T-mobile pre-paid with Apple Upgrade Program Launch Day

[x2thaz]

Has anyone been able to get their new iphone 6s/6s plus on AUP with t-mobile prepaid in store? If so could you explain to us the process or anything we should know before hand?

I have been reading mixed reviews regarding prepaid customers getting turned away because it does not work with prepaid only post paid accounts. Just want to know if this is true so I can prepare to pay for the device upfront.

Thanks

 

[GTO62]

I'll repost my post from the "Iphone upgrade plan causing headaches" thread here if it helps...
I'd strongly recommend you to be ready to pay upfront, but who knows, maybe you will get lucky...

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So, I am a T-mobile customer on a prepaid plan, and had the appointment to purchase the iphone 6s and the IUP today. When time came they entered my account details and got back "you are not authorized to view this account". The Apple person helping me went to talk to the store manager and he said prepaid plans are not eligible for IUP, so they brought me a postpaid plan activation kit with T-mobile ($70/month or something) and told me I could get on the IUP by signing-up for that on the spot, or otherwise I'd have to just pay full price for the phone. I paid full price for the phone.
If prepaid customers are really ineligible, the information on the IUP on Apple's website is misleading at best, and dishonest at worst. Seems like a simple scam orchestrated with providers to get more people on their postpaid plans.

It also appears some people here with prepaid plans managed to get on the IUP, so it may vary with store management competency. Anyway, it would be great if someone here could clarify which type of plans are actually eligible for the IUP.
If I was a victim of a confused store manager, I would really like to still sign up for the IUP if T-mobile pre-paid plans are eligible. Kinda sucks to spend $1000 on a new gadget and leave the store with a sour mouth...
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[x2thaz]

I just got back from the Apple store and was not pleased. The wait time was very short and was able to speak with a specialist within walking in the door and my iphone in hand. They refused to do a prepaid IUP saying they can only do Post paid accounts which i think is horrible and like the other member said misleading. No where does it say only for Post paid accounts and why does it have to be activated through the carrier if Apple is doing it? I had to pay for it upfront which I was not happy about and took my iphone and left the store within 20 mins. I even spoke with the "training specialist" who gave the trainings on different scenarios to other specialist and he said no, only post paid.


What I did notice is that the Apple specialist has to log into their Apple Connect portal to access the carrierʻs site/portal. Once they got into tmobile portal i gave them cell and account password which they said is your last 4 of your SSN. Since Prepaid dont have SSN i gave them my pin # and it pop up as being Prepaid and said no we cannot do Prepaid. It was frustrating and just paid and left. Hope you have better luck.

I'll repost my post from the "Iphone upgrade plan causing headaches" thread here if it helps...
I'd strongly recommend you to be ready to pay upfront, but who knows, maybe you will get lucky...

=======
So, I am a T-mobile customer on a prepaid plan, and had the appointment to purchase the iphone 6s and the IUP today. When time came they entered my account details and got back "you are not authorized to view this account". The Apple person helping me went to talk to the store manager and he said prepaid plans are not eligible for IUP, so they brought me a postpaid plan activation kit with T-mobile ($70/month or something) and told me I could get on the IUP by signing-up for that on the spot, or otherwise I'd have to just pay full price for the phone. I paid full price for the phone.
If prepaid customers are really ineligible, the information on the IUP on Apple's website is misleading at best, and dishonest at worst. Seems like a simple scam orchestrated with providers to get more people on their postpaid plans.

It also appears some people here with prepaid plans managed to get on the IUP, so it may vary with store management competency. Anyway, it would be great if someone here could clarify which type of plans are actually eligible for the IUP.
If I was a victim of a confused store manager, I would really like to still sign up for the IUP if T-mobile pre-paid plans are eligible. Kinda sucks to spend $1000 on a new gadget and leave the store with a sour mouth...
=======

 

[crfoot]

I was wanting to see if I could set-up a NEW Verizon prepaid account with AUP. I was going to just throw the Sim and be out a month and put my US Cellular Sim card in it.

Apperantly that's not possibility. Would love to here other people's experiences with this...

