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dr.devious

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 30, 2008
206
56
Truckee Meadows, NV
I bought my 32GB Air using AT&T Next program. I am past my return period and now I want a retina Mini. I have a friend that has an AT&T rMini that wants to trade, can I trade with him without running afoul of AT&T?
 
As long as you keep paying the bill, ATT won't give a ****.

This. And swap the sims.

The down side to this is that come next fall, when there are new iPads, you won't be able to upgrade by turning in your old ipad to AT&T for the newest model, which is one of the biggest benefits of Next. AT&T requires you trade in the ipad they gave you when you signed up, if you want a new one. You will have to pay off your already traded Air for another 8 months, since you no longer have it in your possession.

Unless your friend's ipad is worth significantly more than yours, you may be better off selling yours outright, paying AT&T the balance you own them for the Air, and signing a new Next contract for the ipad you want.
 
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This. And swap the sims.

The down side to this is that come next fall, when there are new iPads, you won't be able to upgrade by turning in your old ipad to AT&T for the newest model, which is one of the biggest benefits of Next. AT&T requires you trade in the ipad they gave you when you signed up, if you want a new one. You will have to pay off your already traded Air for another 8 months, since you no longer have it in your possession.

Unless your friend's ipad is worth significantly more than yours, you may be better off selling yours outright, paying AT&T the balance you own them for the Air, and signing a new Next contract for the ipad you want.

I work for AT&T and this sums it up perfectly. Thank you.
 
This. And swap the sims.

The down side to this is that come next fall, when there are new iPads, you won't be able to upgrade by turning in your old ipad to AT&T for the newest model, which is one of the biggest benefits of Next. AT&T requires you trade in the ipad they gave you when you signed up, if you want a new one. You will have to pay off your already traded Air for another 8 months, since you no longer have it in your possession.

Unless your friend's ipad is worth significantly more than yours, you may be better off selling yours outright, paying AT&T the balance you own them for the Air, and signing a new Next contract for the ipad you want.

Thank you for posting this, I was just thinking about that...
 
Unless your friend's ipad is worth significantly more than yours, you may be better off selling yours outright, paying AT&T the balance you own them for the Air, and signing a new Next contract for the ipad you want.

I am not so sure they offer Next for tablets anymore. On the website, I noticed they are calling it an "Installment Plan" for tablets and the "Next Plan" for phones. According to the fine print, you still put $0 down with no activation and can pay in installments, but you aren't able to trade it in after 12 months like you can with a smartphone.

Maybe an AT&T employee can comment, but I think the plan has changed.
 
I am not so sure they offer Next for tablets anymore. On the website, I noticed they are calling it an "Installment Plan" for tablets and the "Next Plan" for phones. According to the fine print, you still put $0 down with no activation and can pay in installments, but you aren't able to trade it in after 12 months like you can with a smartphone.

Maybe an AT&T employee can comment, but I think the plan has changed.

When I bought my iPad Air on launch day it was next, I'm trading it in next year for the new one.
 
I am not so sure they offer Next for tablets anymore. On the website, I noticed they are calling it an "Installment Plan" for tablets and the "Next Plan" for phones. According to the fine print, you still put $0 down with no activation and can pay in installments, but you aren't able to trade it in after 12 months like you can with a smartphone.

Maybe an AT&T employee can comment, but I think the plan has changed.
i noticed that....

i think it comes down to the fact that even though cell phone providers will tell you until they're blue in the face that they pay full price for the phone and subsidize it based on a 2 year agreement, in reality there getting the phones for much cheaper then the base 649.... they even wave your last 6 payments with next if you make it to 18 months...

the tablets on the other hand, there only taking $100 off them if you buy outright, which causes me to suspect there not getting nearly the same discount they get on the phones, which makes sense, i assume for ever 5 iPhones sold an iPad with mobile connectivity is sold....

i mean the math still breaks down that they come out on top if you trade after a year.... 32*12=374 so they would only be upside down 125 on a used 1 year old iPad.... but something tells me that with all the replacements and returns etc that number is a lot smaller.
 
When I bought my iPad Air on launch day it was next, I'm trading it in next year for the new one.

Yeah, I think the change was more recent. I purchased an iPad using Next on 11/17 and my sales rep said they were going to be making changes to the program. He just wasn't sure of the exact date. Guess it's just the installment plan now with no trade option.

