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Ok... I just did the whole deal a few hours ago.
I ended up buying an iPhone 4 off of CL for $80 and traded that in instead of my 5S. I traded in the 4S for $120 since it would have cost me another $80 to find a phone that I could trade in instead and the market is glutted with them and you really can't get a lot over $200 for them, so I didn't figure it was worth it. Maybe I could have made $50, but I just wanted to get this done. I also traded in a Blackberry Curve 8520. The other line didn't have an ETF, so I didn't trade in anything else.

I got 2 new 5Ss and 2 new 5Cs. I'll sell my 5S (which is unlocked) for at least $600 or so. I was in the store for about 1:45, which is not too bad.


Ah, I guess they caught on. Was there a reason you didn't get a cheaper phone from tmobile and use the unlocked 5s you already had?
 
Ah, I guess they caught on. Was there a reason you didn't get a cheaper phone from tmobile and use the unlocked 5s you already had?

I thought about that, but for a couple of reasons I decided to get a new one and sell the old one. The old 5S is unlocked and probably worth $600. Plus, I wanted to take advantage of the "Jump" plan on my line so I can upgrade my phone every 6 months.
 
One of my bosses at my job has Sprint and an Android phone. He still can not get LTE here in Denver. Meanwhile, my 5S on T-Mobile is flying high on LTE nearly everywhere I go.
That's awesome. T-Mobile has its moments. Also, I'm sure your network isn't the only thing flying high in Denver as of late. ;)
 
You can trade in any phone that is on their list of approved phones. It has to at least power on and not have a cracked screen. Of course you can bring your number.

Great news that you got this done, and thanks for the update. Hopefully this still will work when I go to change service in a few months (ATT is giving $20 off for 3 months when I threatened to leave--not enough to convince me to stay for good, but enough that it would still be cheaper for me to stay for a few months).
 
T-Mobile's 'Un-Carrier 4.0' Initiative Offers Up to $350 Per Line to Switch C...

I thought about that, but for a couple of reasons I decided to get a new one and sell the old one. The old 5S is unlocked and probably worth $600. Plus, I wanted to take advantage of the "Jump" plan on my line so I can upgrade my phone every 6 months.


Ah that makes sense. So jump is an extra $10 ontop of device fee but you have to return it upon upgrade? Also did they say anything about how long it'll take to process the ETF credit? On the website it says up to 8 weeks. If I switch I'm hoping Att will unlock my phones but then I'll have to put up the ETF upfront if I want to use my phones right away.

Great news that you got this done, and thanks for the update. Hopefully this still will work when I go to change service in a few months (ATT is giving $20 off for 3 months when I threatened to leave--not enough to convince me to stay for good, but enough that it would still be cheaper for me to stay for a few months).


Same here, I got $40 off for 6 months. I'm considering switching soon anyway though. The plans would be even with the discount but I'm nervous about any other changes TMO decides to make that would make switching more costly.

I've been testing the network and it's pretty decent in Los Angeles/Orange County. Building penetration is definitely weaker than AT&T but LTE speeds are on par in open areas and sometimes faster.
 
I've been testing the network and it's pretty decent in Los Angeles/Orange County. Building penetration is definitely weaker than AT&T but LTE speeds are on par in open areas and sometimes faster.
Didn't T-Mobile buy 700Mhz spectrum from Verizon recently? Isn't that supposed to provide building penetration? They mentioned it a bit in the CES presser.
 
Didn't T-Mobile buy 700Mhz spectrum from Verizon recently? Isn't that supposed to provide building penetration? They mentioned it a bit in the CES presser.


Yes. Provided the customer has compatible equipment and 700 A block is on air.
 
Ah that makes sense. So jump is an extra $10 ontop of device fee but you have to return it upon upgrade? Also did they say anything about how long it'll take to process the ETF credit? On the website it says up to 8 weeks. If I switch I'm hoping Att will unlock my phones but then I'll have to put up the ETF upfront if I want to use my phones right away.