 

[GTO62]

I just got back from the Apple store and was not pleased. The wait time was very short and was able to speak with a specialist within walking in the door and my iphone in hand. They refused to do a prepaid IUP saying they can only do Post paid accounts which i think is horrible and like the other member said misleading. No where does it say only for Post paid accounts and why does it have to be activated through the carrier if Apple is doing it? I had to pay for it upfront which I was not happy about and took my iphone and left the store within 20 mins. I even spoke with the "training specialist" who gave the trainings on different scenarios to other specialist and he said no, only post paid.


What I did notice is that the Apple specialist has to log into their Apple Connect portal to access the carrierʻs site/portal. Once they got into tmobile portal i gave them cell and account password which they said is your last 4 of your SSN. Since Prepaid dont have SSN i gave them my pin # and it pop up as being Prepaid and said no we cannot do Prepaid. It was frustrating and just paid and left. Hope you have better luck.

Unfortunately, your experience was identical to mine, with the exception that for my account they did use the SSN. I also chatted with an Apple support representative and after some running around, the conclusion was that this is for people who already have postpaid plans or are willing to start a new one. There is a person on this forum that claimed success for a $30 T-Mobile prepaid plan just like mine https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/iphone-upgrade-program-merged.1913521/page-59#post-21957241
The Apple person I chatted with, dismissed it as "People will write anything in forums". Perhaps there is a way around the Apple Connect portal not being authorized to view prepaid accounts, but if there is, very few Apple people seem to know about it...

 

[crfoot]

I've got a chat discussion with an Apple employee below.
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Now Chatting with Apple

Welcome to Apple.
What can we do for you today?

Hello,

I'm looking for information on the new Apple upgrade program.

Please wait while I connect you with an Apple Specialist.

Now Chatting with Maranda

Hi there! Welcome to Apple. I trust you are having a wonderful day! My name is Maranda. I am happy to help you with the iPhone upgrade program

Thanks Maranda! I understand the iPhones are unlocked, and I don't currently use one of the big 4 carriers.

I am on US Cellular. Which would be the same phones as a Sprint or Verizon in terms of cellular bands.

That is correct. However, you do have to activate with one of the 4 main carriers before you can leave the store. Even if it is a prepaid plan, you would need to do this in order to take part of the program. After that however, you can swap carriers.

So if I signed up for a prepaid plan...and then stopped using the prepay service immediatly. I could use the phone on my network. Would I still have to be active on one of the big 4 to be eligible for the upgrade?

Correct you can then move it to your network. You do n to have to be active with them once you purchase. You are free to move on.

How do you go about upgrading when the new phones come out?

Just head into an Apple Store?

Correct. Just head to the Apple Store and as long as 50% of your installment is paid you can upgrade.

Awesome, thanks for the information.

 

[sketdansuu]

I successfully got them to activate with my prepaid plan. All you have to do is tell them you account number is your phone number and it will go through (along with putting in SSN and information, i.e. Full Name, Billing Address DOB, etc) It was a painless process, took about 10 mins. I actually waited in line longer because I thought it was first come first serve so I got there an hour earlier than my appointment

 

[crfoot]

I successfully got them to activate with my prepaid plan. All you have to do is tell them you account number is your phone number and it will go through (along with putting in SSN and information, i.e. Full Name, Billing Address DOB, etc) It was a painless process, took about 10 mins. I actually waited in line longer because I thought it was first come first serve so I got there an hour earlier than my appointment

Was that t-mobile?

 

[sketdansuu]

Was that t-mobile?

Yes

 

[UnusedLoginID]

I successfully got them to activate with my prepaid plan. All you have to do is tell them you account number is your phone number and it will go through (along with putting in SSN and information, i.e. Full Name, Billing Address DOB, etc) It was a painless process, took about 10 mins. I actually waited in line longer because I thought it was first come first serve so I got there an hour earlier than my appointment

Trust me, you may think you have a pre-paid plan but you don't.
You're post-paid… prepaid plans don't require a Social security number.

 

[sketdansuu]

Trust me, you may think you have a pre-paid plan but you don't.
You're post-paid… prepaid plans don't require a Social security number.

no, I'm pretty sure I'm prepaid because I'm using the 100mins, unlimited text, 5G LTE plan and I pay exactly $33 (tax included) every month.

I have nothing to gain by saying I got mine through, so whether you believe me or not -- I don't really care. Just saying it worked for me, so you may want to try it.

 

[crfoot]

Has anybody looked at starting a "new" account and just cancelling it to get it on another carrier or their current pre-paid account?