best for you. There are no taxes due on JOD plans, but there are down payments for higher storage tiers. I believe on a 7+ 128 it's $150 that has to be put up front.
 
mrgeekguymd said:
As for options you mentioned, option 1 will work best for you. There are no taxes due on JOD plans, but there are down payments for higher storage tiers. I believe on a 7+ 128 it's $150 that has to be put up front.
Click to expand...
I assume I'd have to pay that $150 again when I upgrade to the new one in the fall, correct? Might still be worth doing, not sure.
 
Ok, so now that my options are laid out, anyone have any opinions on what they would do? It kind of sucks upgrading 3 months before the next release. I had intended to upgrade to the 7+ when it was released, but then life happened and I didn't want to spend the money at the time.

The more I think about it the more I'm leaning toward buying out the phone to get off Jump On Demand. Back when I signed up T-Mobile was promoting it and letting people cross upgrade on the storage tiers for free. In other words, if you traded in a 64GB iPhone, they wouldn't charge you the extra $100 for the (then) new 64GB iPhone. These days T-Mobile seems to wish Jump would just go away.
 
mrgeekguymd said:
2. Turn the device in (it only has to power on, not be water damaged, no glass cracks) and call it even.
Click to expand...
I don't believe that's allowed. With JOD you either have to pay off the phone and keep it, or trade it in and Jump to another phone. They don't let you trade it in and "call it even" with what you owe. There is a workaround for this though, you "Jump" to a new phone with $0 down payment, don't sign the agreement, then turn in your iPhone and JOD is cancelled.

OP, I would not wait to do JOD with the next iPhone. I don't know how it worked last year, but you likely won't get it nearly as early as you would if you bought it outright from Apple once pre-orders go live.
 
geoff5093 said:
I don't believe that's allowed. With JOD you either have to pay off the phone and keep it, or trade it in and Jump to another phone. They don't let you trade it in and "call it even" with what you owe. There is a workaround for this though, you "Jump" to a new phone with $0 down payment, don't sign the agreement, then turn in your iPhone and JOD is cancelled.

OP, I would not wait to do JOD with the next iPhone. I don't know how it worked last year, but you likely won't get it nearly as early as you would if you bought it outright from Apple once pre-orders go live.
Click to expand...

Yes it is. There is nothing you owe on the phone should you choose to hand it over at the end of the agreement, provided it's in acceptable condition. I know this as a former employee and having done that on one of my personal lines. JOD is a lease agreement. The rules are very similar to a car lease.
 
mrgeekguymd said:
Yes it is. There is nothing you owe on the phone should you choose to hand it over at the end of the agreement, provided it's in acceptable condition. I know this as a former employee and having done that on one of my personal lines. JOD is a lease agreement. The rules are very similar to a car lease.
Click to expand...
Except you can't turn in a car until your lease is up. It's the same here, you can't turn around and turn in your phone on JOD at anytime to end your lease. The JOD page specifically says the only way to get out of it is to pay off the remaining balance. Otherwise there would not be the need to do the workaround of jumping to a new phone and not signing the contract, or jumping and returning it within 14 days.
 
geoff5093 said:
Except you can't turn in a car until your lease is up. It's the same here, you can't turn around and turn in your phone on JOD at anytime to end your lease. The JOD page specifically says the only way to get out of it is to pay off the remaining balance. Otherwise there would not be the need to do the workaround of jumping to a new phone and not signing the contract, or jumping and returning it within 14 days.
Click to expand...

I don't think you understand...

At the end of your lease (when your 18 months are up), you can buy the phone for preset amount, JUMP, or turn it in.

You can also turn in your phone whenever during the 18 months, but you will be responsible for the remaining payments. For instance, you have a $500 phone with $200 end-of-lease buyout, but you choose to cancel after month two (after, say paying $30/mo). Once you turn your device in, you will be billed the remaining $440. Because you've turned the device in acceptable condition, you do not need to pay the $200.

Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.
 
mrgeekguymd said:
I don't think you understand...

At the end of your lease (when your 18 months are up), you can buy the phone for preset amount, JUMP, or turn it in.

You can also turn in your phone whenever during the 18 months, but you will be responsible for the remaining payments. For instance, you have a $500 phone with $200 end-of-lease buyout, but you choose to cancel after month two (after, say paying $30/mo). Once you turn your device in, you will be billed the remaining $440. Because you've turned the device in acceptable condition, you do not need to pay the $200.

Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.
Click to expand...
Okay yes I know what you mean now, I thought you meant turn it in at anytime and get out of JOD.
 
I was in exactly the same situation as you in the last two months (my phone and my wife's phone were one month apart with JOD).

What we chose to do was go from the 64GB 6S+ to 32GB 7+ via JOD.

Start a new lease for nothing down with the plan to jump either a 7S+ or 8 in a few months.

After doing the math, I realized that I would be fine with 32GB because of iCloud photos and storage optimization.

I previously had about 15-18GB free on my 6S+, but with the 7+ 32GB I still have about 10GB free.

I expect that iOS 11 will help even more with HEVC videos and HEIF images.

It just was not worth it to pay for even more storage for a 7+ that I expect I will only keep for six months at most.

If you can get by with the smaller storage for a few months, it is a much better decision to NOT pay for the upgraded memory.

I'm hoping that the 7S/8 may have 64GB as the baseline memory so I won't have to pay extra anyway.
 
parseckadet said:
I'm looking for some opinions from folks who have an understanding of how the T-Mobile Jump On Demand plan works (and please, no comments on why carrier X is better).

First, I don't even really know what my options are and T-Mobile won't even tell me unless I go to one of their stores. I'd prefer to just have everything figured out before then so I can just be in and out. So I've got a 64GB 6S Plus on the Jump On Demand plan, and the condition is pretty much perfect. In mid-July I'll have to pay off my phone for $218. So here are the options as I see them:
1: Trade in for a 128GB 7 Plus, then trade in again in September/October for the 7S/8. This is the direction I'm leaning in, but does anyone know if I'll have to pay anything up front for doing this?

2: Pay off the 6S Plus now, then sell it when the new ones come out. I've started to hate doing this because CL and eBay are nothing more than cesspools of scammers. I've done it in the past, but it's something I really would prefer to not do anymore, even if it means getting less money for my phone.

I'm open to other suggestions as well, but I'm really leaning towards option 1. If anyone can give me details on what to expect as far as what I might be expected to pay I would be appreciative.
Click to expand...

Stop right there.

Option 1: you want to get the current 7+ and then the 7s+ (or the new phone design) in 4 months time?

Are you thinking clearly?
 
bufffilm said:
Stop right there.

Option 1: you want to get the current 7+ and then the 7s+ (or the new phone design) in 4 months time?

Are you thinking clearly?
Click to expand...
Did you read the entire thread? If I do nothing I have to pay $218 and I keep my current 64GB 6S+. Or I pay $150, trade in the 6S+, and get a 128GB 7+. I'll be paying the $150 in three months to upgrade to the 7S/8 in either scenario. It sounds bonkers at first glance, but if you stop and think it's not really.
 
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