I've been testing the network and it's pretty decent in Los Angeles/Orange County. Building penetration is definitely weaker than AT&T but LTE speeds are on par in open areas and sometimes faster.

You have to pay the ETF up front anyway and submit to T-Mobile for reimbursement. They don't pay it for you. That's the bummer about this, you probably have to use an unlocked or T-Mobile phone as backup until ATT unlocks your device. I have two old iPhones that are unlocked, one will be traded in, one used until my 5S gets unlocked. I am nervous about them changing things soon as well, so might just try to get this done soon.
 
Know what you are getting into.

Went down to the T-Mobile store to take them up on this offer. I have a 32 GB iphone 5 and thought it would be nice to use this to get the 5s. What they don't tell you is that it is an in store only promo, and you can only use this to switch to what they carry in-store. T-Mobile apparently doesn't carry anything other than the 16 GB 5s, 5c, and very few 32 GB 5c.

To be fair they did try to work with me until he told me with a straight face, that they could order me a 32GB with a lot of work on my side of coordinating terminations, shipping of my phone submitting my bill etc. And the price of all of this? $100 down and $25/month for 24 months... :eek: $700 for an upgrade? No thank you.
 
Went down to the T-Mobile store to take them up on this offer. (... Snip ...)
So you're saying they'd pay your ETF, order you the new 5S 32GB, but not give you any trade in credit for the iPhone 5? I'd e-mail John Legere (CEO) about that then. He has publicly asked customers to e-mail him with problems: john.legere@t-mobile.com

I e-mailed him shortly after the launch of their free 200 meg LTE for tablets deal launch. A retail store had turned me down since I only wanted only the 200 meg data by itself.

A T-mobile exec called me back, apologized for my experience, and explained the store was wrong. They also stayed with me on the line while customer service took my order for only a SIM for only the 200 meg (for my existing first gen 3G iPad).

Specifically, John wants to know where the "pain points" are for existing or switching customers because he wants to eliminate them. Your case sounds exactly like a "pain point". You want to switch and setup service, but can't because of a technicality.

This is the whole premise behind eliminating contracts, the carrier subsidy, offering free tablet data, their JUMP! trade in program, and paying off the whole families ETF charges.

So e-mail him. john.legere@t-mobile.com tell him about your in store experience. Provide your phone number (obviously) so you can be given a call back.
 
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T-Mobile's 'Un-Carrier 4.0' Initiative Offers Up to $350 Per Line to Switch C...

You have to pay the ETF up front anyway and submit to T-Mobile for reimbursement. They don't pay it for you. That's the bummer about this, you probably have to use an unlocked or T-Mobile phone as backup until ATT unlocks your device. I have two old iPhones that are unlocked, one will be traded in, one used until my 5S gets unlocked. I am nervous about them changing things soon as well, so might just try to get this done soon.


I've unlocked an AT&T phone once and it took about a day. But I'm guessing a good part of the waiting process is getting the ETF bill?

Went down to the T-Mobile store to take them up on this offer. I have a 32 GB iphone 5 and thought it would be nice to use this to get the 5s. What they don't tell you is that it is an in store only promo, and you can only use this to switch to what they carry in-store. T-Mobile apparently doesn't carry anything other than the 16 GB 5s, 5c, and very few 32 GB 5c.



To be fair they did try to work with me until he told me with a straight face, that they could order me a 32GB with a lot of work on my side of coordinating terminations, shipping of my phone submitting my bill etc. And the price of all of this? $100 down and $25/month for 24 months... :eek: $700 for an upgrade? No thank you.


But isn't a 32gb iPhone on AT&T + ETF/contract about that much?
 
I've unlocked an AT&T phone once and it took about a day. But I'm guessing a good part of the waiting process is getting the ETF bill?

Right, so you basically have to wait until they've generated your bill, then you pay it, and then finally terminated your contract, then unlock request. Depending on how you time it, might take a while. In the meantime, you'd be stuck with a locked phone.

I've unlocked two 4's through ATT. One worked immediately, another never went through properly and I had to call customer service and put in a case # to get them to deal with it, which took at least a week but that was over the holidays.
 
