Under contract with ATT, BYOD to T-Mobile

[AppleFan91]

So weird question. I signed up for AT&T and got the iPhone 6 on launch. Now that I see T-Mobiles plans I'd like to move over. My questions are:

• Can I just port my number over to T-Mobile and have them use my AT&T iPhone 6 as a BYOD? I'll pay my own ETF which works out since I don't have to buy a T-Mobile phone.

Or

• is it better for me to just port over to T-Mobile, let them pay my AT&T ETF and then trade in my iPhone 6 that's on AT&T and use that credit to buy a T-Mobile version from them?

Thanks for the helps dudes!!!!

 

[Supermallet]

As long as the initial purchase price + ETF for the AT&T phone isn't more than the total cost of the iPhone, then just pay the ETF and enjoy the lower T-Mobile pricing without adding on a finance charge every month.

 

[mellofello]

You will need to unlock your phone first.

 

[Hal~9000]

We'll let me try the math:

You already paid $199+$40+1st months service upfront for iPhone 6

If you keep the ATT version you will pay an additional $350 for ETF.

If you go over to Tmobile you will have them pay your $350 ETF + give you $423 for a 16gb iPhone 6 (see screenshot below) nearly $773 in value.

Seems to me like I would go with the T-mobile trade-in.

 

[awm037]

I recently went from AT&T to T-Mobile using the ETF payment scheme and would definitely recommend it. All you have to do is sign up for T-Mobile and buy their cheapest phone (about $30 for a samsung bar phone) and then cut the sim card when you get home. You do have to trade in a phone as well, but I had some old spares lying around and just gave them one of those.

It all depends on how much you paid for your 6 on AT&T. I payed the early upgrade price of $550, and so saved about $200 versus buying it from T-Mobile. And remember, T-Mobile might not give you enough to cover the cost of buying a new 6 from them.

Plus, you can unlock your old AT&T 6 in a matter of minutes once through their website once your service has been cancelled.

 

[zzoomp09]

I recently went from AT&T to T-Mobile using the ETF payment scheme and would definitely recommend it. All you have to do is sign up for T-Mobile and buy their cheapest phone (about $30 for a samsung bar phone) and then cut the sim card when you get home. You do have to trade in a phone as well, but I had some old spares lying around and just gave them one of those.

It all depends on how much you paid for your 6 on AT&T. I payed the early upgrade price of $550, and so saved about $200 versus buying it from T-Mobile. And remember, T-Mobile might not give you enough to cover the cost of buying a new 6 from them.

Plus, you can unlock your old AT&T 6 in a matter of minutes once through their website once your service has been cancelled.

The thing about AT&T is that they won't even send you a ETF bill until the final monthly bill is sent and paid off, they're totally separate. Happened to me earlier this year, cancelled AT&T mid-January, they won't send me a final monthly bill until after the billing period ends which unluckily for me, was Feb 2. They sent bill Feb 7, paid, then I have to wait for the ETF bill which was sent until 2 weeks after. Paid it right away, then was able to unlock online. All in all, more than a month.

So if you're switching to TMobile, I would try and see first if what will they give you for your ETF is enough.

 

[awm037]

The thing about AT&T is that they won't even send you a ETF bill until the final monthly bill is sent and paid off, they're totally separate. Happened to me earlier this year, cancelled AT&T mid-January, they won't send me a final monthly bill until after the billing period ends which unluckily for me, was Feb 2. They sent bill Feb 7, paid, then I have to wait for the ETF bill which was sent until 2 weeks after. Paid it right away, then was able to unlock online. All in all, more than a month.

So if you're switching to TMobile, I would try and see first if what will they give you for your ETF is enough.

Yep, still waiting on the final bill to be sent in addition to the ETF statement. Odd about the unlock though. I was able to unlock both of my iPhones from AT&T (6 and 5c) within 24 hours of the service being cancelled. Sure it wasn't as quick as a normal upgrade, but as long as a final bill has been generated, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[zzoomp09]

Yep, still waiting on the final bill to be sent in addition to the ETF statement. Odd about the unlock though. I was able to unlock both of my iPhones from AT&T (6 and 5c) within 24 hours of the service being cancelled. Sure it wasn't as quick as a normal upgrade, but as long as a final bill has been generated, you shouldn't have a problem.

I did try online and they responded that the phone is not qualified to be unlocked. Tried to call and have them correct it since it was already cancelled, they won't even help me at all. I'm just glad I'm not with AT&T anymore. They're the worst customer service that I've ever experienced.