----------

i noticed that....

i think it comes down to the fact that even though cell phone providers will tell you until they're blue in the face that they pay full price for the phone and subsidize it based on a 2 year agreement, in reality there getting the phones for much cheaper then the base 649.... they even wave your last 6 payments with next if you make it to 18 months...

the tablets on the other hand, there only taking $100 off them if you buy outright, which causes me to suspect there not getting nearly the same discount they get on the phones, which makes sense, i assume for ever 5 iPhones sold an iPad with mobile connectivity is sold....

i mean the math still breaks down that they come out on top if you trade after a year.... 32*12=374 so they would only be upside down 125 on a used 1 year old iPad.... but something tells me that with all the replacements and returns etc that number is a lot smaller.

I think you might be right in regards to tablets. When I purchased my iPad on 11/17 using Next, my sales rep said they would be changing the program soon. I guess it's not as profitable with tablets vs. smartphones.
 
I am not so sure they offer Next for tablets anymore. On the website, I noticed they are calling it an "Installment Plan" for tablets and the "Next Plan" for phones. According to the fine print, you still put $0 down with no activation and can pay in installments, but you aren't able to trade it in after 12 months like you can with a smartphone.

Maybe an AT&T employee can comment, but I think the plan has changed.

I just bought mine on the next program on Nov.15 when I called the other day to find out where the heck it was the rep wanted to to cancel and reorder, now I know why!
 
I am not so sure they offer Next for tablets anymore. On the website, I noticed they are calling it an "Installment Plan" for tablets and the "Next Plan" for phones. According to the fine print, you still put $0 down with no activation and can pay in installments, but you aren't able to trade it in after 12 months like you can with a smartphone.

Maybe an AT&T employee can comment, but I think the plan has changed.

AT&T employee here and I can say the plan has NOT changed and we have no word on it changing. Rumor on the retail level is though that they are considering changing how Next is handled with tablets, but just like always people who did next before a certain date, we'd honor your trade in in 12 months as long as it's in good, working condition.

All just speculation though. Unfortunately if they do announce something and it's deemed proprietary, I can't chime in. But someone will leak it somewhere so keep your eyes peeled.
 
AT&T employee here and I can say the plan has NOT changed and we have no word on it changing. Rumor on the retail level is though that they are considering changing how Next is handled with tablets, but just like always people who did next before a certain date, we'd honor your trade in in 12 months as long as it's in good, working condition.

All just speculation though. Unfortunately if they do announce something and it's deemed proprietary, I can't chime in. But someone will leak it somewhere so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks for the information! Just thought it was odd that the wording was changed on the website from Next to Installment in regards to tablets. And, if you go to the Next page at ATT.com, it only talks about smartphones not tablets.
 
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Thanks for the information! Just thought it was odd that the wording was changed on the website from Next to Installment in regards to tablets. And, if you go to the Next page at ATT.com, it only talks about smartphones not tablets.

It is odd. Considering we're still doing in the store. Kinda makes me wonder. The company has no problem dropping us a random email to tell us something is changing ASAP. And also considering they don't make a while lot of money on Next anyway, I wouldn't doubt the idea. With phones it's different. With tablets? It takes us 12-20 months to get the funds we just fronted for that tablet vs someone buying an iPad outright with service.
 
It is odd. Considering we're still doing in the store. Kinda makes me wonder. The company has no problem dropping us a random email to tell us something is changing ASAP. And also considering they don't make a while lot of money on Next anyway, I wouldn't doubt the idea. With phones it's different. With tablets? It takes us 12-20 months to get the funds we just fronted for that tablet vs someone buying an iPad outright with service.

The rep I dealt with when I placed my order on 11/17 indicated that Next for tablets wasn't a good moneymaker for AT&T, so a change was coming. He just wasn't sure of a date. If there is a change, I'm glad I got in under the wire because I am sure I'll want to trade next year.
 
The rep I dealt with when I placed my order on 11/17 indicated that Next for tablets wasn't a good moneymaker for AT&T, so a change was coming. He just wasn't sure of a date. If there is a change, I'm glad I got in under the wire because I am sure I'll want to trade next year.

Kinda stinks because that Next on tablets was an amazing incentive for customers to do it. Also because I was considering getting my mother an iPad for Christmas and the Next would of been perfect because if she didn't use it, then I could just trade it up in a year and get a new one for myself =P

We'll see what they do.
 
Man way to dig up an old thread. I was confused as hell cuz I bought an Air on Next as well but that was 2 years ago. I knew they had stopped very shortly after Air 1 release doing next, and then I Saw the post dates. Lol.

Edit:posting from mobile makes me sound like a 12 year old.
 
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