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So I called Verizon today and brought up this deal being offered by T-Mobile. I asked them what they could do for me to keep me from switching...... they basically said don't let the door hit me in the a** on the way out. :mad:

I was going to call Verizon also and see if they would match what my T-Mobile bill would be but I guess that probably won't work now.
 
Right, so you basically have to wait until they've generated your bill, then you pay it, and then finally terminated your contract, then unlock request. Depending on how you time it, might take a while. In the meantime, you'd be stuck with a locked phone.
When I signed up the family for T-Mobile. That was how it happened for my brother. T-mobile ported my brother's and his wifes phone number to T-mo. That cancels the AT&T service. The store provided them two loaner (dumb) phones while he paid his final bill and requested unlock from AT&T for their two iPhone 4S.

AT&T was slow as molasses. They took 5 days to finalize his bill. Then took 5 days to grant the unlock. But after that he was set.

I've unlocked two 4's through ATT. One worked immediately, another never went through properly and I had to call customer service and put in a case # to get them to deal with it, which took at least a week but that was over the holidays.
I unlocked my old iPhone 4 with AT&T like the week after first announced they were finally going to offer unlocks. At that time, it was done with an operator. You called AT&T and asked for the unlock department. They asked why you wanted an unlock, then verified if your contract was completed or your final bill (and ETF, if any) was paid, if yes, then they entered your IMEI and immediately your phone was unlocked. Took 5 mins, maybe? for me.

They changed it a while back, though, so my brother had to go to a website though. You submit your phone number, IMEI, and stuff, then are told to wait 5 days.
 
Why not buy a cheapo phone from them while you wait for your unlock? You'll probably be out the same amount of money as reselling.


Yep, I planned to get a cheapo phone and resell it. Just now I have to use it until my phone is unlocked.
 
Making you trade in your phone is how they make the money they paid for your ETF back, and also forcing you to buy their own phone. The devil is always in the details.

If they are taking some crappy throwaway device though... seems like a stupid rule to implement. Guess they figue most wont bother to grab said device.
 
i have unlim data with att... for 2 months now, theyve refused to offer any sort of discount on my 3 lines. i thought maybe with this announcement they would change their tune... no luck. it looks like they really want to phase out unlim data customers. before 2 months ago, it was SUPER EASY to get a monthly discount from them.

they only thing they say to me is "it looks like you can save money by swithching to out family share plan".
 
Went down to the T-Mobile store to take them up on this offer. I have a 32 GB iphone 5 and thought it would be nice to use this to get the 5s. What they don't tell you is that it is an in store only promo, and you can only use this to switch to what they carry in-store. T-Mobile apparently doesn't carry anything other than the 16 GB 5s, 5c, and very few 32 GB 5c.

To be fair they did try to work with me until he told me with a straight face, that they could order me a 32GB with a lot of work on my side of coordinating terminations, shipping of my phone submitting my bill etc. And the price of all of this? $100 down and $25/month for 24 months... :eek: $700 for an upgrade? No thank you.

Give a call to T-Mobile and explain what you want to do. I was in a similar situation where I was switching from Sprint to T-Mobile. The iPhone 5 I wanted was a 32GB which the stores did not carry at the time. I ordered the 32GB iPhone from the T-Mobile website. I called T-Mobile and they sent me a shipping label so that I could mail them my Sprint iPhone 4S to trade-in.
 
i have unlim data with att... for 2 months now, theyve refused to offer any sort of discount on my 3 lines. i thought maybe with this announcement they would change their tune... no luck. it looks like they really want to phase out unlim data customers. before 2 months ago, it was SUPER EASY to get a monthly discount from them.



they only thing they say to me is "it looks like you can save money by swithching to out family share plan".


Yep, I think it will be tough for single lines with unlimited data to get anything from retentions. Luckily I have 3 lines (unlimited in my line, 3gb on others) and they seem to value that. Having unlimited data on Att is sort of a holy grail still for many. I have rarely used more than 3gb/month the past year but I still have a hard time even thinking about letting it go.
 
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